How do you pray?

[Grolsch]

Up until a few years ago I used to ask God to “give me this” or “grant me that”. It wasn’t until I read an article by Roger Ebert of all people that true Catholics don’t pray like that; that this was the protestant way of praying. Not sure if this is true but that’s beside the point.

Anyways, he said that Catholics ask God for the grace to endure our hardships and to overcome our problems. We ask for the wisdom to solve the problems ourselves and not for God to do it for us.

I have been praying as such ever since and I have to admit it has been a great help in my life. I’ve found myself in situations where I thought I was in over my head but through God’s grace have overcome.

I wish I could find that article. I don’t even remember what it was originally about exactly but I think he was attacking the Bush administration.

I’m curious as to how other Catholics speak to God? Do you ask Him to do things for you or do you ask Him to help you do it yourself?

 

[BeeSweet]

I was taught it was selfish for me to pray for my own wants and needs, that it was more important for me to pray for others. What I’d like to get into the habit of doing is to pray in praise of God more, rather than always have something I’m asking of Him.

 

[cecilia97]

I do a little of both, but I always try to remember to start with a “thank you for…” part. Sometimes I’ll ask God to “please watch over me while I do…” or “please help me endure…” or “please give me the strength to…” but there are times, like last week when my beloved little dog was ill, that I just pop out with “Oh please God make my baby better…WAAAAAA! SNORT SNORT SNIF!”

I’m sure he hears and understands both.

 

[LilyM]

What did our Lord teach us to say - ‘Give us this day our daily bread’? Sure sounds like we’re praying for our own needs there to me. And what do you think all the people who came to him to be healed did? Of course they asked for healing for themselves first!

No, asking for favours shouldn’t predominate our prayer, but there’s nothing inherently wrong or Protestant about it. We spend part of every Mass interceding for ourselves, the Pope, the Church, the dearly departed …

I find Liturgy of the Hours (or the shortened versions of Morning and Evening Prayer which I say), with its emphasis on the Psalms, a great way to get into the praise and thanksgiving mode.

 

[Deidre]

When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsamane, He asked 3 times that the cup of suffering be taken from Him - but followed with “not my will but Thine be done.”

I think it’s okay to express our desires in prayer as long as we also acknowledge that He’s God and we’re not! His wisdom is above all human undrstanding and though we might not understand His answer, we can trust that in the grand scheme of things, it was the perfect answer for all concerned!

When we can pray “Thy will be done” - and mean it, it’s the perfect prayer. It expresses complete trust in God. It’s a tough prayer sometimes though, is it not?

 

[Prayer_Warrior]

Jesus says in John 16:24: Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. " So, I don’t have a problem praying for my needs or wants. However, I always add “thy will be done” and always give thanks. I do not usually ask for things to be “handed to me on a silver platter”, though sometimes I’ve asked for a small miracle and received them. To God be the Glory!

I also pray for the Church, for the intentions of Jesus and Mary and for the Pope. I pray for the souls in Purgatory. World Peace. The conversion of sinners. The list goes on and on.

Some of my favorite prayers are the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. In fact, just today I posted the prayer I have begun to use prior to praying the Rosary. I found it at this site and I think it is really awesome.

Heavenly Father, we humble ourselves in your Holy Presence. We confess your holiness and we acknowledge that we are sinners.

In your Holy Name we forgive those who have offended us and we pray that you forgive us our sins.

Grant us to be filled with your Grace, Peace, Love and the Joy of your Presence.

With Mother Mary, with the holy angels and the saints, and with all creation we come to praise you, to bless you, to thank you and to glorify your Holy Name.

Alleluia.

Almighty Father, we pray for the intentions of Our Lady, for your Divine Will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven, we also pray for the intentions of the Holy Father.

We pray for the Church, for the Cardinals, the bishops, the priests, religious and for the laity.

We pray for the needs of the Church, for vocations to the religious life and to the Priesthood, we pray for the faithfulness and holiness of priests, for the conversion of sinners, for the dying, for all the dead.

We pray for the poor souls in Purgatory, specially for the ones in our families and for all the faithful departed.

Have Mercy on them O Lord.

We also pray for ourselves; that you grant us Peace in our hearts, our families and we pray for Peace in the whole world.

Lord send your Holy Spirit to renew the face of the earth, to destroy evil and darkness, sin and death, immorality, corruption, violence, hatred and impurity.

Set your throne in every heart and teach us how to come back to you.

We pray for the poor and the needy, for the victims of famine, war, natural disasters, divorce, abortion, family problems. For those who suffer unemployment, depression, racism, drugs, alcohol, vices, sexual abuse and other problems.

They are our brothers and sisters, help them Lord, please.

We pray for the leaders of our nations, for all the people in government to be guided by the Holy Spirit.

We pray for the sick, very specially for the ones around us, for whom you want us to intercede.

We pray for those who don’t have any one to pray for them.

We pray also for ourselves. We ask you to give us healing in body mind and soul.

