Difficulty with prayer

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It is hard to love God because I feel I have had no interaction with him apart from trying to speak to him. If I were asked what God has done for me I would come up blank. For food ? Why ? My circumstances and the hard work of farmers have given cause for me to eat. For life ? Biological processes it seem have given me life. For my fortunate situation ? What about those in poverty ? How am I to love a God who sees fit to rain manna on the Israelites but not on the starving people of today ?
How am I to love a God of whom it seems I can only read of but cannot hear outside of scripture or the words he speaks through visionaries. One who loves us but whose gaze I cannot see. I tried praying in a chapel this week and I felt afterwards that it had been futile. I see that as selfishness on my part for wanting to feel something. What can I do to hear from God ?

I will not give up on prayer yet though. What do I do when I run out of things to say ?
 
That time in the chapel it seemed pointless to continue praying after I expressed to God what I wanted to.
 
In our life, God doesn’t seem always to be present, but He is.
He sometimes test us to know how much we love Him.

God doesn’t want us to suffer, but suffering is a consequence of the original sin.
God can permit someone to suffer if it is better in a long term range for this person.

I will keep you in my prayers.

God bless you!

hope19
 
Questioner28 said:
It is hard to love God because I feel I have had no interaction with him apart from trying to speak to him. If I were asked what God has done for me I would come up blank. For food ? Why ? My circumstances and the hard work of farmers have given cause for me to eat. For life ? Biological processes it seem have given me life. For my fortunate situation ? What about those in poverty ? How am I to love a God who sees fit to rain manna on the Israelites but not on the starving people of today ?
How am I to love a God of whom it seems I can only read of but cannot hear outside of scripture or the words he speaks through visionaries. One who loves us but whose gaze I cannot see. I tried praying in a chapel this week and I felt afterwards that it had been futile. I see that as selfishness on my part for wanting to feel something. What can I do to hear from God ?

I will not give up on prayer yet though. What do I do when I run out of things to say ?
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There is a time to put down discursive prayer.

Peace
 
Questioner28 said:
That time in the chapel it seemed pointless to continue praying after I expressed to God what I wanted to.
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PRAYER OF A SOUL TAKEN WITH LOVE

Lord God, my Beloved, if You remember still my sins in suchwise that you do not do what I beg of You, do your will concerning them, my God, which is what I most desire, and exercise Your goodness and mercy, and You will be known through them. And if it is that you are waiting for my good works so as to hear my prayer through their means, grant them to me, and work them for me, and the sufferings You desire to accept, and let it be done. But if You are not waiting for my works, what is it that makes You wait, my most clement Lord? Why do You delay? For if, after all, I am to receive the grace and mercy which I entreat of You in Your Son, take my mite, since You desire it, and grant me this blessing, since You also desire that.

Who can free himself from lowly manners and limitations if You do not lift him to yourself, my God, in purity of love? How will a man begotten and nurtured in lowliness rise up to You, Lord, if You do not raise him with Your hand which made Him?

You will not take from me, my God, what You once gave me in Your only son, Jesus Christ, in Whom You gave me all I desire. Hence I rejoice that if I wait for You, You will not delay.

With what procrastinations do you wait, since from this very moment you can love God in your heart?

Mine are the heavens and mine is the earth. Mine are the nations, the just are mine, and mine the sinners. The angels are mine, and the Mother of God, and all things are mine; and God Himself is mine and for me, because Christ is mine and all for me.

What do you ask, then, and seek, my soul? Yours is all of this, and all is for you. Do not engage yourself in something less, nor pay heed to the crumbs which fall from your Father’s table. Go forth and exult in your Glory! Hide yourself in It and rejoice, and you will obtain the supplications of your heart.

St John of the Cross
 
The Kinds of Divine Union . The Different Kinds of Union with God

We must remember here that John has distinguished three kinds of union with God. By means of the first God dwells substantially in all created things and sustains their existence. By the second, we are to understand the indwelling of God in the soul through grace; by the third, the transforming union through perfect love that divinizes the soul. As John states at the quoted source, between the second and third kinds, there is only a difference in degree.

Stein, Edith (2011-03-17). The Science of the Cross (The Collected Works of Edith Stein Vol. 6) (Kindle Locations 2919-2923). ICS Publications. Kindle Edition.
 
