Sometimes when I pray, Lord
I feel no-one is listening.
You seem to be so far away
And I feel I can’t reach You.
I feel my prayers are doing nothing more
Than bouncing off the ceiling.
I wrote these words years ago at a low time in my life. It was published in Decision magazine, which made me think the editors of that magazine thought it was something other people would relate to.
Have you ever felt like this? If you have, what can you do about it? The first instinct is to conclude there is no point and draw further away from God. The result is you usually end up feeling worse and slide further down the slippery slope of depression. Believe me, I know. I’ve been in that place where life seems futile and hard, when God seems far away or non-existent.
It’s helpful to know other believers experience these feelings of God seeming remote at some point in their lives. But those who push through it usually emerge stronger in faith. So here are some ways to help combat these feelings.
1. Write a poem or letter to God letting him know how you’re feeling. He knows anyway so better to get it out in the open. David and the other psalmists often did this and look how often those Psalms turn from complaint to praise. Psalms 10, 13, 22 and 69 are some examples.
2. Read through some Psalms. Often they clearly express what we are feeling. Meditate on them and then pray, ignoring your feelings of alienation. I find it helpful to write out my prayers. It keeps me focused and stops my wayward thoughts straying to other things. Plus, it gives me a record of what I prayed and when, so when answers come I recognize them.
3. Read God’s Word, even when you don’t feel like it. God’s Word answers our questions, doubts, and despair.
4. Continue meeting with other believers on a regular basis. It’s easy to shut ourselves off from others, thinking no-one else understands. But it’s not helpful. It’s hard to be a Christian in isolation.
5. Put on hymns or Christian music. Sing along. Dance if you feel like it.
6. Don’t be afraid to let those you trust, know how you are feeling and ask for prayer. The prayers of others will pull us through when we feel incapable of prayer ourselves.
7. Remember specific incidences of how God has blessed you and dealt with you in the past. Thank Him for them.
8. Surround yourself with photos of loved ones and pictures of God’s creation that inspire you to pray and praise him. Make a list of things you are thankful for.
9. See if there is some sin that needs to be confessed. Unconfessed sin can block our relationship with God as David discovered. Look at Psalm 32 and Psalm 38. See how David’s in Psalm 66:18 recognized that God did not listen when sin stood between him and his Lord. Deal with any unconfessed sin and accept God’s forgiveness.
10. Pray, even if initially it feels like you are only going through the motions. Your feelings will fall into line after a while. Part of the problem often, is that we really do not focus on the character of God and on what His word says but on how we feel. To return to the poem from earlier. It concludes:
Lord, I know the fault
Lies within me.
Teach me, help me
To rely on Your eternal changelessness
And not on my fluctuating feelings.