A Prayer

Father, You really are remarkable. There are so many qualities about You that are so striking, so beautiful. One of them is simply this: You hear our prayers. As we bring our requests to You, as we just discuss life with You, You listen. You are not so busy elsewhere that You give us only enough attention not to seem rude. No, You give us Your complete attention. You are so intimately involved in our lives that You enjoy hearing from us. So, You listen to what we have to say, and then You respond out of Your heart of love and wisdom. You are a very good Father to us.

Oh, there are other gods who claim to hear the prayers of those who worship them. But they don't hear. Not really. They can't. They're not real. And behind the false fronts of them all is Satan. And if there is one thing that is true of him is that he does not love.

But You do. It is out of that love for us that You listen and act. How comforting.

There are times though, Father, when it all feels wrong. It feels like You aren't listening. We talk, but we don't hear from You. You don't respond to our requests. And we find that confusing and sometimes even very upsetting. But this can't be because You're neglecting us. It can't be because You don't care. There must be something else going on. So, Father, we ask that You would help us understand prayer better. We want to grow in our ability to talk with You. And there is much for us to learn here. But we are confident that, bit by bit, You'll teach us what we need to know about prayer. Knowing that, we will continue to speak to You, even when You seem too quiet, assured that You really do hear and that at the right time You'll respond.

We thank You, Father, for prayer, this gift of the Gospel, this gift of Jesus, through whom we pray. Amen.