Asking God for Help!

I feel that many people ask God for help every day.  To what extent people actually pray, I have no idea.  I am a little concerned when people decorate their MySpace or Facebook profiles with quotes of the bible, Christian catchphrases, or even worse: self-promotion God is my rock, so don't mess with me statements.  While these are obvious examples of things people should not be asking or doing for or with God, I feel as though there is another wrong.

When all people are injured or become ill, some find comfort in asking God for help.  The request they pray for is often in a change in the physical status: higher white cell count, for their pain to disappear, for their body not to ache.  While it may seem blasphemous to condemn these people, I feel that these are just as inappropriate demands to make of God.  God does not alter the physical status of his divine plan for anyone: whether it is a miraculous recovery or whether it is having your team win the super bowl.  God does not need to alter His divine plan because he created it.  That is not to say that God is not a functioning being or that he isn't passive in our lives.  It merely directs us to communicate two forms of praise and prayer.

The first form of praise we can offer God is our thanks.  God already has all of our lives understood.  He does not need to be told about the troubles that we are facing because he inherently understands us.  TO grow closer to God we must acknowledge and be thankful for the things that have been laid out before us.  This is to say that even when we are disappointed by God's divine plan, we are still acknowledge that he is supreme and that he desires that we experience His Love in that manner.

The other utility of prayer is to seek to grow closer to God and His understanding of Love.  Through this we must only ask for the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  With these gifts we need nothing else.  With these gifts we are made complete.  With these gifts we can bring God and His plan into our lives.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_gifts_of_the_Holy_Spirit):

Here are the names of the seven gifts, as given^[2] in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, along with a description of each gift, as defined^[3] by St. Thomas Aquinas in the Summa Theologica:

• Wisdom: With the gift of wisdom, we see God at work in our lives and in the world. For the wise person, the wonders of nature, historical events, and the ups and downs of our lives take on deeper meaning. The matters of judgment about the truth, and being able to see the whole image of God. We see God as our Father and other people with dignity. Lastly being able to see God in everyone and everything everywhere.

• Understanding: With the gift of understanding, we comprehend how we need to live as a follower of Jesus Christ. A person with understanding is not confused by all the conflicting messages in our culture about the right way to live. The gift of understanding perfects a person's speculative reason in the apprehension of truth. It is the gift whereby self-evident principles are known, Aquinas writes.^[4]

• Counsel (Right Judgment): With the gift of counsel/right judgment, we know the difference between right and wrong, and we choose to do what is right. A person with right judgment avoids sin and lives out the values taught by Jesus. The gift of truth that allows the person to respond prudently, and happily to believe our Christ the Lord

• Fortitude (Courage): With the gift of fortitude/courage, we overcome our fear and are willing to take risks as a follower of Jesus Christ. A person with courage is willing to stand up for what is right in the sight of God, even if it means accepting rejection, verbal abuse, or even physical harm and death. The gift of courage allows people the firmness of mind that is required both in doing good and in enduring evil, especially with regard to goods or evils that are difficult, just like Joan of Arc did.

• Knowledge: With the gift of knowledge, we understand the meaning of God. The gift of knowledge is more than an accumulation of facts.

• Piety (Reverence): With the gift of reverence, sometimes called piety, we have a deep sense of respect for God and the church. A person with reverence recognizes our total reliance on God and comes before God with humility, trust, and love. Piety is the gift whereby, at the Holy Spirit's instigation, we pay worship and duty to God as our Father, Aquinas writes.

• Fear the Lord (Wonder and Awe): With the gift of fear of the Lord we are aware of the glory and majesty of God. A person with wonder and awe knows that God is the perfection of all we desire: perfect knowledge, perfect goodness, perfect power, and perfect love. This gift is described by Aquinas as a fear of separating oneself from God. He describes the gift as a "filial fear," like a child's fear of offending his father, rather than a "servile fear," that is, a fear of punishment. Also known as knowing God is all powerful. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 1:7) because it puts our mindset in its correct location with respect to God: we are the finite, dependent creatures, and He is the infinite, all-powerful Creator.

Prayer and Praise of God should be restricted to the two needs we have from God.  One is the need to praise Him for His divine plan and to thank Him for all of the things he has bestowed upon us.  Second, we must ask for the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  We need ask God for nothing else because he is all-powerful, all-mighty, all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-loving.