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Prayer 23 May 2020
"I am 48 years old. When I was a child I prayed often. God, please give me a bicycle. God, please make that I get a good grade for my test. God, give me 300 Euro for a new phone. Any many more prayers. God never heard my prayers. I did not get the things I asked for. When I was 12 years old, I stopped praying. There is no God."
"I am 32 years old. I want to be a good Catholic. Unfortunately I find it really hard to pray. When I pray the rosary, I feel nothing. I see no results from my prayer. When I pray together with others it is easier. I still see no fruits. What is wrong with me?"
"I am 38 years old. I like the quietness in a church. I like to spend some time there. I would like to learn to love God. I have no idea how to do this."
"I am 21 years old. I really messed up my life. I am very restless. I pray to God for help. But I can not find it. My parish priest says, that I just need to pray and that everything will change. I tried. I do not see the slightest change. I am afraid that God has rejected me."
Do we need to learn Prayer?
My personal answer is very short: 'yes'. If prayer does not touch God nor my own heart, I need to search and ask for help.
The Holy Spirit is a great helper. Many struggle with connecting to this wonderful counselor.
I believe that all who like to grow in prayer need a spiritual director or a loving and wise coach.
Some Statistics
I have to disappoint you. Scientific research may be shocking for believers. My impression is that there is often a lot of resistance against 'measuring' or 'evaluating' the effect of prayer. A part (50%?) of this resistance is abusive of character. When no questions are allowed, we end with indoctrination.
I believe:
- Many left the church with disappointments.
- Many stop praying because of disappointments.
- Many lost their faith by wrong expectations.
- There are many silly conclusions around prayer and its effects. Silly applies when there is insufficient proof. Of course I love a thankful heart.
Hope
Those who seek God, love and peace in life, may expect to find a clean heart. From a clean heart come forth beautiful flowers of love.
Seeking God
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