Do you think that you’re not getting God’s attention by your prayers? We pray heart-felt prayers for intentions that we feel certain God should answer. We pour out our hearts day after day, yet we feel as though nobody is listening. Sometimes we wonder if God even cares. Well, consider the story of St. Monica. St. Monica had a son, Augustine, who by all accounts was a cad. He dishonored his parents by running around with scads of women and enjoyed all of life’s worldly pleasure in a very public way. The farthest thing from his mind was a relationship with the God of his mother’s liking. Of course, this was the very thing that his mother, Monica, prayed for most of all. Monica suffered as she watched her son drift farther and farther from the Truth, putting his soul in peril, but she continued to trust that God would answer her prayers for her son’s conversion. After 22 years her prayers were finally answered, and in a very powerful way! Augustine is not only a powerful saint of the Catholic Church, but he was even named one of the few Doctors of the Church for his incredible understanding and writings of our Faith.

This is what is called the “slingshot” effect of persistent prayer. If you expect your prayers to be heard and answered immediately, they may have the impotence of a slingshot, which has been pulled back only slightly, therefore, lending it very little power. You may get a temporary or partial answer to your prayer. On the contrary, if you pull your slingshot of prayer back so far with your constant and trust-filled prayer, you’ll see that your target will far surpass your immediate needs by God’s generous Love. So keep pestering God with your heart-felt prayers and never give up because He hears you, He loves you and is listening. He can be trusted to teach you to be an accomplished marksman!

Pray without ceasing. – 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Originally posted 2014-08-26 06:00:52.