Help me learn how to pray

  • Thread starter Thread starter Apple_Fan_Boy
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

Apple_Fan_Boy

Guest
Hello everyone.

This has bugged me for the longest time. It has gotten to the point where I start to google for answers. I’m embarrassed to be asking but this is how desperate I am for an answer or guidance in this…

How does one pray to the Lord? I know that praying to the Lord is like talking to your friend. I also know that really there is no right or wrong way to pray to the Lord. But when I pray, it is just an empty feeling I have. I don’t feel closer to the Lord. I don’t feel that enlightenment that many here feel when they pray. It feels more like an obligation or forced, rather than me wanting to pray to the Lord, if that made any sense. I don’t want to feel like that. I hate that feeling. I want my prayers to be heartfelt and not sound rehearsed.

I go to a quiet place in my house. I kneel or sit on the couch and pray (talk) like I would be to a dear friend. What starts as a prayer ends up in me rambling. I ask myself did I pray long enough? Was that to short? This morning I prayed the rosary and as I was praying the rosary, my thoughts wandered off to things and although I finished the rosary, I wasn’t focused as I should’ve been.

What am I doing wrong? Am I trying to hard?
 
There will be a flood of more learned answers than mine before the sun sets, but I saw your subject heading and no replies and wanted to let you know that someone (probably many someones) have read your post. It is a question a lot of people wrestle with.

You already know there are many different kinds of prayer, so there is not so much a “wrong” way to pray. Keep putting yourself in God’s presence by taking the quiet, alone time. Sometimes prayer is just this listening. Sometimes it is you talking (interiorly), saying what is on your heart and mind. Sometimes it is using a formal, written prayer. And sometimes prayer can be an action. There’s not always (usually) a direct response, I don’t think. There might be consolation (some form of comfort that comes to you); might be.

Have you been to the sacred space website? sacredspace.ie/ Maybe following something like that would assuage your concern about it not being this or that. I would think it is more about the desire that is pleasing to God than the length or the eloquence.

There will be seasons when it is easier than others, when you seem heard more than other times. Keep praying -in some way- through it all. :o

Pray for me? I will pray for you!

St. Thérèse of Lisieux expressed her answer as: “With me prayer is an uplifting of the heart; a glance towards heaven; a cry of gratitude and love, uttered equally in sorrow and in joy. In a word, it is something noble, supernatural, which expands my soul and unites it to God.” (Story of a Soul A.10)
 
Wow! Apple_Fan_Boy…I join you in these thoughts and feelings! TY for posting.
Kennywood, u speak to me too! TY for posting and letting us know of the website.
Going there right now…🙂
Praying for u both
 
Hi

I know thw feeling - it is something I sometimes struggle with too. By sticvking with the Rosary I take it on faith that I am being heard, even if I dont feel it. But when I want to try to develop more of a sense of God, I have hound the support provided by pray-as-you-go.org/ REALLY helpful.As well daily prayrful meditations via podcast they have some very helpful preparations for prayer (breathing and body exercises). It is an Ignatian website, and in my view the SJ are pretty good at this sort of thing - bringing spirituality into our environment. Also for me I find different prayers work better than others. For example, I REALLY get the sorrowful mysteries, whereas I find the luminous mysteries much harder to pray. You may also find an image or an icon that works for you by helping you focus. For me it is the Divine Mercy image and the St Benedict Medal. There are plenty to look out for so finding one that works for you will just take a little time. Most importantly just persevere for the moment. If nothing else, a daily rosary comes highly commended. You may even find a different Rosary works better for you. Oddly, I find myself using a home made Rosary more than anything - made using the instructions provided by the Rosary Army. Other people have found a Byzantine Prayer Rope helpful, which simply repeats the prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have mercy on me a sinner” helpful, and I use this occasionally to generate some inner calm whilst listening to some Gregorian chant.
 
Hi, here is something to really pray about.
When we are think about how terrible hell is, people are going there right now as I write this.
And it is not too late for you and me to do something about it. I often, and I do mean
often think about what I would do if I saw someone in front of my house on fire in the
middle of the street. I think I would do everything possible to save that person screaming
so loudly in pain. I think about this. And then I pray for those poor poor people who are
going there as I am thinking about this. And I beg God to forgive them
one more time and give them the grace just once more to turn back to Him. I also say
to Him there is more glory and honor to You if one sings your praises in heaven than all
of those in hell cursing Your name Lord. Please help that person. I ask You to do
this in honor of your loving Son who died for all of us including this person who probably
dosen’t deserve another chance. But please give them one more chance, I beg You.

