Q. 1111.  What assurance have we that God always hears and rewards our prayers, though He may not grant what we ask?  A. We have the assurance of Our Lord Himself that God always hears and rewards our prayers, though He may not grant what we ask; for Christ said:  “Ask and it shall be given you,” and “if you ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it to you.”

Q. 1112. {308} Which are the prayers most recommended to us?  A. The prayers most recommended to us are the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary, the Apostles’ Creed, the Confiteor, and the Acts of Faith, Hope, Love, and Contrition.

Q. 1113. {309} Are prayers said with distractions of any avail?  A. Prayers said with wilful distraction are of no avail.

Q. 1114.  Why are prayers said with wilful distraction of no avail?  A. Prayers said with wilful distraction are of no avail because they are mere words, such as a machine might utter, and since there is no lifting up of the mind or heart with them they cannot be prayer.

Q. 1115.  Do, then, the distractions which we often have at prayer deprive our prayers of all merit?  A. The distractions which we often have at prayer do not deprive our prayers of all merit, because they are not wilful when we try to keep them away, for God rewards our good intentions and the efforts we make to pray well.

Q. 1116.  What, then, is a distraction?  A. A distraction is any thought that, during prayer, enters our mind to turn our thoughts and hearts from God and from the sacred duty we are performing.

Q. 1117.  What are the fruits of prayer?  A. The fruits of prayer are:  It strengthens our faith, nourishes our hope, increases our love for God, keeps us humble, merits grace and atones for sin.

Q. 1118.  Why should we pray when God knows our needs?  A. We pray not to remind God or tell Him of what we need, but to acknowledge that He is the Supreme Giver, to adore and worship Him by showing our entire dependence upon Him for every gift to soul or body.

Q. 1119.  What little prayers may we say even at work?  A. Even at work we may say little aspirations such as “My God, pardon my sins; Blessed be the Holy Name of Jesus; Holy Spirit, enlighten me; Holy Mary, pray for me,” &c.

Q. 1120.  Did Our Lord Himself pray, and why?  A. Our Lord Himself very frequently prayed, often spending the whole night in prayer.  He prayed before every important action, not that He needed to pray, but to set us an example of how and when we should pray.

Q. 1121.  Why does the Church conclude most of its prayers with the words “through Jesus Christ Our Lord”?  A. The Church concludes most of its prayers with the words “through Jesus Christ Our Lord” because it is only through His merits that we can obtain grace, and because “there is no other name given to men whereby we must be saved.”