This approach to prayer uses what I call the "genie in a bottle" view of God. It treats prayer as wishes, and the only metric that matters is how many of those

This approach to prayer uses what I call the "genie in a bottle" view of God. It treats prayer as wishes, and the only metric that matters is how many of those wishes turn out to be granted by the genie. Here is a reflection on that point by Pope Francis, who passed away this year. "Prayer is not a magic wand: It is a dialogue with the Lord. Indeed, when we pray we can give in to the risk of not being the ones to serve God, but of expecting Him to serve us. This is, then, a prayer that is always demanding, that wants to direct events according to our own design, that admits no plans other than our own desires. Jesus, on the other hand, had great wisdom in teaching us the Lord’s Prayer. It is a prayer of questions only, as we know, but the first ones we utter are all on God’s side. They ask for the fulfillment not of our plan, but of His will for the world. Better to leave it to Him: 'Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done.'" https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2021/05/26/pope-francis-general-audience-prayer-unanswered-prayers-240749 https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2021/05/26/pope-franci...