I'm all "prayed" out!
 

I have been in church all my life..accepted Jesus into my heart at a young age and I have seen the power of prayer! Lately I feel prayed out so to speak...I dunno what to ask for anymore...I have thanked God for his blesssing on me and my family even thru tragedies, I just feel like giving up on prayer since God knows whats in my heart and the needs I have. I hope I can get to the point of praying again. Anyone ever feel this way? :icon_cry:

Dear KajunButterfly,
As I was praying this morning and thinking of all, just on this NeuroTalk site, that need to be interceded for.

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance to God's will." Romans 8:26-27 (NIV).

He reminded me of this scripture in Romans. He also reminded me that I don't need to know details of the lives of those He asks me to pray for because He knows the details. Please know that I have recorded your name on my prayer list. And far greater than that, the Holy Spirit is uttering in words we don't understand petitions that are falling before the Throne of God. I hope you can find comfort in that. And I found this portion of a devotion that might be of a bit of encouragement to you.

Merry Christmas, may God grant you a bit of respite in the coming days. feel free to send me an email or a pm if you would like to talk more. pat e


"Remember, God is not watching the clock when we pray. He is not saying, "You know, I would have answered that prayer if you had gone another 45 seconds." Don't get too hung up in the time issue. Talk to God like you would talk to a best friend. That is what He is, "a friend who sticks closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24).

PRAY THE WORD

God loves His Word. If you want to know the will of God, read His Word. The will of God is found in the Word of God. 1 John 5:14-15 tells us that we can be confident that God will answer prayers according to His will. So, if you will simply pray Scripture back to God, you can be assured that He will answer that type of prayer.

A good place to go for prayers in the Bible is Psalms. David was known as "a man after God's own heart." He has LOTS of honest, humble, heartfelt prayers in Psalms that you can claim for your own and pray them back to God.

BE ENCOURAGED

My friend, prayer is not given to us to be torturous and a source of guilt and condemnation. It is given by God to connect us to Him. The King over the universe longs to hear from little old you and me. WOW!

The Bible tells us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). The way you do that is to call on God as soon as you wake up in the morning and never hang up the phone. Talk to Him all throughout the day. Share your every trial and every triumph with Him. It makes all the difference in the world and will draw your heart close to the King." taken from biblestudytools.com

Yes, I have often felt like this.....and it's made me feel so guilty! I think we all have felt this way at one time or another. I don't think God is angered by it. He just wants us to be honest and talk to Him from our hearts. If we can't find the words to express our feelings at the time He understands. This article has helped me: http://www.joemckeever.com/mt/archives/001044.html.

:hug:

I came to your thread to offer support and inspiration, but surprise! I ended up GETTING support and inspiration instead. (Thank you, GramE)

I have been in your situation many times, and "prayed out" describes it exactly. Time to go back to the Well of Grace.

Praying for you.

Thanks my friends..I'm gonna start reading the Psalms again tonight. Maybe just praise God instead of praying.

Yes I do. I know what your talking about. I recieved Jesus into my heart back in about 1981. I started praying,and reading the Bible. As time went by I started praying more,to the point that I've spent more then a thousand hours in bible,and prayer time. Back in 1988 was the period of time that I spent all out hundreds of hours in prayer,and reading the Bible. I kept praying,and reading the Bible after then,but it was less.

Now I go to church,but I'm finding it hard to pray,and read the Bible. Back in the 1980's it was easy for me to pray,and read the Bible. Now it's difficult. I don't know why. I don't know why I'm going through this. BF:hug::hug::hug:

KajunButterfly There are alot of comfort verses in Isaiah chapters 40-66. I keep going back to those chapters for comfort. BF:hug::hug::hug:

I thank God...
 

...for ALL of you amazing people who have responded on this thread. I needed this as well.

I have learned that for me prayer is not always with head bowed and an utterance of words. Sometimes it is 'feeling' the Holy Spirit with me, just like a best friend... too tired to think, but knowing the Spirit is interceding for me. He wants to do that for us. 'We are strongest in our weakness.'

For me, peace with God has come with learning not to just have God in my life, but to let God BE my life. And as I have learned to do that, I feel in more of a 'state' of prayer all throughout the day.

Butterfly, You are in my prayers right now...and I can tell from your posts that you love the Lord. And that is what he wants. I don't think he expects more from us than we can give. So please be good to yourself and love yourself as much as you love all the folks you are praying so hard for. Let the Spirit intercede for you when you are too weak.

Sending you lots of hugs today. :hug::hug::hug:

Beautiful Thread!
 

Thank you for this! :hug:

As one who has been in and out from under a 'depression cloud', I certainly know the feeling of 'emptiness' that can settle in..... A writer could equate this feeling as that of 'writer's block'...... it just 'ain't there'.

I've heard things said such as "If you've prayed twice for the same thing, you've already prayed once in doubt"......
And others sometimes imply that prayer has to somehow be politically correct...

But, in my humble opinion, I truly believe "PRAISE" to be the way to go.
Sing Praises....'Dance' Praises.....
....and if STILL that 'emptiness' is there, or if I'm too down and out to have the 'energy' for that,...or I've sparked a pain flare from trying to 'dance' :o......I never go wrong by simply crawling up in my Father's Lap "Abba Papa".....and don't say anything at all.
Just curl up in His Lap.....and cry if we must. Those tears will pretty much say it all to Him.

