Pray in my name and...

Last Sunday Jesus talked about prayer and persistence. Jesus also says in the Gospels that pray for anything in my name and it will be granted to you. Obviously this is not to be taken literally.
Prayers answered need to be in the will of God. The will of God in our lives will include a relationship with God that is continually being deepened and strengthened. A request in Jesus' name for millions of dollars will not be answered because most likely, that will harm our relationship with God. Having every desire we wish will not keep us on our knees but learning dependence and trust in the great things of creation and not the creator.

Another thing in the will of God is that all people be saved. Persistence in prayer is a theme of last Sunday's Gospel. Anyone can pray for something once or twice, and then perhaps that petition fades on us. The prayer goes seemingly unanswered and we think God does not care. Thank God that Monica never ceased praying for her son Augustine or we may never have had this doctor of the Church. Since God does not infringe on free will, God's timetable is just a bit different in answering prayers for people.

I wonder why God waited more than 20+ years to bring me to the priesthood. Obviously the way I was living, my free will said no and God respected that no. Thankfully people did not cease praying for me and twenty years later, I had a disposition that when asked, I was open to the possibility and said yes...free will and all. We all know people that are not in or have left the sheepfold. It is God's will they be saved. It will take much persistence in our prayer life and it will take time for God to break the hearts of stone and prepare them for a change in life and attitude. We make our prayer today for the hearts that have hardened to God...that through grace, God find a crack in the stone to pry open and be invited in.