How should praying feel?

[LysanderShapiro]

There is never one same feeling I get from prayer.

Sometimes is a feeling of peace. Sometimes it is a feeling of anxiousness, sometimes sadness, sometimes thankfulness, and sometimes no feeling at all.

It could depend on the reasoning of prayer. It always differs. It is OK if you don't get a feeling at all. What's important is that you bring your petitions and thankfulness to God always -- and do it boldly and with persistence. Never doubt that He is listening. I assure you, He is.

 

[Ravindran]

How does praying feel like for you? Whenever I pray, I feel that it is insincere.

It really depends on what I am praying about! Feeling not so sincere is probably one of the many feelings.. There have been times when Lord answers prayer showing His way.. Not in an audible voice.. But He reminds certain things in my heart.. For example, I might be praying to God about some material thing.. Then Lord will remind of a Bible verse which would talk about relationship with God being more important than wordly things.. He would set my ways right.. Those are times I feel so happy about Lord answering me right away.. Some times I go through the motion and I feel nothing.. In fact I feel myself distancing from Lord.. There are times when I pray with burdened heart.. I feel comfort of Lord holding me in His hands.. Every prayer is different and it causes different feelings..

One thing I know.. I am not faithful.. But Lord is faithful.. He hears every word uttered or spoken from my heart..

 

[Juk]

Juk, I prefer to think of prayer as not starting at any particulate time, and then stopping after so many minutes, but starting and never stopping.
As it tells us in scripture.

Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

You can have your heart set on the things above were Christ sits on the right hand of God. If you do this you will always be in constant form of prayer at all times. The Lord will guide you in all that you say and do when he has your attention set on Him.

So pray all day?

 

[Juk]

Like you are having a discussion with your best friend who just happens to be 'God of the universe' .

When I pray, I talk to God like he is the president or something.

 

[Juk]

You have to feel like you are getting through to Him or you are very likely not getting through to Him.

Before you pray, spend a session of self judgment on your knees. Ask yourself if you love God. Make sure you love God. Remember loving God is not loving others. Loving others is the second commandment. Loving God is not reading your bible or going to church. Those are by products of loving God.

Loving God is when we are able to say ''your will be done / deny yourself'' Matt 16:24 and when we hate what He hates Rom 12:9 / obey His commandments.

God must not be an addition to your need. When we examine ourselves truthfully, pray honestly and with no doubt, we get through to God. No doubt is very easy for a Christian. Confidence in God's existence must be like that in gravity. Confidence in God being good / faith in Jesus being Lord can only come from the Holy Spirit 1 Cor 12:3 / ie being a true Christian.

God hears the prayers of His sheep John 9:31. We have to make sure that we are 'His sheep'.

I do get through to God.

 

[CCW95A]

So pray all day?

Absolutely!!! The heart of man can continually be stayed on the things of God, while the physical mind goes about it's normal life of operating in this earthly physical life.
Always practicing a "consciousness" of God, knowing that I am always standing in his presence as long as I am thinking upon Him. Read this scripture and meditate on it. It will change your life more than you could possibly know.

Col 3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Col 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Col 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Col 3:4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

This is fellowship at it's highest level!!!

 

[Juk]

Absolutely!!! The heart of man can continually be stayed on the things of God, while the physical mind goes about it's normal life of operating in this earthly physical life.
Always practicing a "consciousness" of God, knowing that I am always standing in his presence as long as I am thinking upon Him. Read this scripture and meditate on it. It will change your life more than you could possibly know.

Col 3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Col 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Col 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Col 3:4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

This is fellowship at it's highest level!!!

Now I'm a bit confused.

 

[CCW95A]

Juk, the mind of Christ does not dwell within your head, brain, it is in your heart. They are not the same thing. We do not renew the "mind of Christ" as it is already perfect in every way. Being "spiritually" minded and fleshly minded do not existent in the same place. The physical mind is that which needs to be renewed, while the mind of Christ is something we are told to let dwell within us. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus....
The physical mind was not designed to discover spiritual truth, as it can not. The physical mind only believes what your heart tells it to believe, and not the other way around. When the Lord speaks to you it will not be to your physical mind, but spiritual heart.

 

[Juk]

Juk, the mind of Christ does not dwell within your head, brain, it is in your heart. They are not the same thing. We do not renew the "mind of Christ" as it is already perfect in every way. Being "spiritually" minded and fleshly minded do not existent in the same place. The physical mind is that which needs to be renewed, while the mind of Christ is something we are told to let dwell within us. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus....
The physical mind was not designed to discover spiritual truth, as it can not. The physical mind only believes what your heart tells it to believe, and not the other way around. When the Lord speaks to you it will not be to your physical mind, but spiritual heart.

So, when I pray, should I be using my heart to pray? Or...

 

[CCW95A]

So, when I pray, should I be using my heart to pray? Or...

Both!
As the Apostle Paul tells us, we should pray with our understanding and with our spirit.

1Co 14:14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful.
1Co 14:15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also.

We are to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. The complete man in his form needs to worship Him who sits upon His throne as the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

 

[/]

You should feel as if Jesus is right next to you, no matter what you're doing.
When we pray, we are communicating to God; this is pretty great by itself. Praying should be sincere and spoken from the heart; give it time my friend, God will work miracles in your life.

 

[LysanderShapiro]

I could be pushing buttons with this one (not intended), but why are our feelings so important? Or perhaps, are they important? Nothing wrong with having feelings -- and I'd even say it's a very good thing when we do have a feeling given to us by the Holy Spirit...but is it the end-all be-all?

 

[CCW95A]

I could be pushing buttons with this one (not intended), but why are our feelings so important? Or perhaps, are they important? Nothing wrong with having feelings -- and I'd even say it's a very good thing when we do have a feeling given to us by the Holy Spirit...but is it the end-all be-all?

It all depends on what feelings you are talking about. Physical feeling no, spiritual feeling yes. We walk by faith, and not by sight. Sight referring not just to seeing with our physical eyes, but of all of mans five physical senses. The spirit man has to be guided by a different set of senses that are not physical in nature. Jesus operated by these in his sayings when he said I only speak what he hear my Father say, and he only did what he saw his Father do. Jesus was moved with compassion, and with all the fruits, and gifts of the Holy Spirit in full control in all he did.
If the Lord was going to show you everything he has repaired for you from the beginning as it says in scripture, then what sense are we going to use to see it? If we have the truth in us and have the" witness" in us that we truly are a son of God, there has to be a "sense" that discerns that witness.

 

[LysanderShapiro]

It all depends on what feelings you are talking about. Physical feeling no, spiritual feeling yes. We walk by faith, and not by sight. Sight referring not just to seeing with our physical eyes, but of all of mans five physical senses. The spirit man has to be guided by a different set of senses that are not physical in nature. Jesus operated by these in his sayings when he said I only speak what he hear my Father say, and he only did what he saw his Father do. Jesus was moved with compassion, and with all the fruits, and gifts of the Holy Spirit in full control in all he did.
If the Lord was going to show you everything he has repaired for you from the beginning as it says in scripture, then what sense are we going to use to see it? If we have the truth in us and have the" witness" in us that we truly are a son of God, there has to be a "sense" that discerns that witness.

I guess where I'm getting at is how does faith ONLY translate to feelings? Someone can know God's presence without feeling it.

 

[Abdicate]

To a follower of Jesus Christ, prayer is breathing. You don't stop breathing, so don't stop praying. I'll be walking down the street and I'll be thanking the Lord for "fill-in-the-blank". Like this morning, walking to work I saw a bunch of finches fluttering around in a bush and when I got closer I saw one was blue with a yellow bellly. It was such a cute thing and he so warmed my heart I gave praise to the Lord for the gift of letting me witness him. The sun was out and the air was crisp and clean, I just had to thank the Lord.

 

[Ravindran]

To a follower of Jesus Christ, prayer is breathing. You don't stop breathing, so don't stop praying. I'll be walking down the street and I'll be thanking the Lord for "fill-in-the-blank". Like this morning, walking to work I saw a bunch of finches fluttering around in a bush and when I got closer I saw one was blue with a yellow bellly. It was such a cute thing and he so warmed my heart I gave praise to the Lord for the gift of letting me witness him. The sun was out and the air was crisp and clean, I just had to thank the Lord.

Amen! People find it hard when they read Paul asking us "pray without ceasing". John MacArthur has a nice write up on this as well. Thought of sharing with everyone.

http://www.gty.org/resources/questions/QA157/What-does-it-mean-to-pray-without-ceasing

A nice analogy to breathing.. I was reaching in Gotquestions. They have expanded it nicely. Often we feel it is easier to not pray (aka, stop breathing). And allow pressure of the world to come down on us. As born again believers, we are to breath (aka pray). Only then we can live.

http://www.gotquestions.org/pray-without-ceasing.html

 

[CCW95A]

I guess where I'm getting at is how does faith ONLY translate to feelings? Someone can know God's presence without feeling it.

How can someone know they are in the presence of God with out having some kind of "sense" that detects his presence? Faith is not without "evidence" to prove it is true. If there is no evidence then there is no faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, it is the evidence of things not seen. It is unwise to believe in something without evidence of its existence that faith gives.

 

[Abdicate]

How can someone know they are in the presence of God with out having some kind of "sense" that detects his presence? Faith is not without "evidence" to prove it is true. If there is no evidence then there is no faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, it is the evidence of things not seen.

Oh I feel His presence!!! When I remove self and focus onHism, His presence is totally felt!!!

 

[CCW95A]

Oh I feel His presence!!! When I remove self and focus onHism, His presence is totally felt!!!

Absolutely, I am in the same way. I am overwhelmed with peace unspeakable and full of Glory.

 

[LysanderShapiro]

How can someone know they are in the presence of God with out having some kind of "sense" that detects his presence? Faith is not without "evidence" to prove it is true. If there is no evidence then there is no faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, it is the evidence of things not seen. It is unwise to believe in something without evidence of its existence that faith gives.

I'm not saying no evidence, I'm just asking in regards to feelings -- you'd agree with me that feelings aren't the only sense of evidence we have for God. My experience in prayer is (usually) a great sense of peace. A moment of calmness.

I'm not suggesting that feelings are bad (they're good!), and I'm not suggesting that we don't feel when we pray (many times, we do!) -- I'm just bringing into the conversation a question which is are feelings overrated when it comes to our prayer life? We have knowledge and reason for His truth and love, but we may even have that when we have no sense of feeling at all, may it be for a day or a month or even a year.

I guess I ask because it can go deeper. If someone of a strong faith and prayer life continue His movement towards God not feel anything, would it be valid or invalid to judge that person's faith as weakening because of his lack of feeling (not lack of faith)?

I mentioned how I usually have a feeling of peace when I pray, which I wouldn't doubt to be God giving me the gift to feel His support, but if I wanted to argue against God, I might say that many people get a sense of calmness or peace when they stop doing what they're doing, take a deep breath, and relax for a moment.

Prayer isn't always relaxing, and it's certainly not always for the sake escaping anxiety, but I'm just playing devil's advocate with that one.

This isn't intended to create a stir, I just thought it was an interesting topic.