Petition and Trust

A four-year-old girl whose father had been absent on a military assignment overseas for two years composed an original petition while reciting her nightly prayers: “Dear God, please send me a new baby brother, so that we’ll have something to surprise Daddy with when he gets home.”

Not just from children, but also from adults, the Lord hears countless thousands of unseemly requests every day, as he did from his disciples James and John and their importuning mother (see Mt 20:21). To each untoward request--triggered by the “ask and you shall receive” promise--he patiently responds, “You do not know what you are asking.” How would a parent answer a ten-year-old who asked for a Cadillac for Christmas? Or a toddler who wanted the freedom to play with razor blades or matches?

In an extended way I dealt with this contentious matter in my booklet and tape titled When God Says No—25 Reasons Why Some Prayers Are Not Answered.I have found, however, that even such in-depth teaching on this subject is not grasped by petulant petitioners who haven’t learned what it means to really trust God in making their prayer petitions. They try to trust him to provide miraculous answers, but they don’t trust him if the reason for the non-answer is hidden, as it is beyond their faith level to accept it as hidden.

A soul that enjoys authentic trust can accept the righteousness of God’s apparent non-answer, even when the reason for the non-answer remains unknown. Yet the less-trusting soul wants to know the reason. The frustrated petitioner shows lack of true faith and trust by the very question “Why?” It is for these persons that I subtitled the booklet WHY Some Prayers Are Not Answered.

Of course, every worthy prayer of petition is answered in some positive way (see 1 Cor 15:58), even when the good result is delayed or unrecognized. However, the more trusting the soul, the holier the person; and the holier the person, the more powerful the prayer. As St. James indicates, “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective” (Jas 5:16). With this subtle proviso, there is no better biblical reference to the secret of prevailing prayer than that of 1 Chronicles 5:20 (emphasis mine): “He answered their prayers because they trusted in him.”

This excerpt is from the book Pathways of Trust, by John H. Hampsch,C.M.F., originally published by Servant Publications. It and other of Fr. Hampsch's books and audio/visual materials can be purchased from Claretian Teaching Ministry, 20610 Manhattan Pl, #120, Torrance, CA 90501-1863. Phone 1-310-782-6408.