Have you ever felt "blocked" in praying for somebody, or just flat unable to do it, period?

Of course you have. And it's frustrating. It even brings guilt. "What am I doing wrong? Am I praying the wrong way? Why can't I pray more for this? Don't I have enough empathy?"

Praying for others is crucial. When we die, Jesus will show us how much He cherishes each time we have done this.

When we die, every prayer said for others will be there as the bricks and concrete and mortar, as the finishing flourishes, of our heavenly abodes (hopefully, that "mansion"; John 14:2).

But there are times when, face it, we feel stymied. We can't seem to "get through" to Heaven. We can't "pierce the clouds."

We can't even seem to aim a prayer properly (at what we see as the person or ourselves as needing: a healing, a relationship, a job)! Often, illness is involved; or finances; or lost love: something to do with distress of the flesh. When we attempt to pray with specificity, the prayers seem to bounce off! They're blank shots! They're duds! Or we can't even summon the energy for more than a quick Hail Mary.

They may even seem like boomerangs: things just get worse.

This can be for a number of reasons.

One is that, true, we can be blocked by something that needs to be cleansed in our own hearts. We don't have our souls in it. We need more compassion. Or we "don't have the time" for a deep supplication. We are not praying with the fullness of spirit, from the heart.

But when we're blocked, it can also be because God wants the person, for the sake of his or her longer term benefit, to go through whatever the person is going through. The "problem" (even crisis) is good for the person's soul. He is being taught, cleansed, or awakened through the trial. This happens at various times to all of us!

When we die, we will find out that, in the perspective of eternity, there are no crises or traumas -- no matter what it is -- on earth (save for the loss of one's soul). It is a gift to go through a trial, as long as that trial has not been provoked by the evil one and our own concupiscence.

Tough medicine, but hard times are often a way God has for calling a person to come back. How closely we listen when huge problems loom! How quickly does illness reduce matters to their real importance, reconnect us with God (if handled properly), and put life into perspective.

When this occurs, when we feel blocked in prayer, unable to get through as far as something specific, the best course is to to pray for the best outcome. "Lord, let the best come of this! Let the best thing be done."

Only God -- only Jesus, only the Holy Spirit -- have an entire knowledge of what every person needs and when and why they need it. We may think we know what's best for ourselves and others, but often we don't. When we pray for the best outcome, we are praying about eternity. We are praying not only for help on earth -- temporal relief -- but for what most benefits a person's eternal destination.

Now we have God's attention.

"Your Will be done, not mine," said Jesus. And what an outcome resulted!

How frustrated we are otherwise; often, how very disappointed! -- where when we release matters to Him and ask simply for the "best outcome," there is calm and joy and when He so wills, the miraculous.

[resources: A Life of Blessings, An Army in Heaven, and Spirit Daily pilgrimage, Guadalupe, September]