Here is how our prayer is seen by God. From the visions of Anna Katharina Emmerich

Alongside prayer, it is necessary to observe the Commandments of God and to keep a devout and Christian life. The prayer of those who direct all their works in the service of Jesus and Mary reaches a particular effect and strength. In this context Anna Katharina Emmerich had the following vision.

“I was in a round, large and bright environment, which in my eyes, the more round it seemed to me, the bigger it seemed to me. In this environment, I was shown how our prayers were evaluated and presented to God: they were recorded on a kind of whiteboard and divided into four classes. Some prayers were reported in marvelous golden letters, others with bright silver color, others still with the dark one, and finally the last ones with the dark color crossed by a line. I saw this distinction with joy, and I just dared to ask my guide what all this meant. ' She gave me the answer: "What you see reported with the golden letters is the prayer of those who have linked the merit of their good works to that of Jesus Christ, and this union is often renewed; they are very attached to the Savior's commands and imitate his example. The prayer of those who do not think of uniting themselves with the merit of "Jesus Christ" is reported with bright silver, although they are devoted and pray deeply to the depths of their hearts. What is reported in black is the prayer of those who are not calm, who do not often confess, and do not recite certain prayers daily; these are the lukewarm ones who do good only out of habit. What is written with the black color crossed out by a line is the prayer of those people who put all their trust in vocal prayers who should, in their opinion, have merit, but they do not observe the Commandments of God, even if their bad desires do not cause violence. This prayer has no merit before God, therefore it is canceled again. Thus also the good works of those who perform them but who have only temporal advantages as their goal are canceled ”.