What is the point in prayer?

[yorkshiregirl]

I have come to the rather depressing conclusion that that prayer - or my prayers at the least - are totally pointless. Everything I pray for - whether for my father to get better, my husband to get a promotion, myself to get a job - none of them are answered how I wish. I know we don’t always get the answer we are looking for but if God is just going to do what he wants, what is the point? Whatever happened to asking, seeking and knocking. My prayers now center just on thanking Him for the blessings I do have - and part of me knows I am only doing this out of fear that if I don’t He will then take those things and people from me. But I don’t want to follow vengeful God out of fear, I wanted the loving God.

Maybe it’s just me - everyone else around me at church, and on here, and when I hear other Christians talk they are filled with such joy and peace. What am I missing or not hearing? I have been a Catholic for 27 years and yet I rarely feel the joy and never feel the peace…

 

[Joy2day]

Well have you ever felt joy and peace in your life? I am sure you have. These were from God, or didn’t you know. Do you have any good things in your life? These are from God, or didn’t you know.

 

[Pythagoras]

I have come to the rather depressing conclusion that that prayer - or my prayers at the least - are totally pointless. Everything I pray for - whether for my father to get better, my husband to get a promotion, myself to get a job - none of them are answered how I wish. I know we don’t always get the answer we are looking for but if God is just going to do what he wants, what is the point? Whatever happened to asking, seeking and knocking. …

Have hope. St. Monica prayed for 10 years before St. Augustine was converted…

You can try the 54-Day Rosary Novena to Our Blessed Mother. One poster said that he found a job while still praying it. Pray with great joy and great devotion.

You can also try praying while fasting. I know God will take notice of you.

 

[godisgood77]

Well… the point of prayer is to more closely align our own will to God’s will. God has a plan and our job is to try to hear it, see it and act on it… not to get stuff or make things happen. Sorry to be blund, but it is important that we understand this.

 

[Lost_Sheep]

I agree with the O.P. What ever happened to “Ask and you shall receive.”?

 

[Kal2012]

The thing is that we “ask and receive” according to God’s will, not our own.

My prayer life ebbs and flows. It’s something that I constantly have to work at.

Also, I’m not one of those people who are constantly filled with “joy and peace.” However, I do know my faith and constantly remind myself of the promises that God has made to believers.

Don’t get caught up in feeling like a bad Catholic because you don’t “feel” like other people around you. I think it’s beautiful when I see people who have that “joy and peace”, but it’s not required. People get so caught up in what they think they should be feeling that they forget that their feelings are valid too.

I struggle with faith. However, I find that if I’m not struggling and wrestling with it in some way, then it’s not growing. Apparently, other people don’t have this problem.

It’s the difference between being “Jacob” and “Mary”. They both loved God, but Mary said “I’m the handmaiden of the Lord” and just stepped out in faith and listened to the angel. Jacob struggled and wrestled with God.

Neither approach is “wrong” or “right”. It just is.

 

[Exiled_Child]

I have come to the rather depressing conclusion that that prayer - or my prayers at the least - are totally pointless. Everything I pray for - whether for my father to get better, my husband to get a promotion, myself to get a job - none of them are answered how I wish. I know we don’t always get the answer we are looking for but if God is just going to do what he wants, what is the point? Whatever happened to asking, seeking and knocking. My prayers now center just on thanking Him for the blessings I do have - and part of me knows I am only doing this out of fear that if I don’t He will then take those things and people from me. But I don’t want to follow vengeful God out of fear, I wanted the loving God.

Maybe it’s just me - everyone else around me at church, and on here, and when I hear other Christians talk they are filled with such joy and peace. What am I missing or not hearing? I have been a Catholic for 27 years and yet I rarely feel the joy and never feel the peace…

Prayer often works differently than we think it does. Over time prayer will make you a better and more understanding person, and then you will be better equipped to help yourself. Study the Our Father and frequently repeat it aloud and silently to yourself. As your understanding of it grows, so too will you grow. All of Catholicism is compressed into that short prayer, and as we unpack it it’s like a seed that takes root in us.

