I Will Pray for You...

“I will pray for you.” “My prayers will be with you.” “Please join me in the prayers of the people.” So we pray. So now what? Does it do any good? Does God listen, care, act? The Order of St. Luke is replete with stories about how prayer works; are they really true? If so, why don’t my prayers work that way? Aren’t they as good? Am I not as good? Is it all just a sham, a fake?
Have you ever wondered about these things? Welcome to the human race! Even Jesus’s disciples wondered these things. Many sermons have attempted to explain them. The standard understanding about God’s answers is that He always hears, always replies—sometimes “yes,” sometimes “no,” sometimes “wait.” Although I’m sure that’s true, somehow it doesn’t go far enough. I’ve had to come to the conclusion that all these answers are based on a flawed fundamental premise. The purpose of intercessory prayer is not to make God do our bidding; He is NOT some celestial puppet. The purpose is to mold our will closer to his, to bring us closer to him. Then He can accomplish his purposes through us, or at least give us a sense of peace knowing that we’re in his will. Then I can attain some measure of acceptance. That’s infinitely more precious Do you agree?