In The Snow Queen, Gerda was frightened, and she prayed the Our Father. Gerda could see her breath in the cold air, and her breath turned into angels. The angels protected and led her to the Snow Queen’s Palace.

By praying the Our Father, Gerda’s prayer was answered. She asked for guidance and protection, and that is what she got.

The Our Father, as written in Luke 11 2-9, is the perfect prayer. In this prayer we give glory to God. We ask that all our needs be met and we are kept safe. We beg forgiveness and promise to forgive others who offended us. We also pray that God keeps us out of trouble. Scripture then tells us that all we have to do get what we want is to ask for it.

Our Christian teaching is that God knows better than we do. God knows what we need and answers accordingly.The answer to our prayer may not look anything like we hoped, but nonetheless, it is our best answer.

Do you think God hears your prayers or is it all a fairy tale? Is getting what you want as simple as just asking for it?

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(Hans Christian Andersen Illuminated By The Message, along with the other books in the series, Literary Portals to Prayer, has been selected as the April 2017 title for the U.S. Catholic Book Club. Discussion questions will soon be available on the ACTA Publication website. Hans Christian Andersen Illuminated By The Message is available from ACTA Publications and Amazon.)