By the recitation of the Rosary you shall obtain all that you ask of me.
We humans often have the tendency to believe that we should save our “asks” in prayer for things that matter and not personal favors that are, shall we say, not of a pressing nature. My 21 year old daughter falls into this trap quite easily. She often asks me to pray for this or that (usually an upcoming test in a tough course) and when I suggest that she also pray by asking the Blessed Mother to intercede for her, she responds, “but I’ve been asking a LOT lately!”, indicating that she has perhaps used up her allotment of personal asks.
In my humble opinion, this is most certainly the trap of Satan himself. Are we not commanded to “Pray without ceasing”? Does this not mean to… NOT STOP PRAYING? How about, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in EVERYTHING, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God…”
Might I point out that not mentioned is making sure that everything only means some things, and they’d better be important? No, this means Everything. Even the frivolous things, the less important things, the indulgent things, the things we don’t deserve. Things like, “God, please let traffic be light so I can get to work on time even though I left with no cushion because I was scrolling on my phone…” type prayers. Ask! Your Father wants desperately to hear from you and me and not just when times are really horrible or tough. Always and often throughout the day, even in the little things. For if we cannot trust that God cares about those little things that we care about, how can we trust Him with the really BIG and really HARD parts of life? An infant does not develop trust for a parent by a huge crisis to which that parent responds. He develops trust and love in the day to day needs and requests (correction… insisting!) met over time. He knows when he cries, for a big or small reason, mom and/or dad are there, responding and tending to him, even if he’s crying because he dropped his binky.
This same concept is so true and relevant regarding God and all the help he gives from Heaven, most especially from our Blessed Mother and the Saints. My kids might think that a rosary is extreme or “extra” for some of the less important asks, but I always suggest it or let them know that I have prayed a rosary for whatever it is they need.
Mostly thanks to this promise. If what we are asking is not good for us, of course, the request will be denied because that is what a good Father does… denies those things that could hurt us. We can take comfort in knowing that when we ask with faith, big or small things, God answers with perfection. Every time.
Which also means that, according to promise # 11, when we ask our Mother Mary through recitation of the rosary, and she in turn asks on our behalf (again, she only asks if it aligns with God’s will), the answer will undoubtedly be YES!
