Advice Helping Me Pray Effectively

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CatholicofAgora

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I’m not asking this from a skeptical perspective, I’m just asking if anyone knows where I can find good and free advice on how to noticeably pray more powerfully and effectively. So yeah, pretty simple request. Hop to it, CAF! 😉 I trust you won’t disappoint…
 
Step 1: Pray. Step 2: Pray. Step 3: Pray.

Obviously there’s more to it, but that’s the beginning–just pray, and pray often. I find that it helps to pray according to a structure of some kind; I go to a seminary and so have a fairly regimented day and prayer forms the sort of poles around which the rest of the day is centered. Whether you take up the Liturgy of the Hours (if you do, I’d recommend just doing part of it until you “get good at it;” it takes some practice), or just decide to offer the rosary every day at such-and-such time, or whatever, building a good routine will then give rise to a more solid prayer life. If you can maintain your routine when times are good, it will be all the easier to turn to that prayer when times are hard–and don’t let those who say that habitual prayer or “going through the motions” are somehow not befitting or are even sinful get to you. Sometimes if that’s all we can manage, just doing that helps us connect with God, and that can give rise to something greater and more solid. Our prayers don’t have to be perfect, they just have to be. So in short, the best advice I can give you is pray, and pray, and pray some more. And know that you’re in my prayers.

-ACEGC
 
The things that exponentially increased the depth of my prayer:

The baptism in the Holy Spirit. I was hesitant, but doubt no more. Amazing.

Go before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament (or even in the Tabernacle) and endeavor to pray in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18).

Fr. Robert Barron teaches that there is one prayer which works each and every time it is prayed: “Come, Holy Spirit”

It helps when I realize that prayer is not recitation, or repetition, but conversation.

As I just realized, the Holy Spirit is the center of effective prayer.
 
CatholicofAgora said:
I’m not asking this from a skeptical perspective, I’m just asking if anyone knows where I can find good and free advice on how to noticeably pray more powerfully and effectively. So yeah, pretty simple request. Hop to it, CAF! 😉 I trust you won’t disappoint…
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Get Peter Kreeft’s book “Prayer for Beginners”
 
Hi there…

Few questions for you :
  1. How do you feel your prayer life stands now ?
  2. What do you mean/think when you say you want your prayer to be more "powerful " ?
 
MichaelHowling said:
Hi there…

Few questions for you :
  1. How do you feel your prayer life stands now ?
  2. What do you mean/think when you say you want your prayer to be more "powerful " ?
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  1. Well, I actively pray the Rosary every day and use that as a mixture of personal prayer, meditation and as an opportunity to say the daily prayers as well. I bless my meals also.
  2. By “powerful” I suppose I mean “more effective.” For example, Scripture says “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” Sometimes I doubt my prayers because the exact opposite of what I want to happen happens. Either that, or God will answer my payers in the most ironic ways at my expense. For example, one day before work I prayed that he’d give me the opportunity to be a saint that day. Immediately after praying my car broke down, I yelled the D word and my ex drove by to taunt me. -_-
 
CatholicofAgora said:
  1. Well, I actively pray the Rosary every day and use that as a mixture of personal prayer, meditation and as an opportunity to say the daily prayers as well. I bless my meals also.
  2. By “powerful” I suppose I mean “more effective.” For example, Scripture says “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” Sometimes I doubt my prayers because the exact opposite of what I want to happen happens. Either that, or God will answer my payers in the most ironic ways at my expense. For example, one day before work I prayed that he’d give me the opportunity to be a saint that day. Immediately after praying my car broke down, I yelled the D word and my ex drove by to taunt me. -_-
Click to expand...
The best and most effective prayer is that which comes from the heart and for different people, this may mean many kinds of prayer. Do you ever just talk to Jesus about your day and how you have spent it and how you hope to spend tomorrow. About your personal hopes and dreams, your strengths and weaknesses as you see them. Just talk to Him in your own words and share with Him what is in your heart.
Ask Jesus to be with you throughout your day etc. etc. To strengthen you and guide you, inspire you.
He is your very best friend, spend time with Him in mutual friendship.
We are baptized into Him and as long as we are in the state of Grace, every good thought word and deed is a prayer. All that we do in a day is a prayer - we dont have to be praying in the traditional sense to be in a state of prayer. The duties of our state in life are all an expression of God’s Will for us and when we are about these duties, with our mind focused on them, we are about God’s Will for us. And of course, it is God’s Will for us to spend some time daily praying traditionally - and by traditionally, I mean to pause and spend time with Him in that prayer which is coming from your heart with heart and mind in accord.
Some find that their heart is really and truly in The Rosary, or some other formal type devotional prayer. And if this is the way it is for you, dont stop!!!

