St. Augustine Answers 101 Questions on Prayer (continued)
54. If God wants us to ask him for what we need, what precisely is it that we need?
First, we should recognize who it is we pray to - a providential and loving Father - and then what it is we pray for - "those thing s which it is our duty to ask for we should not hesitate to ask, neither for ourselves, for our friends and strangers and yes, even for enemies."160 But what precisely those things are has been laid out for us by Christ himself: "If we pray correctly, according to our needs, we pray for nothing except that which makes up the Lord's Prayer. And whoever prays for anything not contained in the Lord's Prayer, prays in such a way that is either improper or, at least, unspiritual."161
55. What does "hallowed be thy name" mean?
"When praying `hallowed be thy name,' we remind ourselves to aspire to make God's ever-holy name held as holy by all men. In other words, not scorned, which in any account is more an advantage for men than for God."162 For example, when someone prays, As in their sight you have proved yourself holy before us, so now in our sight prove yourself great before them, and let your prophets be proved worthy of belief (Ecclus. 36:4,18), what else does he pray for than "hallowed be thy name" ?163
In other words, this petition is multiform, including diverse manners in which God's name is held holy - above all in reverence before God and personal holiness. It may seem that this petition overlaps somewhat with "thy kingdom come," but that is not a problem, as long as these petitions are heard and we know how to cooperate with God's grace!
St. Augustine counsels praying to keep God's name holy in our lives by asking for:
Pure love: "... but in those from whom love is requited in a holy and pure way, we understandably find true delight. For these things, it is fitting that we pray: if we have them, that we may retain them; if we do not have them, that we may obtain them";164
• Continence;
• Fidelity in marriage;
• Fidelity of priests to their vocation;
• The flock of believers;165
• Preachers and teachers of the Faith; 166
• Perseverance in good proposals; 167
• Spiritual progress.168
56. What does "thy kingdom come" mean?
"When we say, `Thy kingdom come'- which indubitably shall come whether we desire it or not - we arouse our own desire for that kingdom by saying these words. We pray that it come to us, and that we be deemed worthy to reign in "If we love Christ, then certainly, we ought to long for his coming. It is completely wrong and I doubt whether it is really possible to fear the arrival of him whom you love or to pray `Thy kingdom come,' and to fear that your prayer be heard. Who is coming to judge you but the One who came to be judged for your sake?"170 "The coming of the Lord is not loved by anyone who says it is close at hand or very far off, but by him who, be it far or near, looks forward to it with sincere faith, firm hope, and ardent charity.""`
When someone prays, Do not hold past iniquities against us; may your compassion come quickly, for we have been brought very low (Ps. 79:7), what else does he say than "Thy kingdom come"?"'
Other ways of praying for the coming of the kingdom, which is within us, are to ask for the following:
• God's blessings in the form of his providence;
• The gift of prayer;13
• True happiness and fulfillment;
• God's tenderness;
• Faith;14
All the theological virtues (faith, hope, and charity); 175
• Wisdom;"'
• Intelligence; l"
• To become what we should be; 178
• That Jesus reveal his Face; 179
• The Holy Spirit;180
57. What does "Thy will be done" mean?
"When we pray, `Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,' we pray for ourselves that he give us the grace of obedience, that his will be done by us just as it is done by his angels in "When someone prays, Direct my steps as you have promised, let evil win no power over me (Ps. 119:133), what else does he pray for than, `Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven'?""'
It seems that God desires our cooperation with his will so that his plans will come to fruition with our consent. St. Augustine suggests other ways of praying for God's will to be done by asking:
• For docility to the Holy Spirit;"'
• To obey God's law; 185
• To fulfill duty;186
• To obtain justice;
