Is praying powerful or magical?

"Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; to him who knocks, it will be opened." In Matthew's gospel, chapter 7, Jesus himself invites us to dare to ask, to dare to turn to God with our needs and desires. He reminds us the power of prayer, who can work miracles. If God isn't the good genie in the lamp who makes all our wishes come true, or who quickly grants a wish, he is a loving father who can refuse nothing to his children who pray to him with confidence. Discover how to entrust God with your deepest desire, and how to be sure that God receives your prayer.

How do you pray for something to come true?

3 tips for more effective prayer

1 - Pray in faith and trust in God.
"Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”  (Matthew 21:21-22).

It's not a question of magic formulas or incantations that automatically bring about what we desire. It's about faith in a God who loves us.

Before praying, question your trust in God:

- Do I believe that God is all-powerful?

- Do I believe that God loves me and wants me to be happy?

If you find it difficult to answer yes to any of these questions, you can start by asking God to help you grow in your faith. He won't refuse you.

2 - Pray invoking Jesus Christ
God refuses nothing to his beloved Son, Jesus. Jesus is our mediator, our advocate, our support. "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus," (1 Timothy 2:5).

 Praying to God through his Son Jesus is the best way to ensure that our prayers are heard and answered. Jesus himself assures us: "And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son." (John 14:13).

3 - Perseverance

The problem is often that we want things right away, without waiting. But God's time is not our time. God takes the long view. He doesn't just want what's good for us right now, but lasting happiness and joy. One of the Desert Fathers, Evagrius Ponticus, said: "Don't be distressed if you don't immediately receive from God what you ask for; it's because he wants to do you even more good by your perseverance in abiding with him in prayer."
If things take a long time to happen, let's not be discouraged, and let's remain confident in God, who is always faithful to his promises. One way of remaining persevering in prayer is to recite a novena (the prayer suggested below also exists in the form of a novena).

Irresistible prayer

Here's a prayer written by Padre Pio, a great saint of the 20th century, to whom we owe many miracles, and which is based on the three promises of Jesus. This prayer is called the irresistable prayer and is divided into three parts to be recited one after the other.

First promise:
"O Jesus, you who said, "Truly, I say to you, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you!" behold, I knock, I seek and I ask for grace... (formulate your request simply and clearly in your own words)"

Recite: A Our Father, a Hail Mary, a Glory be to the Father

Then finish with: "Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust and hope in you."

Second promise:
"O Jesus, who said, "Truly, I say to you, whatever you ask my Father in my Name, he will give it to you! "in your name I ask for grace... (formulate your request in the same way as the first time)".

Recite: A Our Father, a Hail Mary

Then finish with: "Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust and hope in you. "

Third promise:
"O Jesus, who said: 'Truly, I say to you, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not! "Here I am, relying on the infallibility of your holy words, asking for grace... (formulate your request in the same way as the first two times)".

Recite: a Our Father, a Hail Mary, a Glory be to the Father.

Then finish with: "Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust and hope in you."

Which psalm can we read to see our deepest desires fulfilled?

 Psalm 36 (37) invites us to align our desires with God's, and thus have the certainty that our prayers will be answered.

"Trust in the Lord, act well, dwell on earth and remain faithful;
put your joy in the Lord: he will fulfill the desires of your heart.
Direct your path to the Lord, trust in him, and he will act.
 He will raise up your righteousness like the day, and your justice like high noon.
Rest in the Lord and rely on him."

Find the full text of Psalm 36 (37) here.

Wishes we don't always know how to make

Sometimes it's hard to know what to pray for and what not to pray for. It's important to know that we can entrust EVERYTHING to God in our prayers. He knows the secrets of our hearts, and we don't have to be afraid or ashamed of presenting him with what's on our minds. However, what we ask for in our prayers must be in line with God's will; in this case, all miracles are possible. If sometimes we feel that what we wish to ask for ourselves or for someone close to us is not inspired by love or mercy, but rather by anger, resentment, fear... let's let the Holy Spirit guide us to adjust our prayer.

We can invoke the Holy Spirit to help us better identify our true need or desire and discern the graces we can ask for.
For example:

• After an offense, we may want justice to be done. Here are some tips on how to ask for justice and reparation in our prayers, without feeding a desire for revenge, and how to discerning where evil really comes from, for restoring your relationship in the face of infidelityof a spouse, ...
• When we're waiting for an answer, we can be so impatient that we want to hasten decisions. Here are some tips for entrusting this waiting and our hopes to prayer. There are also prayers to entrust difficult situations to God.

Beware of "magic" prayers

Of course, it's tempting to find prayers whose effects are immediate, certain and within our control. A true prayer is one that allows us to surrender ourselves into the arms of God, who we know always works for our good, but whose ways we recognize are inscrutable.

Beware, then, of certain "false prayers" that have more to do with magical ritual than with humbly asking God for help. They can create psychic strangleholds, denying the fundamental freedom of each person and preventing us from receiving the true graces of consolation, peace and joy. This can be the case, for example, with certain prayers to ask for a former partner to return to you. True prayer is that which restores our freedom and respects that of others: there are also prayers for deliverance from psychic or spiritual influences.

With Hozana, dare to ask for a miracle!

Register for free on Hozana or download the free app and discover a wide range of online novenas to help you pray. Among the many available are :
- this novena to Padre Pio,
- a novena to Saint Rita, patron saint of hopeless causes,
- a novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, to ask for a miracle from the one who distributes so many graces!