As for the opportunity to be a saint one day and then your car breaking down, I think Jesus laughed and even more so when you yelled the D word. He was human just as we are and He had His good days and His lousy days. He had times when things went well, and when they did not go well at all. He knows what it is to be fully human.

Jesus’ own life here on earth was filled at times with much suffering and personally I delight to give Him a laugh now and then now He is in Heaven in Glory - and a laugh at my expense.

Probably only mystics are aware of how powerful and effective their personal prayer actually is. For most of us, it is a matter of Faith - confident trust. My constant prayer is that if there is something I should be doing and am not yet doing, to please somehow give me a nudge in that direction. He will! How do I know? Confident trustful Faith.

God bless
 
Catholic, sounds like God is really listening to you. LOL You asked for Him to help you become a Saint…and your car breaks down. Don’t you see! Holiness, virtue, a greater capacity to love …these things don’t just fall from the sky. We humans need opportunitys to be set in front of us to grow into them.

Like that one cute movie "Evan Almighty says " …this mom in the movie complains to God that she prays about for her family to be a strong , faithful loving family…and everything in her family’s life falls apart. God’s response is :“Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?”

Sounds like you have a VERY good start in your prayer life…I’d give you a few suggestions:
  1. if you don’t go to confession as of yet…start going (and on a regular basis) with a heart that REALLY wants to change.
  2. If you could find a eucharistic adoration chapel in your areal…wow…my prayerlife (my ability to get startling answers to my prayers for myself and others) took an AMAZING growth spurt when I started going to a eucharistic adoration chapel and speaking with Him as you would a friend (at the chapel and at home) and even just sitting there and spending time with Him. I highly suggest speaking audibly when no one is around!
  3. Start journaling your day and the things you notice and things you have questions about during that day.
Lastly, remember what prayer is. It’s communication. And it’s not about really getting answers …it’s a force (being faithful just by doing it, or by noticing it changing your life by getting answers) that pulls you closer to God and helps you grow in fidelity and trust. Think of prayer like a rope that is tied to an immovable rock that you hold the end of . As you pray…God does not move…but you pull yourself closer to God…along the way you’re gonna get incentives (answers) to help you keep pulling…but only really as necessary to a growing soul…God ultimatley controls EVERYTHING regardless of your prayer.

Don’t EVER discredit the power of prayer or think your prayers are not answered. Ive had soooooo many occasions where I’ve had STARTLEING answers to my prayers. You know how it says that all the members have Christs body have certain gifts…healing, prohecy, etc etc…I really believe one of my is intercession! I don’t want to go and give you examples right now because I don’t want you to be discouraged.

I have a feeling you’re getting answers…just not the one’s your expecting. God is amazing and He knows what everyone really needs.

A cute little story for you to wrap this long post up :
A person asks God …Lord…why do you seem to only communicate with certain people in this world. Like, so many saints even get to see your face and talk with you in such intimate ways and hear your voice ??? God says …there’s a father who has two sons. He only speaks with one of them, only does things for one of them, only protects and shows his love to one of them…to the other …he leaves in the dark and hides his face…what kind of father is that ? The guy answers God: oh, a HORRIBLE father! …God say’s: what kind of father would I be if I didnt speak with All of my children.

I’d love to help you out with this…if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

I will definatly say a prayer for you today.

God bless!
 
The type of prayer that totally invited God to overhaul my heart and mind and heal me from a disability and bring me into His kingdom with power, is contemplative prayer.

CCC2709
What is contemplative prayer? St. Teresa answers: “Contemplative prayer [oracion mental] in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us.” Contemplative prayer seeks him “whom my soul loves.” It is Jesus, and in him, the Father. We seek him, because to desire him is always the beginning of love, and we seek him in that pure faith which causes us to be born of him and to live in him.

Check out the Catechism article CCC 2700-2724 on the three expressions of prayer: vocal, meditative, and contemplative.

CCC 2718
Contemplative prayer is a union with the prayer of Christ insofar as it makes us participate in his mystery. The mystery of Christ is celebrated by the Church in the Eucharist, and the Holy Spirit makes it come alive in contemplative prayer so that our charity will manifest it in our acts.

:knight2: :heaven: :harp:
 
When prayer is most effective for me is when I think of Jesus and reflect on who He is. I think of how attentive He is and how He gives 100% of His attention when I speak. I think of His beautiful and penetrating eyes and how much they pierce my soul with their compassion. When I am thinking of Jesus, He is thinking of me. When I am looking at Jesus, He is looking at me.

