am i praying right?
"On that day you will ask in My name." —John 16:26
Jesus promised: "I give you My assurance, whatever you ask the Father, He will give you in My name" (Jn 16:23). Jesus said: "I give you My word, if you are ready to believe that you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer, it shall be done for you" (Mk 11:24). He also promised: "I solemnly assure you, the man who has faith in Me will do the works I do, and greater far than these. Why? Because I go to the Father, and whatever you ask in My name I will do" (Jn 14:12-13). Jesus commands: "Ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be full" (Jn 16:24).
Do you get the impression we don't know how to pray as we ought, that our prayers are merely a shadow of what they could be? If we are to pray as the Lord means for us to pray, we need to pray in the Spirit (see Jude 20). The Spirit "helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought" (Rm 8:26). Until "the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us" (Rm 8:26), we aren't praying by God's standards and much of the Biblical teaching on prayer seems farfetched.
On this second day of the novena to the Holy Spirit, let's pray for the Holy Spirit to help us in the weakness of our prayers. Then we will have a new Pentecost.
Prayer: Father, in this next eight days, may we together devote ourselves to constant prayer (Acts 1:14).
Promise: "When Priscilla and Aquila heard [Apollos], they took him home and explained to him God's new way in greater detail." —Acts 18:26
Praise: Valerie spends an afternoon each week visiting a homebound neighbor. Her love has restored her neighbor's faith in God.
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our booklet, Praying for a New Pentecost, or on audio AV 92A-1, AV 92A-3, AV 92B-1 or our two video series starting with V-92A. We also offer a leaflet, The Pentecost Novena, or on audio AV 103-1 or video V-103.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, October 31, 2011
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