575. How may we strengthen our filial trust? (part 2 continuation)
(Comp 575 repetition) Filial trust is
tested when we think we are not heard. We must therefore ask ourselves if we
think God is truly a Father whose will we seek to fulfill, or simply a means to
obtain what we want. If our prayer is united to that of Jesus, we know that he
gives us much more than this or that gift. We receive the Holy Spirit who
transforms our heart.
“In brief”
(CCC 2756) Filial trust is put to the test when we feel that
our prayer is not always heard. The Gospel invites us to ask ourselves about
the conformity of our prayer to the desire of the Spirit.
To deepen and explain
(CCC 2737) "You ask and do
not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions" (Jas
4:3; cf. The whole context: Jas 4:1-10; 1:5-8; 5:16). If we ask with a divided
heart, we are "adulterers" (Jas 4:4); God cannot answer us, for he
desires our well-being, our life. "Or do you suppose that it is in vain
that the scripture says, 'He yearns jealously over the spirit which he has made
to dwell in us?'" (Jas 4:5). That our God is "jealous" for us is
the sign of how true his love is. If we enter into the desire of his Spirit, we
shall be heard. Do not be troubled if you do not immediately receive from God
what you ask him; for he desires to do something even greater for you, while
you cling to him in prayer (Evagrius Ponticus, De oratione 34: PG 79, 1173). God wills that our desire should be
exercised in prayer, that we may be able to receive what he is prepared to give
(St. Augustine, Ep. 130, 8, 17: PL
33, 500).
Reflection
(CCC 2738) The revelation of
prayer in the economy of salvation teaches us that faith rests on God's action
in history. Our filial trust is enkindled by his supreme act: the Passion and
Resurrection of his Son. Christian prayer is cooperation with his providence,
his plan of love for men. [IT CONTINUES]
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