Prayers and Resolutions to obtain Confident Prayers

August 24, 2021 • 3 min

From St. Joseph’s Life, Virtues, Privileges, Power, page 341
By Very Rev. Archdeacon Kinane, P.P.

Practical Resolution.

My good God! I have prayed, yet I lived in sin; I prayed, yet I relapsed into sin; I prayed, yet I have made no progress in virtue.

My God! I know that Thou art ever faithful to Thy word and promise. All the fault was my own. My prayers were not heard, because they were cold, careless, distracted, and inattentive.

The real spirit of prayer comes from God alone: it is the gift of the Most High. I resolve, therefore, every day of my life, and often during the day, to beg of God, through the name and merits of Jesus, and through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph, to grant me the grace to pray as I ought, that is, to pray with fervour and attention, to pray with humility, to pray with confidence, and to persevere in prayer.

Prayer.

O good and merciful God, through the name and merits of Thy Beloved Son, my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, grant me the spirit of prayer, grant me the grace to pray as I ought.

May I do all things to please Thee alone, so that every work and act of my life may be a prayer.

Grant me, O Lord, the grace to pray with attention and fervour. Grant me the grace to pray in a spirit of profound humility. When tempted to sin may I remember Thy Divine Presence. On every occasion of falling into sin, may I call upon Jesus and Mary.

O Eternal Father, through the love of Jesus, keep me ever in Thy divine fear and love. O Mary and Joseph, pray for me to Jesus, that I may love and serve Him all the days of my life.

Prayer to St. Joseph.

O glorious St. Joseph, faithful follower of Jesus Christ, to thee do we raise our hearts and hands to implore thy powerful intercession in obtaining from the benign Heart of Jesus all the helps and graces necessary for our spiritual and temporal welfare, particularly the grace of a happy death, and the special favour of the spirit of prayer. Amen.

O Guardian of the Word Incarnate, we feel animated with confidence that thy prayers in our behalf will be heard by the Saviour of the World.

Practice.

Before you begin to pray, always call to mind the presence of God.

Aspiration.

“Incline unto my aid, O God. O Lord, make haste to help me.”