Sometimes we face challenges in life that call for a little honesty with God. But this is something many of us, myself included, are often hesitant to do. If we’re angry or upset about something, we often don’t want to put that at God’s feet. I feel like I would be offending God by questioning His divine plan. After all, what gives me the right to complain to God about His plan for me; the perfect plan that ultimately leads me to Heaven?
I have a five-year-old son. He’s constantly asking why? But my answers always seem to be followed with yet another why? As a parent, that can be frustrating. But I often forget that I’m an adult who understands more about the world than a five-year-old. The why? isn’t he complaining or questioning me. It’s him trying to better understand the world around him. And maybe my answers are equally confusing. That is why he might continually ask the same question until he gets an answer that finally clicks with him.
The same can be said with our prayers to God. We do not have the knowledge or perspective that God has. And so we are left continuously asking Him why? Why did this person have to die? Why is my child sick? Why am I having problems at work? Fortunately, unlike the all-too-human parent, God has infinite patience with us. He doesn’t mind the why’s? and will always give an answer, whether we ask one time or a thousand times.
It’s that dialog with God that is the key. We need to continuously come back and ask God for help and voice our questions, frustrations, and thanksgivings. This is what makes daily Rosary prayer such an effective tool. The Rosary is one of the best ways to lay out all our concerns, frustrations, and worries and then listen to God’s response through meditating on the life of Christ via one of the twenty mysteries.
Many people complain about the repetitiveness of the Rosary. But take a closer look at this complaint. Most of us need to hear the same explanation repeatedly before it starts to make sense. We are like my five-year-old always asking why? We have to approach our problems, concerns, and thanksgivings from different perspectives. We have to search for that angle where God’s response will finally start to make sense. While there are only twenty mysteries, each one has multiple dimensions to be explored and pondered. We can come to those mysteries with the same problems repeatedly and each time, possibly gain just a little more insight into what God is telling us.
Sometimes, my five-year-old asks the same question because he didn’t listen to my initial response. His mind jumps from topic to topic and he often asks new questions before listening to an answer to the first ones. That can be true about our prayers too. I know I can race through Rosary mysteries without stopping to listen to God’s response. Remember, the Rosary isn’t some sort of point system where you level up by saying a certain number of Hail Marys. You pray the Rosary partly for help and guidance. And you’ll get those but you have to first slow down and listen.
Remember, there’s nothing wrong continuously asking God why? He won’t take offense because He understands that you are only trying to understand His plan. Don’t be discouraged if His answer doesn’t come easily. God’s perspective is infinite while ours is finite. It will take time to even understand a sliver of how you fit into God’s big picture. Keep up the prayers and make sure you slow down to listen to what God is telling you.