Questions and Answers About Your Journey to God by Groeschel Benedict

Author:Groeschel, Benedict [Groeschel, Benedict]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor
Published: 2007-09-07T00:00:00+00:00

THE PRAYER OF HOPE

What is prayer like in the third stage of the purgative way?

We have seen that the third and last step of the first way of the interior life is trust in God. It is my impression that it may take only a few years to come to mature faith, but it may take most people a lifetime to really trust God. Many well-intentioned believers get this far, but do not go beyond this step.

Trust in God means turning over to Him everything we possess, value, and appreciate, even what we cherish the most. This is not easy to do, which is why our Lord Jesus Christ exhorted His listeners so often (and us) to trust God. In Scriptural language trust means to have faith. As we use it here, faith has a somewhat different meaning from belief in the divine mysteries — in God and in His revealed truth. Here we speak of faith in God as trust in Him and in His Providence. The word in our language that most accurately conveys the meaning of this experience is hope. Someone has said that hope is faith that has come to blossom and flower. It is hope and trust in God that makes faith truly a part of our lives and desires, but the prayer of faith and that of hope are different in several ways. We often express acts of trust or hope in God by prayers of intercession, particularly at times of tragedy or great need, asking Him to do things.

Since this type of prayer is an important part of the spiritual life, what can we learn to help us grow while we are in need and anxiety?

This question is extremely revealing. A good many people spend much of their prayer time expressing to God their fears and concerns, or in asking that in His providential care He give them assistance or relief with serious problems. This is certainly not inappropriate. In the Gospel we see countless numbers of people coming to Our Lord with serious problems. They all ask for divine help by miracles of healing or deliverance. They sometimes express great trust in His powers, and He rewards them. He often says, “Your faith has saved you.”

Even though prayers of intercession represent a less contemplative form of prayer, it seems to me it would be wise to include them as a significant part of our prayer life so long as we pray in a way that expresses faith and trust.

How is faith and trust expressed in a moment of great need or anxiety?

The answer is, quite simply, to come into the presence of God, especially into Christ’s presence, using our imaginative abilities to see His face before us and to express fervently and trustingly our trust in His assistance in a difficult situation. It is not wise or helpful to tell God what to do. We must always remember that He is not only all-powerful but also all-knowing and wise.

Believers must be prepared to accept that their petitions will not always be answered in the way they think best.

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