For what we do not know we need, but what God knows to be our need;187
• To make us good.ls8
58. What does "give us this day our daily bread" mean?
"When we pray, `Give us this day our daily bread,' the word `this day' means this present time, in which we ask for all that makes up temporal blessings, which I have discussed previously; and `bread' means the sacrament of believers, which in this present time is necessary in order to obtain the felicity - not in the present time - but in eternity."189 "When someone prays, Give me neither poverty nor riches, what else does he pray for than, `Give us this day our daily bread'?"190
Other ways of praying for temporal blessings in the order of eternal life are asking for the following:
• A happy life;'91
• To conserve life; 192
• To understand Sacred Scripture;193
Spiritual well-being, more than physical;
A wealth of eternal goods, and a moderate degree of temporal goods.194
59. What does "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" mean?
"When we pray, `Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who trespass against us,' we are reminded of both what we should ask, and what we should do in order to be worthy of receiving what we ask."19s "When someone prays, Lord, remember David and all his anxious care (Ps. 132:1), or Lord my God, if Iamat fault in this, if there is guilt on my hands, if I have repaid my friend with evil (Ps. 7:3), what else does he pray for than, `Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us'?"196
Other ways of making this same petition are by asking for:
Evil to be taken away and good put in its place ;117
• Remission of sins;'98
• Deliverance from hidden faults;"'
• Forgiveness and conversion of our enemies;200
• An enemy to be lost and a friend gained;"'
Repentance.202 "Endure, for this you were born. Endure, because perhaps you are endured. If you have always been good, be merciful. If at any time you were evil, do not forget it. But who is always good? If God should carefully sift you, he will most likely find you more evil than you think yourself good ... The gathering of the crop in the field will come to an end and the separation of the harvest will "If you would obtain mercy, be merciful. If you are not humane to men, though you are a man, God will deny you divinity, that is the incorruption of immortality, by which he makes us gods. For God needs nothing from you, but you need God. He seeks nothing from you to be blessed, but unless you receive him, you cannot be blessed ... But he will not give you anything of those things which he has created except himself, the Creator of all things, that you may enjoy him. And how will he do this? Do you think you deserve it? If you were to seek what you deserve, he would give you back your sins. If you sought recompense for your sins, what would befall you but death? Have pity on man, 0 man, and God will have pity on you. You and your neighbor, both men, are pitiable creatures. But God is not pitiable; rather he has a pitying heart."204
60. What does "lead us not into temptation" mean?
"When we pray, `Lead us not into temptation,' we remind ourselves to seek that we may not, through being deprived of God's help, be either compelled to consent or enmeshed in "When someone prays, Do not let lechery and lust grip me, do not give me over to shameless desire (Ecclus. 23:6), what else does he pray for than, `Lead us not into temptation'?"206
Other ways of praying not to be led into temptation are to ask:
• For integrity;
• To resist in time of tribulation;207
• To overcome pride;208
• To eliminate vice;209
• To resist concupiscence.211
"Temptation comes about like a sort of inquiry in which man discovers who he is, for previously, he was hidden from himself, but not so hidden from his Maker. Peter presumed to have something he did not yet have, that he would persevere with our Lord unto death. Peter did not know his own strength, but our Lord did. Temptation came. He denied Jesus. And weeping, he received the strength (Luke 22:33-62). Since, therefore, we do not know what we should ask for, even when we have it, nor give thanks even when we receive, we should be educated in this world by trial and temptation."21
61. What does "deliver us from evil" mean?
"When we pray, `Deliver us from evil,' we tell ourselves to consider that we do not yet enjoy that good estate in which we experience no evil. And this petition, which comes last in the Lord's Prayer, is so comprehensive that a Christian, regardless of the trial he finds himself in, can use it in his groans and find release in tears. He can start with this petition, and continue with it until the conclusion of his prayer. It is necessary that these words and all that they mean should be kept fresh in our memory.212 "What else can it be than, `Lead us not into temptation' when someone prays, Rescue me from my enemies, my God, protect me from those attacking me (Ps. 59:1). Review all the words of every holy prayer. I think you will find nothing but that which comprises the Lord's Prayer. When praying, we are at liberty to use different words to any degree, but we must ask the same things. In this we have no other option."213
Other ways of asking for this very same grace are to pray:
• To overcome sin in all of its forms; 14
• To be freed from enemies;215
• For sinners and the errant;216
• For salvation;217
• For those we must correct;218
• For protection against the Devil;219
For spiritual protection in times of persecution; 22°
• For defense against sinful neglect;
• For patience and meekness;
• To overcome bad habits; 221
• To resist an attraction to evil222
• For freedom.223
62. If St. Augustine can give such an exhaustive list of things to pray for, why does St. Paul say that we do not know what to pray for as we ought (cf. Rom. 8:26)?
