Faith is sometimes just refusing to quit on God on the days you feel He quit on you.

There are stretches where God seems absent and prayer feels like talking to the ceiling. Staying anyway, with no evidence and no warm feeling, is not stubbornness but one of the more serious forms of faith. You can be honest about the silence and still refuse to walk out of the room.

On the days it feels one sided, keep the smallest habit going rather than waiting for the mood to return. Tell God plainly that He feels far away, since that is a real prayer. Let someone who knows you carry a bit of it this week.