Sooner or later, prayer feels like talking to the ceiling. The words run out, the feeling goes away, and you start to wonder whether you are doing something wrong. If that is you today, you are in very old company.
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.Psalm 42:1
That psalm is a thirsty one. A few verses later the writer says that his tears have been his food day and night, and he keeps asking himself why his soul is cast down. This is in the Bible. Dryness is not a sign that you have fallen out of faith. It is one of the things faith sounds like.
Some things that help
- Borrow words. When you have none of your own, pray a psalm out loud. Psalm 42 is a good place to start, and the Lord’s Prayer has carried people for two thousand years.
- Keep it short. “Lord, I am here” is a real prayer. So is “Help.”
- Keep the time, not the feeling. Sit down at the same time and the same place, whether or not anything seems to happen.
- Tell someone. Ask a friend or a pastor to pray for you. You can also post in our prayer forum. You do not have to carry this alone.
A word of care
A dry season in prayer can sometimes travel with something heavier. If you feel hopeless, or you are having a hard time getting through the day, please talk to a pastor, a doctor or someone you trust. If you are in crisis in the United States, you can call or text 988 at any hour. Asking for help is not a failure of faith.
The same psalm ends with a stubborn line, and we like it very much: “Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him.” Yet. It has not happened today. It will.