Okay, This may be weird or not I don't really know but still. I used to not be someone that believed in God, I don't wanna say that I wasn't a Christian because I don't actually know if I am one right now. I have finally started believing in God (Well, Maybe) and I go to this wonderful Church filled with very nice people yet...when it's prayer time I feel so guilty! I do try my hardest to pray to him and try to convince myself that he is listening but I just can't, No matter what I do it feels as if he is not there even though I truly do wish to believe in him.

I don't know if someone does actually have an answer to this problem but if even try to help me understand, Thank you so much.

well im not a christian, im a Buddhist..

does ur parents or ppl ever teach you to pray?
i too dont actually knw whether he exists or not..

but my dad always say tht the main thing to do is to do good deeds..
he said tht if u always do good deeds, u will get good deeds or events in return..
but if u keep prayin bt always do bad actions, u will get bad things back..

im not sure whether tht answers ur problem or not..
but good luck ne way~

hope you'll b able to feel better~

Im not too sure im an athiest but that doesnt mean i cant try to figure out why this is.... anyways my thoughts on it....

Right now it sounds like your agnostic because your so unsure about it.

Maybe your just not ready yet, give it a little more time, keep going to church if your now starting to believe im sure you just need to really get used to it...

If you keep up hope then the feeling of guilt should pass

you shouldnt have to convince yourself that your prayers are being heard, dont even think too extensivly about that i mean all you can do is pray and hope they are heard.

but seriously i think you just need a little more time to figure things out for yourself ^_^

sorry i dont know if any of that even makes sense but i hope it helped a little!

I'm not religious myself, but one of my old best friends from school (old because we're not as close now) was raised in a very religious family. They go to church more than once a week, they're expected to date only Christians (unless they can get their parents approval of the person otherwise; I guess they think all Christians would be someone they would have known for years, and therefore trust.) and only listen to Christian bands.

My friend had a lot of the same problems you're describing. She didn't doubt that she believed in God, but she didn't really know if he could hear her, often she felt like he wasn't listening or he couldn't help. There was a lot of times she strayed from the path she's "supposed to follow". (I'll try not to merge my own opinion in to this if possible D:) Anyway, it was all because she was having doubts about whether or not I guess God believed in her. Sounds sort of strange, but what I mean by that is she didn't doubt he existed, she just doubted certain things she was expected to do, and she began doubting that he cared about her because of all these problems she was having. After awhile she wanted to believe in him but found herself struggling.

Of course this isn't identical, but she did have problems feeling heard by him, because she just started feeling differently about it.

With you, I think a lot of this is because you're still new to believing in God. You don't really know for sure how to know if he's listening, and the truth is, you can't ever just know. It's just something you have to trust and believe in. A lot of prayer is just a method of giving people someone to talk to, someone to trust, and is a way to give them hope that they may not be able to find elsewhere. You'll never know if God actually hears you, because even though there might be signs, often you won't recognize them. If you believe in God, it doesn't matter if you doubt whether he hears your prayers. I mean, in a more light humorous way, he's got a lot of people to listen to D: Maybe he CAN'T hear everyone, who knows? Believing in anything is just... putting yourself out there, not necessarily having proof of somethings existence, but believing it anyway. If you really believe in God, it doesn't matter if you think he can't hear your prayers because you still believe in his existence and his role in the worlds creation. That's all that matters. Even people who have been praying their entire lives come to a point where they may doubt if he hears them, because maybe they pray to him to help someone, and then he doesn't. As long as you're trying, that's what counts, and maybe some day you'll believe he's heard you.

And if you're actually wondering how to pray, I don't think there's any specific way for that either; a lot of religious people I'm friends with just describe it as being a relationship with your best friend, and my friend that I mentioned took a lot of years to feel that she had a "relationship" with God because she was finally in a happy place with her life. Maybe God is supposed to be within you and you just have to find him there, and things start working out better?... No idea. Religion confuses me which is why I don't call myself religious, I guess I can say I believe in God but I don't do much apart from that.

