does the ability to pray come naturally??

lostyettobefound

Hey guys as you can see I am still new and still keen to hear other peoples points of view on my issues. Anyway I always wondered because I have friends who are pentecostals who seem to have this amazing ability to pray and they feel like they are talking to God. I never ever felt like I was communicating with someone when I prayed it always seemed futile and it always seemed like a repetition of someone elses prayer. So how exactly are you supposed to feel when you pray? Should you be taught how to pray...thats somethign I found interesting about the pentecostals they are actually taught how to pray not what to say but how to find that link....Help

JH

I hardly pray anymore, because I feel disapproved of by the JW God.....

kifoy

This was one of the things that in the end made me leave to never return.

In meetings and conventions there were always these sisters and brothers on the platform that told that they had this personal father relationship with Jehovah. And that praying gave them strength and a great feeling and so on.

I never felt like this, and I have no idea what this was supposed to be like.
I could might as well have prayed to the wall, that's how I felt.

I never had any feeling that told me that God was close to me.
I tried to intensify my studying, but It became too routine, and it was too boring, unless there were some action involved. And history.

When reading the bible I loved the Book of Esther, the Book of Judges, and the fun parts with histories and action. And hated the Psalms and the prophetic books. Nothing happened.

I don't know.
But i know that I did not feel any difference between praying regularly (before dining and before sleeping -- only because I was told is was the right ting to do) and not praying at all, so I tend to stick to the last one.

kifoy

Golf

I talk to my Creator frequently. This communicating did not come about because I was a JW. Call it a natural instinct. I'm an accomplished person and I have always given thanks to my Creator. To each his/her own.

Golf

MeneMene

It doesn't come naturally to me. I always thought something must be wrong with me. I did try to pray when I was young but it just felt weird - and just so silly.

Dad always prayed for the family at every meal but it was just something he did - it held no meaning to me. Perhaps it was all the beatings I received from my mother at the KH growing up - maybe it hardened my heart instead of making me love Jehovah.

One of my sisters is a very sweet brainwashed / mind controlled JW. She prays silently before every meal no matter where she is. It makes me uncomfortable and I have to remember to be quiet for a minute while she does.

There have been a few times in the last years when I was traveling alone that I felt maybe someone was watching out for me. Like when I just missed a deadly accident or an ugly storm was all around me but stayed away until I could get into a hotel. I did feel someone might be watching out for me for some reason. I did silently thank whoever might be out there/ up there protecting me - just in case they were listening and were really there.

serendipity

As I started my journey out of the JW religion, my prayers became more earnest, real and meaningful.