Trying to pray...how do you?

[Organist1995]

When ever I pray, sometimes i just feel that God is close, and other times i feel a little pull or tug to do something. Some people say they hear “Gods voice” telling them to do something. Many saints have even quoted “interior words they hear”.Am i suppose to hear an actual voice? I never understood why people say they have conversations with God, because i never hear actual words. Do you? what is your experience?

 

[Monica4316]

Very few people hear an actual voice. God often sends us inspirations, like what you described happens to you God can speak in many ways. Someday we will be able to speak with Him face to face, I hope, and right now it is not so obvious for most people… but He is still close, and we can hear from Him in many ways, not just one way. God often speaks to our hearts. God bless

 

[converting2024]

Remember that He is always close to us, it is we who turn our backs on Him. Pray with humility and do not ask for vain things. Many hear the words and choose not to listen. I agree with Monica that God speaks to us all in many ways. I am not a Saint by any means nor am I trying to make myself sound like one but I will tell you an experience I had.

I was at Mass a few months after my conversion and just after the Consecration I heard a voice in my head loudly state that “Someone will need your help tonight.” A friend of mine was in town for work and we spent some time hanging out that night. I dropped him off at his hotel around 12:30 AM. As I was driving away this woman waved frantically at me from her car. I was a little hesitant at first being in a “bad” part of town and it being so late, but I remembered what I heard so I rolled down my window. She said she was passing through, stopped at a gas station up the road, went inside, left her purse in the car with the window down and someone stole it. She needed $17 more dollars to get enough gas to get all the way home. I had no reason to doubt her story considering what happened at Mass, and the tears in her eyes when I agreed to help said it all.

 

[odhiambo]

When ever I pray, sometimes i just feel that God is close, and other times i feel a little pull or tug to do something. Some people say they hear “Gods voice” telling them to do something. Many saints have even quoted “interior words they hear”.Am i suppose to hear an actual voice? I never understood why people say they have conversations with God, because i never hear actual words. Do you? what is your experience?

Very few people actually hear God’s voice either out loud or internally. For the majority of us, it is a strong conviction that one gets.
I will give you a personal experience.
Some years ago I developed a cough that would not go away. It was so persistent and so prolonged that most people concluded I had the dreaded infection. Xray examination, sputum etc were all negative. After six months I decided I would go and do an HIV test on a Monday morning. Saturday before that day, I went to church early and prayed, and cried out to God. Time passed without my realising it. I came home late in the evening and went straight to a medical reference book on the shelf and checked the literature on some medication I had been prescribed six months previously to control my high blood pressure. The drug was “zestril”. It was right there in black and white. Cough is a common side effect!
Thank You Lord!
To this day, I tell people that God told me what the problem was. I never heard His voice, but He told me!

 

[jamanne]

I had a similar reaction to a high blood pressure medication that my doctor insisted was perfect for me ,only we didn’t know till I almost choked to death after getting steadily worse coughing fits over several weeks that the choking was a side effect of the drug.The info was buried in an obscure leaflet separate from the one that came with the drug.

 

[mdrummer5]

what is your experience?

My experience is very limited but when I first started praying I would actually speak outloud in my car when driving home from work. I would literally have one sided conversations with God. I never heard his voice but felt his presence. I eventually realized I must look crazy and while I don’t particularly care what others think of me in this manner I also realized that it was unnecessary to actually speak as God can hear our thoughts just as clearly.

The reason I pray in my car is because I often have a hectic schedule but my half hour commute to work is the perfect time for me to be alone with God. I will also sometimes pray in what might seem like an odd place or scenario. The shower for instance. I’m alone and I find the white noise the shower makes good for blocking out any random outside sounds that might interrupt my thoughts. Plus… I’m cleansing my body, might as well ask for my spirit to be cleansed at the same time right?