Help with... prayer

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patro

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Hello,anyone can give me a little advice on praying. Take for example i am praying for my friends, i start to pray for a particular person and then i feel like i have to prayer for another friend, then i feel guilty like i should be prayer for other friends etc…seems like it will never end. do i have to mention each person,need etc…or do i just generalize. Should i mention as many people in my mothers nursing home as i can or should i just say ," i pray dear Lord for all those in my mothers nursing home who are suffering" then i feel like it sounds too cheap and i need to mention more detail,then it never ends on who and what to pray for!!! If this sounds confusing, please forgive me,hard to describe. If any advice or need clarity ,please respond. Thx.
 
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I’ve struggled with this. I simply mention a few (no more than 5) specific people and then generalize. Next time I pray I might mention a different few. It has to end somewhere. In the nursing home, pray for those few specifically you know the most, if any, and then generalize. God will answer it.
 
You can pray for family and those friends you are particularly close to, but on days if you’re really tired, or pressed for time there is nothing wrong in praying in generalities “For all my friends and enemies” - you can mentally picture a few, but after all God knows better than you who are your friends and those who are your enemies.

In the same way we pray for all the souls in purgatory when we pray the Eternal Rest prayer - “grant unto them” and “shine upone them” and “may they rest in peace”.
 
I’m struggling with my life right now and I don’t know what to do I’m praying but they don’t seem to be heard by Father (my name for God) .
 
You can say “for all my family and friends and everyone who asked me to pray for them”. God knows who they are.
When we mention their names is not exactly as if the priests mentions their names at Mass.
I mention the names specifically to my close family, the priest I confessed to lately, my deceased closed family. The rest is by categories, generalized.
 
For many people this will seem foreign and take some time getting used to, but you can pray with your imagination. While praying, simply “seeing” that person in your mind or imagining a sick person recovering can be praying. God does not need first names and last names and the specifics of what their need is. Imagining you and all of your friends together at a dinner with Jesus could be fun.
 
I understand as I pray for a lot of people living and dead. One can feel overwhelmed at times by the sheer number of prayer needs out there.

I would suggest that you pick out one or two people most in need each time you pray, mention them by name and then make a general intention for everyone else. For example, if you want to pray for people in nursing homes, you could say, “Dear God please help all those in nursing homes, especially today Nancy who is not doing well” and leave it at that. Then tomorrow when you pray, choose a different specific person to name. “I pray for all those in nursing homes, especially George who is very lonely.” Etc. You don’t have to mention all the names each time you pray.

Another way to do it is get a notebook and each time you meet someone you wish to pray for, just write their name or intention in your book. Then when you pray you can just pray to God “for all the people and intentions in my notebook.” This is what churches and shrines do when you put a prayer intention on a piece of paper in their box or on the altar.
 
Catholic361 said:
I’m struggling with my life right now and I don’t know what to do I’m praying but they don’t seem to be heard by Father (my name for God) .
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He’s hearing you. People throughout history have had the same issue when struggling and God doesn’t seem to be helping. The Psalms even discuss this. Feel free to express to God your frustration and impatience. Ask him to help you better hear or understand what he wants of you because things are difficult.
 
dconklin said:
While praying, simply “seeing” that person in your mind or imagining a sick person recovering can be praying. God does not need first names and last names
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Outstanding. When I pray I imagine I’m sitting with God, or biking with him, or walking alongside. And as you said, a single image of someone in our mind and a wish for their good and happiness is a very complete prayer. 😀
 
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thanks,that makes sense, simple but profound…
 
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sorry to hear,will say a prayer for your intentions.
 
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