:grouphug:

Truly the place we need to have a well worn path to. The safety and security of the Heavenly Father's embrace.

There is a song that states 'God inhabits our praise'. I also think that counting our blessings goes a long way in turning the tide of our emptiness.

May you all know more of the Father's love in the New Year.
pat

I wish prayers worked. Even Mother Theresa suffered. When I pray, I feel like I am pretending.

Don't give up. It will become real for you. Try praying with several people. There's more power in that. Try praying the Lords prayer,and forgive people who have offended you. I pray for God to forgive me for my sins before I pray usually. Sometimes I forget.

Have you received Jesus into your heart? Ask him to make it real to you. Talk to him,and tell him what you told us.

Everyone suffers. In reading the Bible you will understand after a while. God bless you. Don't give up. Brokenfriend :hug::hug::hug:

Thank you for this thread. I have been in a bad place for awhile and reading this is helping.

July63, remember prayer does not offer any guarantee that suffering will cease....only the promise that if we ask, God will be with us and make a path through the suffering, that we can follow with trust that He will lead us to better things. I have seen amazing!! answers to prayer so I will never stop believing in the importance and power of prayer.

I am at a place in my own life though where prayer IS a struggle. But I know that even when I have no words, God's Spirit is able to clearly hear what is in my heart.

I so agree that keeping an attitude of praise is a pathway to prayer.

Lately, I have www.klove.com playing on my computer from log in to log off and it has really helped me so much!

My prayers are lifted for everyone posting and reading here. :grouphug:

I'm so glad hollym that this tread is helping you. I hope that you are strengthened to cope with what your going through. BF:hug::hug::hug:

Gentle Thoughts
 

Those who know the Lord may find that the relationship, like any other, goes through changes over time. Formal prayer is not required to be in conversation with God. I believe that I walk with Him always. My every thought and my needs are always known. I couldn't breath without His love. So he is always there. One word is a prayer. One thought is a prayer. Be gentle with yourself and remember that God loves us just the way we are...The conversation will change again.

All prayed out
 

Thank you for your honesty. I recently experienced another protracted episode of severe pain and have felt hopeless that my prayers are heard. Through reading your posting and those of others I feel once again encouraged to turn back to God through His Word for the comfort and encouragement that I need.
Thank you so much. I will be praying for us all.

This is a good thread for me to keep coming back to.

Me, too.:grouphug:

Just found this...and it inspires me so much...I felt so much that I was losing my faith several months ago...I stopped walking, one of my best friends, my mother and 2 cats died...I felt so lost...and I started to pray again...small silent reconnections...feel more at peace now...thanks again for the reminder...and you will be in my prayers this morning...J

Thank you for your sharing on this. I try to remember when I wake up to say hello to God and simply ask Him to make me a good girl today (I'm 63!, but I am still His child) and let me be a blessing to others.

There are too many to pray for, so I just ask blessings for us all over the world, especially those most in need of His comfort.

I love the way you shared about curling up in our Father's lap, I do that, too. This way I accept how little I am and so in need of help, so I say Abba, Papa, ( just like you!) hold me. I even know what chair we sit in. It was an old overstuffed chair that was my father's for as long as I can remember. There are pictures of him in it, and all of us kids, over the years. I got it when they got new furniture and had it for years, too. It's name was Squash. There we are, my heavenly Father and I, where I can just be His child, in a gone, but not forgotten chair.

Praise, as you say, is really all I can give Him. He saved my from a deathly addiction, so what do I have to give Him, but gratitude and praise?

The reason that I believe that we must pray for others is not so much for Him or the recipient, whom He already holds in His loving hands. But so we learn to care for and love each other. It's a gift given us so that we can feel a part of God's work in the world. I need to learn to love and care for others by practicing it in prayer. We can hold up each other all over the world to our Father. It's like an exercise for us in which we just do the the best we can, even if we just say "God bless us all and let me do Your will today, with Your support and love. Please forgive me for an imperfect job, but I will try."

That focuses my day, and if I forget what I wanted to do, I can start over anytime during the day

Sorry for the ramble, Love, Linda :grouphug:

Bless you today and everyday, KajunButterfly. You're right, God does know what's in your heart. You are His blessed child and he holds you in His arms. All of us here at NT do too! Linda :circlelove:

I used to pray for what I wanted. Now I pray for what God wants for me. I have accepted that sometimes His will is not my will and what He wants for me is not always what I want for myself. God knows what's best for me because He created me and knows the plans that he has for me.

For those of you who are struggling with reasons why God is not answering your prayers in the way you wish Him to, please remember that:

Sometimes the answer to our prayers is not for God to remove our adversity but for Him to help see us through it and many times the change is not in your circumstance but in how you handle it.


God Bless Everyone!

Shari - Your post makes me think of what I said to one of my boys when they were little and asked why God didn't answer one of his prayers. I told him that God answers all prayers, but sometimes the answer is no. Just like he doesn't always understand why I don't say yes to everything he wants, sometimes we don't understand why God says no, but have to trust that He is the Father and knows what is best.