There was once a couple who had a large but poor family. The father and mother were both too old to work for the support of the family. And most of their children were too young. In fact, only the eldest son was able to work for their livelihood. Fortunately, with God's grace, he cared a lot about his family, and did his job well.

But one day, this good young man fell sick. Before long, the illness became alarmingly dangerous, and his family worried. Desperately trying everything they could think of to cure him, the distressed parents could only watch their son grow steadily worse. Every day, he got weaker. It was obvious to everyone that he was not just sick - he was dying.

His parents and siblings were at a loss. They loved him very much, and would miss him terribly when he was gone. But the pain of the aged parents increased when they thought of their other children. What would they do without their brother? Who would keep their family from being driven onto the streets?

But nothing the young man's family did for him could help him get any better. All they could do now was wait for the end, in sorrow and dread. They no longer dared to hope for a recovery...

One day during this terrible trial, a neighbor of the family visited the grieving parents to ask them how their sick son was doing.

"Oh, he is dying!" they replied, in bitter sorrow. "There is no longer any hope; we have done everything we could to make him better, but all in vain!"

As they continued to weep, their neighbor kindly asked. "Have you asked God to make him better?"

"Oh no. God has forsaken us altogether." they promptly replied. No, they had not prayed.

The neighbor was worried to hear such an answer from these Catholics. He also was concerned for their son's life. The poor young man's health had gotten so bad that he was now at the point of death. Yet at this most desperate and crucial time, no one in his family was even praying for him!

"How can you say that God has forsaken you, since you have never asked Him to come to your assistance?" the good man said, shocked to hear their despairing response. "You believe in your hearts that God can help you, yet you have not asked Him to do so. Where is your faith and confidence? It is not sufficient to believe that God can assist you. You must also, by the daily practice of your lives, act according to your belief. Ask God, therefore, to make your son well again. He will most certainly do so, if He sees that it will be for his good." The sorrowing parents had said they'd done all in their power for the boy; but they didn't realize that they'd left out the simplest, and most powerful remedy - asking for help from their All-Loving, All-Powerful God.

But now they saw the truth of their good neighbor's words. So they knelt and prayed to God, asking that He would restore health to their son, if it were His Holy Will. By that night, their son was still terribly ill. But this time, his family did not give up on God's Mercy. They persevered in their fervent prayer for several days. And lo! This poor family then had the joy to see the fruit of their confidence. In spite of his apparently hopeless illness, the beloved son and brother regained such health that he rose from his sick bed. Shortly thereafter, he was entirely cured, and resumed his work for the support of his dear family.

We must always be careful not to give up on God, or presume that He has done so to us, when we do not even give Him a chance! God wants to help us with all His Heart, but He wants us ask Him. We need to want and trust His help first. The elderly parents of that family were trusting in themselves and human ways to heal their son. Every good thing comes from God, and so if He had allowed their natural means to work, those parents would never have even thought to give God credit or thanks for the cure. And their souls would have remained just as far from God, if not drifted further. But by praying, they humbly sought and obtained His help.

If God simply gave us everything and we never talked to Him, it would be too easy for us to not be grateful. Human beings generally do not appreciate what they do not have to work for. God already, in His generosity, gives people so many things in life that are taken for granted - food , clothes, health, etc. Yet how many times is He sincerely thanked for these simple daily things? God does not want us to be ungrateful. Ungrateful people are never happy and they do not go to Heaven.

So be sure and always pray to God for everything that you need, are worried about, desire, and so forth. This, of course, goes for praying to Jesus, Mary, your Guardian Angel, etc. Ask God, and those in Heaven, to come to your aid. And don’t forget to be thankful when you receive the answer to your prayers.

Remember that God loves you with a Perfect Infinite Love. This means there is no limit to His Love and that He desires only what is the absolute best for you. Now you may not always agree about what is best for you, but that is when you need to humbly trust in God’s Love for you. A good way to end all of your prayers is to pray that God’s Will is done. In this story, the best thing for the son of that family was to be healed, but his parents first had to confidently pray to God for help. God always wisely chooses what is best. So when you pray, you ensure that you are always obtaining what is best for you.