How best to pray

  • Thread starter Thread starter ichthystim
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
I

ichthystim

Guest
Hi all,

Since this question has no doubt been asked before, I was wondering if anyone could link me to a previous discussion.

My question is, have people found it preferable to pray ‘their own way’ or to pray using only The Lord’s Prayer, the Rosary, and other Catholic prayers?

I ask this because I’ve only recently re-discovered my Catholic faith, and having prayed at many other times before this (mostly in my addiction recovery), I have essentially a whole host of prayers in me.

I understand that the important thing is that in my heart I really mean what I’m saying, and humble myself before God, but I’m still unsure as to where to go from here.

Thanks, and God bless you!
 
I use to pray when I walk with my dog, when I make food, and when ever I feel I need to “talk” to Christ. (Or Our Blessed Virgin.) I know it is not wrong. A prayer can be one that is written, or it can come straight from your heart. I do pray “all the necessary prayers” and I love the Rosary, but those who come from my heart are honest. I don’t mean that the other prayers are wrong, no. They are very very important. They belong to The Church, and for a reason. We need to pray what The Church pray, but we also need to establish a “personal relationship” with Christ, and that is done when we pray from our heart and mind. So, if someone would ask me what is the “right” prayer I can only say that the one that come from your heart, mind and soul.

God love us, no doubt, so I think He also love to hear what we really have to say or ask. When you pray the Rosary, and let us be absolutely honest, our thoughts do stray, and we often think about other things then what we should focus on. The Lord is with us every day, every minute. He may not always grant what we ask for, but He is with us, and that I keep in mind when I walk my dog and pray, I know He is with me, and all I need to do is to reach out and I can almost feel Him. So, there is no “wrong” way to pray, and there is no “right” way neither, all we have is our prayers. I remember from my childhood days, long before I knew that the “man” I did talk to so often was called God, that I did learn in school years later, but I felt so safe, and so full of joy. And thank God, I still do.
 
I was very touched by Cardinal Arinze’s video - that was very humbling.

Thank you, Lasting_faith, for sharing your personal experience - I can see how much peace your prayer life has given you.
 
ichthystim said:
Hi all,

Since this question has no doubt been asked before, I was wondering if anyone could link me to a previous discussion.

My question is, have people found it preferable to pray ‘their own way’ or to pray using only The Lord’s Prayer, the Rosary, and other Catholic prayers?

I ask this because I’ve only recently re-discovered my Catholic faith, and having prayed at many other times before this (mostly in my addiction recovery), I have essentially a whole host of prayers in me.

I understand that the important thing is that in my heart I really mean what I’m saying, and humble myself before God, but I’m still unsure as to where to go from here.

Thanks, and God bless you!
Click to expand...
Here are two that will show you the way to a deeper prayer life.

dunedin.elim.org.nz/uploads/1/2/7/8/12786940/brother_lawrence_-_the_practice_of_the_presence_of_god.pdf

meditationsfromcarmel.com/content/formation-talks

After you have read the these, then the next post will help you to understand better some of the ideas in them.

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=795275
 
Pope John XXII said “Prayer is the raising of the mind to God. We must always remember this. The actual words matter less.”

Jesus teaches us this in Matthew’s gospel…

7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
but deliver us from the evil one.**’
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

For me, I keep these two things in mind… I try not ask our Lord for anything except to be conformed to his will. Make your will my will. I use my prayer time as a way of ordering my life to God and this informs the thoughts and actions that I have throughout the day.

The Pope’s recent statements on Pelagianism and rosary counting are grand teaching that aligns well with the first statement in Matthew 7. Make your prayer about building your relationship with God and you will never have to fear about doing it right.**
 
Thank you both for your replies - they were really useful to me. Particular thanks to you for revealing the works of Brother Lawrence to me; his words really hit home for me!
 
Turn towards the Lord (conversi ad dominum)

Indeed --often during the day --pray little “short prayers” of love etc such is an ancient practice --during our work, our daily life - help keep our heart turned towards the Lord.
 
Turn towards the Lord (conversi ad dominum)

Indeed --often during the day --pray little “short prayers” of love etc such is an ancient practice --during our work, our daily life - help keep our heart turned towards the Lord.
 
“The essential act of prayer is to stand unprotected before God.” -Sr. Wendy Beckett
 
ichthystim said:
Hi all,

Since this question has no doubt been asked before, I was wondering if anyone could link me to a previous discussion.

My question is, have people found it preferable to pray ‘their own way’ or to pray using only The Lord’s Prayer, the Rosary, and other Catholic prayers?

I ask this because I’ve only recently re-discovered my Catholic faith, and having prayed at many other times before this (mostly in my addiction recovery), I have essentially a whole host of prayers in me.

I understand that the important thing is that in my heart I really mean what I’m saying, and humble myself before God, but I’m still unsure as to where to go from here.

Thanks, and God bless you!
Click to expand...
You are already on the right path as you indicated above. A line from the catechism:

2562 Where does prayer come from? Whether prayer is expressed in words or gestures, it is the whole man who prays. But in naming the source of prayer, Scripture speaks sometimes of the soul or the spirit, but most often of the heart (more than a thousand times). According to Scripture, it is the heart that prays. If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain.

I would recommend reading the entirety of what the catechism has to say about prayer.

scborromeo.org/ccc/p4s1.htm ETA: oops, sorry, I didn’t notice that Bookcat already provided this.

That’s a link to section one- you can use the buttons at the bottom of the webpage to go on to the next sections.

Another line from the catechism I consider when I find myself getting too focused on the mechanics of prayer vice the purpose.

2111 Superstition is the deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the true God, e.g., when one attributes an importance in some way magical to certain practices otherwise lawful or necessary. To attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand, is to fall into superstition.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top