This week had a lot of mental and spiritual ups and downs. I was struggling a bit with how I view others and my interactions with them. I was contemplating big decisions and how those decisions might play out. There was a lot going on in my head and heart and I kept praying “Jesus, help me.” ” Jesus, I trust in You.” In recent months, I have discovered through a retreat, devotions, and just reflections on Scripture, that simple trust can lead to answered prayers.
I have especially been praying one to St. Joseph, asking for his intercession and God to work through Him in me. I discovered this a few years ago and saw the words …it was seldom known to fail. I thought “Hey! That’s something!” Not that I was thinking “I’ll put this to the test, then we’ll see!” but more of a faith of oh, all I have to do is pray, meaning what I say, and believe and it will happen? Seems to simple and easy in a world that is overrun with complexity and high demands. How could those simple directions grant my requests? As Les Brown, a motivational speaker, says “How is none of your business.” Prayers can kind of be an equation. It’s not up to us how these prayers work because that’s not on our end of the equation. On our end is communicate and believe and on God’s end is everything else. Isn’t it nice to not have to worry about “everything else”? I will caution, the belief is the crucial part. We can’t just say some words without anything behind them. We have to say what we mean and mean what we say. God appreciates and rewards effort.
So in my experiences, I have found my prayers answered. I have asked for grace and strength in my relationships, especially with my wife. I have asked for financial abundance, not worrying about the cost of things. I have asked for findings new connections as I settled into a new area and was struggling to meet like minded people. I continue to ask for faith and trust. I will say something else I found true that led to a deeper understanding of answered prayers. I had heard it some time ago on a podcast or Youtube video. It circled around the explanation that answered prayers don’t always equate to our straightforward way of thinking; “I’ll ask for this and get it.” God works in His own ways, which is beyond our own understanding “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” (Prov 3:5) and “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.” (Is 55:8) Again, His side of the equation that is non of our business.
The saying went “I asked for strength, God gave me difficulty to make me strong. I asked for wisdom and God gave me problems to solve. I asked for courage, and God gave me dangers to overcome. I asked for love, and God gave me troubled people to help.” So I am learning, be careful what you ask for because you might just get it. It just won’t be in perfect gift wrapped package you’re expecting it to be in. The caveat to this profound truth is reassuring; God won’t give you something you can’t handle. That is because you’re never alone. God is always with you, even if you don’t feel it or worse, don’t accept it. That is what His unconditional love looks like. He is guiding you; ” he will make your paths straight.” (Prov 3:6) In whatever we may ask, if we believe in what we say with all our heart mind and soul, God will give us the desires of our heart because that is what He does. He cares for us.
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