Need Advice for Prayer Life

Edyos

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Hello Friends,

I find myself reading a lot from the bible and other Christian books. I can read for hours and watch sermons and I feel very blessed and spiritually close to God When I Do.

But when It comes to prayers, I pray but I feel it is not enough. It is short and after a while, I don't know what to pray for anymore. I read in books about mighty men of God who pray for hours and hours and sometimes a whole day. But I feel sleepy and have many thoughts in my head that hinder me from praying longer.

Do you have any advice on how to pray longer?

There is a verse that I read it is:
"When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Matthew 6:7

Sometimes I find myself babbling and repeating the same phrases over and over. I would really like to pray longer and with meaningful words. I know that God is listening, But I feel like I am speaking with a person on skype that I can't see or hear, But I know he is there.

I find it hard to focus.

I would appreciate any advice, Thank you <3
 

Presbyterian Continuist

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Hello Friends,

I find myself reading a lot from the bible and other Christian books. I can read for hours and watch sermons and I feel very blessed and spiritually close to God When I Do.

But when It comes to prayers, I pray but I feel it is not enough. It is short and after a while, I don't know what to pray for anymore. I read in books about mighty men of God who pray for hours and hours and sometimes a whole day. But I feel sleepy and have many thoughts in my head that hinder me from praying longer.

Do you have any advice on how to pray longer?

There is a verse that I read it is:
"When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Matthew 6:7

Sometimes I find myself babbling and repeating the same phrases over and over. I would really like to pray longer and with meaningful words. I know that God is listening, But I feel like I am speaking with a person on skype that I can't see or hear, But I know he is there.

I find it hard to focus.

I would appreciate any advice, Thank you <3
When Jesus spoke about giving meaningless phrases, He was talking about the ritualistic chanting type prayers of pagans.

Prayer is basically talking to God. Perhaps you are saying to God what you think He likes to hear instead of having real conversations with Him about every aspect of your life. If Jesus is the friend that sticks closer than a brother, wouldn't you speak to him and share things with Him like you would any other friend?

God is interested in everything about you. He is not interested in "religious duty" prayers. He wants to hear to talk to Him from your heart. The book of Psalms is a good guide to how and what to pray. David and the other psalmists didn't hold anything back. They spoke to God about the good, bad, and the ugly.

You are I.D. as a Pentecostal. I assume you can pray in tongues. When I don't know what else to talk to God about, I talk in tongues to Him. He loves to hear that because when you pray in the Spirit, you are praying things that are His direct will.

Smith Wigglesworth the great English healing evangelist said that he usually didn't pray for more than about 15 minutes, but hardly went 20 minutes without praying.

Of course, the key to all this is knowing God as a real Person you can have fellowship with.
 
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HTacianas

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Hello Friends,

I find myself reading a lot from the bible and other Christian books. I can read for hours and watch sermons and I feel very blessed and spiritually close to God When I Do.

But when It comes to prayers, I pray but I feel it is not enough. It is short and after a while, I don't know what to pray for anymore. I read in books about mighty men of God who pray for hours and hours and sometimes a whole day. But I feel sleepy and have many thoughts in my head that hinder me from praying longer.

Do you have any advice on how to pray longer?

There is a verse that I read it is:
"When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Matthew 6:7

Sometimes I find myself babbling and repeating the same phrases over and over. I would really like to pray longer and with meaningful words. I know that God is listening, But I feel like I am speaking with a person on skype that I can't see or hear, But I know he is there.

I find it hard to focus.

I would appreciate any advice, Thank you <3

There are monks who pray for days and sometimes weeks on end. It is a discipline that is learned in a monastery. There are no "short courses" on how to do it.

There is a book called The Ladder of Divine Ascent by St. John Climacus, written circa 600 AD, that describes the discipline for monks. It also, throughout, has commentary on the bible that is eye opening. It is a lengthy book.

If you care to read it, please do. Until then remember that we are only required to pray the Lord's Prayer, and that three times a day. Beginning there and being disciplined in attention to the words is the best start.
 
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Emli

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I pray all day long. Not constantly 100% of my waking hours, but I talk to God about the things I do, ask Him about everything, meditate on Scripture or just pour out my heart to Him. And mostly, I listen as He speaks. I also spend time alone with God, but I don't limit my prayers to those times. It has blessed my life so much and my relationship with God has been made strong from it. I would advice that you try that, bringing God into every aspect of your life. Then when the Lord tells you to sit down and be alone with Him, talking to Him will be a lot easier. You won't feel the pressure to perform, but it will be a normal part of your relationship with Him. Another advice would be to ask Jesus to teach you to pray like He did, and let Him lead you. Don't worry, just talk to Him!
 
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AnnaDeborah

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Prayer is conversation. The more we talk to someone, the better we know them and the easier it is to talk.

I talk to God on and off through the day, asking for His help, thanking Him for things - sunrise, birdsong, the opportunity to have a break, a good lunch... When I have a formal 'sit down prayer time' I tend to start off by reading a Psalm and then praying through it. Often, I struggle to find the words to praise God, so reading the words of the Psalmist helps.

I also use prayer letters from missionary individuals and groups and also have a notebook where I jot down prayer requests. And I have photos around of the people I pray for daily to remind me to keep praying for them.
 
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eleos1954

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Hello Friends,

I find myself reading a lot from the bible and other Christian books. I can read for hours and watch sermons and I feel very blessed and spiritually close to God When I Do.

But when It comes to prayers, I pray but I feel it is not enough. It is short and after a while, I don't know what to pray for anymore. I read in books about mighty men of God who pray for hours and hours and sometimes a whole day. But I feel sleepy and have many thoughts in my head that hinder me from praying longer.

