Our prayers of petition begin with repentance, but then lead us deeper as we seek to understand God’s providence. We search for the presence and movement of God in our lives. We prayerfully await for the coming of His kingdom in our world today.
As the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us: “Christian petition is centered on the desire and search for the Kingdom to come, in keeping with the teaching of Christ.”
The Lord Jesus announced the coming of his kingdom. He lived a life that reflected the beauty, goodness, and power of his kingdom. And the Lord Jesus taught us to pray as he prayed, “Your Kingdom Come!” Yes, Lord Jesus, bring your kingdom here today. Let truth overtake lies, goodness triumph over evil, let justice vanquish darkness, mercy humble vengeance, and let love heal indifference and hatred. Yes, Lord Jesus, let your kingdom come.
This is the petition of the believer. It is the supplication of a heart that is being saved and redeemed by grace.
The desire and yearning for God’s kingdom is not a passive exercise. It is not an indulgence in futility. We pine for God’s kingdom and then we look for ways to become instruments of that kingdom in our fallen world.
The Catechism tells us: “There is a hierarchy in these petitions: we pray first for the Kingdom, then for what is necessary to welcome it and cooperate with its coming.”
We partner ourselves with the Lord Jesus and show a willing spirit to bring forth His kingdom in our world today. The Catechism continues: “This collaboration with the mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit, which is now that of the Church, is the object of the prayer of the apostolic community.”
The term “apostolic community” is an endearing reference to the early Church and their way of life. The early followers of the Lord’s Way sought to do everything in anticipation of the arrival of God’s kingdom. They prayed, served, and suffered for the kingdom. They yearned and pined for its arrival.
In a similar way, our prayer and our service should be marked by a certain joyful anticipation of God’s kingdom. When we give food to the hungry, or visit the imprisoned, we are serving as forerunners of the kingdom that will bring the fulfillment of truth, justice, love, and mercy.
The Catechism gives us an example: “It is the prayer of Paul, the apostle par excellence, which reveals to us how the divine solicitude for all the Churches ought to inspire Christian prayer.”
In citing Saint Paul, we are given as an example of the interaction between prayer and action, between petition and doing the works of God’s kingdom. As we care for others and seek to serve them, so we are inspired and led to deeper prayer.
The Catechism confirms this point with the very poignant statement: “By prayer every baptized person works for the coming of the Kingdom.”
We are not to only do works of charity. The works of God’s kingdom must flow from a heart dedicated and in communication with him. Our baptism does not make us philanthropists, or social workers, or societal reformers. By baptism, we are a people of prayer, which leads us to action, and then summons us back to prayer.
The Catechism continues: “When we share in God’s saving love, we understand that every need can become the object of petition.”
By prayer, we are led to selfless service and by serving others – in whatever fashion – we are brought back to petition. As believers, we know that we are not the sum total of the solution to the sufferings and brokenness of our times. We do our part. We do what we can as best we can. And then we turn to prayer, knowing that God’s providence is the definitive solution and the one that will make all things right and new.
In these teachings, the Catechism points us to the Lord: “Christ, who assumed all things in order to redeem all things, is glorified by what we ask the Father in his name.”
Our prayer and our service are for the praise and glory of God. We allow prayer to be the leaven of our good works and point us to the Father’s majesty. In Jesus Christ, we can offer our petition and our works of charity. In Christ, we have the power and the confidence to approach the Father.
The Catechism concludes this point by reminding us: “It is with this confidence that St. James and St. Paul exhort us to pray at all times.”
