Permit we to repost something on the subject:
God has obviously not promised to resolve all moral perplexities in our lifetimes, so a considerable degree of evil is allowed to occur. The traditional doctrine is that it is a consequence of free will. God cannot be continually thwarting evil doers and the ripple effects of their behavior without invalidating free will. However, tradition also assumes that God is always seeking ways to minimize the effects of evil, even though the final accounting will be "in eternity". His providence is always looking over us, but in an economical way, so that creatures can remain substantially independent. Anyway, prayer is a request for mercy, insofar as we ask that He intervene more forcibly than is necessary to vindicate His justice. In that sense, special providences and miracles are always gifts. But a benevolent Father will always respond to such requests unless there are good reasons not to, reasons we do not always comprehend. He will also be affected by the sincerity and urgency of the pleas, or by the opportunity to encourage faith, as I suggested before. Thus, it is expected that reasonable, modest, and sincere prayers will be responded to, although it cannot always be foreseen....... |