Do you have any advice on how to pray longer?

There is a verse that I read it is:
"When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Matthew 6:7

Sometimes I find myself babbling and repeating the same phrases over and over. I would really like to pray longer and with meaningful words. I know that God is listening, But I feel like I am speaking with a person on skype that I can't see or hear, But I know he is there.

I find it hard to focus.

I would appreciate any advice, Thank you <3


"I find it hard to focus" - the distraction

The enemy holds many from prayer, by telling you that you do not feel your prayers, and that you would better wait (or interrupts) until you realize more of the spirit of intercession, lest your prayers should be a mockery. But you must say to Satan, "It is written" that "men ought always to pray, and not to faint." . . . Read the parable starting from Luke 18:1

Prayer is our most personal and intimate worship time with God and satan hates likely above all things this ... because he wants to be worshiped this way. This is the main reason why he was "tossed" out of heaven. Satan is relentless. But remember he has been defeated.

So, start prayer by calling on Jesus to not allow satan to intrude during prayer time (each time you pray). Pray about what? Many many things to pray for. Also, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you through prayer. Repetition? Think more in terms of constant repetition on one thing. Have a variety. Pray unceasingly? Yes, there is concentrated prayer time set aside. But, also during the course of your day when thoughts and or circumstances occur that are not in line with the Word of God saying a "quick" prayer (asking God for help) is also ok

example:

Mark 8:33
33 Turning and looking at His disciples, Jesus rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

It's about always being mindful of the things of God. The more mindful we are of the things of God ... then we are praying unceasingly because that is what our continuous "mind set" is ... or should be.

satan battles for the mind constantly ... ask Jesus to cast him out whenever that happens.

God Bless.
 
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longwait

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Hello Friends,

I find myself reading a lot from the bible and other Christian books. I can read for hours and watch sermons and I feel very blessed and spiritually close to God When I Do.

But when It comes to prayers, I pray but I feel it is not enough. It is short and after a while, I don't know what to pray for anymore. I read in books about mighty men of God who pray for hours and hours and sometimes a whole day. But I feel sleepy and have many thoughts in my head that hinder me from praying longer.

Do you have any advice on how to pray longer?

There is a verse that I read it is:
"When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Matthew 6:7

Sometimes I find myself babbling and repeating the same phrases over and over. I would really like to pray longer and with meaningful words. I know that God is listening, But I feel like I am speaking with a person on skype that I can't see or hear, But I know he is there.

I find it hard to focus.

I would appreciate any advice, Thank you <3

Maybe you should write down what you need to pray and then when you sit down to pray, read what you have written and then form prayers on those points.
 
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FutureAndAHope

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Hello Friends,

I find myself reading a lot from the bible and other Christian books. I can read for hours and watch sermons and I feel very blessed and spiritually close to God When I Do.

But when It comes to prayers, I pray but I feel it is not enough. It is short and after a while, I don't know what to pray for anymore. I read in books about mighty men of God who pray for hours and hours and sometimes a whole day. But I feel sleepy and have many thoughts in my head that hinder me from praying longer.

Do you have any advice on how to pray longer?

There is a verse that I read it is:
"When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Matthew 6:7

Sometimes I find myself babbling and repeating the same phrases over and over. I would really like to pray longer and with meaningful words. I know that God is listening, But I feel like I am speaking with a person on skype that I can't see or hear, But I know he is there.

I find it hard to focus.

I would appreciate any advice, Thank you <3

Begin to pray for other people. There are many needs in the world. Seeing you are on this forum begin to pray for the needs entered into the prayer page. Or one thing that I have been doing lately is going to my local shopping center and if there is a person with an illness asking them if they would like prayer. Some people I pray for on the spot, but others I go home and pray for continually. You might ask does this work? Well the short answer is yes, with a touch of no. I had a work friend, who daughter got sick with Ulcerative Colotis, a bowl disease. He loved his daughter, and was saddened by her illness, the doctors had said there was little they could do. And had put her on harsh medication to treat the symptoms. I asked my for friend if I could pray for her, in the hope that she would get well. He said yes, so I went away and prayed, and got the church to pray. I month went by, and my work friend, told me she had been healed. So God does answer healing prayers. However why did I add a no to my statment. Well not every prayer I pray for healing occurs. The bible says "God has set with in the church people with gifts of healing, some of miracles, other with other gifts". There are levels of gifting that God gives, and some illnesses are above what God has allowed for me right now. You will probably find that as you pray God will answer some, but not all of your prayers, and work /pray with the body of Christ the church.
 
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Greg J.

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Do you have any advice on how to pray longer?
...
I find it hard to focus.
...
There are many ways to pray with volumes devoted to the subject. Some of Satan's attacks are to prevent us from praying. Ask the Lord to protect you, help you to pray longer, pray with mental clarity, and with continuing focus. Pray when you are fully awake after waking up. Make sure you are getting all the sleep your body wants, eating properly and staying hydrated. You can walk while you pray, sing prayers, write prayers out, study other people's prayers to templates to follow (e.g., Nehemiah's prayer, the form of prayer Jesus taught—each line of the Lord's prayer is a topic, not just something to simply be recited). You can also reflect on and pray prayers written by other people. You can write out a prayer list and pray through that, such as that the Lord would save, heal, or comfort various people. Try to ask for specific things (please give my brother a Christian friend), not just general things (please save everyone in my family). The Holy Spirit will help you know what to pray for. Make sure there are no hindrances to your prayers (sin).
 
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