Lifting Up Holy Hands
As we learn to pray, we are encouraged to pray for many things. Sometimes our teachers will tell us to be specific with what we pray for. We are also told that God answers all prayers, just not the way we think He should. For example, God may say “Yes”, or God may say “Not right now”, or God may say “I have something better for you.” When God responds yes, we can be assured that we have submitted our will to God’s Will. That is a great feeling. We might not recognize it every time but when God says not right now, we should understand that we are developing the virtue of patience and perseverance. Maybe we think we should get what we asked for right now, but there is always a reason, and we may not know the reason.
Did you notice I did not say God says ‘no’? God wants us to come to Him. He wants us to ask for things. Always being told no is tough. But no can be tolerable knowing there is something better to come. I like that.
Forming our prayer the proper way is good too. You can find many ways to formulate a prayer. One way that I think and advise people to do is to be more inclusive. If someone in your family has cancer you can pray for their healing. But we need to remember that we are united in Christ.
What we should do is pray for the family member needing healing but also include others that may be suffering from the same form of cancer and pray for them at the same time. One more thought, pray for those who are the doctors, nurses, and others who are working to help those with cancer. What a great way to unite ourselves to others in prayer.
May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen