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Have you ever felt like your prayers somehow didn’t measure up?
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Absolutely. It seems like praying God’s word is a way of listening to God. That helps. Once the Holy Spirit takes over, it is clear and a relief. The truth is we don’t measure up. But God loves us anyway.
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Yes, often. That isn’t to say that there aren’t times where I do feel a strong connection with the Lord, but simply that that feeling (or sensation) isn’t present every time. Of course, the issue lies with me.
Although I have heard it cited often, I think it would do me good to really contemplate Romans 8:26-27. The times I feel like my prayers aren’t measuring up are the times that I feel that I am not quieting my mind enough, mining deep down into my heart, and determining how I feel about God, my circumstances, etc. Oftentimes, I feel like I am praying about the same things (even when they’re not for myself), which leads me to worry about just going through the motions.
Ultimately though, I feel that knowing that Jesus’ sacrifice allows me to go to the Lord with confidence, and that the Spirit is translating the motivations and intent behind my prayers to the Lord, bridges the gap where I feel I fall short. It would do me good to remember that and just focus on coming to Him often and building the relationship.
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Not that they didn’t measure up so much but that I don’t sense that God is there listening.
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Most days I feel that way. When the teacher asked to consider that God stores my prayers in golden bowl full of incense, I wonder if how full the bowl is and the fragrance it has. It shows me that God really values my thoughts.
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Yes, I use to feel this way until I started praying every day and by knowing that God is interested in everything about me and wants me to be real not fake when praying.