CONSIDERATION XXX
Of Prayer
"Ask, and it shall be given you; .... for every one that asketh receiveth." S. Luke xi. 9, 10.
First Point.
NOT only in this, but in many other places in the Old and New Testaments, God promises to hear those who pray to Him. " Then call thou, and I will answer." (Job xiii. 22.) " He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him." (Ps. xci. 15.) Call upon Me, and I will deliver thee from danger. " If ye shall ask anything in My Name, I will do it." (S. John xiv. 14.) Whatsoever shall be asked through My merits I will grant. " Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." (S. John xv. 7.) Seek what you will, it is enough that you seek, and it shall be granted to you. And so in many other passages. Therefore Theodoret says, that "Prayer, although it is one thing, can obtain all things." S. Bernard says, that when we pray He "will give us either what we desire, or what He knows to be more profitable for us." Therefore, the prophet encourages us to pray, assuring us that God is all compassion towards those who call upon Him for help. "For Thou, Lord, art good and gracious, and of great mercy unto all them that call upon Thee." (Ps. lxxxvi. 5.) And still more does S. James encourage us, by saying, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, Who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not." (S. James i. 5.) This same
