prayer confusion QUESTION from Teresa October 5, 2001 How come people who are are praying to Jesus about the same situation, sincerely seeking truth and His will recieve different answers? Beautiful friendships are being destroyed and lot's of disunity in my parish because of this.
Peace, Teresa
ANSWER by John-Paul Ignatius, OLSM on October 10, 2001 Dear Mrs. Teresa:
The answer to your question is: because different people have different needs.
But the situation in your parish is NOT one of God. It has NOTHING to do with prayer. It has to do with free will and the Jezebell Spirit. God cannot force people to repent. He will not intrude upon free will.
But prayer is powerful. The final resolution to your situation may take years. Remember St. Monica prayed for her son St. Augustine for years and years, and it was only shortly before her death that Augustine repented and embraced the Church.
The key issue is perseverance.
In each of your postings you have tended to blame God for all this; blame him for not stopping it. You may not realize that this is what you are doing, but this is what you are doing. Have faith. Be not Afraid. God is with you and he knows these struggles. It may take years to resolve and many people may be hurt in the meantime. God cannot help that. He cannot force people at gunpoint to stop sinning and to stop playing the Jezebell. Free will is a hard thing to accept in situations like this, but you must keep your faith in God. Trust in Him.
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