How do you pray????

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marvi43

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I have a question. When you pray, do you say many different prayers? When I was growing up my grandmother would say many prayers before work. She would say a couple hail marys, a couple saint prayers and some others. Then that night she would go to someone’s home and say the Rasary. Is there a set prayer for morning? WHat do you pray? How do you pray? I have a prayer book and there are SOOOOOOO many different prayers. Arghhh!!! :eek:
 
I pray in a variety of ways. Every morning, I get up and say a set of prayers, and make a morning offering. On the way to work, I say the rosary and divine mercy. During my breaks at work, I stop and say a few prayers. On my way home from work, I just usually ask God to be with me in my thoughts as I go over my day and wind down. At home in the evening, I pray a novena and an act of contrition before I go to sleep. In between all of this, I say several spontaneous prayers thoughout the day, asking for help, guidance, or in thanksgiving for my blessings.
 
At the moment, my prayer consists of spending around an hour present to God’s presence every day - sometimes I use Imaginative Contemplation, sometimes Lectio Divina (do a google search for either), sometimes I just sit there and wait.

Then at the end of the day I use www.pray-as-you-go.org followed by the Examen (also called review of the day - there’s an example on the pray as you go website).
 
I try to pray all day. At some point each day I pray the rosary (usually). I’ll try to pray a chaplet to the Immaculate Conception once a day. I start the day with seven doxologies to the Holy Spirit. I’ll often say the morning offering, but it’s not memorised yet. I pray before each meal (or at least before I swallow the first bite! 😛 😉 ) I’ll say a Divine Mercy chaplet sometimes. If I notice the time, I’ll say the Angelus @ 6 AM, noon, and 6 PM (only if I notice the time though, which I know is a cop-out!) I’ve been trying to learn to pray the Liturgy of the Hours which helps you with set prayers for morning and evening.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing”

Don’t stress yourself about it. Think about what you want God to hear from you. You’ll find the right words to say, and the right people to ask for intercession with Him for you. And try to spend 30 minutes a day with scripture reading. You will probably find much inspiration for your prayer life from doing so. God bless! There’s a saying from a saint who’s name I don’t know that goes something like, “It’s easier to pray well than it is to pray badly” or something similar.

Don’t forget to remember the holy souls in purgatory in your prayers. This is a really good website that has many prayers to help the holy souls: Holy Souls Online
 
However the Spirit moves me.

Always.

Short prayers … all during the day.
 
marvi43 said:
I have a question. When you pray, do you say many different prayers? When I was growing up my grandmother would say many prayers before work. She would say a couple hail marys, a couple saint prayers and some others. Then that night she would go to someone’s home and say the Rasary. Is there a set prayer for morning? WHat do you pray? How do you pray? I have a prayer book and there are SOOOOOOO many different prayers. Arghhh!!! :eek:
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As an RCIA Candidate, I have noted that WHAT and HOW I pray at certain times tends to change, Set prayers like the rosary and other chaplets. Right now I am finding spiritual growth in the Morning and Evening Offices of the Little Office of Mary.

Due to time limits, I cannot pack in all the good prayers suggested, so eventually wind up with the ones that have some sort of special meaning for me. At the moment, this seems to be prayers for The Church Suffering.
 
marvi43 said:
I have a question. When you pray, do you say many different prayers? When I was growing up my grandmother would say many prayers before work. She would say a couple hail marys, a couple saint prayers and some others. Then that night she would go to someone’s home and say the Rasary. Is there a set prayer for morning? WHat do you pray? How do you pray? I have a prayer book and there are SOOOOOOO many different prayers. Arghhh!!! :eek:
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I pray the Liturgy of the Hours with daily mass and the roary thrown in.
 
There is structured prayer [Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary, Glory Be, etc.] and unstructured prayer [Lord, how am I doing? etc.]

There is mental prayer: Go to TAN Books and get a copy of “Catechism of Mental Prayer”. It’s a little pamphlet that fits in your pocket. Probably a couple of dollars. 1-800-437-5876 www.tanbooks.com

Long prayers [liturgy of the hours]; short prayers [Jesus, Mary and Joseph]

There is ACTS: adoration, contrition, thanksgiving, supplication.

There is STOIC: supplication, thanksgiving, offertory, infinity, contrition.

There is total commitment prayer: “Lord, hold me in your arms, forgive me my sins, and make me the way you want me to be.”

There is prayer to the Holy Spirit: “Come, Holy Spirit, guide and enlighten me. Give me direction, guidance, cash flow and work.”

If you work at it, you can devise your own categories.
 
Every prayer I speak is one of speakiing to God to Jesus to the saints, Mary they are all a relationship as if they are with me in the flesh. I know they are right with me as they are with others.
 
water said:
and don’t forget to read Bible.
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Absolutely! 👍

My daily prayers seem to go like this:
Morning prayers and offerings
Daily readings (from the day’s Mass)
Prayer at meals
Rosary
Evening prayers

Then throughout the day, contemplative spiritual readings on various subjects (Mary, the Church, etc.).

And many, many spontaneous prayers throughout my entire day!
 
LOTH (usually make both morning and evening, do office of readings when I can’t sleep at night)
lectio divina with daily Mass readings
rosary on my morning walk (all 4 sets, about 50 minutes unless health or weather limits me)
if I got to the parish in time for daily Mass it would mean 14 hr workdays which I can’t handle but I try and do my lectio in the chapel, the rest of the hour is just silence. All the other prayer is in preparation for the silence, which is the actual prayer.
 