There are billions of people on earth. According to Mary, who appeared to us, there are too many going to hell. I believe I can trust Mary.
I believe I can trust her request, namely that
we pray for those poor, poor, people going there. They need our prayers and I can change
this according to Mary. Our prayers mean a great deal to our kind Father and He does
listen to us his childlren. Those in trouble can’t or won’t pray for themselves and if someone
dosen’t pray in their stead, repenting won’t happen for them. This is our mission, to save.
The name of Jesus means “G-d saves”. This mission is ours as well, for if He saves
us, then we should save others. Please have in your intentions in your morning prayers, that
our dear Heavenly Father will have mercy on them and spare those who are dying and
will be called this very day. It’s such a terrible thing, and you can turn this around when
you ask, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

But the most trembling thought is, “suppose it should be me”.​

“There are millions in this world who are creaving the pleasure earthly things afford,
but none can match the wonderous treasure that I find in the Bread from heaven, Jesus the Lord.”
Christian hymn
 
Apple Fan Boy,

Bless you for your desire for a closer relationship and walk with our Lord.

First, let me applaud you for your efforts. I like that you sit and just talk with God. This is excellent. Please do keep this up. God Loves it. 👍

Second, Jesus taught us how to pray when he gave us the “Our Father”. This prayer is actually both a prayer unto itself and also a “model” to build all of our prayers off of.
So I suggest this exercise to you that I found very helpful.
Slowly think and consider each phrase of the Our Father and “re-write” it using your own words. Of course certain terms and phrases cannot really be changed, I mean how many ways can one say “father”, but the mere exercise of thinking these through of looking for synonyms and considering the underlying meanings and directions of the prayer can give great insight into how we should pray. Even the order in which things occur in the prayer are important.
Anyway - enough of my Rambling… give this a try and see if it doesn’t help you understand prayer a bit better.

As to your mind wandering while praying the Rosary - I am SO there with you on that one. But you know what? Each time I call my mind back to the mystery or to the words of the prayer, I am recommitting myself to the prayer. Not such a bad thing that…

Dryness in prayer is indeed a sad thing. God seems so far away and yet, just like a child learning to ride a bicycle, God is right behind us - ready to pick us up when we falter.
Many times dryness is simply our own inability to let down some wall or guard. Sometimes it is God wanting us to know how much we DO rely on him so that we grow even closer to Him. The important thing during these times, and all of the great saints agree on this, is don’t give up. Persevere. You will be rewarded.

If I might suggest, the book in my signature (not my book) gives an excellent treatment of these matters. It is well worth the read. In fact I’ve started reading it again – for about the 6th time…

Peace
James
 
fred_conty said:
Hi, here is something to really pray about.
When we are think about how terrible hell is, people are going there right now as I write this.
And it is not too late for you and me to do something about it. I often, and I do mean
often think about what I would do if I saw someone in front of my house on fire in the
middle of the street. I think I would do everything possible to save that person screaming
so loudly in pain. I think about this. And then I pray for those poor poor people who are
going there as I am thinking about this. And I beg God to forgive them
one more time and give them the grace just once more to turn back to Him. I also say
to Him there is more glory and honor to You if one sings your praises in heaven than all
of those in hell cursing Your name Lord. Please help that person. I ask You to do
this in honor of your loving Son who died for all of us including this person who probably
dosen’t deserve another chance. But please give them one more chance, I beg You.

There are billions of people on earth. According to Mary, who appeared to us, there are too many going to hell. I believe I can trust Mary.
I believe I can trust her request, namely that
we pray for those poor, poor, people going there. They need our prayers and I can change
this according to Mary. Our prayers mean a great deal to our kind Father and He does
listen to us his childlren. Those in trouble can’t or won’t pray for themselves and if someone
dosen’t pray in their stead, repenting won’t happen for them. This is our mission, to save.
The name of Jesus means “G-d saves”. This mission is ours as well, for if He saves
us, then we should save others. Please have in your intentions in your morning prayers, that
our dear Heavenly Father will have mercy on them and spare those who are dying and
will be called this very day. It’s such a terrible thing, and you can turn this around when
you ask, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

But the most trembling thought is, “suppose it should be me”.​

“There are millions in this world who are creaving the pleasure earthly things afford,
but none can match the wonderous treasure that I find in the Bread from heaven, Jesus the Lord.”
Christian hymn
Click to expand...
Thanks for all those prayers. I found your post inspiring and will try to pray like that as well.

The divine mercy chaplet comes to mind now also.

:blessyou:
 
JRKH said:
Apple Fan Boy,

Bless you for your desire for a closer relationship and walk with our Lord.

First, let me applaud you for your efforts. I like that you sit and just talk with God. This is excellent. Please do keep this up. God Loves it. 👍

As to your mind wandering while praying the Rosary - I am SO there with you on that one. But you know what? Each time I call my mind back to the mystery or to the words of the prayer, I am recommitting myself to the prayer. Not such a bad thing that…

Peace
James
Click to expand...
James,

Thank you so much for your kinds words. This distance I’ve felt from the Lord is something I’ve felt for quite some time. As much as I prayed, they felt empty.
I want to feel close to the Lord again as I’ve lost my ways. If it means I have to work to get back into his good graces, I’ll walk that mile. I don’t want to give up. I want peace in my life and those around me.

As for the rosary, everyone prays it differently and you have to do what works best for you. This morning as I prayed the rosary, I knelt down on our hardwood floor like I always do and my mind started to wander. I decided to walk on my knees as I prayed. It was painful but very well worth it. I think from now on, that is how I will pray the rosary.

Thanks,
Rafael
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top