Persistence in Prayer

If God seems at times to be slow in responding, it is because He is preparing a better gift. he will not deny us. We well know that the long-awaited gift is all the more precious for the delay in its being granted ... Ask, seek, insist. Through this asking and seeking you will be better prepared to receive God's gift when it comes. God withholds what you are not yet ready for. He wants you to have a lively desire for his greatest gifts. All of which is to say, pray always and do not lose heart.

St. Augustine, Sermon 61, 6-7
In Conversation with God,
Vol. Five: Ordinary Time, Weeks 24-34

I think what is difficult to remember from all this, in addition to our innate impatience, is that oftentimes what God is preparing is our own hearts so that what we want is in tune with what He wants. Which definitely makes it worth the wait.

Tags: Catholicism, Christianity