We all have great desires. This is a part of our human experience. Think back when you were a child. What sort of things did you desire in your childhood? Maybe it was a new bike, or a special doll? What about now? What are you desiring right now?
Our desires teach us about our longing for something greater than this world. Whether we see it or not, we are all desiring heaven.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, "The desire for God is written in the human heart" (CCC 27).
Our ultimate desire is to be in heaven with God forever! All of our desires in this world reflect that beautiful desire for heaven.
As we know, sometimes we do not always receive the desires we have in this world. I know in my own life, there have been times where I have prayed for things and God has not given what I had asked for and I am a Spouse of Christ! I find myself praying, "Lord, you said, 'Ask and it will be given you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened' (Matthew 7:7). I am asking and nothing seems to be happening. Do you hear me Lord? Do you see me? Are not my desires important to you? Do you not see my broken heart about this?"
What do we do when we catch ourselves praying in this way? A few thoughts may help:
1) Remind yourself who God is. God is love. He can only want what is good for us. He understands our desires. He does see our suffering. He sees our longings. But remember, God alone can see the big picture of things. We only see a little portion of what God sees. If it is hard to believe these truths, turn to Sacred Scripture which speaks the truth of who God is. St. John in his letter says, "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins" (1 John 4:9-10).
2) Remind yourself of who you are. You are created, redeemed and loved. You are a creature, NOT the Creator. God knows you more than you know yourself. He knows what you need. How do I know God sees me? Because He became one of us. Jesus the Son of God took on a human nature so that He could enter into those places of joy, happiness, fear, suffering, and pain. Because we are the creation and NOT the Creator, do we trust God enough to ask Him what He wants for us? Do we trust God's love enough to know that our true good, our hope, our peace, our joy comes only when I am willing to offer my desires in prayer and then let God be God in my life by praying that humble prayer that Jesus taught us to pray: "Not my will but your will be done" (Luke 22:42).
When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He simply asked that the will of the Father be done. This can oftentimes be one of the most painful prayers that we can ever pray, yet it can be a great prayer of freedom. The more we pray in this way, the more God's desires become our desires.
3) NEVER stop praying! Sometimes God is looking for us to persevere in our prayer and wants us to wait on Him. He wants us to keep coming to Him. Through time of continuous prayer, you may actually notice your prayer becoming transformed in such a way that you begin to trust God more with the desires of your heart. St. Teresa of Avila says, “Leave it all to God and leave your interests in His hands. He knows what is fitting for us…” Your prayer may come from a place of anxious demands on God to a place of humble trust in His providential care for you.
To pray that God's will be done in our life does not mean that we are giving up hope on our own desires. Quite the contrary! By saying, "Thy will be done" we are saying, 'Lord if what I am asking is not what I need, and if it is not your will, I trust that you have a much more beautiful plan that I can possibly imagine. Even though I cannot see it right now, I know you can only will the most loving thing for me, and I surrender completely to that truth.'
When we can pray with the heart, "Lord, thy will be done," then we know that we are on a great path to sanctity.