Father, Lord of heaven and earth, to you I offer praise.
For what you have hidden from the clever and the learned,
you have revealed to the merest children. Father it is true,
you have graciously willed it so.

You who are mighty have done great things for me, holy is your name. Your mercy is from age to age on those who fear
you. You have shown might with your arm, you have confused the proud in their inmost thoughts, you have deposed the mighty from their thrones, and raised the
lowly to high places. The hungry you have given every
good thing, while the rich you have sent empty away.

We should serve you devoutly and throughout all our days
be holy in your sight.

And you, o child, shall be called prophet of the most high,
who will visit us in His mercy, to shine on those who sit in
darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet in
way of peace.

Glory to you in high heaven, peace on earth to those on
whom your favor rests.

And now master, you can dismiss your servant in peace,
for my eyes have seen your saving deed, displayed for alll
the people to see. A revealing light to the gentiles, the
glory of your people, Israel.

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

Father, I thank you for having heard me. I know that you
always hear me.

Eternal life is this: To know you, the only true God, and
Him whom you have sent, Jesus Christ.

For these I pray. Not for the world, but for these you have
given me, for they are really yours. I do not ask you to take
them out of this world, but to guard them from the evil one.
Consecrate them by means of truth, your word is truth.

Eloi, eloi, lama sabbach tani?
My God, my God, why have I forsaken you?

Then the our father.

Then this good morning prayer:

Good morning Lord, thank you for this new day of life.
Thank you for our health, our family and our friends.
Please bless us all. Help us grow in love for each other,
and take away all our hurtful words and actions. Lord,
we give this day back to you. Help us to be a blessing
today to everyone you send in our path. Let us go with
you today to help you with your work at (wherever I’m
going). Lord Jesus, if you come back for us today,
please find us doing every good thing. We love you Jesus,
amen.

sign of the cross while praying:

In the name of the Father - may you be in my mind in all I
do this day and all the days of my life.

And of the Son - may you reign in my heart that I may be
your hands and feet to help others I may meet along the
way.

And of the Holy Spirit - may your love guide me, protect me,
and bring me safely home to heaven when this life’s journey
is through. amen.

These are my morning prayers, followed by unstructured
prayer, then the daily readings from the Roman missal,
and the readings for the saint of the day if there is one.
I write down the things that make an impression on me on
my list of things to do, knowing I will refer to it several times
a day.

Thank you for asking, and how do you pray?
 
LilyM said:
I get all the rest, but offertory and infinity? :hmmm:
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Offertory: I pack up all my troubles into a nice neat bundle and mentally project them onto the altar and allow the priest to offer them up to God … He can handle them better than I can. And then I can get on with my day.

Infinity: Meditate on infinity. Or on Infinity. Or even on INFINITY.

God is Infinite. By comparison I am smaller than a fly spec.

God’s IQ is infinite. Mine is 100. Bill Gates’ is 200. Einstein’s was 300. A lot of people seem to think God is like us, only smarter … but God’s IQ is not 400; God’s IQ is INFINITE.

God’s ways are not our ways … and our ways are not God’s ways.

Once I started to think and meditate about infinity … I started with infinity of space (dimensions) and time. Then I got into IQ. And then it just expanded into other aspects from there.

A lot of people figuratively or actually seem to shake their fist at God … how dare He do this or do that? Or demand this or demand that?

But, God isn’t some elected official or some guy down at city hall.

If I were to turn a microscope onto my hand, eventually I might see cells and then going deeper, molecules. And going further, atoms of different kinds … carbon, etc. And going deeper, I might see that each atom is made up of something we call “electrical charges” … or perhaps “distributions of electrical charges”. We don’t really know what they are, but we give them names based on some measurements.

But, we find that each atom has a nucleus of protons and neutrons and arond the outer “edge” are these “electrons” whizzing around. [and a few other “particles” that we don’t understand.] And in between … is nothing but empty space. Each atom is 99.999999% empty space.

For some reason that we don’t fully understand, when these “atoms” are artfully arranged, they have shape and color and weight. And the arrangement might look like a hand, or a flower or a car or a 2x4.

But it’s really all (or mostly all) empty space.

And when I meditate on that … I come up with the idea that … perhaps … my existence is so totally dependent on God … that every breath … every heart beat … is totally at God’s sufferance.

And that since I am empty space (mostly) with some electrical charges that we don’t understand … so, perhaps, “what if” … given that God is INFINITE, … my very existence is perhaps only in God’s imagination.

So, it is reality … not “nothingness”… but it may totally be in the Mind of God.

And that He is infinite “enough” to keep it all going. That He has given me “free will” … the power to disobey him … to reject him … just imagine that if I painted a portrait and gave “my creation” the power to disobey and reject me…

So … I can … sort of … grapple with the concept of God’s Infinity … and it … sort of … puts me into some sense of perspective …

Anyway, by meditating on infinity … I can think about how God is unique and not merely “just like me, only bigger”.

Of course, I’m finite. And I am likely to get it all wrong. I have no interest in creating a new heresy (or even bringing back up an old one).

But, if I’m finite and error prone, then who is God who is perfect and infinite?
 
How do I pray? Well, I do start the day with the Lord’s Prayer then I say few Hail Mary’s and ask a few saints to pray for me. Like I said, i’m still learning the prayers. At the end of the day, I ask God to forgive me for any sins I commited and I thank God for the blessings and ask him to bless my friends, family and so on. I’m still trying to get into the habit of prayer throughout the day. I have started reading the Bible more and that has helped big time. I have a long way to go but I feel that as long as it’s from the heart, God wont mind if I mess up on the words. I think God knows what I mean :o
 
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