"I have seen many striking answers to prayer and more than one that I thought miraculous. But they usually come at the beginning: before conversion, or soon after it. As the Christian life proceeds, they tend to be rarer. The refusals, to, are not only more frequent; they become more unmistakable, more emphatic."I found this quote to be slightly enigmatic. Especially the last sentence that Lewis quotes. What refusals? Our refusal to pray? No, it seems that Lewis was pointing out God's refusals to our prayers. But, this seems contradictory. Didn't Jesus say "ask and it will be given"? What was Lewis talking about?
I did find another source for the quote and I think the paragraph that followed that quote really gives some of the insight into what Lewis was thinking.
"Does God then forsake just those who serve Him best? Well, He who served Him best of all said, near His tortured death, “Why hast thou forsaken me?” When God becomes man, that Man, of all others, is least comforted by God, at His greatest need. There is a mystery here which, even if I had the power, I might not have the courage to explore. Meanwhile, little people like you and me, if our prayers are sometimes granted, beyond all hope and probability, had better not draw hasty conclusions to our own advantage. If we were stronger, we might be less tenderly treated. If we were braver, we might be sent, with far less help, to defend far more desperate posts in the great battle." ~~ From The EssentialI thought this additional quote from the source was beautiful:
"Prayer in the sense of petition, asking for things, is a small part of it; confession and penitence are its threshold, adoration its sanctuary, the presence and vision and enjoyment of God its bread and wine. In it God shows Himself to us. That He answers prayers is a corollary—not necessarily the most important one—from that revelation. What He does is learned from what He is."The key is that I think Lewis was making a general observation in the quote. It does seem at times that "new" Christians have some special favor with God. Perhaps, even that special favor is part of the extension of Grace that brought them to the salvation experience and restored their relationship with God. Maybe that is why God wants us to evangelize -- to participate in that special time of prayer and God's working.
So often I think we pray for things wanting God to take action, meanwhile God looks at us and says "you could do that for yourself". Like any Father, God may hesitate to do for us what we could honestly do for ourselves. Why should God feed the poor when I can do that? Sure, I can't feed them all, but what about those that I can feed? What about providing comfort for someone in dire straits? God could comfort them -- or He could have me go and be the instrument of His will. I pray so often for His Will to be done -- does God listen and wonder when I will get busy?
