A silly question....but how do I pray?

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LostSheepUK

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I discovered my belief in God about 6 months ago (long story) and have been praying daily, but I still feel a bit awkward and silly when I do it. How do i overcome this?

I say the rosary every night, in the hour before I go to bed but I also try and pray for the people I love and for God to help those who are suffering. I find it hard to clear my mind and concentrate on what I want to say to God. Does he hear me even if my thoughts get muddled ?

I’m quite new here so please excuse me if my question sounds silly.
 
Hi LostSheep

I’d try not to worry too much about how you pray - and certainly don’t worry about whether you think you are doing it well enough. In prayer we simply bring ourselves, our concerns, our sorrows, even our distractions into God’s loving gaze. We trust that in prayer God works in us no matter how well we think we’re doing at prayer. Do whatever feels comfortable - and also don’t be afraid to just sit quietly and just “be” in the presence of God (distractions and all). Prayer, at the end of the day, is God’s work in us.
 
Same as me as i am trying to learn to pray ‘properly’. It is hard as i find concentration the hardest.

I am sure that God will help you in time. A lovely prayer is the Divine Mercy Chaplet (See my signature).

Pray that God will help you with your prayers. You are doing great already’

God bless you
 
LostSheepUK said:
I discovered my belief in God about 6 months ago (long story) and have been praying daily, but I still feel a bit awkward and silly when I do it. How do i overcome this?

I say the rosary every night, in the hour before I go to bed but I also try and pray for the people I love and for God to help those who are suffering. I find it hard to clear my mind and concentrate on what I want to say to God. Does he hear me even if my thoughts get muddled ?

I’m quite new here so please excuse me if my question sounds silly.
Click to expand...
You are doing fine. I have the same problem…I just plow ahead knowing that God know what I need better than I do…

Peace
James
 
Hi

Just one thing, relax and let go of your concerns, your worries and all those little things.
Think of God as a companion and a guide, not a responsibility.
Talk like you do to your closest friend, or your spouse with no barriers. Those feelings of anxiety and uneasiness are of your doing. God is always listening, always understanding and always available.
It should be a feeling of letting go earthly concerns. Start with a Hail Mary and an Our Father to attain that spiritual equilibrium.

Enjoy and good luck
 
I am so happy and thrilled for you. I think that once you experience that God truly hear our prayer, you will feel more comfortable with this. He truly does.

I pray from my heart, when i need a prayer for me, i pray also for others with the same need. Talk to him, like you would to someone your love or a great friend.

Say your Catholic prayer of course, and simply imagine that the word are going in your heart then to him.

If you spirit wondered to much, take deep breath, and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you with your prayer.

You are loved!

Blessings to you!
 
I think this is a good question. 🙂

I’ve been a Catholic all my life, but I’ve recently for Lent been trying to pray more than just an Our Father or Hail, Mary at night time with my family like I’ve always done.

For my prayer I try to read the day’s mass readings (I have an app for my iPod Touch called iMissal that has the day’s readings, but I’m sure you can find them online as well), and then I try my best to understand the message of the readings.

After I do that I like to read some quotes from the Bible, and also think about the meaning of those.

Lastly, I pick a prayer to read that goes with what I’d like to pray for that day. I found out recently that there are tons of prayers for all sorts of intents! Sometimes I pray for the souls in Purgatory, other times I pray for things to overcome struggles in my daily life, or in the daily lives of others.

This is just one of billions of ways of praying, though, I think! Prayer is something that we do to stay connected to God while on Earth, so, like learning, there are different ways that work for different people.

Overall, as long as you are doing your best to improve yourself or help others daily, and maybe learn a little bit more about the Church/the Church’s teachings in the process, you’re definitely doing good!

Just stay calm and don’t worry about praying a certain right way! 😃 A rosary every night definitely sounds great.
 
It’s not a silly question at all.

God DOES hear you and he finds delight in your prayers no matter how muddled they may seem to you. He is your Father and you are His child. He loves that you take the time to come to Him and express your love, tell Him how your day went, and ask Him to take care of you and your loved ones. The Holy Rosary may be a little awkward for you initially, but nothing makes Our Blessed Mother happier than to have her children pray through her to her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. And Jesus delights in the honor you give to his Mother, whose intention it is to draw you to Him. You will find many graces come to you as you continue to pray, whether they are the formal prayers of the church like the Our Father and Hail Mary or your own precious words of praise and thanksgiving.

May God bless you.
 
“The Spirit helps us in our weakness;
For we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us
with sighs too deep for words.
And he who searches the hearts of men
knows what is in the mind of the Spirit,
because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according
to the will of God.”
Romans 8:26-27
 
Not a silly question at all!

You’ve gotten some wonderful advice and encouragement. I’d like to add: Find a place with Perpetual Adoration.

Prayer is struggle for me, too. However, since committing to Adoration each week…an hour with the Lord, bit by bit, I find myself opening up more to Him. Now, you don’t have to commit to an hour, find a place which allows drop-ins.

God bless you.
 
LostSheepUK said:
I discovered my belief in God about 6 months ago (long story) and have been praying daily, but I still feel a bit awkward and silly when I do it. How do i overcome this?

I say the rosary every night, in the hour before I go to bed but I also try and pray for the people I love and for God to help those who are suffering. I find it hard to clear my mind and concentrate on what I want to say to God. Does he hear me even if my thoughts get muddled ?

I’m quite new here so please excuse me if my question sounds silly.
Click to expand...
Its more about the intentions in your heart than how you pray.

Someone has already mentioned them, but the Divine Mercy prayers are possibly the most powerful prayers.

God Bless.
 
You’re doing fine. I have the same problems as you doing prayer and I’ve been doing this all my life.

May the Holy spirit continue to guide you

jesus g
 
Contemplative prayer. If you don’t know of it, you should. Note the CCC uses the word “should” to back me up here, in 2708

Ref CCC 2700-2724

Note that the CCC has more to say about contemplative prayer, than about vocal and meditative prayer, combined. Strange so few Catholics have ever heard of it, eh?

Alan
 
One way of praying is to read a passage from the bible, start with something Jesus directly said, (preferably something short) and repeat it to yourself numerous times through the day.

For example: When Jesus chose His disciples He only said two words, “Follow Me.”

Now every time you say or think it, hear Jesus saying it to you. “Follow Me.”

How do you feel when you hear those words? What goes through your mind? Are you thinking, “Follow you where?” or “What does that mean?” “How do I follow you when I can’t see you?”, or “You want ME to follow you, out of all the people in the world your calling me?”

or is your first inclination to do as the disciples did, leave everything behind and follow Him blindly? Then let your imagination think about what kind of presence Jesus must have had to compel strangers to drop everything and follow him.

What is your answer? Yes, No, Maybe, only if…,

Just keep repeating it to yourself and your whole world will change.
 
Another issue I get is sometimes I hurry my prayers without thinking of what I am praying! This happens mainly when I have something arranged after them. I feel really guilty then!
 
Remember God knows what you are going to pray for before you even open your mouth.
When I’m praying for a particular person, I like to just tell God what I want. I don’t try to get it to sound good or very prayerfull. Example: Dear God now I want to pray for my sister … please help her to stop worrying so much and let her and her husband get along better. Please fill her up with your holy spirit so much that she cant help but feel your peace. and let her recognise that it’s you.

Stuff like that.

Remember when you get so many distractions when trying to pray that it’s the devils spirits trying to stop you from praying. They don’t want us to. I get that too.
 
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