Is it ok to stop praying for awhile?

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John337

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Is it ok for me to stop praying for awhile because I feel as if I am sounding like a broken record and not getting anywhere? I am in more pain now than ever before physical emotional and not sleeping well. I still feel as if God will not accept my prayers I haven’t hurt anyone or anything like that why so much trouble?
 
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Now is the time for you to step the prayers up, in fact, not discontinue.
Not praying does nothing, We must pray constantly, daily, with hope in our hearts.
Remember the woman who badgered the judge in Scripture She never gave up.
 
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Only if you want to distance yourself from God. : >

We don’t pray to please us, to get feelings, to get consolations…we pray to please God, and to better understand His will for us in this or that situation.
 
@Edward so you are saying the reason that we pray is to have a closer and stronger relationship with God?
 
No.
Prayer is important. It opens up many graces to us.

An athlete may grow tired of and want to stop exercising, but he should not.

Likewise we should not stop praying. When you are attacked like this, double down.
 
John,

If you find that you can’t pray on a sustained basis, try keeping it simple and basic.

“I can’t, I know You can, I’ll let You!”

Or this: “Jesus help me”!
 
Keep Praying. The most beneficial prayers are those we make when its most difficult. An act of the will. A Sacrifice. Start each day with a simple prayer offering your time and efforts of the day to Christ. Be on your best behavior. Boom. Suddenly, your whole day is one long prayer.
 
Maybe change how you pray, what you pray for. I wouldn’t stop. Pray to God about the alienation, pain. That he sustains you through it. I see these times as dry spells, trials even. I am not saying I understand them. I read the Book of Job a few times a year - this might help.
 
Ask others to pray when you get weary but don’t stop yourself,make small prayers as suggested .
"Dear Jesus I love you "
“Lord Jesus Christ son of the living God have mercy on me a great sinner”
“Dear Jesus, you know exactly how I’m feeling, please help me” .
Kiss you scapular, glance at Our Lords image…
lots of little guestured that are like a prayer in themselves.
God bless.
 
Yes. Everything the Church encourages us to do is designed to encourage or create a closer unity with God.

Unity with God is holiness. And every person is called to be holy. Vatican II called it the “universal call to holiness”. Perfect holiness. A little bit every day, sliding back, we get up again with God’s help.

“up the inclined plane” until we die!!

We pray to increase unity with God
We go to Mass to increase unity with God
We go to Reconciliation to increase our unity with God, and His Mystical Body, the Church.
We say the Rosary to increase our unity with God
We might say a novena to increase our unity with God, letting Him know that we trust Him with our petitions.
We “offer up” (our work, our setbacks, our difficulties, our pains, our illnesses) to increase our unity with God.

We get “spiritual direction” to increase our unity with God.
We perform acts of charity (or least we should do so with the intention) of increasing our unity with God.

We read Scripture to increase our unity with God.

We deny ourselves, perhaps a fast, or a skipped second helping, to draw closer to God (using our "body as a means of prayer or conversation with God).

We hang out on Catholic Answers to increase our unity with God.

It’s a struggle, but our whole life can and should be converted into a form of conversation with God, which is really what prayer is, a conversation with Our Loving Father God.

This idea of “perfecting unity” with God really is a way of “simplifying and tieing together” our entire life (not just our “religious” life). It creates “unity of life”, simplicity, helpful to us…we are just children. Keeps us humble and open to God’s help.

Unity with God “marries up” into one intention and act EVERYTHING.
 
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John337 said:
I still feel as if God will not accept my prayers I
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Whether you should 'stop praying for a while" depends upon what you mean by “prayer”. If it is asking God for things, then yes, it is.
John337 said:
the reason that we pray is to have a closer and stronger relationship with God?
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Prayer is communication. Relationships are based on communication.

If you are just asking for things, and are upset that you are not getting what you want, it is time to change the nature of your prayers so you do more listening than asking.
 
I understand. The way I get around the “praying blues” is by playing beautiful holy music. It doesn’t have to be Gregorian chant. Although, some of that is nice. But I can only handle it in small doses.

I listen to classic hymns and modern songs that are popular, like “I can only imagine”.

Or I listen to Bible narratives.
Or to Rosary recitals or the divine mercy in song.

I can find them all on youtube and the Rosary and Divine mercy have their own apps.

I hope that helps.

I also watch the Journey Home and other EWTN classics.
 
Could it be that by not getting what I pray for God saying its not right for you? I will be 33 next month and I have no companion,no kids,no friends nothing.
 
I have a few (okay, a lot of) years on you. My experience is that God always answers prayer. But sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes the answer is not yet. Sometimes the answer is that He has something so much better in store than whatever it is you’re asking for.

And I know that doesn’t really soothe your heart right now. I would suggest a change. Instead of asking for what you want, ask Him to show you how you can serve Him today. Just one day at a time. Then listen. You probably won’t get instant answers. But if you keep listening, He will draw you in the way He wants you to go.
 
I thought it says in the bible people that have blemishes couldn’t serve or present anything to God.
 
Is it okay to stop talking to your wife for awhile?

It is times like yours when prayers like Night Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours is helpful. Give it a try.
 
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