Although I was raised Catholic, I've never really grasped the concept of their type of praying: they memorize all these different prayers and say them x amount of times and all that. But that doesn't seem to have any meaning to me. When I pray, I just have a conversation with God. It's comforting to me because, even though I can't tell you for sure that he's real, it feels like someone is listening. I don't think there is a right or wrong way to pray. Just do what feels right to you. It may seem strange because you say you're unsure about this...what I do is I talk to him like I would anyone else. My logic is that...you shouldn't feel overwhelmed by prayer...God is there to listen to you and help guide you in his way. :) I hope this helps?

Well before I go to bed I just say

"Dear Val, Tabs, and Jesus,(Oh yeah, I named god and wife.Named them Valerius and Tabitha. Makes them seem more personal that way. He has to of gotten women from some where or he would have made men self reproducing)

Hi. How's the world going?

I'd like to take a minute to wish happiness and health on all the people I know. And even though I hate my dad and cousin please let them be happy and healthy too. Amen."

Usually the priest does it but I think I have done it once. By myself and when I was praying and my sibling thought it was wried. So...yea.

I guess it goes with something like
Dear, God
(I use to do Jesus, either way it works. )
I wish for etc etc. somebodys happiness, your happiness.
and then you say amen in the end. That's pretty much it. It's like talking to yourself but to Jesus or God. But you don't curse in the prayer. Because that's sinful...

How about praying something like this,"Dear God, I don't know if you are real, but I'm really trying to find you right now if you are. Can you reassure me and help me to believe you hear me, if you're real? Because I'd like to be able to pray to you and believe that you listen to me."

If God is real, he will hear your prayer and help you with this issue, just like any other issue you might be having.

i like enchanted tiara's idea of prayer^^

Maybe Christianity isn't the right thing for you... I'm not saying don't try it, if it's what you enjoy, but you can believe in God without being a Christian. You can even believe in God without praying. ^-^

When I pray, which I usually do in the bathroom (think what you will, it's a nice, quiet, solitary place to think, either on the pot or in the tub), it's a matter of asking questions and waiting for the answer. I won't say whether the answer comes from my subconscious or from a supernatural force, but it's not simply saying words and wishing -- for me, it's making the right choice when I'm at a crossroads, whether it's a big issue (should I move house?) or small (should I empty the litterbox now, or leave it for a few more hours?). This kind of questioning/praying helps me keep on an even keel, keeping me in touch with someone a lot more stable than my usual wobbly self.

I highly recommend a book to you: Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert. I read it while at a Bed and Breakfast in Virginia, during a drive across the country with my husband. It's given me a new perspective on my conflicting religious views, which have been influenced by a childhood indoctrination into Christian Science, my own crazy ideas about tree and wind spirits as a superstitious teenager, a thorough reading of everything Robert Heinlein ever wrote (including Stranger in a Strange Land, the uncut version), a good dose of atheism, and a strong admiration of Buddhism and Shinto.

Hope this helps...

well i dont really have a faith i believe thers something out there but i dont know what if prayer makes you feel uncomfortable remember you dont have to do it your not offending anyone by not doing it i think that aslong as you look after yourself and other people that all you need if you want to pray then try wrighting it down on paper and keep a diary of them =3

Prayer is essentially just conversation with God. There are prayers that have been written (to aid those who have a hard time finding the words to say), prayers that were given by God (like Jesus teaching the "Our Father," or the Rosary of Mary,) and prayers that just come spontaneously from the heart (things we just want to say).

I think the best realization someone can have when they're having problems praying, is to realize that it isn't about getting warm fuzzy feelings. You're trying to say something to a Being Who is most definitely there, and who can most definitely hear you. So even if you don't feel anything while you're saying what you want to say, it doesn't take away from it.

Feelings can fool us, but then there's the cold, hard reality. If something is true, it's true. If it's real, it's real, no matter how we feel about it inside. God is there, whether we feel it or not, so our words will reach him, whether we had an experience of some kind or not.

I like to compare the whole feelings problem with what it would be like to get on an airplane bound for somewhere you've never been, and then halfway through the flight you doubt that the place you're going exists, or you make up your mind it doesn't exist. Well, fact is, it's there whether you believe in it or not, because it is part of the concrete reality around us. It won't vanish just because you doubt it, or make up your mind it isn't there.

