A question about praying correctly

[flyingsum0]

I sometimes find myself repeating myself over and over when I'm praying...I sound like a broken record to be honest...

This is mainly because when I pray, for some reason, I feel that if I don't articulate myself correctly or concentrate enough on the words I'm praying, I'm not praying correctly...I know some of you are shaking you heads right now sorry about that...

When I pray I try to pray with my mind and heart with the Holy Spirit, but many times the words just do not come and I sit there babbling on and on about the same things over and over and over.

This problem is magnified when I say "traditional prayers" like the Lord's prayer (Our Father). It's hard to explain what I'm trying to say, but I sit there and recite over and over, "Our Father...who art in Heaven", "Our Father...who art in Heaven", "Our Father...who art in Heaven"... I find myself starting over and over because, I didn't say the words correctly...or I didn't concentrate enough on the words in my mind...or I didn't pronounce the words correctly...sometimes I go as far as to think that I can't concentrate because I really don't know Jesus well enough and that my lack of knowledge of His Word is effecting my ability to pray to Him (please remember that I've only recently started trying to find the Lord again)...

I guess what I'm asking is how does one know if they are praying with their hearts and minds with the Holy Spirit as opposed to reciting words that were learned long ago when a child? In the same respect, are "traditional prayers" even a pre-requisite for praying? Can prayer only be a heart felt conversation with our Lord Jesus Christ?

Thank you for bearing with me on this...every day it seems that I'm concentrating on the wrong things while I pray. As a result, I'm frustrating myself with long winded rants to Jesus which start out as a conversations but end up as long winded filibusterers where I'm repeating the same thing over and over to the point that I almost feel stressed when I'm praying.

I know there much bigger problems in the World right now then I who can't pray correctly, but if you have a chance please give some quick tips on how you pray or suggestions regarding how I should pray better.

Thanks All ...God Bless You!

 

[eddy67]

I rarely recite "traditional" prayers. It's too easy to forget the meaning of the words and just mindlessly recite them.

The best prayers are impromptu. From the heart and spirit. Prayer isn't supposed to be stressful. It's the fruit of a meaningful relationship with God.

When you pray, don't worry about using elaborate words or vocabulary. He knows what our needs are. We could speak gibberish and the Lord would know what we mean. So just relax and be honest with God. You don't have to be in any special pose or fold your hands a certain way to pray. Just be natural about it.

I hope this helps.
God bless.
Ed

 

[Evee]

I do a lot of babblings repeats The lord's prayer, but I really believe God honors our effort.

 

[covenantwmn]

Most of my prayers are heart-to-hearts with the Lord, I pour out everything, good, bad & ugly. His Word says He is faithful to hear and I may come boldly. When I find my mind wandering, I ask Him to clear it for me, if I still find it difficult to concentrate, I come back later. I don't believe the LORD meant for prayer to be a burden, but a blessing and we are to pray "always" so I think He hears the simplest as well as the most eloquent. You're praying and that's the bottom line, and that's great!!

 

[LadyLamond]

Pray from your heart, the rest will be all good. The words don't matter as much as the intent.

 

[linchen]

When I pray I keep in mind that God is my Father.

If we go in Jesus name we can be confident that He will hear
much more than the words we say.
Most of all He sees the attitude of our heart... and the love
and gratitude we feel for HIM.

 

[lismore]

I sometimes find myself repeating myself over and over when I'm praying...I sound like a broken record to be honest...

!

Luke 18:1 NIV
[ The Parable of the Persistent Widow] Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.


Hi

Sometimes you got to pray until you get the breakthrough. Be like the widow, bring the same thing over and over until you get your answer

God Bless

Lismore

 

[New_Wineskin]

I guess what I'm asking is how does one know if they are praying with their hearts and minds with the Holy Spirit as opposed to reciting words that were learned long ago when a child? In the same respect, are "traditional prayers" even a pre-requisite for praying? Can prayer only be a heart felt conversation with our Lord Jesus Christ?

I simply talk to the Lord just as I would talk to you or even as I am writing to you now . I simply have a conversation with Him . Even if He allows me to do most of the talking , I just talk to my heart's content . When I am done , I'm done .

 

[revrobor]

There is no "correct way" to pray. New wineskin is right. Praying is simply talking to God, your Heavenly Father, and you can talk to Him as you would talk to anyone else. The flowery, formal, written prayers are part of the Christian religious system and really have no meaning when they are repeated rotely, especially in liturgical services.

The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. That means you can talk to God anytime and any place.

 

[Bloomin' Pyro]

Praying is, in effect, putting your spiritual heart next to a megaphone.

Your mouth is that megaphone. When I pray, I just open my mouth and let whatever comes out, come out. Now, I've been a Christian for fifteen years, and I can't remember being uncomfortable in front of crowds, so praying in public has never been an issue for me. I articulate well enough then.

In my fervent, personal prayers, I often repeat things out of desperation. God loves an honest heart, but doesn't give a rat's about articulation in your personal life.