"Perhaps you may still ask why the apostle said, `We know not what to pray for as we ought,' for it is completely unbelievable that he or those to whom he wrote did not know the Lord's Prayer. He was not unthinking or wrong when he wrote that. So what, then, can we make of that statement? Is it not true that our trials and difficulties are, for the great part, useful in curbing our pride, or for testing and exercising our patience? For we know that after such tribulation and correction, either a great reward or the punishment and the purification of sins awaits us. But, nonetheless, are we not ignorant of what good purpose these things could serve, wishing to be freed from them?
"The apostle shows that even he was not oblivious to this. In fact, in order that he not be swelled with pride, given the exalted nature of his revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given him, a messenger from Satan was sent to beat him. Not knowing exactly what to pray for, he begged the Lord three times to take it from him. In time, he received God's answer, explaining why a man of such advanced prayer was denied what he asked for, and why it was more appropriate that it not be taken from him: My grace is enough for you; my power is at its best in weakness (2 Cor. 12:7-9)."224
63. What can we be assured of receiving, knowing not only that God will grant it, but that it will be for the best?
"Whoever desires from the Lord that `one thing,' and seeks after it (Ps. 27:4), asks with certainty and trust, without fearing that, once he receives it, it would do him harm and without which everything else that he may have obtained by asking for it in the right way would be useless to him. I am referring to the only true and happy life, in which we, in immortal and incorruptible body and spirit, eternally contemplate the joy of the Lord. Everything else is asked for in the right way and desired if in view of this one thing. Whoever possesses it possesses all he could want and, having it, could not desire anything else which would be improper. For it contains the spring of life which we thirst for in our prayer as long as we hope, even as we are deprived of seeing that for which we hope. Confident, under the shadow of his wings with our desire placed before him, we will be completely satisfied with the riches of his house. We will be made to drink of the river of his delights, since with him the spring of life becomes truly a living spring. And in his light we shall see the light, when our desire shall be satisfied with every good thing, where there shall be nothing else to long for with our groaning, but rejoicing we shall possess all.
"Further, since his blessing is nothing less than the peace of God which is so much greater than we can understand (Phil. 4:7), even when we ask for it in prayer, we do not know for what we are asking. Since we cannot imagine it as it really is, we do not know what it is, and whatever form we come up with in our minds is to be rejected, cast away, and condemned. We know that it is not what we seek, yet we do not know enough about it to say exactly what it is that we seek."225
64. What about those prayers for interior gifts - how can I know that God has answered such prayers?
Augustine speaks of an interior knowledge born of love and trust in God that assures an answer to prayers for interior gifts. It is a knowledge beyond all knowing (Eph. 3:19), an inner conviction that assures the man of prayer of God's generous answer. While this is indemonstrable to others, the contemplative soul who has experienced God's presence knows who it is that he has experienced.
"For behold, God helps me, for they do not know in whom I hide. If they were to turn to God, they know in what way God is my helper. All holy men are helped by God interiorly, where no one can see. Just as the conscience of evil men is their great chastisement, so, too, is the conscience of holy men a great joy. The apostle says, For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, with the simplicity and sincerity of God, (and) not by human wisdom but by the grace of God (2 Cor. 1:12). It is in the interior ... that a man can glory and say, For behold, God helps me. Of course, what God promises is still far off, but even today I enjoy his sweet and ever-present help. Today, without apparent cause, I can say with certainty in the joy of my heart, Offer fitting sacrifice and trust in the Lord. Many say, `May we see better times! Lord, show us the light of your face!' But you have given my heart more joy than they have when grain and wine abound (Ps. 4:6-7). Not into my vineyard, not into my flock, not into my cask or into my table, but `into my heart.' For behold God helps me. How does he help me? He elevates my soul."226
65. But is receiving what we ask for in this life enough to make us happy?
"But once people have obtained benefits for themselves and for those whom they love, can we truly say that they are now happy? Certainly, they have something desirable, but if they have not other things still greater, better, and more useful and beautiful, they still fall short of possessing a [perfectly] happy
66. Does God hear some people's prayers more than others?
Augustine seems to think that God has a certain weakness toward some people that he does not show to everyone - above all to those who suffer, and widows in particular. Perhaps foreseeing Mary's widowhood, our Lord has chosen to keep widows closest to him.
