Pope: prayer is not a magic wand that makes our wishes come true

“Sometimes our prayers seem to go unheard” even if “the reason we prayed was noble”, such as for the end of a war. "Let us learn this humble patience of waiting for the grace of the Lord, of waiting for the last day". "Often the end is very ugly, because human suffering is ugly, but the Lord is there. In the end, He resolves everything, it is the day when all human yearnings for salvation will be fulfilled. We learn to wait ".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "Prayer is not a magic wand" to make wishes come true, there is no use in telling God what to do, to try to direct events according to our plan, but, as Jesus taught us in the Our Father, “thy will be done, not mine. Its better to leave it to Him”. "The certainty of being heard" was the theme that Pope Francis spoke about at today's general audience, held in the courtyard of San Damaso.

Francis arrived there well before the audience began: for over 20 minutes he passed among those present, shook hands, exchanged jokes, blessed, signed books and drawings, a large colourful poster and a flag, drank the "mate" offered him, exchanged the skullcap, put on scarves, received the kiss of a child.

In his catechesis, continuing the cycle on prayer, he observed that "there is a radical objection to prayer, which derives from an observation that we all make: we pray, we ask, and yet sometimes our prayers seem to go unheard: what we have asked for - for ourselves or for others - is not fulfilled. We have this experience, very often… If the reason for which we prayed was noble (such as intercession for the health of a sick person, or for the end of a war, for instance), the non-fulfilment seems scandalous. For example, for wars: we are praying for wars to end, these wars in so many parts of the world. Think of Yemen, think of Syria, countries that have been at war for years, for years, ravaged by wars, and we pray, but they do not come to an end. But how can this be? “Some even stop praying because they think their petition is not heard” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2734). But if God is Father, why does He not listen to us? He who has assured us that He gives good things to the children who ask Him for them (cf. Mt 7: 10), why does He not respond to our requests? We all have experience of this: we have prayed, prayed, for the illness of a friend, of a father, of a mother, and so it went. But God did not grant our request! It is an experience we have all had.".

The Catechism, he continued, warns of the risk of a prayer "that demands". But “we ask for our needs, but is this convenient? When we pray we must be humble, so that our words are actually prayers and not a nonsense that God rejects ”.

“We can also pray for the wrong reasons: such as, to defeat the enemy in war, without asking ourselves what God thinks of such a war. It is easy to write “God is with us” on a banner; many are keen to ensure that God is with them, but few bother to check whether they are actually with God. In prayer, it is God Who must convert us, not we who must convert God.”

“However, the scandal remains: when people pray with a sincere heart, when they ask for things that correspond to the Kingdom of God, when a mother prays for her sick child, why does it sometimes seem that God does not listen to them? To answer this question, we need to meditate calmly on the Gospels. The accounts of Jesus’ life are full of prayers: many people wounded in body and in spirit ask Him to be healed; there are those who pray for a friend who can no longer walk; there are fathers and mothers who bring sick sons and daughters… They are all prayers imbued with suffering. It is an immense choir that invokes: “Have mercy on us!”'. We see that sometimes Jesus' response is immediate, while in some other cases it is deferred over time. It seems that God does not answer”.

Even the prayer that Jesus addresses to the Father in Gethsemane also seems to go unheard. “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me”. It seems that the Father does not listen to Him. The Son must drink fully from the chalice of the passion. But Holy Saturday is not the final chapter, because on the third day, Sunday, is the Resurrection. Evil is lord of the penultimate day: remember this well. Evil is never the lord of the last day, no: the penultimate, the moment when the night is darkest, just before the dawn. Then, on the penultimate day, there is temptation, when the devil makes us think he has won: “Have you seen? I have won!”. The evil one is the lord of the penultimate day: on the last is the Resurrection. But the evil one is never lord of the last day: God is the Lord of the last day. Because that belongs to God alone, and it is the day when all human longings for salvation will be fulfilled. Let us learn this humble patience, to await the Lord’s grace, to await the final day. Very often, the penultimate is very hard, because human sufferings are hard. But the Lord is there. And on the last day, He solves everything.it is the day when all human yearnings for salvation will be fulfilled. We learn to wait ".