The same goes for God, heaven hell, whatever... Reality is there, and it just is what it is, no matter how we personally feel about it. When we get discouraged in prayer, it helps to remind ourselves of the reality of God, who is there no matter how we feel (or whether we don't feel anything at all).

Also...

"And when you are praying, speak not much, as the heathens. For they think that in their much speaking they may be heard. Be not you therefore like to them, for your Father knoweth what is needful for you, before you ask him. Thus therefore shall you pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our supersubstantial bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen. For if you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences. But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences..."

-The Bible

Also, it's good to remember that God is not the genie of the lamp, or Santa Claus. People often complain that they don't believe in God because they pray and "nothing happens." Well, that's because God sees the whole picture of our lives, past, present and future, and His chief goal is saving us from frying, and giving us only what actually will be good for us. We see only the little tiny picture of the present, and our personal opinions about what happened in the past, with usually no comprehension of why things happened the way they did. Just like we won't know until the end why our lives played out the way they did, we can trust that if God says "no," there's one thing we can be sure of. It's better that He did say "no", even if we can't conceive of how that could possibly be the case.

Hello. I know for certain that God exists. I pray every night before I fall asleep. I start by saying: Dear God, thank you for . . . and I continue on to thank him for a few things thank I really appreciated that day. Then I confess any sins to him and ask for his forgiveness. After that I just talk. I say everything thats on my mind, ask him to keep people safe, ask him to help me be a better person etc.
If you really need/want something (Ex: you need a sign to show he's really there) it helps if you pray a lot.
Once I did something really bad. The worst thing I've ever done. I prayed day after day for his forgiveness, to take away all the guilt I was feeling. And after praying and praying I knew I was forgiven. The guilt vanished and everything felt ok again. I was able to forgive myself and keep moving forward.
He's out there. I just know. I've experienced too many miracles for them to be coincidences.
And one last thing. Its not a bout what you do. It's about your relationship with god .
Good luck to you![/SIZE]

I have to say that I don't pray as often as I should. When I do, sometimes it's hard to feel like someone's actually listening to me. What I would suggest, especially to someone new and maybe unsure of the faith, is to find a very quiet place to meditate on God and talk to him. Just say whatever it is that you would like for someone to hear. As was mentioned before, maybe you could ask for reassurance.

Another good thing to do would be to find a Bible or a Book of Common Prayer and read through a portion of the Psalms. Really pay attention to what the words are saying and pray through that.

I wish you luck! Sometimes it's not as easy as some people would like it to be, but don't give up easily, either. It can be an extremely rewarding experience, and the heart of Christianity is a personal relationship with God, not just going through the motions of church. It's encouraging to me, though, that you actually want to try and are willing to ask for help rather than turn away as soon as things don't go smoothly.

Okay, here are my two cents as a Christian and my experience being thus. These are just my beliefs, you are certainly under no obligation to take them as your own. For the sake of convenience (because this is a long post), I've list-i-fied them:

1) Stop feeling guilty. Yeah, this is harder than it sounds, but believe me. God knows it can be hard to talk to someone whom you can not see and not hear. He expects you to doubt, and as long as you keep trying to reach Him through that doubt, He does not hold that against you.

2) Keep trying. It doesn't matter if you don't feel "enlightened" or "in the presence of God." He hears you loud and clear regardless. For Him, it's not how you feel, it's how you WANT to feel and whether or not you work for it. Nobody ever said being a Christian was easy, and that includes prayer. ;D

3) On the other hand, don't TRY. What? Yes, you heard me. Don't stress out over prayer, that's not what it's there for. Just take for granted that God is listening, because he is.

4) Pray in a way that YOU are comfortable with. If you don't feel like doing "recitable prayers" like the Our Father, Hail Mary, etc, then you are under no obligation to do them (although they are actually quite handy for when you can't think of anything to say, as they're "go-to" prayers handed down from God himself). If you feel like having a "conversation" with God, telling him about your day, what you're thankful for, what sucked about it, then do that. He is there to listen. That is personally how I like to pray, so I'd recommend giving it a try (if you haven't already that is). I'm sure there are other methods of prayer, too--you can ask your parish priest for starters. He's there to help you in your spiritual life.

