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I’ve been struggling with this a lot lately. I’ve been trying to be more faithful in daily prayer. I’m a real prayer slacker. But I’m not sure what really what my prayers should sound like. It really seems unfair to ask for blessings when I’m a doubter and I find myself apologizing. And then things just kinda go off track from there. I spend a lot of my prayer expressing thankfulness. But I really do WANT blessings for my children and yet I’m confused about how I think about HF and Jesus and everything. I guess I lack testimony. I’m not sure this is making any sense. Thoughts? A lot of my personal prayers tend to include the phrase “if you’re there.” It’s really hard for me to feel like I’m actually talking to god instead of just pouring out my heart and thinking things over in my own mind. Public prayers are especially awkward for me. I don’t like saying them, but I have an even harder time saying no. Honestly, I don’t believe that there’s a certain way that a prayer
shouldsound. Prayer is a conversation with god. Say whatever you feel like saying, whether you’re praising, thanking, asking, or just telling. I like to go for a walk, or sit on the porch, or just stand around the fire (burn barrel) outside in the back yard (which I do 4-5 nights a week) and just talk things out, and test how things sound when I say them out loud. Family think I’m crazy because it looks like I’m talking to myself – which, I guess I am. I live in VERY rural Oregon, and find a tremendous amount of peace in nature. Sometimes when I’m out “praying” I will sip on a beer. Sometimes I will smoke my pipe. Sometimes I will just sit. I have a pretty good line of communication with “the gods.” I believe in personal revelation.
I’ve written about that question in a number of posts on my personal blog. Here are a couple of examples: “My Struggle with Formal Prayers” (
http://thingsofmysoul.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-struggle-with-formal-prayers.html “A New Insight into My Struggle with Formal Prayers” (
http://thingsofmysoul.blogspot.com/2009/02/new-insight-into-my-struggle-with.html I have no idea how to pray. I have tried everything and none of it seems to have much value other than calming me down at times which I guess is a good thing. But I never really get any answers to anything. At least to what I would interpret as answers. My father passed away just over 5 years ago. I miss him a lot. I was close to him and really wanted to be like him when I grew up, but now that I’m grown up, I find myself a far cry from the man he was. When I have had the chance to visit his grave site (many states away from me now), I spend quiet time thinking about my life. I sometimes ask him what would he do, or tell his tombstone out loud that I miss him. Some times I just listen to the wind, and am grateful for my life and my family. I don’t think my dad’s spirit is there listening, but that is ok with me…I find it comforting to do this and it helps me organize my thoughts in my life. I guess I pretty much do the same thing in my prayers now. I don’t necessarily think my Father in Heaven is hearing all my words and taking notes and trying to send code-speak to my soul through the Holy Ghost…I have changed my expectations of prayer, and it has helped me have more prayers on what I’m thankful for…and more time to meditate during prayers to organize my thoughts. I tried for a period of time to go without prayer at all, and I missed it. I missed the peaceful time I have with my Father in Heaven, in that similar way I have at my earthly dad’s grave site. Maybe I’m all alone while I do this…but it doesn’t feel that way. It helps me feel more connected, even if I logically can’t explain it.
Sometimes I just need time to be still, and unplug from the world.
Quote:Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God
I know that God exists, and so I don’t think my prayers are fruitless, but they are definitely for my benefit.
Thanks for starting this thread, and having me reflect on this.
:thumbup: I use an approach a United Church of Canada minister taught me. I structure my prayers like this: Thanksgiving: Giving thanks for the good things in my life
Repentenance: Asking forgiveness for all my dumb mistakes
Intercession: Prayer for others
Petitition: Asking for the things I need personally.
It usually happens when I wake up in the morning. I don’t kneel anymore because I have bad knees. I stay in bed and pray. My prayers often center mostly on the repentence and intercession phases prayer, except when I’m suffering from depression, which I was last week severely. Then I ask for help to get through the day. Much of my prayers center on praying my diabetic son will not go blind or or suffer organ damage or amputations.
I don’t pray for testimony strengthening anymore. The Church is ingrained in my life and is here to stay as long as I’m in this current family situation in which I live, whether I believe it wholeheartedly or not, it’s part of my life so why bother. In fact, I’ve compartmentalized it, placed boudaries around it, and feel much more of a free agent. My prayers are more personal and about the things that truly matter to me now.
… Thanks for all of the thoughts and replies. These are great. I’m glad not everyone thinks prayer is just easy. Ray, liked the blog posts and the reading the comments there, too.
As if I’m talking to a friend. No thees and thou type stuff except at the beginning and end, and I do say the Lord’s Prayer concentrating on the meaning. I think it is a good compact prayer, even if it is too repeated. Most churches use it too often, we use it too little. I would ask, “What purpose/advantage does a father’s blessing serve?” I try to fulfill the same purpose/advantage during
familyprayer but just in a smaller dose. Personal prayer is different. I do not pray every day, but when I do “feel like praying” my prayers are longer, more heartfelt, and definately more memorable.
Heber13 wrote:I spend quiet time thinking about my life. I sometimes ask him what would he do, or tell his tombstone out loud that I miss him. Some times I just listen to the wind, and am grateful for my life and my family.
doug wrote:my prayers are somewhat more tentative and explorative these days.
I second what these brethren have written, I use personal prayer time to find my center and it is there where God finds me. I have also had the urge to pray to Heavenly Mother, with slightly different results. Perhaps this is because I imagine Her differently than Heavenly Father, more maternal, and sometimes I need that.
:angel: I think the scriptures tell us that God hears the ‘groanings’ of our heart as a prayer unto Him. Sometimes we are hurting so bad and don’t know what to prayer for but I believe God hears our groanings just as we hear our own children’s groanings. The scriptures say “Would you give a man a stone if he asks for bread” and God love’s is supposed to be greater than ours. I groan alot and hope he hears them. Sometimes I still pray with words like we all grew up doing in Church. Most of the time these days, I tend to pray without words, neither mentally nor spoken out loud. I like to get into a state of mind where I feel connected to “the divine,” and then I picture my family members in my mind one at a time and try to feel thankful for them with my whole being. I hold them in my mind for a good minute or more each, and think about what I like/love about them. Or I do that same thankfullness contemplation with other people or ideas (like picture where I work, etc.). I feel like my whole body/soul is singing as I feel thankful. I think of it as singing with my soul to God (or the universe, or whatever).
I do these “thy will be done” prayers. I actually like the Lord’s Prayer as found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. I recite each line and take a long pause to feel and contemplate the meaning. Have I forgiven others? Am I contended with the “daily bread,” which is all I really need? Etc.
Lastly, sometimes I just do a relaxation meditation and prayer. I try to let go of all my stress and anxiety, and just feel like I am expanding and touching everything alive in the universe.
Does a prayer have to start with “Our Heavenly Father” and end “in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”? What are some other formats of prayer the group uses and in what situations are they used in?
Some times lately my prayers come out as blessings. “I bless Barack Obama. I bless my ex-wife. I bless my daughter. I bless Ghaddafi. I bless my parents. I bless my neighbors.” Since I’m only partly Christian, I often close simply with an Om/Auhm-ish Amen. Actually, sometimes my prayers are nothing but Auuuuummmmmmmmmmmm-en and Auuummmmmmmm-en. By the way, I find the holy name (Ahman/Ohm/Amen/Aumen/Ammon/ommm) fascinating and compelling.
I often in my prayers, because of my LDS conditioning, give at least a nod to the Master Jesus with words like, “Thank you for the ministry of your servant Jesus who showed the way to freedom from this world.”
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