Praying is a good thing. Always! For the believer prayer should be the first thing we go to. And yet we know that some prayers are more effective than others, at least to our human experience. So how should you pray during the COVID-19 crisis?
You said Yes to Jesus. The honeymoon of your spiritual journey was wonderful! But now God seems far away. Those feelings have left; has God left you too? Where is He? Were all your wonderful feelings just fake? What felt so easy now seems distant and hard. You may even be questioning your salvation.
God designed marriage to be an object lesson of the intimacy He desires with each one of us. That includes physical and emotional connection, friendship, and covenant love. But without spiritual intimacy all those other aspects will feel lacking, empty, not enough. How can you find spiritual intimacy with your spouse when you’re not on the same page?
You’re still frequently angry and bitter. Curse words are still coming out of your mouth. You keep satisfying your sexual desires in ways you know you shouldn’t. Selfishness and greed pop up every day. You seem incapable of acting with courage, listening well to others, forgiving, or loving well those closest to you. Is it human weakness? Are you undisciplined? Is it your personality? Why can’t I stop sinning?
Jesus had a wonderful way of asking questions. You may know the story well. Jesus sees a man lying on his mat, having been in that state for 38 years. And Jesus asks Him, “Do you want to be made whole?” (John 5:6) What does it mean to “be made whole”? What does wholeness look like?
