great, just what i wanted, a spiritual game of “hide-and-seek”.
In my opinion its about faith.
Prayer is not futile. Believe it or not God always answers prayers. Just as a child asks a parent for a snake or scorpion, a loving parent does not give it to him, but knowing best may give him nothing. I ask you, what was best for the child. Whatever God does, he does as he in his infinite wisdom knows what is best for our salvation. That we can always count on. I say the following as a lesson, not as a judgment. When we pray, we should always start by prayers of love, praise and thanksgiving. After we offer our prayers to God for who and what he is, we then offer our prayers for others. Sincere prayers for the needs of others, which again, will be answered as God knows is best for their salvation. Then and only then do we offer our own prayers. They should not always be prayers of an I want, kind of like a child in a grocery store. Pray for faith, or a deepening of faith. An increase in love of God and love of neighbor. After this, we pray for our own needs. Notice I did not say for our wants. e.g., I would love to be the winner of the mega lottery. Boy that would be fun. But I would never considering praying for such a thing, always thinking of the line of it being easier for a camel to go though an eye of a needle than a rich man to get into heaven. A careful examine of ones self would show you how your prayers fit this outline. if it does not, than maybe you should consider changing what it is you are praying for. and pray for something else. Remember, even no answer is an answer in that a No is what is best for your salvation. Just something to think about.
In other words, although prayer is VITAL to the Spiritual Life, equally important is DOING what you know is true and what God has taught you. When you are obedient to what God has shown you, then He will show you more. And if you are not obedient to your understanding of what is right and pleasing to God, you dont have much--including prayers that ever get answered. As Jesus says, "to him who has, more will be given, but to him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away...."
I felt the same way until I was given the grace to see that to treat God like some genie in the sky, and then to live my life as if I weren’t required to do anything in return results in sheer frustration.
My only hope is that there is some great reward in the next life for those of us who spend this life feeling like this.
Many times, it seems to be. But there are different levels of prayer as described by St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa d’Avila. There is also a spiritual condition known as the “dark night of the soul” where a person finds an absence of God rather than the presence of God in his/her life. Mother Teresa was one who felt this for most of her life, yet she used it to continue your ministry to the sick and dying. You are not alone in this. By the very fact that saints have experienced the same as you in their prayer lives probably means that God is closer to you than you think. There is also a little book out called “Practicing the Presence of God” by a Bro. Lawrence - a very old treatise on reversing how we view God in our lives. Instead of an active searching for God, we need to be aware that we are in God’s Presence all of the time, and He surrounds us with it. When we understand this, our prayer life takes on an added dimension - that God is here with us, present to us, and that He knows our prayers and concerns. What you might think is futile is actually God’s full attention to our petitions, and being answered in a way that serves Him, not us. Maybe this helps; maybe it doesn’t. I just thought to put my two-cents in here. God bless.
You expect a voice from a burning bush to answer you whenever you pray or something? Why? God created the world around us, and the people around us. Oftentimes, if we listen attentively to what they are saying and think about it a bit, He does speak to us through them. There are other ways He speaks to us - the Bible for one, so get reading!
Sounds much like Cain and Able does it not? One had their heart on God where the other on how they thought was good enough, and probably that may relate to many.
I don’t know about you, but too frequently I try to hide from God instead of seeking Him.
If you are speaking of prayers of intercession, you were always answered, not by email, text message, USPS or phone, but by the fruits of the prayer. Either you got what you asked for, immediately or eventually (a yes) or you had to wait (a maybe or a yes but not yet) or you did not (a no, it is not good for you my child and does not fill my plan for you).
here-in lies the rub, because the only intentions i have for myself are to know God’s will and to be able to do it! but if God does not let me know what His will is, then how can I be obedient to it?
no, i don’t expect a burning bush. but i would expect something more than just coincidence or happy feelings. wouldn’t God WANT us to know His will, and not confuse it with the will of someone (or something) else? how do we differentiate? how do i know one persons advice is God speaking to me, and another persons advice is not God speaking to me? just because someone gives advice that is morally correct, doesn’t mean that is God’s specific will for me.
i am praying to know WHAT God’s will is, so then i will be ABLE to conform to it.
Isn’t is also possible that God doesn’t say yes or no, but just let’s the outcome that was going to happen actually happen?