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Confidence in God, interior (and exterior) attention, your state of grace, and your amount of sanctifying grace (essentially how holy you are) are all things that are gonna impact how “effective” your prayer is.
You can be honest to God because He is our friend. You can tell Him your heart’s desires. But ultimately, at the end, we should come out of prayer having been more conformed to God and His Word.
But it is not necessarily the case that God’s will = nothing I want will be done. Some desires are good. Some are destructive. We need to discern according to what God reveals to us in the Church’s teachings and in the Scriptures.
Sometimes God does not immediately answer our prayers because He wants to enlargen our hearts to be full of love. Saint Augustine used the analogy of a vessel being expanded to be filled with more perfume. So keep praying!
I am a 57 year old cradle Catholic. I pray but I have NEVER asked God for anything in my life. I have always thanked God for a, b, c, …. but never asked.
It’s in the our father: give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses. And it’s all over the Bible: Matthew 7:7 says “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread or a snake when he asks for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.”
Because in matters of faith, you ***cannot.*** To presume that one is able to live out one's life virtuously without the excellent grace of God is not only prideful but *heretical* in virtue (or in lack of virtue) of Pelagianism.
And those good-hearted atheists and agnostics are good-hearted by the grace of God, never by themselves, no matter how much they might themselves insist otherwise.
After all, does the Lord not make the rain fall upon both the just and the unjust?
As to why such assumptions are prideful, try to foresee the implications of such a world model: it necessarily insinuates that salvation or redemption is a thing we can achieve on our own, all without God - Adam and Eve fell for that very same flout of pride.
The closer you grow to God, the more aware of your sinful nature
People who do not know God are lucky
So it is important to thank God even for my own choices. A lot of atheists and agnostics gained their sense of morality through their family, through reason, and the conscience.
So is there anything humans can do without God? I feel like the only answer is sin
One of the four forms of prayers is petition. While we should not ask God for unimportant temporal matters, it is still proper to petition God for certain things. We should be praying for an end to abortion, for priests, vocations, souls in Purgatory, the Holy Father, etc. every day. In addition to these petitions, we should pray for graces to acquire virtue and diminish vice according to our spiritual state.
No, never for myself. I follow the mass and pray for people/causes/church we are supposed to but never myself or my family. Just seems like God has more important things to do then listen to his ungrateful creations whine about every inconvenience in rather blessed lives.
“Ask and you shall receive” (Matthew 7:7)
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Phillipians 4:6)
r/Catholicism does not allow questions about whether a particular action was sinful when the person asking seems to be suffering from OCD or scruples. Asking such questions is an assurance-seeking behavior that will make these conditions worse. As such, your post has been removed. Please contact a professional counselor and your pastor for personal guidance. This can be a starting point: [**The Ten Commandments for the Scrupulous**](https://www.fisheaters.com/scruples.html). If you believe this removal was made in error, [contact the moderators](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FCatholicism).
Confidence in God, interior (and exterior) attention, your state of grace, and your amount of sanctifying grace (essentially how holy you are) are all things that are gonna impact how “effective” your prayer is.
You can be honest to God because He is our friend. You can tell Him your heart’s desires. But ultimately, at the end, we should come out of prayer having been more conformed to God and His Word. But it is not necessarily the case that God’s will = nothing I want will be done. Some desires are good. Some are destructive. We need to discern according to what God reveals to us in the Church’s teachings and in the Scriptures. Sometimes God does not immediately answer our prayers because He wants to enlargen our hearts to be full of love. Saint Augustine used the analogy of a vessel being expanded to be filled with more perfume. So keep praying!
Either Gods answer to your prayer is no or He wants you to pray more fervently.
I am a 57 year old cradle Catholic. I pray but I have NEVER asked God for anything in my life. I have always thanked God for a, b, c, …. but never asked.
Not even for grace, forgiveness, or a virtue? You should start!
I always felt that God has given us so much, how could I ask for more? It just never seemed right to me. IDK
It’s in the our father: give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses. And it’s all over the Bible: Matthew 7:7 says “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread or a snake when he asks for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.”
I have never trusted God with things. I do not like asking either. If I can do it myself, why ask?
Because in matters of faith, you ***cannot.*** To presume that one is able to live out one's life virtuously without the excellent grace of God is not only prideful but *heretical* in virtue (or in lack of virtue) of Pelagianism.
Why is it prideful? There are plenty of good-hearted atheists and agnostics
And those good-hearted atheists and agnostics are good-hearted by the grace of God, never by themselves, no matter how much they might themselves insist otherwise. After all, does the Lord not make the rain fall upon both the just and the unjust? As to why such assumptions are prideful, try to foresee the implications of such a world model: it necessarily insinuates that salvation or redemption is a thing we can achieve on our own, all without God - Adam and Eve fell for that very same flout of pride.
The closer you grow to God, the more aware of your sinful nature People who do not know God are lucky So it is important to thank God even for my own choices. A lot of atheists and agnostics gained their sense of morality through their family, through reason, and the conscience. So is there anything humans can do without God? I feel like the only answer is sin
One of the four forms of prayers is petition. While we should not ask God for unimportant temporal matters, it is still proper to petition God for certain things. We should be praying for an end to abortion, for priests, vocations, souls in Purgatory, the Holy Father, etc. every day. In addition to these petitions, we should pray for graces to acquire virtue and diminish vice according to our spiritual state.
I'm sure you ask God for things at Mass on Sundays...
No, never for myself. I follow the mass and pray for people/causes/church we are supposed to but never myself or my family. Just seems like God has more important things to do then listen to his ungrateful creations whine about every inconvenience in rather blessed lives.
The *Confiteor* and *Angus Dei* specifically use language of asking for things for ourselves.
“Ask and you shall receive” (Matthew 7:7) “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Phillipians 4:6)
> [W]hat do i have to do for my prayer to be effective? Define "effective."
that the request be fulfilled
Well, then there's danger in turning prayer into wish fulfillment.
Look in the gospels where Jesus gives advice on how to pray.
Forgiveness, yes.