Prayer, Faith, and Doubt. Can They Coexist?

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We are praying a lot these days, and many are wondering if our prayers are heard. The wars and atrocities in Ukraine, Israel, Palestine and some of the countries of Africa, have us confused and leave us feeling depressed that so many human beings are suffering under the vicious and savage encroachments of corrupt titans and their need for power and greed.

More on the micro level, we are praying for people we love like those ill in our families or among our friends. We are praying for people we don’t know like the homeless or those struggling to survive in our cities and neighborhoods.

In short, we have a full plate of prayer intentions that we gather into petitions at our liturgies and even in our private prayer hours. But deep inside we wonder. Don’t we? We wonder: does God really hear our prayer?

Let’s clear away some thoughts that nag us as we wonder about our prayer. First, wondering is fine. A famous philosopher once said, “Faith without doubt is not faith.” This quote has stuck with me throughout the years when I doubted the goodness and effect of faith in circumstances I encountered. Once, a young mother sat cradling her deceased child and could not hand it over to the funeral director for the next step in the finality of its existence. 

Why did God take this child? Why will this mother never be the same? Watching two of my siblings pass into eternity and realizing they were so much younger than I and that I loved them so much and depended on them, I was caught in the web of questioning why them? Why not me? You can think of examples in your own life that have left you in a desert of belief and mystery while asking is prayer real and does it ‘work.’ Does God really hear me? Doubt is like a nagging little sister bothering one’s faith, making one distrust the workings of God’s will persistently challenging what has happened even as you prayed, gave it your all, only to be disappointed.

The Carmelite scholar, Sister Constance Fitzgerald has a clear and understandable explanation of what happens when we pray for the intention of something. In her book, Desire, Darkness and Hope, she suggests that in the prayer of intention—the prayer for the good of something or someone—there are two realities in play. First, by praying for someone or something, we are accompanying this intention. We are joining it personally. We are with the person; we are with the people suffering. This connects us to God’s will for a world reaching toward a perfect existence: the reign of God, the kingdom to come as asked for the in the Our Father. This accompaniment is all that matters. When it exists, the reign of God begins to grow, to take place. We may not see immediate peace or an immediate cure but the selfless accompaniment we offer will help create the world God wants because it will lean into eternity; it will do this because we have prayed for peace or the good health of people suffering. Accompaniment is the prayer of intention. We accompany those for whom we pray.

Fitzgerald then sees a second reality she calls, reconstruction. This perception says it is not enough to pray or say words for an intention, or even to accompany, but one must follow the accompaniment, the prayer of intention, with action—some kind of action that will be a positive result of the prayer ofaccompaniment. Let’s say you are accompanying a family with prayer for their dying loved one. During the dying and afterward, you can be there—cooking meals, helping with doctor appointments, offering to babysit the children, doing the many things a family needs when such a crisis occurs. The same reconstruction should be part of the political prayer you are making. When praying for the conflict in Israel and Palestine, organize a study group about the issue; organize a group for resettlement of Ukrainian refugees, or at least join one. We often see the answer to our prayer when we engage in this part of the prayer activity, the reconstruction of our accompaniment.

Gerhard Lohfink in his wonderful new book, Prayer Takes Us Home, indicates that all prayer is really about the “coming of the reign of God.” That’s truly what reconstruction is. Our pure, heartfelt prayers are swept into God’s immense love for us and made into something sometimes miraculous, sometimes mundane, sometimes not even seen or perceived by our humanness. But they are all answered!! 

Reflection

Never feel inadequate if you don’t believe God has not answered your prayer. Never feel that your faith is not strong enough. If you do, just ask for the grace to expand and deepen your belief. Several times in the gospels a person says to Jesus, “Help my unbelief.” Jesus always loved that response. You can say that too. Make your intention and go about helping it to be realized.

Maybe this week you can reflect on what you pray for most. Ask if you accompany those you pray for in your intentions and what can you do to reconstruct the solution to the need you pray for. Can you answer this question: Lord, my prayer is heartfelt. Please answer this petition. And please Lord, give me the insight or inspiration of what I can do to bring about your reign through this petition.

I hope all my readers and Anonymous Angels find consolation in prayer. At least I hope you find that while faith does not necessarily answer your questions or soothe your doubts, you know that by believing, you are helping the reign of God to grow in other hearts as well as your own.