Do you pray with icons? What are your thoughts?

I suppose it depends on what you mean by pray with icons. As Franciscan tertiary (Anglican) I will focus on the San Damiano Cross icon when centering myself for silent prayer:

http://franciscanmissionservice.org...cross-telling-the-history-of-christs-passion/

So if you mean as a means of focus then my answer is yes.

I'm not opposed to them but I don't give them a thought when I'm in prayer.

I don't use them, but I'm not opposed to them. I am intrigued by the practice and orthodoxy in general, but to be honest, even if I do become orthodox, I could see it as a practice I never adopt.

Raphael Jauregui said:

Since you are also interested in Eastern Orthodoxy, have you heard of Society for Eastern Rite Anglicanism? It is run by an Episcopal priest. It's an interesting group and they use the Byzantine liturgy with the Book of Common Prayer!

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I have not heard of them. I've actually attended a Western Rite Greek Orthodox Church near me, they use a slightly modified version of the BCP's liturgy.

Raphael Jauregui said:

That's a fair position, and very Anglican indeed. I feel the same way in reverse. I do not think that any person or congregation should feel compelled to include certain traditions. But, I also think that we can all be Christians and have variances in how we pray or worship. Growing up, our Lutheran pastor had icons in his office and said that he did not pray with him, but valued them as teaching tools. His was a very gracious stance.

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Exactly. It is like the Reconciliation of a Penitent in the Anglican communion... I do at least once a year as I have promised in my Rule of Life but I may go to confession a number of times if I believe I should.

Albion said:

I'm not opposed to them but I don't give them a thought when I'm in prayer.

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Pretty much my position. We have a couple of what could be considered icons in our parish, one of Mary and one of who I believe is St. Joseph (or St Paul). Some utilize them for private prayer, most don't. I've no issue with those that feel the desire to do so utilizing them if it helps them focus their prayers. And they do add an air of beauty and reverence to our church building so in many ways I appreciate their presence even if I don't directly utilize them for their intended purpose.

I use icons occasionally in my private devotional life, though I might use the word "meditate" rather than "pray", since the experience is largely non-verbal.

Some years ago, the book Behold the Beauty of the Lord: Praying with Icons, by Henri Nouwen, helped me to understand what icons were about and how to approach them.

Raphael Jauregui said:

It's definitely on my list of 'things to do' when it comes to visiting churches. I'd love to visit the Western Rite Orthodox church, St. Michael's Orthodox Church, in California.

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You should attend if you ever get the chance, the liturgy can be a bit more difficult to follow because there's very rarely ever a "normal" Sunday in Orthodoxy, there's always honoring or celebrating something, so always some modifications to the regular liturgy. The other thing that I did like about it is whenever they celebrated the Eucharist, they have the "Blessed Bread" for non-Orthodox in attendance, and whenever I went there, someone came and handed me a piece of it. When I went to the Catholic parish near me (there was a time I was considering Catholicism as well), I felt very judged because of the looks I got for not getting up for the Eucharist (in their defense, I think the people around me may have assumed I was Catholic because I wasn't lost during the service).

We don't use icons in our fellowship.