I think you should start praying (if you don’t already) in a private quiet space and audibly say what’s on your heart to God. No formalities, no rubrics… I would just speak from your heart even if you feel silly.
Speak to God like you would anyone you’re trying to have a conversation with.
Lord, I’ve been having a hard day…X is what happened …i’ve been feeling like X , I also want to speak with you about our relationship…this is where I sit Lord ( and tell him how you feel, what you don’t understand etc etc ) tell him that you don’t sense His presence in your life…talk to him like a real person from your heart. Ask him to reveal himself in your life.
This is excellent advice! Let me add: everyone has doubts and “dry periods”. I’ve read that, when God is THAT close, it’s rather like looking at oneself in a mirror with one’s face pressed against the mirror: distortion. But it’s my lifelong experience that God communicates with us (and I know others who would attest to this, and am sure many in this forum would, also). I posit that each of us has a unique “language” that God uses for this communication and that it’s part of the work of Life to recognize this. Some may call them “signs”, I have always called them “come along signals”. When I lapse into doubt, I recall the thousands of “come along signals” I’ve received throughout my life. Why not start a journal and see if you can translate the language God is using with YOU?
The way to “ceaseless prayer” is exactly as was said in the above quoted answer. He is IN your thoughts, IN your mind and soul, and knows before you do - hard to imagine I know. Ceaseless prayer is a running dialogue, just as suggested in the above quoted answer: “My prayer is hitting the ceiling…” God knows this. “Are you there?” God knows this. Jesus told us how much greater the reward for believing without having seen, but we CAN “see” if we allow the Holy Spirit to work. You can pray TO the Holy Spirit. My friend Deacon Arney says he’s been doing this for the past few weeks and the answers he’s gotten are fantastic. Why not try it?
Lastly, don’t put so much emphasis on feelings. As a matter of fact, if you can push through these “dry” periods (that come to us all from time to time)… you will increase in the spiritual life. In your talk to God…tell Him that you will accept this if need be to show that you want a real relationship and not just “feelings” or divine aid all the time…you pray because you want to show your fidelity and trust in God.
Fight through this. I would make a special time daily to literally talk to God .
