Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 507 – Part II.

YOUCAT Question n. 507 - Part II. What happens if you find that prayer does not help?

(Youcat answer repeated) Prayer does not seek superficial success but rather the will of God and intimacy with him. God’s apparent silence is itself an invitation to take a step farther in total devotion, boundless faith, endless expectation. Anyone who prays must allow God the complete freedom to speak whenever he wants, to grant whatever he wants, and to give himself however he wants.

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 2751) Finally, in this prayer Jesus reveals and gives to us the "knowledge," inseparably one, of the Father and of the Son (Cf. Jn 17:3, 6-10, 25), which is the very mystery of the life of prayer. 2751 

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) Often we say: I have prayed, but it did not help at all. Maybe we are not praying intensely enough. The saintly Curé of Ars once asked a brother priest who was complaining about his lack of success, “You have prayed, you have sighed…  but have you fasted, too? Have you kept vigil?” It could also be that we are asking God for the wrong things. St. Teresa of Avila once said, “Do not pray for lighter burdens; pray for a stronger back”.

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 2752) Prayer presupposes an effort, a fight against ourselves and the wiles of the Tempter. The battle of prayer is inseparable from the necessary "spiritual battle" to act habitually according to the Spirit of Christ: we pray as we live, because we live as we pray.

(The next question is: What happens if you do not feel anything when you pray or even experience reluctance to pray?)