Question: Is there a correct mood to pray in? Is our mood important when praying?
Profile: Female, Asia, 19–25
Answered by: Priya Johnson, who has been a volunteer with us since October, 2018.
Answer: Dear Friend,
Thank you for writing and sharing what’s on your heart.
To begin, let’s take a look at what Jesus said about prayer and how we pray. Mathew 6:5-11 tells us, “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
What is Jesus telling us here — to not pray with the motive of showing off to others. He also says when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father in Heaven.
About our mood — In Psalms 46:10 we read, “Be still, and know that I am God”. God is asking us to be still. What does that mean? One way of looking at being still is to set aside time without distractions. It also means to stop doubting, stop questions, stop debating, stop moaning, arguing, etc. It means stop everything that prevents you from hearing God’s voice. Once you are still, ‘Know that I am God’. Once you’re still, move from the place of fear, doubt, anxiety, etc. to a place of knowing that God is God of Heaven and Earth. He is in control and He is an ever-present help in times of trouble.
So where does mood fit in? Our mood is constantly changing with our circumstances. Our mood depends on what happened that particular day. We may feel happy and feel like praising God when we experienced victory or something exciting. On the other hand, we may feel low when we lost something or something unfavorable took place. Unpleasant happenings spearhead fear, anxiety, doubt, etc. all of which are categorized under ‘bad mood’. We cannot control what happens to us, we cannot even control how we feel about what happened, because it definitely hurts and we cannot sideline what happened. We need to understand, it’s alright to allow ourselves to feel disappointed, hurt or even angry when something unfair happens to us. It’s a natural response. However, what do we do when we go through such circumstances. Do we remain in the place of dejection or do we enter God’s presence just as we are.
God calls us to come into His Presence just as we are. We enter His presence not because of our righteousness or good mood or pure feelings. We enter by the blood of the lamb. He has done it all. We enter His presence because of who He is. Then we surrender our hurts and pain, sorrow and disappointments, irritation and anger at His feet. We shift our focus from our day to who He is. When we fix our eyes on Him, our hearts are filled with His refreshing and revival. This isn’t just a feeling, but the strong assurance that He is able to do far more than what we can ask or imagine.
All we have to do when we enter a time of prayer is to ‘be still and know that He is God.’ Hope this helps answer your question. Do write back if you wish to discuss further.
Love and prayers
