Imagine you go to the doctor because you feel weak and low on energy. You have two treatment options.

Dr. Emotion offers you a shot of pure adrenaline. “You’ll feel incredible instantly,” he promises. And it’s true. You leave his office feeling euphoric, full of energy, like you could conquer the world. But a couple of hours later, the effect wears off, and you feel even weaker than before. The injection didn’t cure the underlying problem; it only masked the symptoms with a temporary sensation.

Dr. Transformation, on the other hand, prescribes a long-term treatment: vitamins, a healthy diet, exercise. “You won’t feel different overnight,” he warns. “But if you’re consistent, your body will strengthen from the inside out. The change will be slow, but it will be real and lasting.”

Many of us approach prayer as if we were Dr. Emotion’s patients. We’re looking for a spiritual “shot.” We want to feel a chill, cry, have an intense emotional experience. And if we leave our prayer time without having “felt” something, we think it’s been a failure.

Emotions in prayer are a gift, not the goal. They are like dessert, not the main course. If we seek them as the primary end, we’ll become addicted to emotional “shots,” and our faith will become superficial.

The true purpose of prayer is the Dr. Transformation treatment. It’s the slow, constant, and sometimes unemotional process of aligning our hearts with God’s. It’s presenting our weaknesses to Him, not for a quick fix, but for deep healing. It’s listening to His Word, even if it doesn’t give us an adrenaline rush, knowing that it’s the vitamin our soul needs.

Transformation is what happens when:

• You enter prayer full of anxiety and leave, perhaps without an immediate solution, but with an inexplicable peace.
• You enter with bitterness towards someone and leave with the ability to forgive.
• You enter with your priorities disordered and leave with new clarity about what truly matters.

Don’t measure the success of your prayer time by the intensity of your emotions. Measure it by the fruit of transformation in your character. Seek lasting change, not fleeting sensations. Because God is much more interested in your long-term health than in your temporary highs.

Romans 12:2 (NIV): “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

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