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How to improve my prayer life

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Shekinah Glory
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Hi

I find it difficult to pray out loud and in groups. Does any one have any advice on how to improve my prayer life?

Hello funkysi1701,

This is one area where the Catholics have a perfect solution. They have a prayer for everything, and it can be memorized and said silently to your self. Here are a couple that I carried over into my Protestant prayer life:

Regardless of where I eat I always say this prayer before a meal:

"Bless us,
O Lord,
and these your gifts,
which we are about to receive
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen."

Regardless of what church I'm in I always say this prayer before Communion:

"I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do; and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God."

Note: A bible book Store will have little Catholic Prayer Cards. Many of us have started our Christian walk with those little prayer cards.


.
 
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heron

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I agree, written prayers can be very helpful.

Something I like to do, is walk while I pray. It keeps my mind going on the same track. That doesn't directly help the group prayers, but helps with boldness. You can even talk a little where you're not afraid people will hear you.
 
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angel4910

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hi! Set an appointment with God. Try to pray every 6:00 pm, and early morning as you wake up or whenever you can't sleep at night or around 3:00 am everyday. Also have time to read the Bible. For there are at times when answers to your questions will be answered by reading the bible. Any time would also be a great time to pray to God, specially if you are all alone and are not doing anything. God hears us. He is All knowing.
 
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salida

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This may help-

How to pray
Adoration (if I do a to do list for God I'm left empty- when I praise Him because He's in control of the world and man is not I acknowledge He's God and I should let Him handle things bigger than me)
Confession (confess our sins and the things we forget to do like help someone)
Thanksgiving (all the things you're thankful for- I thank Him for my cats, our house all He's provided, for the hurricane that missed the NJ shore)
Supplication (for ourselves and others, help me stay focused at work, bless a person who is despairing)
 
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TheGuide

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I believe you are talking about spontaneous prayers. They come from the heart. Here is a suggestion that should help you:

Use the Book of Psalms as your guide to prayers. For example,

"The lord is my shepherd I shall not want..."

You can paraphrase this in a prayer like "Lord, you are my guide and I look to you in my time of trouble. Help me know what to do that I may overcome..."

Read God's word to know what's there then go back and find it when you want to pray about something. Use an online concordance if you don't have one.
 
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pilgrimgal

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Hi

I find it difficult to pray out loud and in groups. Does any one have any advice on how to improve my prayer life?

Yes, first of all, ask God to cleanse your heart and guide you in praying in groups. Ask for His strength (which is sufficient) to overcome timidity, fear, and hesitancy in praying publically. Trust and believe He will do this.

To enable praying out loud and in groups, develop the practice of praying to God when you are alone. The Lord tells us to be still and know that He is God. So take a quiet time each day in which to praise God quietly and listen to what He puts in your heart to pray. Reading the scriptures daily will also help facilitate your prayer life in general and build your confidence.

You can practice praying out loud to Him privately and you will be surprised how this helps you pray out loud when others are present whether one-on- one or in a group.



peace and prayers for your strength and confidence.
 
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I believe that it does not matter how loud you pray, what matter, is what and why you pray your prayer. Also, what matters is if we mean, what we pray or say with our mind. Do we mean it in our hearts?

First, start your prayers with praysing and worshiping God, with a psalm, a song, or a hymn. Spend some time worshiping and praising him for who he is, for his love, power, wisdom, holiness, greatness, because he is the creator of everything, and is worthy to be praised.

Also, give thanks to him, for what he has done or what he is doing in your life, and for what he has given you.

Then, offer your petitions to him, and ask him to help you with your problems, or to satisfy your needs.



WORSHIP;

2 Timothy 2:20,21, Psalm 27:6, Psalm 29:1, 2, Isaiah 6:1-4, 43:6,7, Acts 12:23, Romans 1:21, Revelation 1:6, 4:8-11, 5:10-14, 7:11,12, 19:1-10,16, 20:6, 22:8,9, Exodus 34:8, 1 Corinthians 14:16, 17, Hebrews 2:10, 13:15,21, Psalm 150:2, I Chronicles 23:5, 30, II Chronicles 5:12-14, 29:25-30, Psalm 19:1, Ephesians 1:12, Psalm 29:2, Psalm 148, John 4:23, 24, Psalm 92:1, Psalm 95, Psalm 96, Psalm 117, Ephesians 5:18-20, Psalm 119:164,175, Luke 4:7, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Deuteronomy 6:5, 8:10,17,18,19, 10:17,21, Matthew 2:2, 4:9,10, 6:9,13, Psalm 19:1, Psalm 148, Psalm 100, John 17:10, Psalm 48:1, Colossians 3:16, Psalm 145:1,2,3,10,21, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 11:7, 13:5, 1 Peter 2:9, Psalm 135:1-5, 19,20,21, Psalm 111:10, 113:1-5, Psalm 86:8,9,10,12,13, Psalm 115:1, Psalm 57:9, 59:16,17, Psalm 63:3,4,5, 2 Thessalonians 1:10,12, 2:4, 1 Timothy 1:17, Psalm 30:12, Hebrews 2:10, Psalm 107:8,15, Psalm 138:1,2, Psalm 134, James 5:13, 1 Peter 1:3, 2:9, 2 Peter 3:18, 2 Corinthians 5:15, Jude 25, Psalm 146:1,2, Psalm 147:5,7, Revelation 9:20, 13:4-8, 14:7, 15:2,3,4, 16:9, 17:14, Psalm 149:3,6, Psalm 150, Psalm 5:7, Psalm 22:27,28


PETITION, PRAYER;

1 John 5:14,15, Matthew 15:8,9, Romans 8:26,27,32, 10:10, Psalm 28:3,7, John 16:26,27, Psalm 25:5,15, Philipians 1:9,10,11,19, Psalm 27:4,8,14, Acts 19:13-15, Luke 22:32,40,42,46, Matthew 20:22, 26:39, 1 John 1:3, Matthew 6:5-13, 7:7, 8:26,27, 2 Corinthians 12:8,9, 13:7, Psalm 55:21, Colossians 1:12-13, Joshua 1:8, Psalm 40:1, 1 Kings 18:43, 44, Psalm 33:20, James 1:6,7, 4:3,8, 5:7,13, John 17:15, Colossians 1:9-12, 3:17, Psalm 62:4, Psalm 78:36,37, Psalm 105:4, Ephesians 1:15-19, 2:18, 3:12, 3:14-20, 6:18, Colossians 2:7, 4:12, 1 Thessalonians 3:12,13, Psalm 119:10,12,18,26,27,33-37, 62,133, 2 Thessalonians 1:11,12, 3:5, 1 Thimothy 1:12, Psalm 30:12, Hebrews 13:21, Psalm 136:1, 3 John 2, Jude 24, Psalm 139:4, Psalm 5:3, Proverbs 15:29, 28:9, Mark 10:38,51, 11:23,24, Psalm 20:4,5, Luke 18:1-6
 
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