Prayers Our Heavenly Father Delights In Answering

A few Christmases back I had a remarkable experience. My daughter – the rock-climbing, mountain biking, hiking, camping, SCUBA-diving, skydiver – asked for a basic set of tools so she could work on her bikes, her car, and her equipment.

I cannot recall ever being so pleased at the prospect of shopping for a Christmas gift. I’ve bought her books, music, clothing, and toys of one sort or another, over the years, and at least one basket of “I enjoy being a girl” lotions and such.  And I have enjoyed the seeking out and giving of things she might like.

But the tool request was, in an odd way, a gift to me as well, because I love tools. I love fixing things and tinkering. Over the last 30 years I’ve amassed a nice collection of tools, and I know which have been the most useful and versatile, what has worked and what has not.

It was exciting, getting her set up with a good basic set of tools and hardware. I shopped around a lot, thinking about different combinations and what gaps I might need to fill.  I looked for toolboxes and carry bags, admiring the design of this set of pliers and that ratcheting screwdriver.

Maybe the only thing that might match it for shopping pleasure would be buying an electric train set for a grandchild – not that I’m in a hurry to have one! How lucky I would be to have someone to buy a gift for that I would have loved receiving myself!  The shared desire of wanting such a gift and the joy in receiving it must be wonderful.

Some thoughts on prayer

If I, a weak and earthly father can have such joy in filling a request from my child, how much more might our Father in heaven delight in sharing our desires and fulfilling them?

When I bought tools for my daughter it was a chance to buy the tools themselves, something I like doing. But with God there is no taint of self-indulgence, even as small and benign as mine may have been.

I got my daughter a solid set of high-quality tools, giving her in one swoop what took me 5 to 8 years to accumulate from the time I was her age, buying what I needed for each chore and waiting on the rest until needs and affordability coincided. I was able to give to her in abundance, and did so with great pleasure and satisfaction. Her delight on receipt was the cherry on top of the sundae.

I am convinced that there are prayers which God our Father longs to answer for us with the same enthusiasm and abundance I had in answering my daughter’s request. But I think we do not pray such prayers as often as He would like, or as much as we need or ought.

What Prayers Might God Delight In?

We know the five basic prayers: Adoration; Thanksgiving/Gratitude; Praise; Intercession; Petition. We know of formal, written prayers; vocal prayer; meditative prayer; the three Ignatian approaches to prayer (including lectio divina); and contemplative prayer.  And of course any search engine can overwhelm us with links to lessons and articles and resources of prayer.  But I do not think the how is likely to bring as much delight as what we pray.

One of the things that made my delight in filling my daughter’s Christmas wish so complete was knowing that this was a gift that would serve her well, not just at the moment but for years to come. Her request was for me to help her become better equipped for her life to come. How can a father not delight in that?

Our life in Christ also requires us to be well equipped with the full armor of God, as described by St. Paul in Ephesians 6:11-17.  It also requires that we be well nourished by regular attendance at Mass, a healthy prayer life, and some form of continuing study, be it Sunday classes, scripture reading, small groups, or other programs available both inside and outside our home parish.  Praying for ourselves and others to be properly equipped is yet another way to achieve life in Christ.

I don’t think that this has to be a mystery. If our prayers involve loving God and our neighbors, and we are open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit while we pray, then I think our prayers can delight the Father.

Maybe we do not want to pray that way

But, let’s face it, too often we might prefer to pray to suit ourselves and not delight the Father.

We may have to push ourselves to pray for those things that we’d rather not bring up with God (remember St. Augustine in Chapter 8 of his Confessions, asking God to make him chaste…but not yet).  There may be things we find upsetting, or about which we are fearful – suppose God rejects our prayer emphatically, or gives us an answer we do not want to hear?

Our prayer life is like the rest of our life: if it is not properly tended it can wither, become weak and stagnant. We have to work on it in every way, from balancing our petitions and intercessions with our praise and adoration to opening our hearts and minds to pray for things that are difficult for us to pray for—our enemies, for one.

Many people find gratitude fading when they begin to pray, leaving their prayers of Thanksgiving a small part of their prayer life.

I have heard it said that “prayer is work” in the context that praying was the same as working. Maybe so; maybe not. But I can say for sure that praying seriously and consistently and with the aim of pleasing God with our prayers requires effort, thought, and preparation of the heart…which sounds like work to me.

Thy Will Be Done

Jesus presented us with examples of prayer, especially the Lord’s Prayer. The three great petitions are

• Hallowed be thy name
• Thy kingdom come
• Thy will be done

All on earth as they are in heaven.

We tend to imagine these petitions being answered in reverse order, in part because humanity seems to have great confidence that we know God’s will and great enthusiasm for making sure it gets done—especially by other people.

But I think Jesus gave us those petitions in that order for a reason.  If we can truly hallow His name in our hearts and in our lives, then His kingdom should follow from that, at which time His will be truly be done. I think perhaps that allowing God to change our hearts to fully hallow Him is so much harder – and more frightening – than going about and doing what we see as His will, and trying to help (or force) others to do so too.

Just imagine our Father in heaven being as pleased with our prayers as I was with my daughter’s petition for tools. Imagine the abundance and joy with which He would answer such prayers.  I would dare to suggest that prayers uttered or thought or felt when we are genuinely hallowing God in our hearts and lives are the beginning of the path to producing those kinds of prayers.

A New Prayer

Lord, enter our prayers, and guide us into praying not what we imagine we want or need, but for those things you will delight in giving us and the world. Give us the trust to pray for your will to really be done here on earth, and in our lives, the way your will rules in heaven and in the life to come. Grant us the gift of asking you for what you most want to give, that our joy may be completed through your love and mercy and abundance.