bostonterrier Posted June 19, 2014 Posted June 19, 2014 Do you pray in your mind? do you actually speak while praying? I have no idea how to pray.
Michelle ma Belle Posted June 19, 2014 Posted June 19, 2014 Everyone's preference and/or level of comfort is different. For me personally, I tend to lean more towards quiet thoughtful prayer done in my head. Unless I'm back in church reciting one of the many static prayers I learned growing up like the "Our Father", my praying is private and very organic. Having said that, there have been times during great distress and/or sorrow where I found myself literally on my knees, crying and talking out loud to God. Very much like the scene in Eat, Pray, Love. I also think for ME anyways, that prayer doesn't always have to be some long and daunting speech. Sometimes prayer can be as simple as "Thank you" 3
Allumere Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 much to my ex's horror a bulk of my praying is in my car, talking out loud. I drive alot. why not. At night before bed it is in my head, a thank you for the day. Mornings are reading devotions so there might be a prayer/maybe not. 1
jonsnuh Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 Consider this as an exercise: Take a 30 lb brick and jump into the deep end. Then, proceed to stay afloat and in no time you'll be praying to God for the next 3-5 mins to be over as quickly as possible. I got through the Lord's prayer about 10 times and it was Hail Mary all the way through. 1
Cadenza Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 Do you pray in your mind? do you actually speak while praying? I have no idea how to pray. There once was a Sheppard boy. Everyday before lunch he would say, "God, if you were hungry, I'd share my lunch with you." or when it was cold: "Jesus, if you were ever cold, I'd give you my jacket." One day, a priest overheard the Sheppard boy praying and immediately stopped him and said, "Boy, that is not how you praise the Lord. You must praise him correctly!" So the priest took time and taught the boy all of these complicated prayers and praises to worship the Lord. The next day when the Sheppard boy went out to pray, he forgot what the priest told him. He forgot how to pray. He sat down in dismay and could not to save his life remember the prayers the priest taught him . With a heavy heart, he went about his day without his prayers. God noticed all day, the Sheppard boy had not said his prayers. He was struggling with his prayers. So God sent two of his angels down to give the boy a hand. When the angels visited him they said: "Boy, why have you not said your prayers today? Our father has not heard you. " and the Sheppard replied with sadness, "I do not know how to pray. I can't remember how." The angels smiled and said, "That is alright, child. We'll teach you how to pray." The boy thought: I will have to concentrate so I know how to pray to the Lord correctly. One angel said, "this is how you pray to Jesus: God, if you were hungry, I'd share my lunch with you." The second angel said, "Jesus, if you were ever cold, I'd give you my jacket." The Sheppard boy's face lit up and he said, "Jesus, if you were ever thirsty, I'd give you my water." The two angels smiled warmly and said, "That's right. That was perfect! God will always love you. Your prayers are always beautiful and heard. " The angels returned back to heaven and from then on, they never heard a day go by without the Sheppard's beautiful, joyous, and perfect prayers. My grandmother told me this story while I was growing up. Point being, there is no specific way to pray. As long as it comes from the heart. 5
todreaminblue Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 when i pray because there are voices talkin gto em all teh time i differentiate by saying dear heavenly father, and i say what i have to say all my worries all teh things i cant fix all teh things go dhas fixed simple things like i am talking to my dad on the phone....i get warm heart feelings when i make a joke of something and i know god has a sense of humor.....and then i end the prayer in the name of jesus christ amen..... just like i would say good bye .....putting my prayer every time in the name of jesus christ makes it known to god i appreciate his son and all that was given to me and for me to have eternal life.........well that is what it means to me..might be different for others...and i pray pretty much anytime i want to ...there's no time limits and there's no set time or place..always before sleeping thopugh...for if i dont wake he has to look after my family.......when i feel a need to pray, on the spot ill pray a lot of the time it is to say thankyou god i love you.....smilin...and he loves me back...........deb 1
Orange floor Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 My mother's aunt had a ritual everyday - morning prayers would be the rosary and she would add stories about each decade and each mystery - we would be praying for at least and hour and that was a semi structured kind of praying. When I got older i loved going to a local church for contemplative prayer with lots of music and silence. One of the things i learned about prayer was to pray lots even when you need nothing, pray when you are happy and thanking in prayer for the things we have. People can get disillusioned when they pray only in times of difficulty. If you want to learn lots about a prayerful life look up the sites for TAIZE, in South Eastern France. When I was younger i used to travel there with groups of young people who were searching for something in their lives many found it there and took it away with them. I took my own children there because in todays world sitting down and praying with your own children can be difficult - they found our visits and praying together so rewarding. and as one of the postings says " it is not what is said it is what is felt when we pray" even look up to the heavens and say "thank you" thats praying 1
gaius Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 I figure god is like everyone else and doesn't want to hear me asking him for things all the time so I don't do it very often. I think I'm up to 4 or 5 times since I was really little? And every time so far I've gotten what I asked for. It's always just me talking in my head, not out loud.
DarkKnight1 Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 Allah akbar gangnam style... Theres no specific way to pray, every thought you think is heard. The all is mind..the universe is mental.
down hearted Posted June 20, 2014 Posted June 20, 2014 Just think of positive thoughts and be thankful in your mind, for instance, in the mornings, just say inside of you, i am thankful for another day for both myself and those around me. Thats it, don't overthink it. Like my grandma always said to me, you don't need a church to believe in something or pray, your pillow is the best church you can have, just you and your thoughts. 1
emeryentropy Posted June 21, 2014 Posted June 21, 2014 I pray both mentally and out loud depending on the situation. If I pray for somebody else and for something selfless because I truly care about something/someone I will get goosebumps and my eyes will water. I think it's a sign that my prayer was received and that good energy is being sent out towards what I've prayed on.
Recommended Posts