prayer, part two

"I have a few very important things to tell you all now. First of all, I do not want any of you to feel your prayers have not been answered. God is always faithful, and He always gives us what is best for us...Do not despair! Please keep praying, about everything in your lives! God loves us so much...And your prayers have worked miracles..."

I suppose I needed to hear these words on prayer today. They kept coming to mind these last few days, and this morning I looked them up to verify that they did indeed contain the message I thought they did. Yep, there they were, plain as day, black and white, staring up at me from the pages of a very important book. Arguably the most important book in my life. Why? I wrote it.

The words on prayer are taken from an email I sent to those who were interceding on behalf of my daughter. When it became clear that she would not live much longer, I didn't want them to lose faith -- faith in the power of prayer.

The conversation about prayer has continued around here, and I find myself reevaluating some of what I said. It is indeed true that our prayers have purpose, and although I still contend that God doesn't always answer our requests as we'd like, He does say something: sometimes the answer is "Yes! Your request will fulfill my Holy Will." Sometimes it's "Yes, my child, but not just yet." And often the answer we hear may disappoint us, but it's the one we truly need: "No, my dear one. I have something better in mind."

I came across this video from Catholic Media House on 4marks, the Catholic networking site, and thought it shared some things about prayer that I've been trying to express. I hope you'll take the time to view it and tell me what you think.