This question becomes more difficult if we know the fact that before we even utter our prayers, especially our petitions, He already knows it. So what is prayer for? Why bother kneeling down before Him and ask Him for something He will freely give anyway?
At present, in almost all churches that are celebrating the novena for the feast of the Sacred Heart, the latest encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi, is the focal point for reflection. In that encyclical, he dealt extensively with Christian hope. In relating the theme of hope to prayer, Pope Benedict referred to St. Augustine who said that prayer is an exercise of desire. Prayer is a way of God in order for us to aspire for more opening and enlarging our hearts through prayer. As human beings, we have limited capacities. If we are just confronted with things we are capable of having, we do not need to Go to God on bended knees. However, we know that there are things which we can not acquire on our own such that we turn to God for assistance. The act of trusting God for obtaining things we admit we can not have by ourselves is an expression of hope. Hope is admitting our limitations and believing in God's capacity to grant them according to His Holy Will. In this sense, hope is faith. Unless we have faith in God, then, prayer is useless and meaningless. Because we fully believe in God, we have the courage t humble ourselves and completely rely on His generosity. While we don't know what will be given to us, we know that something will be given. That is what makes it hope. Ang galing 'no?
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