Lord Jesus, on your crucified body you took upon yourself the punishment that is due for our sins, you endured our sufferings and the consequences of sin: sickness and death. So we ask you to forgive us and to heal us by the Power of your most holy wounds, by the merits of your holy passion, agony and death, by the merits of the sorrows of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

We also ask you for all our personal intentions…

Lord hear us.

 

[prv]

I was taught it was selfish for me to pray for my own wants and needs, that it was more important for me to pray for others. What I’d like to get into the habit of doing is to pray in praise of God more, rather than always have something I’m asking of Him.

Not really, though it would most certainly be appropriate to qualify your prayers:

“Lord please do (give,etc.) for the greater glory of your Son.”

“Lord heal my sick daughter, husband, etc. so that she/he may continue to worship you (or so that she/he may come to know and worship you).”

“Lord lead me safely home so that I may continue to worship you.”

etc.

As noted by other posters, it is also appropriate to make sure you give thanks, and if you are not in an emergency, possibly before you make your requests.

 

[SORROWS]

We Catholics do have a long list of of intentions for others such as the end to abortion, for the Pope, vocations to the priesthood and religious life, conversion of sinners, for the souls in purgatory, faith, hope and charity, peace in the world, reparation to Our Lord Jesus’ Sacred Heart and Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart…

Then for my family especially my daughter… but I do pray A LOT for the grace to handle this situation, wisdom to speak the right words, courage and a stronger faith.

I think Roger Ebert was right. I would love to read his article. How profound of him to notice these differences as I have no idea how any other religion prays.

 

[Andruschak]

I’m curious as to how other Catholics speak to God? Do you ask Him to do things for you or do you ask Him to help you do it yourself?

Disclaimer: I am not a real catholic, just an RCIA Candidate. Having said that, I might note that I have been in Alcoholics Anonymous for over 22 years. Step 11 says we are to pray only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out.

So my wake up prayer is for the souls of Purgatory. Morning prayers are the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Novena, and the Divine Mercy Chaplet. My Rosary intentions are also for the souls in Purgatory.

After I get back home from work, it is after midnight. I do two more novenas, one asking for Grace from the Holy Spirit, and another for the holy souls in Purgatory.

About the onkly thing I ask for myself is an increase in faith, hope, and love, that my prayers will be more effective for the souls of Purgatory. Right now, loaded up with mortal sin and no way to get rid of it yet, I am not sure how effective my prayers are at helping out the souls.

Being constantly distracted by three loving cats during the prayers is another problem. One can only hope the Jesus and Mary understand and have a sense of humor about it all. For the cats, rosaries are a brand new cat toy.

 

[wcknight]

I pray in every way possible, I say formal prayers, I ask for favors, I thank God for everything possible (when I remember). I ask for grace, I ask for mercy and help to convert my frineds and loved ones. Ipray for the souls in Purgatory… in other words, I’m just a general pest when it comes to bothering the Almighty. … and I pray for forgiveness for being such a bother…

I pray for strength, I pray for God to forgive my weaknesses and past offenses and future offenses.

I have silent prayers, I pray aloud (if no one is around… I don’t want folks to think I’m nuts talking to myself)

I pray in the car, in church, in bed, at work. I pray that meetings do’t last too long, I pray that someday, I can bowl a perfect game, and maybe someday have a hole in one. I pray me and all my friends and relatives make it to Heaven. I pray that no one I know or care about goes to H***. I pray I can escape Purgatory altogether…

I pray for folks in disasters, I pray for the poor. I pray I never become too proud, too arrogant or too whatever…

I pray for anything and everything I can think of…

I never knew there were any restrictions on what you can pray for

 

[undeserving]

This is a beautiful thread. Thankyou all.

 

[Grolsch]

I found Roger Ebert’s original article. As I thought it mostly bashes Bush but that’s not what interested me. Here’s the bit which really affected me:
**

There are of course many theologies in the world, but the two involved here have different theories of prayer. Bush prays in the tradition of a dialogue with God, in which God hears Bush and Bush hears God. This is the tradition preached by the Rev. Billy Graham, who helped inspire Bush to become born again after Bush turned to him for help with alcoholism.

                **
             **The pope prays in a tradition where he asks God for the grace to make the right decision for himself, based on his own values and best effort. In this tradition, the pope has free will and the responsibility that comes with it. Free will must be absolute or it is not free. God is not a coach who allows the quarterback to make most of the decisions, but sometimes sends in a play from the sidelines.
                    **

gseis.ucla.edu/courses/ed253a/ebert_on_bush’s_religion.html

 

[BeeSweet]

Not really, though it would most certainly be appropriate to qualify your prayers:

“Lord please do (give,etc.) for the greater glory of your Son.”

“Lord heal my sick daughter, husband, etc. so that she/he may continue to worship you (or so that she/he may come to know and worship you).”

“Lord lead me safely home so that I may continue to worship you.”

etc.

As noted by other posters, it is also appropriate to make sure you give thanks, and if you are not in an emergency, possibly before you make your requests.

That is really lovely, thanks for that!!