Page:Withgodbookofpra00las.djvu/104

 because they  are  wanting  in  some  of  the necessary qualities  of  a  good  prayer,  namely, attention, sincerity,  humility,  confidence,  perseverance, and  earnestness. Our confidence in God  should  be  boundless. He is  our  most generous Benefactor,  our  most  loving  Father. He has  already  conferred  numberless  benefits on us  without  any  merit  or  prayer  of  ours. Every moment  of  our  life  is  marked  by  His renewed favors  toward  us. He loves  us  with a love  greater  than  that  of  a  loving  mother for her  own  darling  child,  for  He  says: "Can a  woman  forget  her  infant,  so  as  not to  have  pity  on  the  son  of  her  womb?  And if  she  should  forget,  yet  will  not  I  forget thee"  (Is.  xlix.  15). God has  solemnly promised to  grant  us  whatsoever  graces  we ask;  and,  being  almighty,  He  is  able  to  grant us all,  and  even  far  more  than  we  can  ask. He is  so  willing  to  bestow  His  favors  on  us that  He  complains  of  our  not  asking  Him  for them: "Hitherto,"  He  says,  "you  have  not asked  anything  in  My  name;  ask,  and  you  shall receive,  that  your  joy  may  be  full"  (John  xvi. 24). God even  commands  us  to  ask  Him  for His favors:     Ask,  and  you  shall  receive."

As a  pledge  of  His  love  for  us,  God  has gone so  far  as  to  give  us  His  own  beloved Son. "He that  spared  not  even  His  own