5) Ask God for help. Here you think you have a problem with how you pray, and you asked us Menewshans for advice. Don't forget to do the same thing, only asking God instead. He'll hear you and help you in the best way that He sees fit--which is not always the way that we ourselves see fit. ;D Trust me, that doesn't mean that's bad.

6) Talk to other Christians. You say that you are in a good church with friendly people. Chances are, they've experienced the same thing that you are going through right now, and could probably offer you advice of their own on how to deal with it.

7) Read the Bible, say a Rosary, etc. The Rosary is a prayer, and reading the Bible seriously is a form of spiritual meditation, which translates into prayer. These might be helpful if you are really stuck on praying, and could be good transitions into "conversation prayer" or whatever you want to call it.

Those are the things that I can think of right now, and they are all things that I have learned while going through my own period of doubt in whether or not God really heard\cared about my prayers. Taking these things into consideration helped a lot. I hope they can help you too. :3

Good luck with trying out Christianity; if you have any questions or just want to talk, you can PM me. Either I'll have personal opinions (I promise not to "preach," I hate it when people do that), or I can help you look for answers (internet, books, asking other Christians about their thoughts), or we'll both be going through the same thing together. Even if you just need a prayer about something, I'll be happy to pray for and\or with you. 8D

By the way, Enchanted Tiara's prayer is a good idea to try too. 8D

I can't be arsed to read everyone's response, so sorry if this is repeated.

To be honest, I don't worship the Christian god and I believe Jesus was just a man. I have my own views and my own values with which I have formed my own religion, if you will. I don't pray, however, I used to. I used to pray every night before my eyes shut and every morning the second I awoke. To be honest, I felt connected. It's not knowing whether your god is listening or not, it's the faith you put behind it. You have to believe that your words will reach someone's ears, believe that your hopes for a better tomorrow and your thanks for a wonderful today are being received. When you truly believe that someone or something out there is listening, you'll get that feeling again.

When in church, and everyone kneels down to pray. Try to feel the energy in the room. Everyone has their mind and hearts set on having this deity listen, tune yourself with them. Try to remember one voice is a whisper, two voices a mumble and many a shout. I believe there is something greater out there, I don't know what and no one can tell you for sure... Religion is belief and faith... faith in your chosen god/goddess, belief that they are listening. Pretty much, in the end it all boils down to belief - if you will it, if you believe it, so be it.

I'm agnostic, and though I don't really pray, I kind of throw positive thoughts and good karma into the universe every night before I go to bed. You know, "Please let x, y, and z be okay, don't let this fuck up," etc. I thank whatever happens to be out there for the good things in my life, and ask for help with the bad. But I don't really consider it praying. I don't think you should get so hung up on the praying vs. not praying thing, honestly. It's sort of like talking to yourself in your head, if that makes any sense.

I find it very easy to talk to (God/Jesus) I like doing it more when I'm alone, and most of the time its just talking to him in my mind (not out loud) if I'm in a group where we're all (all 5 of us girls/wemon) praying for someone (in the group we were in today is was the person to your right) out loud, witch is something I need to work on(I'm not so comfortable praying out loud ) But I would like you to know, its ok if your not "good" at praying. I'm better when alone with just God and myself. its just like talking to someone. When I pray out loud and get stuck I say "Lord you know what (insert name here) needs and even tho I can't find the words to speak that there is a verse that says (something along the lines of) "my tongue is the pen of a ready writer" and that you can give me the words to speak.. and so on. You could also talk to someone you know in church you would be comfortable talking to and ask (him/her) for advise and see if (he/she) has had this issue.

I had had the same question pop up when I was maybe 9, I wanted to know if he was real I thought he was but wanted proof. This seams silly now but here goes.. My brother was playing the xbox online, and a few times while playing it (the xbox) would just turn off. It did this maybe 2 or 3 times, and I really wanted to play with him and not just watch him play. when I asked him he told me no, unless it shut off and forced him to log back in xbox live, and since I wanted to know if God was real I ask him to show me by turning the xbox off again just one more time and that I would not turn off anymore. and right after I said that it did. and sent chills through me I was so happy. and It never did just randomly turn off, and even to this day. although we play the wii more now. anyways. I got my question answered even if it seam's silly now to have asked him to do that, It had a big impact on me. and I will never doubt hes always there.

