The incomprehensible silence of God is a heavy burden for us to bear. Christ pleads thus with his Father as his sweat falls to the ground like great drops of blood. Only in terms of this most mysterious paradox of Christ, the God-man his agony on the cross and the glory of his resurrection where the paradoxes of prayer, faith, and love also reach their limits. If prayer has the power to move God, this does not necessarily indicate that the fervor of our prayer has changed God's eternal and unchangeable will. Unanswered prayer, in particular, truly joins with the prayer of Christ that incorporates the mystery of the cross, dying to self in order to pass from death to resurrection.
True prayer offers no room for fanaticism, superstition, or selfishness.
The attitude of Christ during his forty days and forty nights in the desert and his victory over temptation contrast remarkably with human pride in wanting to be equal to God. Copyright ICS Publications . Permission is hereby granted for any non-commercial use, if this copyright notice is included.