In his Diary of a Country Priest, Georges Bernanos puts these words on the tongue of the main character, a young, humble, prayerful good priest: “When has any man of prayer told us that prayer has failed him?” You pray, I pray! May we say that our prayer has never failed us, that is, that it is always fruitful?

St Cyprian speaks of fruitful and fruitless prayers: “Prayer with no good works is not effective. Prayer is good with fasting and almsgiving. For he who on the day of the last judgment will reward good works and almsgiving, today also listens favorably to prayers which come from good deeds.” Through life, including old age, prayer is fruitful. “In old age, they will still bear fruit” (Ps 92:15).

With God’s grace, our prayer of a petition becomes fruitful: “If you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you… Ask and you will receive” (Jn 16:23-24 and 14:14; Mt 7:7). Jesus did not say:  maybe you will receive, but you will receive what you asked for. The promise of Jesus refers primarily to the “giving of the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (Lk 11:13), the granting of good things “to those who ask him: (Mt 7:11)). “If we ask him anything according to his will, he hears us” (I Jn 5:14); “And we receive from him whatever we ask because we obey his commandments and do what pleases him” (1 Jn 3:22).  

Our faith tells us that God answers our prayers always. But it seems that sometimes – or many –, He does not. How come? Well, He will but maybe later. So? Persevere in prayer (Lk 18:1-8). Besides, we know that his answers may not be our answers, as his ways are not our ways (Is 55:8).

The three basic fruits or effects of a humble prayer are an increase of grace, an answer to our petitions, and “the sweet enjoyment of God.” St. Thomas Aquinas points out that the benefits of prayer are: the remedy of evils, attainment of what we desire, and establishment of friendship with God. He adds that to obtain these benefits certain conditions are required, namely: confidence, rectitude, order, devoutness, and humility (The Aquinas Catechism).

True prayer is humble prayer. Prayer is grounded – like all virtues, particularly the theological virtues - on humility, which is a fundamental Christian virtue because we are wounded, weak, and needy persons and we know well that without God’s grace and love we can do nothing.    

Humble prayer necessarily leads to a growing rejection of sin. The fruit of prayer is our firm resolve to say, “One cannot sit the contraries God and sin, at the same table” (St. Teresa of Avila). Moreover, prayer is especially helpful against temptation: “Watch and pray” (Mk 14:38).

Devout prayer helps us acquire and strengthen human and infused virtues. Prayer is the mother of all virtues (St. Catherine of Siena). It helps us in the practice and defense of basic human values such as life, truth, freedom, justice, and compassion. Prayer permeates the theological virtues and aids them to grow in our hearts.

Meek prayer strengthens our faith in God. St. John Mary Vianney: “I often think that when we come to adore the Lord, we would receive anything we ask for if we would ask with living faith and with a pure heart.” Christian Prayer is deeply connected with hope: it is an expression of hope, active hope. “Prayer is hope in action” (Benedict XVI).

Humble, faithful, and hopeful prayer increases our love, which is the virtue of virtues. Good prayer - St. Teresa underlines - is always a source to love God and neighbor. Furthermore, the practice of love engenders love. A well-known text of St. John of the Cross puts it well: “Put love where there is none, and you will reap love”. True prayer is necessarily linked to compassion, which is an effect of love as charity. Genuine prayer entails the practice of fraternal love: love of all neighbors, including the love of enemies, and primarily love of the poor and the sick. St. Vincent de Paul says that “looking after the sick is praying.”

Faithful, hopeful, and Loving prayer is the source of courage to carry our cross patiently and joyfully. Indeed, and as we observe in the saints, prayer with love makes our cross bearable and even joyful: good, humble prayer helps the believer carry out the responsibilities of his/her vocation with joy.  Undoubtedly, loving prayer helps us be faithful to our personal vocation.

Humble prayer, rooted in grace and lived in theological virtues, inclines us firmly to doing good work. Prayer must not replace work, but animate, purify, and improve our work, our professional work - also our leisure time. If we are prayerful, our work becomes a prayer. Work needs the breathing of prayer to become a prayer, and certainly, prayer time is never wasted time. Pope Francis tells us (EG): “Pray and work…”; “prayer, interior space, prolonged moments of adoration, a prayerful encounter with the word, sincere conversation with the Lord” – all are needed so that “our words do not become meaningless.” Our work is our participation in God’s creation. Good work is the mission of a true vocation as a passion of love. Prayer helps us love our work and the people we work with. K. Gibran says that those who work without loving their work should not work, but ask for alms at the entrance of the temple (The Prophet).

How is our prayer? Is it fruitful? Jesus said: “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit … Thus, you will know them by their fruits” (Mt 7:18, 20). Prayer - always with God’s grace and love - can change our life for the better. Prayer then leads us to ascend goodness, love, and happiness: “The good person brings good things out of a good treasure” (Mt 12:35).

Initial question: “When has any man of prayer told us that prayer has failed him?” Concluding answer: Never! (FGB)

-Fr. Fausto Gomez