Is it God or the individual?

[Bataar]

So recently, I was at a gathering put on by a protestant group. It was mostly casual, but they did have a speaker and a group session and one of the guys talked about how comforting it is for him to go off by himself and pray/talk to God. I was a little jealous because for me, that’s anything but comforting. When I go off by myself and pray/talk to God, I end up feeling frustrated as I don’t feel any response at all. I feel like I’m being completely ignored and if it was regarding something important to me, I feel like my hopes have been dashed.

My question is basically this, for the other person, is God actually doing something for that person to make them feel better, or is the way that individual’s brain is wired make him feel comfort even though God’s “ignoring” him the same way he “ignores” me. I’m sure ignore is not the right word, but I couldn’t come up with a different one and that’s how it feels.

 

[Lee1]

Have you ever been praying and your mind wandered and you had a little thought that seemed to come from nowhere? Or the same in the morning as you lay in bed? Or while talking to someone you had a great idea? You get my drift I’m sure.

I believe God uses all media to communicate.

If you heard a voice it might not help and I think you’d want to hear it again and again. Pretty soon you wouldn’t be able to get dressed without asking God what to wear. That’s my point.

(God hears everything. Just talk to Him and build a loving relationship over time.)

 

[otrrl]

We have the assurance that God is near to us and hears our prayers. He knows our needs before we express them,

I pray as if I were the only one praying for something and I try to ask for help as God sees fit.

Prayer is conversation with God. I try to pray for things that are indicated as God’s will. I pray for a blind man in Chicago who has difficulty getting around, A trip to Wal-Mart takes him 12 hours. He is stingy with information so I don’t know if he is handling things well. But, I pray for his spiritual and material and social needs, and I leave the rest to God. I live in another state and cannot help him with immediate needs. He tells me that he has no one to call if he needs help.

I suggest the Lord’s prayer at a minimum.

 

[Bataar]

We have the assurance that God is near to us and hears our prayers. He knows our needs before we express them,

I pray as if I were the only one praying for something and I try to ask for help as God sees fit.

Prayer is conversation with God. I try to pray for things that are indicated as God’s will. I pray for a blind man in Chicago who has difficulty getting around, A trip to Wal-Mart takes him 12 hours. He is stingy with information so I don’t know if he is handling things well. But, I pray for his spiritual and material and social needs, and I leave the rest to God. I live in another state and cannot help him with immediate needs. He tells me that he has no one to call if he needs help.

I suggest the Lord’s prayer at a minimum.

The conversation with God idea is just hard for me. Conversation implies 2 way communication. For me, praying seems to be more like leaving a message and hoping for a response then being disappointed when a response never comes. That’s kind of what brought this question to mind. Is God actively responding to the other individual or is his brain wired in such a way that just praying and getting no response gives him comfort.

 

[sevenswords]

I find the closer I draw to God the clearer I hear him.
What does that mean for you?
It means you need to stop take a look at yourself and decide if your on the right path.
In no way shape or form should you be feeling frustrated when you come to pray and I can assume that your heart mind and soul are not on the same page.
I highly recommend falling in Love with God this is the best and easiest way to hear him.

So this protestant fella might have fallen in |Love with God and speaks to him with words of love.
That of course is seeking his will over your own that is the definition of Love, so ask for Love and everything else will fall into place. that’s the journey we are all called to.

 

[Lee1]

Are you attending mass regularly? Praying the Rosary often? Refreshing your memory of the scriptures regularly?

The feeling of distance between you and God is a subjective one, there is no distance between you because we are connected. How? I don’t know for sure but we are.

Our Lord promised us that the more faith we have the more we’ll be given. Have faith, God hears you.

 

[po18guy]

You have an infinite advantage over them: you can go and spend time in the presence of Christ. Find out when your parish offers adoration of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Then, just go and spend time with Him. Tell Him everything that you have told us. Then, be as patient with Him as He has been with you. When you are made aware that He is there, you will be changed.

 

[Vico]

…
My question is basically this, for the other person, is God actually doing something for that person to make them feel better, or is the way that individual’s brain is wired make him feel comfort even though God’s “ignoring” him the same way he “ignores” me. I’m sure ignore is not the right word, but I couldn’t come up with a different one and that’s how it feels.

There can be psycho-physiological effects from concentrated prayer, such as peace. Jesus says in Mark 12 to be wholistic:

29 And Jesus answered him: The first commandment of all is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord thy God is one God. 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength.

Phillipians 4:

6 Be nothing solicitous; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

 

[edward_george1]

Jesse Duplantis isn’t Catholic. He preaches a “prosperity gospel” theology, which is very much incorrect and not in line with the Catholic faith. Let’s not mislead people.

-Fr ACEGC