“What would you have Me do?” He asks. This is when I see how much compassion He has. He wants to know what I need and most of the time I just need to see He loves me and this is when He reaches out with His hand, brushes the hair from my eyes and smiles. “What would you have Me do?” He asks again. I realize that He WANTS eagerly to do something for me. I have what I need so my thoughts turn to someone I know who is hurting. I turn my gaze to my friend in need and say, “They have no wine. Give them the wine of your love and ease their loneliness.” This is when Jesus, so moved by my trust in Him, so moved that I rely on Him for my every wish, visits my friend.

Somewhere in the scriptures there is a short sentence that says, “He lifted His eyes.” I think about why this is so significant. Is it because He often kept His eyes down cast? Is it because to gaze upon His eyes was an experience in itself?

I think about the story in the bible where the blind man hears that Jesus is near and with a desperation in his voice cries out loudly, “Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!” Jesus heard the longing in the man’s voice, He was needed. Jesus’ heart stirred within His chest, desperate to meet the blind man’s need. “What would you have me do for you?” He asks again. The blind man heard that the messiah was near and so desperately wanted to SEE Him and said, “If you will it, grant that I may see.” Jesus says, “I will it.” and heals the man. What a wonderful day for the blind man. The first thing that he ever lays his eyes on is Jesus smiling with brightness in His eyes, God in human form.

This is how I pray.
 
You see, this is why I love CAF. I just let thus thread sit for a while, and I’m bombarded with the best responses a Christian could ask for. 🙂 Thanks guys!
 
CatholicofAgora said:
  1. By “powerful” I suppose I mean “more effective.” For example, Scripture says “the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” Sometimes I doubt my prayers because the exact opposite of what I want to happen happens. Either that, or God will answer my payers in the most ironic ways at my expense.** For example, one day before work I prayed that he’d give me the opportunity to be a saint that day. Immediately after praying my car broke down, I yelled the D word and my ex drove by to taunt me.** -_-
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What were you expecting when you prayed for the opportunity to be a saint that day? A halo and the ability to perform miracles all day? It sounds to me like your prayer was answered, albeit, not in the manner you wanted. When your car broke down, God gave you the opportunity to show you’re detached from your car and to be patient with it. Instead, you got mad and cursed. Your ex-boyfriend drove by and taunted you, thus giving you the opportunity to practice humility and meekness, two key virtues of the saints practiced in heroic capacity.

When we pray the Our Father, we pray “Thy will be done” no “my will be done.” God will answer our prayers if it’s beneficial to us spiritually, and will answer our prayers in the manner he wills.

Prayer isn’t like magic. It’s not like we can just pray something like, “Almighty and everlasting God, grant, I beseech Thee, that I win the lottery and never have to work another day in my life, and never have to write another Philosophy paper. That every month for the rest of my life I remain debt free, and my bank account is never below $100,000, and that I live in a self-cleaning mansion, and never have to pay taxes again. Grant, also, world peace and end world violence, and keep puppies from growing into dogs, getting old and dying. I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen” and expect to get it.
 
When you go to prayer and make requests, ask for ANYTHING you want, no matter how ridiculous you think it might be, and then learn who Jesus is by what he grants you and what he doesn’t. You might be surprised.

One time I let Him know I would like to swim with dolphins, about 5 years later I went on a surprise vacation to the Bahamas and swam with dolphins. God wants to hear about even your wildest imaginings.
 
Sometimes I doubt my prayers because the exact opposite of what I want to happen happens.

God always answers prayers…sometimes the answer is no. Or sometimes the answer is “Here are tools for you need.”

For example…I pray for patience. God gives me an ABUNDANCE of ways to practice that patience and to hone it. My day/month/year is filled with annoying trivialities…but by the end of it I have learned the only way to sanely deal with the annoyances is to practice…patience. God answered my prayer…but he made me work for it.

When I was pre teen/teen, I prayed to God everyday to give me a friend (I did not have any “real” friends…they were all fake and I chose not to let myself be around them) that I could trust. He DID answer my prayer…but not in a way I expected…it took me a long time to realize that what I was praying for was right in front of me. Later on I met the guy who would become my husband and he’s become my best friend. He’s not Catholic (or even baptized), but he is literally everything I need and everything that I asked God for. He does things in HIS own time. He even allows “bad” things to happen to us so that we can USE the strength and perseverance he has granted us.

It took me a LONG time to realize the worth of the old phrase “God helps those who helps themselves.” It means that God has give us the tools we need…but we have to use them.

I’ve noticed that when I pray for my marriage to strengthen…my husband and I fight like cats and dogs. Seems polar opposite, right? Once again, it’s God answering my prayer BUT expecting my husband and I to work for it as well. 🤷 But our marriage HAS been strengthened…it just wasn’t the quick “here ya go!” that I wanted.
 
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