This occupation, in which the spirit interiorly assimilates the content of faith is meditation. Here the imagination presents itself with images of events in salvation history, seeks to plumb their depths with all the senses, weighs with the intellect their general meaning and the demands they place on one. In this way the will is inspired to love and to resolve to form a lifestyle in the spirit of faith.

Stein, Edith (2011-03-17). The Science of the Cross (The Collected Works of Edith Stein Vol. 6) (Kindle Locations 2144-2147). ICS Publications. Kindle Edition.
 
hi,
here to being is a poem that i wrote, copy right pending please:

“I am nothing compared to love:
I am less than a fly’s wing.
I am less than moss on the grave.
I am less than the speck of dust lost in the center of a tornado.
I am less than an empty vacuum of a jar.
I am less than the hours between each season’s changes.
I am less than the cremated corpse’s offering to the wind.
I am less than a faint-dying ember rising from coals.
I am less than the pigment’s atom that makes the color blue.” unquote, david patrick

as i comment, yet small-we are-even so knows and God knew, in his omniscience, knew i would write that poem/sharing it here and now; i am pretty small in the process-small specs of dust, with a soul and breath of life-it could be said to belong to God and used for nothing else; such an odd irony, of wonders-i am too small for-even tiny the effort; yet, again in irony, there is a stem somewhere, like a three leaf clover, each green living leaf grows from on one stem-so to the trinity-stems and remains, father, son, holy ghost; the holy spirit knew your birth/knowing your birth day, and being there when you were born…today pursues you, in chapels; and hunts you like a hound-you run, faint dying ember-meanwhile-must live best comfortable in rational thought-he will pursue you even there. even little-small things cannot hide from the eyes of God…thx patrick (look back to see the depth of mercy!)
 
Questioner28 said:
It is hard to love God because I feel I have had no interaction with him apart from trying to speak to him. If I were asked what God has done for me I would come up blank. For food ? Why ? My circumstances and the hard work of farmers have given cause for me to eat. For life ? Biological processes it seem have given me life. For my fortunate situation ? What about those in poverty ? How am I to love a God who sees fit to rain manna on the Israelites but not on the starving people of today ?
How am I to love a God of whom it seems I can only read of but cannot hear outside of scripture or the words he speaks through visionaries. One who loves us but whose gaze I cannot see. I tried praying in a chapel this week and I felt afterwards that it had been futile. I see that as selfishness on my part for wanting to feel something. What can I do to hear from God ?

I will not give up on prayer yet though. What do I do when I run out of things to say ?
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God is not a feeling, He is a being. When you talk to your wife (if you have one) or other people that are concerned for you, do they listen? Well, if someone is concerned for you of course they listen. Would God do less?

As for the manna - it was* manna *from heaven (which is symbolic of God’s word).

Yes poverty is horrible and we must do everything in our power to equalize things. Yet, the Bible does not say that God is responsible but rather that Satan is the ‘god of this world’ ( 2 Cor. 4:4) and the reason why we have to fight for what is right.
 
Questioner28 said:
I will not give up on prayer yet though. What do I do when I run out of things to say ?
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Greetings my friend from Toronto! I see that you have many profiles here on CAF! I doubt very seriously that you will run out of things to say anytime soon, and that is Ok! If you feel that God is not answering could it be that you are not listening? Many of the gifts that you seek have already been given. Sins such as vanity act as grease and debris that clog the pipes connecting us with God, effectively preventing us from hearing his message and gaining the answers you so desperately yearn for.

If you truly wish to experience healing, understanding, and comfort, you MUST first become part of his holy church. God smiles upon those who do the footwork to help themselves. The way is indeed narrow and cannot accommodate large egos. Our current Pope is a great example for us all in showing us the way through humility. There is no room in the house of salvation for those with large egos. Did you know that ego = Easing God Out?

Ego is an earthly mechanism we need in order to dress, live, and conduct ourselves properly in order to secure a job and keep ourselves clean. Ego out of control weighs us down like a pair of cinderblock boots. Standing perpetually on the sidelines, firing volleys of discontent will not get you anywhere, unless your only plan is to stir up mud from the bottom of the lake. Why not for once, take all of this fuel you have for speculation and put it into action?

While I believe that Catholicism offers the most tools for Christians, there are other roads one can take on the road to Damascus. Meet Christ and make peace. You may feel like the road you are own is by your own choice, but with as much as you know of the word, you should know by now that it is a road of your own choosing.