 

[flyingsum0]

God bless you all and thank you for your responses. Thursday, I called one of my best friends and Christian brothers...in our conversation I asked him the same questions about prayer that I posed in my original post to this thread.

I think my problems is that I've been doubting myself too much. While my mind knows what my spirit needs, my mouth has been taking over.

Through the conversation with my friend and your responses I've realized that prayer is one of the greatest gifts we have as children of God. If you think about it, people talk to the president or celebrities for 5 seconds and tell stories about it for the rest of their lives...we can talk to the LORD Jesus Christ, Everyday...Any day...Any time!! But not only are we talking to him, he LISTENS!!! Its not some quick conversation in passing its an a one-on-one conversation with the greatest celebrity known to man!

As I poured my heart our yesterday as I was praying...I realized that not only do I feel good about praying now, I feel honored!

Thank you all and God Bless!

 

[rosenherman]

Most of my prayers are heart-to-hearts with the Lord, I pour out everything, good, bad & ugly. His Word says He is faithful to hear and I may come boldly. When I find my mind wandering, I ask Him to clear it for me, if I still find it difficult to concentrate, I come back later. I don't believe the LORD meant for prayer to be a burden, but a blessing and we are to pray "always" so I think He hears the simplest as well as the most eloquent. You're praying and that's the bottom line, and that's great!!

Before I pray, I ask God to station his angels around me as a hedge to protect me while I pray. This sometimes helps my mind from wandering.

 

[linssue55]

Just pray in the name of the father in Jesus name....just TALK to Him, lioke you would anyone, and don't worry about it......we are human, He knows our flaws....I talk to Him all of the time, even outside of prayer....don't worry over your rummblings...He will always love you...............

 

[.Mikha'el.]

I guess what I'm asking is how does one know if they are praying with their hearts and minds with the Holy Spirit as opposed to reciting words that were learned long ago when a child? In the same respect, are "traditional prayers" even a pre-requisite for praying? Can prayer only be a heart felt conversation with our Lord Jesus Christ?

If you feel you are just reciting words, then that cannot be considered true prayer. As for "traditional prayers," they cannot be considered any sort of prerequisite.

I find that the best way for me to avoid uttering meaningless words is to prioritize prayer. I pray about the things that are of greatest importance, and if something can wait to be prayed about, I do so in order to ensure that proper effort can be given to those things that need more attention.

In regards to the words used, God does not care, so you need not care.

 

[Psalms34]

God bless you all and thank you for your responses. Thursday, I called one of my best friends and Christian brothers...in our conversation I asked him the same questions about prayer that I posed in my original post to this thread.

I think my problems is that I've been doubting myself too much. While my mind knows what my spirit needs, my mouth has been taking over.

Through the conversation with my friend and your responses I've realized that prayer is one of the greatest gifts we have as children of God. If you think about it, people talk to the president or celebrities for 5 seconds and tell stories about it for the rest of their lives...we can talk to the LORD Jesus Christ, Everyday...Any day...Any time!! But not only are we talking to him, he LISTENS!!! Its not some quick conversation in passing its an a one-on-one conversation with the greatest celebrity known to man!

As I poured my heart our yesterday as I was praying...I realized that not only do I feel good about praying now, I feel honored!

Thank you all and God Bless!

Here is something that may help a lot, get into a prayer group. Find a group of people at your church that like to get together and pray. Some church's even have people out of sight at Sunday services just devoted to constant prayer. If you get into a good group, prayer sessions can last many hours.

Prayer is not really about reciting "the Lord's prayer" that is just like a general guide line. What if every time you saw a friend of yours, they would recite the same thing over and over? That would be pretty freaky, eh? Prayer is in effect just a conversation with God. It can be intense forms of prayer at times or it can be just like a day to day conversation with your best friend. Try to be in prayer always, feel his presence in your life throughout the whole day, that's what he wants.
God Bless!

 

[RP1000]

Yes I agree with most of the above!!

as we are all different... we will talk to our fathers differently, what God wants is true relationship!

perhaps the Key point He is our Father, we are his Children


How do children talk to their fathers????

they are very close, familiar to their dad .. so ... they will talk to their father in a very natural, honest and relaxed way.

The more natural the better!

for me personally, reciting formal prayers hints at distance (???) ... but I suppose there is nothing really too wrong with it.

I agree with one person who said "There really is no one true correct way to pray" .... as we are all different ... everyone will pray slightly differently

I don't think God wants rubber stamped prayers ... rather true stuff from the heart!

 

[ChurchofChrist]

Prayers are conversations with the Lord. Talk to him like you would your friends or family. After all he is your father. God knows what you want before you ask it so dont worry about not exspressing yourself well enough. Best prayers are heart to heart and that have meaning.

 

[Psalms34]

Luke 18:1Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,

Colossians 1:3We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,

Colossians 4:2Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;

1 Thessalonians 5:17pray without ceasing;