This means not that God changes his mind when we pray-that he’ll give me the lotto bucks that he otherwise has not planned to provide-but instead that we are changed: our thoughts and desires are conformed to his, and, with that, our lives become more manifestative of his saving power, which is communicated principally through grace, not cash. Each of us-and every iota of creation-is a product of a single, grand, creative act of the divine mind, and prayer, as it were, causes both the pray-er and the one prayed for to be drawn up cooperatively into the cosmic unfolding of the Lord’s providential plan. To pray is to give our thoughts and desires over to the One whose thought actually causes what it conceives, for what God thinks, is. Yes, they are a type of thought, but even more, prayers are acts of worship that extend up and out from themselves by the very fact that they are motivated by and terminate in the grace of the living God, who is more present to us than we to ourselves. Prayers, on the other hand, always effect change, and this is because prayers are no mere artifacts of the mind. And so, right along with my lotto-winning imaginings, the well-wisher’s assurance to keep another “in his thoughts,” hoping they somehow induce “good vibes” or the forces of karma, falls limp. Since we don’t live in the telekinetic world of Stranger Things, human thoughts by themselves are unable to produce what they conceive: no matter how hard I try, my thinking about winning the lottery cannot by itself cause me to have the ticket that rakes in the Mega Millions. Recently, I’ve heard a number of people-from college friends and acquaintances to television commentators-express condolences to others with the words, “I’ll keep you in my thoughts.” It’s a well-intended sentiment, to be sure, but it also pitifully cries out for more. Get the Ultimate Introduction to Philosophy “Ask Bishop Barron” on the WOF Show Podcast.WOF 377: How to Live with Joy w/ Chris Stefanick.Mixity: How Qoheleth Contextualizes Suffering.
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