"God has taught us that prayer is every member's duty (that is, those who believe in him and are united to his Body). Nonetheless, in the Scriptures, a more attentive prayer is expected of widows. In fact, there are two women named Anna mentioned with distinction - the one, Elkanah's wife, who was the mother of holy Samuel; the other, the widow who recognized the most holy One when [he was] still an infant. The first one, although married, prayed with a broken heart and a heavy mind because she had no sons. Once she received Samuel, she consecrated him to the Lord to fulfil the vow made when she prayed for a son. Although it is not easy to say under which petition of the Lord's Prayer this falls, it could be under the last, `deliver us from evil,' since it was considered evil to be married and not to have children as the fruit of marriage.
"Take note of what is written about the other widow, Anna: She never left the temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer (Luke 2:36-37). Similarly, as quoted earlier, the apostle said, But a woman who is really widowed and left without anybody can give herself up to God and consecrate all her days and nights to petitions and prayer (1 Tim. 5:5). And the Lord, when counseling men to pray always and not to weaken, used the example of a widow who importunately persevered and persuaded the judge to hear her case, even though he was unjust and evil, a man who feared neither God nor men. How pressing it is, then, to outdo others in devoting time to prayer is clearly seen by the fact that the exhortations to earnest and persevering prayer are made using examples of widows."228
67. In other words, the bereaving and those who feel abandoned have a special place in God's Heart?
If God lays such importance on the prayers of widows and widowers, they most surely have an important role to play in the economy of salvation.
"What makes this task especially suitable for widows is precisely their bereaved and desolate state. For whoever understands that he is in this world as a bereaving and desolate pilgrim far from the Lord will be careful to dedicate his widowhood to God, as it were, who is his protector in constant and fervent prayer. So pray, therefore, as a widow who belongs to Christ, although you do not yet see him, but imploring nonetheless his help. Although you are quite wealthy, pray as a poor person, since your true riches of the coming world are not yet in your possession - but have no fear of their loss ... the more piously you order your house, the more likely are you to persevere in fervent prayer, not mixing in the affairs of this world beyond their interest for the spiritual life."229
68. Is it all right to pray for our own honors and acquiring power, and might we pray that others achieve such things?
"Might we say, then, that in addition to bodily health, men might desire honor and power for themselves and for loved ones? Certainly, if they desire them in order to promote the common interest of those dependent upon them. If they seek these things not as ends in themselves, but for some good thing accomplished through these means, their desire is proper. But if they simply want to gratify their pride and arrogance, a superficial and harmful victory for their vanity, then their wish is improper.""'
69. Why are some people's prayers not answered?
Perhaps we ask in a bad way - with distractions, for example. Augustine offers some consoling advice for those who are distracted in prayer. "For you, Lord, are good and gracious . . . prayers are often frustrated by vain thoughts, as when one's heart is hardly turned to God in prayer . . . Each one of us has had this experience, but probably would not think that it happens to others as well were we not to find it in the Sacred Scriptures, where David says, since I have found my heart, 0 Lord, in order to pray to you. He said that he `found his heart' as if it were something used to escaping him, and he had to pursue it like a fugitive, unable to catch it and crying out to God, `My heart has abandoned me.' Therefore, my brethren, considering what he says in this passage, I believe I know what he means when he says `gracious.' It seems that he calls God gracious because he expects prayers from us but bears our weakness, with a view to perfecting us. But when we have given him our prayer, he receives it gratefully and attentively, without giving a thought to those many prayers we pour out thoughtlessly.""'
