Prayer methods

[brinny]

The Lord's Prayer I rarely pray. Other than that one, I don't think I have any memorized except scripture possibly, and
"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray Thee, Lord, my soul to keep, and if I die before I wake, I pray Thee, Lord, my soul to take." I don't pray that one either. I pray from my own spirit, not from books or other people. I once was painting a house for an elderly couple in the church. They invited me to join them for lunch and the man prayed the best prayer before a meal I had ever heard. I was really impressed. The next day we had lunch again, and he prayed the exact same words. I was disappointed. I do not "recite" prayers. I have written down a lot of prayers that I have offered, but I don't save them or refer back to them and use them again. Each prayer is just me talking to God from my heart. Father, I pray these words will be of benefit to encourage the readers of them just to pray their own prayers, for I know those are the ones You really want to hear. Amen.

Each prayer is just me talking to God from my heart.

Isn't that what the OP said?

 

[brinny]

I do a lot of pop-corn prayer, but then I do some extended prayer as well. I have never considered myself a great prayer warrior, though I have grown in this area since retirement. I see a number of written responses to prayer requests that are not prayers, just statements that they say they will pray. I like to write my prayers out to these on line requests so people can see and know what I am praying, not for thanks are glory toward me, but for them to know what is being offered to God on their behalf, in hope of God answering it for their good and His glory. Pop-corn prayer is fine, but can you imagine that being all that Daniel, Jeremiah, Paul, and Jesus did? Some of the greatest prayers were short prayers (Elijah, Nehemiah, and even Jesus), but I think we need to get out of the comfort zone and put in some serious time in prayer; not just to say we prayed for an hour, but to give God more than a 20 second attention span.

Comfort zone?

What exactly would that be?

 

[brinny]

I'm more like you, popcorn prayers. But I do journal/write to God every day. I suppose it ends up being a long prayer because I can really get lengthy in my note to Him. Sometimes I praise Him and sometimes I turn all my troubles to Him, depends on life. But popcorn prayers are my favorite. I talk to God all day long, thanking Him here and there, giving thanks to Him. I sometimes wonder if he gets tired of hearing from me.

Yeah, me too.

I didn't know that i was doing it all wrong

 

[Pilgrim]

So today in my sunday school class we talked about silence & solitude in regards to prayer; how we have numerous examples in scripture of Jesus doing this and how we are commanded by Jesus to do so.

My question is this, does anyone struggle with long, sustained prayer? I prefer what I like to call "popcorn prayers", which are short, sporadic, yet very numerous and all throughout the day and night. I pray at work, in public, with my eyes open, you name it. I admittedly feel awkward at times in lengthy prayer, and I know this is a spiritual discipline I obviously need work on.

What are everyone else thoughts, how do you prefer to pray?

There are times when extended prayer with our Father is what He desires. Those could be times when believers are fasting and praying together. On such prayerful occasions, much time spent on bended knee, worshiping God through prayer, giving Him thanks for all that he does for us, and seeking His Will in all things.

Paul writes that we are to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) meaning we should carry with us an attitude that we are always aware of God's presence in our lives. We should surrender our thoughts, deeds, and actions to the Holy Will of God—allowing God's Holy Spirit to be actively involved and engaged in our thoughts and actions at all times.

God is addressed as “Holy Father” by Jesus (John 17:11), praised in heaven by the threefold "holy" of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:6-10), and addressed by the petition of the Lord’s Prayer, "Hallowed be Your name" (Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2). The Lord's Prayer is a good prayer to keep in our heart. It's a prayer we can frequently go to knowing Jesus told us that is how we are to pray. When we walk with Jesus as one of His disciples, it is natural that we are praying "without ceasing" as we go through the day.

 

[Goatee]

Our Lords prayer is one of the most important as it was given to us by Jesus

 

[inquiring mind]

For years I prayed silently, then as I became older I felt the need to speak them... although still privately. But, each person should pray in the manner that they feel connected with God. I have to admit that when I respond to a prayer request it is usually a short and written statement that I will or have prayed for them. To me, anything more seems an exercise in eloquence (although I don’t mean to imply that’s the case for everyone), of which I would surely fall short. It’s sort of like I know God will understand what I mean, whereas I may say something aloud or in writing that is unclear to the one requesting prayer. I do feel that when the Lord is speaking through you and wants it heard, He will move you to speak aloud or write it. I have never really thought much about the length, as I usually know when it’s over, short or long. I also find that as I’m getting older I’m praying more often. Age can be sobering. As ByTheSpirit alluded to, don’t forget to listen, it’s His time with you too.

 

[mnorian]

Mod hat on

Thread from
Prayer Wall
To
Deeper Fellowship
for a better fit.
Carry on.​