Chapter XLIV. Of Prayer

IF distrust of self, trust in God, and spiritual exercises, are so needful as they have been shown to be in this combat, needful above all is prayer (the fourth weapon, mentioned in the beginning of this book), by means of which we may obtain from our Lord, not only the things already named, but all other good things.

For prayer is the means by which we obtain all the graces which rain down upon us from the Divine Fountain of Goodness and Love.

By prayer, if you use it aright, you will put a sword into the Hand of God, with which He will fight and conquer for you; and to use it aright, you must have formed, or be striving to form, the following habits.

First, you must cultivate an earnest desire to serve His Divine Majesty in all things, and in the way which is most pleasing to Him. In order to kindle this desire, consider diligently how worthy beyond expression God is, to be served and honoured, because of His wondrous excellences, His Goodness, Majesty, Wisdom, Beauty, and other infinite Perfections.

Consider, too, how to serve you He laboured and suffered for three and thirty years, binding and healing the putrefying sores, poisoned with the venom of sin, not with oil and wine and bandages, but with the precious Stream which flowed from His most Sacred Veins, and with His most pure Flesh, torn with scourges, thorns, and nails.

Think, moreover, of the great advantage of this service; for by it we gain the mastery over self, superiority over Satan, and become the sons of God.

Secondly, you must have a lively faith and trust in God, that He will give you all things which you need for His service, and for your own good.

This holy confidence is a vessel into which Divine Mercy pours the treasures of His grace; and the larger and more capacious it is, the more richly laden will our prayers return into our bosom. For how shall the Unchanging and Almighty God fail to impart to us His gifts, when He Himself has commanded us to ask for them, and has also promised us His Holy Spirit, if we ask for it with faith and perseverance?

Thirdly, you must, when you draw nigh in prayer, seek the accomplishment of the Divine Will, and not of your own, both by the act of prayer itself and by that you desire to obtain; that is, pray, as an act of obedience to the Divine Will, and desire to be heard in so far only as God wills. In short, your attention should be to unite your will to God's, not to bend His to yours.

And the reason for this is, that your own will, being tainted and corrupted by self-love, very often errs, and knows not what it asks; but the Divine Will, always united to ineffable Goodness, can never err. Therefore the Will of God ought to be the rule and ruler of all other wills; and deserves and desires to be followed and obeyed by all.

Ask, therefore, such things as you know are conformable to the Divine Will, and if you stand in doubt whether any thing you desire is so or not, ask to obtain it only on the condition of its accordance with the Will of God.

And if we are sure that the things we ask are agreeable to Him, such as virtues, ask for them rather in order to serve and please Him, than for any other motive or end, however spiritual.

Fourthly, if we desire that our prayers should be answered, we must previously adorn ourselves with actions corresponding to our petitions, and, after we have prayed, labour more earnestly to render ourselves fit to receive the grace and virtue we have sought.

For prayer and self-discipline must always go together, and the one revolves round the other; since he who prays for a virtue and makes no effort to practise it, would be rather a tempter of God than any thing else.

Fifthly, before you pray for any thing, make an act of thanksgiving for previous mercies, in this or some similar form of words:—

"O Lord, Who of Thy Goodness hast created and redeemed me, and Who, times without number, and when I knew not, hast rescued me out of the hands of my enemies; help me now, and, forgetting all my past rebellion and ingratitude, deny me not my request."

And if you are asking for a particular virtue, and in the midst of the very act of prayer you are tempted by the contrary vice, forget not to thank God for giving you such an opportunity of practising the virtue you are praying for, and regard it as a special favour on His part.

Sixthly, as the force and efficacy of prayer in bending God to our desires are due to the Bounty and Goodness of His own Nature, to the merits of the Life and Passion of His Only-begotten Son, and to His gracious promise to hear us, we should always conclude our prayer with one or more of the following sentences:—

"Of Thy great Mercy, O Lord, grant me this grace." "May the merits of Thy Son obtain for me that which I ask of Thee." "My God, be mindful of Thy promises, and hear my prayer."

And at other times we may also ask for graces through the prayers of the Blessed Virgin and other Saints, who have great power before God, in that He is pleased to honour them now, who honoured His Divine Majesty during their sojourn on earth.

Seventhly, we must persevere in prayer, for humble perseverance triumphs over the Invincible One. If the steadfastness and importunity of the widow in the Gospel inclined to her request the judge laden with all iniquity, how should such perseverance fail to move the heart of God, and incline Him to grant our petitions, Who is the Fountain of all Goodness?

And if the Lord should defer answering your prayer, or even seem to reject it, only pray on still, and keep your confidence in His help firm and unshaken; for He possesses, beyond measure, all that is needed to make graces in others.

Therefore, unless there is some impediment on our part, we shall infallibly obtain what we ask, or something else more expedient for us, or it may be both together.

And the more He seems to repel you, the lower should you humble yourself in your own sight, and reflect upon your own unworthiness; yet, keeping your gaze steadfastly fixed on the Mercy of God, increase more and more your confidence in Him, which if you keep lively and unshaken, the more it is assailed, the more pleasing will you become to your Lord.

Give Him, then, continual thanks, confessing Him to be no less Good, Wise, and Loving, when some of your petitions are denied than when they are all granted. Whatever may happen, let us remain steadfast and joyful, in humble submission to His Divine Providence.