I was raised with more religions than I can remember or count. I don't believe in a god or higher power, but I still pray. I pray by thinking/sending out my best intentions for something or some one, I just focus on them getting what would help them best even if I don't know what that is. That's how I pray, I imagine that there are lots of ways to pray and you can probably make your own up. I don't know if it works but I figure it is worth a try and it wouldn't hurt anything.

I was born a Pastor's Kid and I've always had problems with how to pray. What i figured that worked for me is to just say it as if I was talking to another friend. Hey this is what I'm having a hard time with, do you think that you could help me? While others find that they need to ask for forgiveness before anything else, then what they feel they can't handle. But everything that you are going through is only as much as you can handle! Just think of it this way, you ask for patience and God will give you an opportunity to be patient. So whatever you pray for say it out of whatever is going on! You're life sucks tell him! He doesn't get angry if you are truthful!!

Originally Posted by anime_scholar

When I pray, which I usually do in the bathroom (think what you will, it's a nice, quiet, solitary place to think, either on the pot or in the tub), it's a matter of asking questions and waiting for the answer. I won't say whether the answer comes from my subconscious or from a supernatural force, but it's not simply saying words and wishing -- for me, it's making the right choice when I'm at a crossroads, whether it's a big issue (should I move house?) or small (should I empty the litterbox now, or leave it for a few more hours?). This kind of questioning/praying helps me keep on an even keel, keeping me in touch with someone a lot more stable than my usual wobbly self.

I highly recommend a book to you: Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert. I read it while at a Bed and Breakfast in Virginia, during a drive across the country with my husband. It's given me a new perspective on my conflicting religious views, which have been influenced by a childhood indoctrination into Christian Science, my own crazy ideas about tree and wind spirits as a superstitious teenager, a thorough reading of everything Robert Heinlein ever wrote (including Stranger in a Strange Land, the uncut version), a good dose of atheism, and a strong admiration of Buddhism and Shinto.

Hope this helps...

Stranger in a Strange Land got me into a lot of trouble. 0.o However, I believe my background's about as mixed. <3

As far as praying goes, there's a lot of ritual around it. Different religions think you should do it different ways. A nun actually told me, when I was in school to be baptized, that praying is a personal affair. You don't have to fold your hands or get down on your knees to pray. And more than anything, all it really needs to be is you communicating with God.

I do it a lot. If I get an A on a test I was worried about, I'll just think "Thank you!" If I catch myself doing something wrong, I'll apologize, etc. Growing up I've asked for different things. I had a very depressed childhood. So everytime I felt like crying I'd ask: "Why can't I have friends too! All I want is a good friend." And it took a while, but looking back I found that when I needed someone the most, someone was there. I've asked for strength. I've asked for love. And wether these were ever works of God or something else, I can look back on my life in calm times and see where I had those things. I honestly don't think I ever would have made it to a good job, great friends, a loving boyfriend, a home to live in, without His help.

That's just my experience with it though. The point is, if you believe there's a God, talk to him like a mute friend. He can't talk back to you, but he can leave you little things in your life to remind you he's there. In the Christian belief, God is Love. That's the ultimate gift to us. He's also the Father. All the kind, beautiful, nurturing things in your life are extensions of this Love. If you want to feel He's there, look for those things, and be good to yourself and others. Even if you don't believe that's God, you can't deny the sense of community you get when people care about others.

Someone else said that earlier, too, you can honor and respect with good acts as much as anything else.

I hope some of that helps. ^^

So yeah, I just read what Goblin Maiden posted earlier on the Page. <3!
*sings

Woohoo hooo it's all been done. Woo hoo hoo! It's all be dooooone, before....

on her way off to another thread*

Faith is but the evidence of things unseen.

we as Christians all go through a time of Spiritual Dryness. A time where we feel distant from God, where everything seems to go wrong and nothing ever works out. You are not alone in your struggle, my dear, but it doesn't mean you should go up and leave your faith walk.

In fact, its times like these when you should be trying to strengthen your faith in Him, rather than try to delve in your carnal thinking. i know it will be hard, but continue to press on.

i strongly suggest you talk things out with your pastor/spiritual elder/ or anyone whom you think is spiritually mature to help you in your situation.

Hang in there and God bless you!