How can I learn to pray without a rubric

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I mean without a Hail Mary or any prescribed prayer that’s already written. I don’t worry I’ll still say my rosary but I just want to learn how to pray more intimately
 
You need to find a silent, quiet place to stop and simply be with God. Perhaps try Lectio Divina http://www.ocarm.org/en/content/lectio/what-lectio-divina

I like to take walks and talk to God as I would any friend. Prayer is simply talking to God, whether you use formulaic words (like Pater Nosters and Ave Marias) or words you compose yourself. Try asking the Holy Spirit to teach you how to pray. I don’t have the reference, but in John’s Gospel our Lord says when the Holy Spirit comes he will teach you how to pray.
 
I was in a prayer group and I was asked to lead and I had no idea what to do so I said a Hail Mary
 
Just talk to God!

I’d suggest Fr Dubay’s books “The Prayer Primer” and " Deep Conversion, Deep Prayer".
 
As a former Baptist, we never used memorized prayers, except the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father.) Prayer is a conversation, so just talk with God. Thank Him, praise Him. Ask questions, ask for guidance. Vent, tell Him your frustrations. Confess sins, ask for forgiveness and petitions. Talk with Him about everything! Your prayers can be very formal or informal. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you. You can do it!
 
Take a few moments to quiet you mind and just talk to God. I ask the Holy Spirit to help me pray all the time.
 
jdavani said:
I mean without a Hail Mary or any prescribed prayer that’s already written
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It’s incorrect to call set prayers “rubrics.” Rubrics is a word derived from the word “red” which means the words in red in a liturgical book which tell the minister what to do during the liturgy.

These prayers are simply set prayers, there’s no special name for them.
 
While you’re praying your Rosary, it is absolutely vital that you meditate on the mystery at hand. That way, the Rosary won’t just be a series of rote prayers.
 
Yeah I think about it but not while I’m praying. Just after each decade I think about it and announce it
 
Go to a quiet place and clear your mind first. Focus on feeling a longing for God. Then the words will come to you naturally.
 
jdavani said:
I was in a prayer group and I was asked to lead and I had no idea what to do so I said a Hail Mary
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That is fine. Spontaneous prayers often go the way of self-written wedding vows, anyway. You don’t go wrong with the prayers of the Rosary.

You may want to look into Lectio Divina. I think that is the bridge between formal prayer and contemplative prayer that you may be looking for…a way of doing the listening and allowing the Holy Spirit to do the talking, but with what the educators call “scaffolding”…something to guide you away from your distracted thoughts, something to focus you. I get the feeling that this is want you are getting at, anyway.
 
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Oh, well the goal is to think about it while you’re praying the Hail Marys and Our Fathers.
 
The Hail Mary’s are like compass needles pointing us back to the focus of our intention, and that is, being in the presence of God who dwells within.

JIm
 
Well you said you wanted it to be more meaningful. That’s the way to do it.

What I’ve described is what was understood to be the proper way of saying the Rosary Catholics throughout history.
 
Well I want to learn how to pray off the cuff without resorting to common prayers
 
How I see. Hold on a second: I’ll try to find an article explaining how to practice mental prayer. Mental prayer is actually essential to the interior life, and, for salvation.
 
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