Time to stop talking and begin to start walking! You can do this!!! Or you can stay on the sidelines indefinitely and engage in useless banter. The choice is yours. Either way, you are always welcome.
 
esieffe said:
Greetings my friend from Toronto! I see that you have many profiles here on CAF!
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Toronto ? Multiple profiles ? :confused: Time to check my account.

Where did you get those from ? I looked at my profile and I haven’t specified any location. I’m also puzzled by your saying I have multiple profiles. This is my only account here on CAF.
 
Questioner28 said:
Toronto ? Multiple profiles ? :confused: Time to check my account.

Where did you get those from ? I looked at my profile and I haven’t specified any location. I’m also puzzled by your saying I have multiple profiles. This is my only account here on CAF.
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My mistake. You sound a little like someone else here on the boards.
 
You have gotten some good answers here.

I just felt the need to respond to what you mentioned about God not feeding the hungry as he rained down the manna from heaven on the Israelites.

We who follow Jesus are the ones to bring bread to those who are having a hard time. Not only bread for the body, but also Bread for their souls.

We are the eyes, ears, heart, feet, and hands of our Lord Jesus Christ for others. Imperfect though we are, we can serve one another in His Name.
 
Dorothy said:
You have gotten some good answers here.

I just felt the need to respond to what you mentioned about God not feeding the hungry as he rained down the manna from heaven on the Israelites.

We who follow Jesus are the ones to bring bread to those who are having a hard time. Not only bread for the body, but also Bread for their souls.

We are the eyes, ears, heart, feet, and hands of our Lord Jesus Christ for others. Imperfect though we are, we can serve one another in His Name.
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Amen! 🙂
 
Dear one
Firstly we wants heartily repentance.It is very important
In our spiritual life.
Secondly We wants daily prayer.Read the bible
And say the Rosary.Psalm 91 this Psalm is God’s
Protection.Every day two times read this Psalm.

God is love,we are his children

I will keep you in my prayers.

God bless you!
 
I’ve prayed in the past and always felt as if I was just talking to myself, I don’t presume that God is going to start a conversation with me but just even talking like that with my hands in prayer and voicing my concerns, it did make me feel a little better. I never felt like God was present though.
 
As someone pointed out to me a long time ago, God most often speaks to us through other human beings. He also sometimes speaks to us very quietly in prayer. And if we’re anxious or if we keep talking, He can be hard to hear.

Try to be patient. But keep praying. God love you!

I’ll say an extra prayer for you.
 
I’m wondering if you ever do any spiritual reading, the Bible or the saints. Read about the experiences of others. We have all struggled with prayer. St. Teresa of Avila, one of our greatest saints, wrote of her struggle for many years. Sometimes all we can do is sit in front of God in total silence. That in and of itself is a prayer, and can be a very deep prayer. This is from a Wednesday audience by Pope Benedict XVI on May 16, 2012, You can read all of it HERE.
A first element that the Apostle wants us to understand is that prayer should not be seen merely as a good work that we carry out for God, an action of ours. First and foremost, it is a gift, the fruit of the living, vivifying presence of the Father of Jesus Christ in us. In the Letter to the Romans he writes: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words” (8:26). And we know how true the Apostle’s saying is: “We do not know how to pray as we ought”. We want to pray, but God is far off, we do not have the words, the language, to speak with God, nor even the thought to do so. We can only open ourselves, place our time at God’s disposition, wait for Him to help us to enter into true dialogue. The Apostle says: this very lack of words, this absence of words, yet this desire to enter into contact with God, is prayer that the Holy Spirit not only understands, but brings and interprets before God. This very weakness of ours becomes – through the Holy Spirit – true prayer, true contact with God. The Holy Spirit is, as it were, the interpreter who makes us, and God, understand what it is we wish to say.
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When you go before God, take something with you, even if it is a book of prayers. The Catholic Church has wonderful devotions and wonderful prayers. Some people put down such devotions as the Rosary, saying it’s just repetitive prayer. But if you pray the Rosary as it was meant to be prayed, truly meditating on the mysteries and experiencing the Life of Christ as our Blessed Mother did, it can lead to a very profound experience and open your heart to prayer.

Don’t give up. Just putting yourself in the presence of God, even if there are no words, constitutes prayer. As Pope Benedict XVI told us, “This very lack of words, this absence of words, yet this desire to enter into contact with God, is prayer that the Holy Spirit not only understands, but brings and interprets before God.”
 
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