The change in Peter was there for everyone to see. What God wanted for Peter was to enable him to become his true self by receiving and responding to the love that he experienced each day in prayer. He did not spend that time trying to get what he wanted out of God, but in helping God to get what He wanted out of him. No matter what he was doing or how busy he was in the day, he always gave quality space and time to God every evening. It was precisely because of his weakness that Peter turned to God in prayer. Paul that, “God’s power finds full scope in human weakness.” So if a person is totally oblivious of their weakness, they will not turn to the only One who can help them. A central scriptural theme that runs through the old and new testament is, in the words of St. It enabled him to discover the great secret of the spiritual life. At first, it made him frustrated and angry, but when he learned to accept his weakness it was his very weakness that enabled him to come close to God. He was mad on sports he loved rugby and cricket and athletics even though for the most part he had to be satisfied with watching others do what he would love to do himself. We are full of selfishness and don’t even know what is good for anyone, and that includes ourselves. He is full of selflessness and wants the best for everyone. There is something else too that prevents God from doing what we want of him. That is why we turn to the saints or innocent children or perhaps to a parishioner renowned for their sanctity. Deep down in our semi-conscious, we know this, and that is why we ask people whom we know are closer to God than we are to pray for us. Now if we are full of selfishness and sinfulness he simply cannot get in even if he wants to, because it is our egotism that barricades Him out. But when we pray to him for something for ourselves or for others, his grace always reaches out to answer our prayer through us. We hardly ever think about Him until something goes wrong and then we expect him to drop everything and come rushing to our aid, and we become angry and annoyed when He doesn’t. The trouble is we too often treat God as we treat the plumber. Who was it said that? “If you want to make a person miserable then give them everything they ask for.” It’s a cautionary tale for all who think that getting what you want will make you happy. She was frighteningly disfigured and in terrible pain so he used his third wish to wish her back in her grave again. When he wished her alive again it was to see her raised from her grave exactly as she was immediately after the accident. The money he wished for came from the insurance company with whom he had insured her life. The next day his wife was horribly mangled to death in a road accident. His first wish was that he would be given a fortune. Do you remember that awful horror story about the monkey’s paw? A man was told that if he held the paw in his hand he would be able to make three wishes and they would all be granted to him. We all begin by trying to manipulate God to get what we want out of him, and then get upset when we can’t, or blame Him for not caring for us as he should, or even doubting that He is there at all. It was the first time I had to face up to the problem of unanswered prayer, but it was not the last. I was so sure I would have been given something special on my First Communion day, and instead I nearly lost my faith. I remember my disappointment when I came out of Mass and saw my brother still hobbling about with his stick in his hand. I was sure he would answer my prayer, especially as I had given up the bicycle of my dreams. When the day came, the moment I got back to my place I closed my eyes, clasped my hands together and asked God to make Peter’s leg better. He had suffered a polio attack when he was six and had to wear an iron caliper and a built-up boot ever since. So I decided to pray for my brother Peter instead. When I told Miss Holt, our teacher what I was going to ask for she told me that God might not think it would be good for me, and he did try to give priority to little boys who were not selfish and asked for things for others. I began to prepare myself for the big day by visiting the local sports shop to gaze at the bicycle of my dreams that God was going to give me on the happiest day of my life. Naturally, that made all the difference, all the difference in the world. Then someone told me that God would grant any prayer, any request that you made of him if it was made while the sacred host was actually in your mouth and on your tongue - so long as you didn’t touch it with your teeth. I found it difficult to believe that it could be happier than Christmas day or bonfire night, or a day out at the fun fair, but I was prepared to keep an open mind. I was told that my First Holy Communion day would be the happiest day of my life.
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