Sometimes we attempt to manipulate God, turning him into a means to our end. "Why does Scripture say in many places, They shall call, but I will not hear them? ... and elsewhere, They have called but not upon God. They call, but not upon God. You call upon whatever you love. You call upon whatever you call to yourself, whatever you wish to have. Thus, if for this reason you call upon God, asking for money or that an inheritance come your way, that you receive worldly status, you call upon those things that you desire. But you try to make of God the means to your desire, not the listener of your needs."232
Perhaps God has an even better plan in store. "God is good if he gives you what you want. But what if what you want is bad? You say, `I have prayed so much and so often, and still I have not been heard!' Why? What did you pay for? Perhaps for the death of your enemy? What if he were praying for the same for you? He who created you created him, too. You are man, he is a man, but God is the judge. He hears both and grants prayer to neither ... but what if you say, `But I didn't ask for that; I didn't ask for the death of my enemy, but for the life of my child. What evil did I pray for?' You prayed for no evil. What if he was taken away lest wickedness alter his understanding? `But he was a sinner, I wanted him to live to be converted.' You wanted him to live, in order that he become better, but what if God knew that he would become worse had he lived longer? If you call on God as God, trust that you shall be heard. You have a place in that verse, and of great mercy to all who invoke you."233
We ask for evil things. "The apostle James used this as grounds to chastise his flock when he said, The reason you do not receive what you want . . . it is because you have not prayed properly; you have prayed for something to indulge your own desires (Jas. 4:3). What someone desires to obtain so as to use it toward an improper end, merciful God refuses to grant."234
Perhaps we do not see as God sees. "Why are you sad that your prayers have gone unanswered? Perhaps you ask for something that would not bring you joy ... It is God's mercy to deny us what we ask if it were to our ruin.""'
St. Augustine gives an example any parent can understand of a child who wants a sword or wants to ride a horse, but the responsible parent knows that such things contain dangers unknown or little considered by a four-year-old. It is no mean-spirited denial of a petition, but for the best of the one who asks unaware of what would happen were such a request granted.236
God does not heed the prayers of hypocrites. "You dwell in a holy place. Therefore, you will not hear the impure words of sin. . . not of him who sought his own praise in tasting the forbidden fruit, who, upon opening his bodily eyes should attempt to hide himself from your sight."237
When the suffering person's righteous request seems unanswered, confidence in God is counseled. "He who tends to our needs knows when to give what we need. Why do I say this, brethren? In case anyone weaken because he has not been heard after making a righteous request of God. If he has not been heard, [let him not] be discouraged, [nor] weaken, but let his eyes await the food [God] gives in due season. When [God] does not grant something, it is because it would do some harm.""'
70. Augustine offers possible explanations for why God does not grant some things. Is there something one could ask for with the assurance of receiving it?
In one of his most beautiful passages, Augustine tells us that God gives himself to all who simply ask.
"For what better than God could be given to me? God loves me. God loves you. Look, he has even proposed to you, ask him what you want. If the emperor were to tell you, `Ask whatever you want,' what posts, what dignities would blurt out of your mouth! What great things would you imagine, both to receive and give away! But when God says to you, `Ask for whatever you want,' what do you want? Empty your mind, be greedy, stretch out as far as you can, increase your desire. Was it not God who said, `Ask for whatever you want'? If you are a lover of possessions, you will desire the whole earth and every man your servant or slave. But when you have the whole world in your possession - then what? You will then ask for the sea, yet you cannot live there. The fish will outdo you in greediness there. But perhaps you want islands. Leave them. Ask for the air, but you cannot fly. Stretch your desire unto the heavens, call the sun your own, and the moon and the stars, because he who made it all has said, `Ask for whatever you want.' Yet you can find no better treasure, nothing better, than him who made all these things. Seek him who made all, and in him and thanks to him you shall have all that he has made. All these things are precious because they are beautiful. But what is more beautiful than he? He would not rather give you anything else than himself. If you have found something better, ask him for it. But know that you do him an injustice and harm to yourself in preferring it over him who made it - when all along he wants to give himself to you."239