 

[fred_conty]

I have come to the rather depressing conclusion that that prayer - or my prayers at the least - are totally pointless. Everything I pray for - whether for my father to get better, my husband to get a promotion, myself to get a job - none of them are answered how I wish. I know we don’t always get the answer we are looking for but if God is just going to do what he wants, what is the point? Whatever happened to asking, seeking and knocking. My prayers now center just on thanking Him for the blessings I do have - and part of me knows I am only doing this out of fear that if I don’t He will then take those things and people from me. But I don’t want to follow vengeful God out of fear, I wanted the loving God.

Maybe it’s just me - everyone else around me at church, and on here, and when I hear other Christians talk they are filled with such joy and peace. What am I missing or not hearing? I have been a Catholic for 27 years and yet I rarely feel the joy and never feel the peace…

Love and thank Jesus for not finding you a job because you know in your heart he loves you and sees that you would be happier without one right now. Thank him for that and then tell him that you trust him compeletely. That it makes no difference to you whether you have that job or not because in any case, he is watching over you and will do what is the kindest and most loving thing for you at this moment.

May God bless and keep you. May God’s face shine on you. May God be kind to you and give you peace.

 

[Robert_Sock]

I have come to the rather depressing conclusion that that prayer - or my prayers at the least - are totally pointless. Everything I pray for - whether for my father to get better, my husband to get a promotion, myself to get a job - none of them are answered how I wish. I know we don’t always get the answer we are looking for but if God is just going to do what he wants, what is the point? Whatever happened to asking, seeking and knocking. My prayers now center just on thanking Him for the blessings I do have - and part of me knows I am only doing this out of fear that if I don’t He will then take those things and people from me. But I don’t want to follow vengeful God out of fear, I wanted the loving God.

Maybe it’s just me - everyone else around me at church, and on here, and when I hear other Christians talk they are filled with such joy and peace. What am I missing or not hearing? I have been a Catholic for 27 years and yet I rarely feel the joy and never feel the peace…

When I pray I ask for nothing but the grace and discipline needed for salvation. I feel strongly that God hears me and answers me. Pray for the grace to carry out God’s will and see what happens.

 

[Lost_Sheep]

When I pray I ask for nothing but the grace and discipline needed for salvation. I feel strongly that God hears me and answers me. Pray for the grace to carry out God’s will and see what happens.

That’s all well and good, and I do not mean to minimize what you are saying, but the promise of salvation in Heaven does you no good with your day-to-day struggles with life.

 

[Bonnie]

Well… the point of prayer is to more closely align our own will to God’s will. God has a plan and our job is to try to hear it, see it and act on it… not to get stuff or make things happen. Sorry to be blunt, but it is important that we understand this.

Yes - God is not a magic being who grants wishes for us. If that’s what you want, find a genie.

Also, one might ask - what’s the point of conversation with friends? If we acted toward our friends as this poster says he does to God, we wouldn’t have any friends. The point of conversation (prayer) with God is to enhance the relationship. For some reason, he likes it when we natter on about our lives and how much we love Him. This is spite of knowing it already. The ongoing conversation helps us become closer to God.

I have a plaque in a prominent place so I can’t miss it - I read it many times during the day. It’s Psalm 37:4: “Delight thyself in the Lord and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

The key phrase is the first 5 words - Delight thyself in the Lord. When you do that, you will find the “desires of thine heart” changing.

 

[anon98328916]

When we pray we are talking to God. Every prayer is heard I can assure you that. Our Lady said “Persevere in prayer”.

 

[Robert_Sock]

That’s all well and good, and I do not mean to minimize what you are saying, but the promise of salvation in Heaven does you no good with your day-to-day struggles with life.

How do you deal with day to day struggles? I see the struggles as a cross that we should pick up and carry. I try to transform each day into a righteous sacrifice acceptable to God.

 

[Dorothy]

I agree with the O.P. What ever happened to “Ask and you shall receive.”?

Sometimes we may ask for pain to be alleviated, and if the answer is no and we stay in His peace, He can grant us the grace to endure and grow in grace.

I need to always trust the Lord and thank Him in all circumstances. He is infinite and I am finite. He sees the bigger picture…the salvation He wants for us.

I know this…that if we ask Him sincerely to grow in the virtues, we will receive the grace for that.

