"You ask, and you do not receive, because you ask badly, in order to satisfy your passions" (James 4: 3).

I suppose you sometimes said to your young children, who were asking for something : "I do not hear", not because you were deaf but because they were not asking. It missed the magic words : "Please" or "thank you".

In this verse, James tells us that it may also happen to us to ask badly. Not only because we would not use formulas of politeness, but because we would not ask with good motivations.

A Christian, desirous of seeing the pagans of distant lands saved, began to pray for their salvation in these words : "Lord, save the Gentiles."

After a while, he realized that he was asking God to do so, without believers getting involved. Then he changed the content of his request and prayed saying : "Lord send missionaries, that they may evangelize the Gentiles, and that they be converted."

Thereafter, he continued to pray, but feeling himself responsible. He began to say : "Lord, if you do not have anyone ready to go, then I am available to go."

In persevering in prayer, he again changed his request, saying : "Lord, you know that I sincerely desire that the Gentiles be saved, if I am not the one you want to evangelize, please, Into another ".

Finally, he prayed, "Lord, send whom you will send, and if someone is called but does not have the financial resources to leave, I want to take part in his support, without my name being on the list of Donors, the only thing I want is for the pagans to know you."

We observe how the form and spirit of prayer have evolved in this man. What happened ? He realized that he was asking badly. First he asked God to do, when God told us : "Go." Then he realized he was asking others to do, but not him. When he noticed it, he got involved himself, but with a slight feeling of being the man of the situation. Finally he forgets himself totally, while being involved, and modesty, love, self-giving, are the motivations that underlie his prayer.

My prayer on this day :

Teach me Lord to pray according to your will, with feelings and motives that honor you. Amen !

Paul Calzada