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April 26, 2024Ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you
Jesus says in John 15, the chapter from which we read the Holy Gospel today: “Ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.” But many people tell me, “Father, I do pray, and I ask God for good things for me and for my family, and often these good things are not done for me. Why does Jesus not answer my prayers?”
It is important to read the words of Christ in the Gospels in the context of his over-all teaching. In John 15, the Lord is teaching us about remaining one with him, using the analogy of a vine and branches. We cannot bear fruit unless the branch is connected to the vine, and the strength (food and water) can flow into us. We must be in union with Jesus! This is through our faith, our love, our obedience to His commandments, our baptism, and the Holy Eucharist.
Jesus teaches us in John 15 that pruning comes before blooming. This is a hard teaching. It means that God often allows us to struggle and suffer, as well as those we love, as it prepares our hearts to bear fruit for the kingdom of God. Sometimes when we pray, we are just not praying for the right things, at least as regards our eternal destiny in heaven. We are asking for good things as we see things here on earth; the healing of a person with cancer, the sobriety of a person with alcoholism, the finding of a job, etc. Of course these are good things, as we see them.
But God “sees” everything with our eternal salvation in mind. He listens to our prayers, he feels great love and compassion for us in our sufferings, He has the power to answer our prayers but often he is “compelled” to answer our prayers in a different way. Being pruned hurts, but it strengthens our faith and stretches our hearts…and these things are necessary to be “filled with God” in Heaven!
So, the questions remain: Does God always answer our prayers, or not? If we ask for good things, will we be given them? The most correct answer is that God always answers our prayers, but with our eternal salvation in mind. And yes, if we ask for good things…or rather, the best things, we will be given them. As my spiritual director likes to say, “Holiness is to desire what God desires. And once your heart is changed and you do, God will always answer your prayers!”
Fr. Brett Brannen
Pastor
