Среда

(1 Thess. 2:1–8; Luke 11:9–13) The Lord convinces one to pray with the promise of hearing, explaining it with the compassion of a natural father, favorable to the requests of his children. But he immediately hints at the reason why prayers and petitions are sometimes not heard or not fulfilled. The father will not give his children a stone instead of bread, or a snake instead of a fish. If the natural father does not do this, much less will the Heavenly Father do this. And our petitions often resemble the petition of a snake and a stone. It seems to us that this is what we ask for, bread and fish, but the Heavenly Father sees that what we ask for will be a stone or a snake for us - and does not give what we ask for. The father and mother pour out warm prayers before God for their son, that he may arrange the best for him, but at the same time they also express what they consider to be the best for their son, namely, that he be alive, healthy and happy. The Lord hears their prayer and arranges the best for their son, only not according to the concept of those asking, but as it actually is for their son: he sends a disease from which the son dies. For those for whom everything ends in real life, this is not hearing, but doing in defiance, or: giving the person for whom they are praying to his fate; for those who believe that real life is only a preparation for another life, there can be no doubt that the son for whom they prayed fell ill and died precisely because the prayer was heard and that it was better for him to leave here than to stay here. You say: so what should we pray for? No, you cannot help but pray, but in prayers about certain objects you must always keep in mind the condition: “if, Lord, You Yourself find this saving.” St. Isaac the Syrian advises shortening every prayer like this: “You, Lord, know what is good for me: do with me according to Your will.” You might be interested in: