Praying and expecting everything to come from God and not doing anything yourself is not praying. This is laziness, this is alienation. This is passivity, conformity.

Praying and expecting everything to come from God and not doing anything yourself is not praying. This is laziness, this is alienation. This is passivity, conformity. This is not the time, dear brothers and sisters to say: it is God’s will. Many things happen that are not God’s will. When people can contribute something of themselves to improve the situation and ask God for the courage to do so, then there is prayer.

ST OSCAR ROMERO
FROM DAILY MEDITATIONS (DARTON, LONGMAN & TODD, 2006)

This shewing was made to teach our soul wisely to hold fast to the goodness of God. And in that time the method of our praying was brought to mind: how we tend, through lack of understanding and knowledge of God in his love, to spend too much time on petition­ing him.

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