I can ask Him, (and I need to let Him decide) for things that are necessary, but may not get them.

It can be a difficult struggle at times… but then I must ask for deeper trust and peace.

 

[hazcompat]

Union.

Peace

 

[styrgwillidar]

Keep in mind that even Christ was told no to at least one of the things He asked for in prayer. He desired as a man to be spared the passion, but committed Himself to following God’s desire vice His own.

I recommend reading the catechism on prayer, there are several chapters but it’s a quick read.

usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catechism/catechism-of-the-catholic-church/epub/index.cfm#

2559 “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.”2 But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or “out of the depths” of a humble and contrite heart?3 He who humbles himself will be exalted;4 humility is the foundation of prayer. Only when we humbly acknowledge that “we do not know how to pray as we ought,”5 are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. “Man is a beggar before God.”

Contemplate His nature, you refer to a vengeful God, but is that consistent with a God who was willing to become man, live as a man, suffer and die as a man to show His willingness to forgive us for our wrongs, vice demand punishment?

Give thanks always for the things you have, including God’s forgiveness of your sins, His gift to you from His cross, His love. Show His love to others for you may be His answer to someone else’s prayers.

Prayer is to bring us closer to God, His love, and our part in it.

 

[ynotzap]

I have come to the rather depressing conclusion that that prayer - or my prayers at the least - are totally pointless. Everything I pray for - whether for my father to get better, my husband to get a promotion, myself to get a job - none of them are answered how I wish. I know we don’t always get the answer we are looking for but if God is just going to do what he wants, what is the point? Whatever happened to asking, seeking and knocking. My prayers now center just on thanking Him for the blessings I do have - and part of me knows I am only doing this out of fear that if I don’t He will then take those things and people from me. But I don’t want to follow vengeful God out of fear, I wanted the loving God.

Maybe it’s just me - everyone else around me at church, and on here, and when I hear other Christians talk they are filled with such joy and peace. What am I missing or not hearing? I have been a Catholic for 27 years and yet I rarely feel the joy and never feel the peace…

If God granted your request, would that bring you closer to Him? What is the purpose of life, if ultimately it is not God? It is said, that when a boxer, fighter is hungry, it makes him a better fighter, and when he succeeds, becomes famous, he is inclined to take it easy, with his reputation, and wealth, he falls “out of shape.” The spiritual life is much like that. How much would we pray, if we had everything we wanted, and if we just prayed for what we need and received it, would we grow spiritually, closer to God? Do we measure God’s love for us by how much He grants our requests? And if we do, does it manifest a greater love for ourselves than for God? Many times the needs we experience brings us to the feet of Christ, and the need was designed by God to experience our greatest need, a need for Christ Himself. Consider our needs that bring us to Christ as a great blessing. Others forget God, and seek the answer by accumulating material wealth, prestige, popularity etc. worldly security. Others seek cures (which is human and natural) but sometimes fail to understand the reasons for their circumstances, another spiritual challenge to bring one closer to God. It’s not easy, but possible with the grace of God. Pray that we can accept the challenge. We need motivation, and love of God is the greatest motivator, ask for it. It makes all the difference in our lives.

 

[dmftx]

I have felt this way before - most of us have - so please don’t feel alone. It has made more sense to me (as I have gotten older) and I can look back at what I wanted and prayed for but now realize it was not His will. Pray for understanding and insight and perseverance. I am sorry that you are so discouraged and you will be in my prayers tonight.

 

[Methos]

I agree with the O.P. What ever happened to “Ask and you shall receive.”?

As Henry Ford jokingly said, “Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black.”

Pray all you want, He’ll give you what He wants when He wants… and you’ll like it ::sarcasm::

 

[Methos]

Love and thank Jesus for not finding you a job because you know in your heart he loves you and sees that you would be happier without one right now. Thank him for that and then tell him that you trust him compeletely. That it makes no difference to you whether you have that job or not because in any case, he is watching over you and will do what is the kindest and most loving thing for you at this moment.

May God bless and keep you. May God’s face shine on you. May God be kind to you and give you peace.

Yeah, who needs a job when the sink is dripping, the drain is clogged, the car won’t start and the cupboard’s bare? No worries, be happy.