Is prayer valuable to you? How do you do it and how often?

[RileyG]

One of the teachings heard from an Orthodox priest that I have taken to heart is that a simple prayer rule that you will actually keep in better than a more complex one that you won't. I have always liked that.

Amen!

 

[roman2819]

So what is it you believe Jesus and the Apostles are trying to tell "us" about prayer?

They are telling us that God can answer prayers, so have faith, believe and persevere.

In our personal and collective experiences, He does answer certain prayers and help us along. However, He is not trying to answer every prayer, hence statements like 'yes no wait' are wrong because they miss what Jesus was trying to tell us. Such wrong notions come from reading words only but miss the spirit of prayer. By knowing biblical truths, we avoid practising wrong notions and become discouraged ie if we receive many waits, no and no responses, we will feel weary eventually.

Somewhere in the 90s, I took time to delve in prayer verses:

"I used to stare at such verses, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer” [Matthew 21:22], trying to figure out what they mean. It is obvious that not all prayers were answered, so what was Jesus really saying? Was He exaggerating? Unable to comprehend, I would stop for a while, then went back to read again, hoping for fresh perspectives. This went on for three years. One day, the truth dawned upon me.

When reading prayer verses, we try to figure out what the words mean. However, by focusing on words, we miss the point instead — and this is the root problem. We have to change the way we read: Don’t just interpret words; instead, understand what Jesus wanted to tell us.
-- adapted from 'Understanding prayer, faith and God's will: Compass for Christian Faith.

By applying the spirit of prayer to real life situations, I also observe it is not how often we pray that matters. God is not thinking "if you don't pray, i won't send help" or "you have not been praying much hence troubles beleaguer you" -- there are Christians that feel this way. We do not need to feel subtly guilty if they haven't pray for 2 days or 2 weeks. This does not mean we pray little, but the point is don't burden ourselves with wrong notions which often comes from misinterpreting the Scriptures out of context.

 

[The Liturgist]

One of the teachings heard from an Orthodox priest that I have taken to heart is that a simple prayer rule that you will actually keep in better than a more complex one that you won't. I have always liked that.

Yes, I strongly advise that.

 

[RileyG]

Yes, I strongly advise that.

I should keep a Rosary and a Divine Mercy Chaplet on a daily basis, but I have failed miserably

 

[The Liturgist]

I should keep a Rosary and a Divine Mercy Chaplet on a daily basis, but I have failed miserably

Well then do something you can keep and increase gradually.

 

[RileyG]

Well then do something you can keep and increase gradually.

Amen.

I need to change.

I should pray the Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet on a daily basis.

Mea culpa.

 

[The Liturgist]

Amen.

I need to change.

I should pray the Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet on a daily basis.

Mea culpa.

Or just do one of them if you can’t get through both. You know the person to set up a prayer rule with that you can keep should be your priest (or elder or confessor), at least in the Orthodox Church, but I was under the impression that Roman Catholic priests liked to help with that as well.

 

[RileyG]

Or just do one of them if you can’t get through both. You know the person to set up a prayer rule with that you can keep should be your priest.

Thank you.

That's a topic that should come up in confession and/or spiritual direction.

I have the attention span of a squirrel and definitely need much assistance.

God bless you abundantly!

 

[RamiC]

I have the attention span of a squirrel and definitely need much assistance.

May you, with the Lord's help, treat your prayers as if they are hazelnuts!

 

[RamiC]

By knowing biblical truths, we avoid practising wrong notions and become discouraged ie if we receive many waits, no and no responses, we will feel weary eventually.

This may not work for everyone all the time but in my own experience, asking God why I am getting either of these answers helps to turn the response into "yes" and "now". It might mean I have to actually change the original prayer, but Jesus himself took a "no" “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22 - 42 NIV and it was because the salvation of us all depended on it.

We can always look into why prayer is apparently failing us, we do need to pray as if God is omniscient, and we are not.

This went on for three years. One day, the truth dawned upon me.

Alleluja

This does not mean we pray little, but the point is don't burden ourselves with wrong notions which often comes from misinterpreting the Scriptures out of context.

 

[okay]

I love this thread - it is inspiring and helpful to see different approaches. I have a lot to learn in this area.

My faith had been stale and stagnant for a long time, until a handful of years ago when a kind of faith crisis woke me up. I now almost feel like I am getting to know God for the first time again.

While I have been getting into scripture a lot the past few years, my prayer life has been anemic for the most part. Thankfully that has been improving the past number of months.

My private prayers are usually pretty short, and are more free-form in nature. I will usually pray a handful of such prayers a day, depending. There was a time in the very distant when I would spend much more time in prayer, so I know it is a discipline that can be developed.

I haven’t tried the daily office in the Book of Common Prayer that several of you mentioned. I recently moved to the Episcopal church, and while the morning and evening prayer services my parish holds during the week don’t really fit into my schedule, I should make time to try it out.

The past couple of weeks I have found that I am better able to keep perspective on stuff (like the news) when I start the day with a ~15 minute lectio divina session. I just use a podcast where someone leads it, including some long pauses. Now I just need to be a little more regular about it.

 

[okay]

In the Catholic faith, there are nine levels of prayer as outlined by St Therese of Avila.

That sounds interesting. Is there a particular writing of hers that you would recommend along those lines?

 

[RamiC]

Hallow - #1 App for Christian & Catholic Prayer, Meditation, Bible + Sleep - Catholic Prayer with mobile app.

Lectio Divina simple explanation. - click on blue words.

Good old fashioned journal sheets, as in paper which we used to write on in the olden days! - I prefer hand writing for Bible study and prayers, you might too...

 

[boughtwithaprice]

That sounds interesting. Is there a particular writing of hers that you would recommend along those lines?

Amazon.com

a.co

This is an in depth study of her prayers

It’s called the interior castle

 

[RileyG]

Amazon.com

a.co

This is an in depth study of her prayers

It’s called the interior castle

Great read!