How to pray with all your heart?

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Maybe my question is vague and shady, but i really want to know other opinions. Is praying “with all your heart” relative or it has standards. I mean how can you pray without getting distracted ? Is it a sin ? Is there a way to avoid it ? Or how can you not notice an attractive person in church and get distracted from prayer ??? Personally I try my best not to but really what is praying from all your heart means ??? What are you supposed to be thinking when you recite the Hail Mary over and over (the live of the Virgin Mother or reflect upon the meaning of the prayer’s words ??? ) sorry if i can’t explain myself more…
 
If you pray with your heart, you pray with sincerity.

For most of us prayer is a challenge not to be distracted. I remember reading Bishop Kallistos Ware’s book, The Orthodox Way, where he quotes Abba Agathon, “the hardest of all tasks is prayer, if we do not find prayer difficult, perhaps it is becasue we have not really started to pray.”

The Rosary has always been a diffcult prayer for me. I have a difficult time focusing on the mysteries while reciting the prayer. My wife however, loves it and has said it since she was a child.

I find for my disposition the Divine Mercy Chaplet and the Jesus Prayer much more accomodating, where I can just focus on the words, and if my mind wanders it is much simpler to bring it back to this prayer.
 
I forgot to add that you pray with your whole being, of mind, reason, body, will and emotions. Easier said than done.
 
humblespirit said:
Maybe my question is vague and shady, but i really want to know other opinions. Is praying “with all your heart” relative or it has standards. …prayer’s words ??? ) sorry if i can’t explain myself more…
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Try this: Go to the prayer portion of this very web site.
Read a request that someone has asked for. Try to pick a person that really has grief. Then open up a little typing box and start your prayer to Jesus, or God, the Father. Start out with
Dear… You might want to ask Mary to intercede with your prayer.
Try to find the right words to type, knowing that the requesting person will be reading them and finding great comfort knowing that you care enough to bother.
Finding the words come very slowly because you want just the right words. You’ll feel a pressure deep down because you are trying so very hard. You want it to be the best prayer that you can make so it doesn’t sound stupid or lame. Concentrate on what you think that Jesus or God the Father would like to hear. You must convince THEM of this requesting person’s need. Humble yourself before Them. Remember you are a mere lamb here on this earth and really not very worthy of even approaching Them. By doing this, God will sent his Spirit into your heart and all of a sudden things will flow. You will feel it. You will know that yes you are praying with your heart. Keep trying. It WILL happen to you and when it does, you will feel like crying. It will be so wonderful.
 
John Climacus--------- the Ladder of the Divine Ascent.

“Prayer is the mother and daughter of tears. It is an expiation of sin, a bridge across temptation, a bulwark against affliction. It wipes out conflict, is the work of angels, and is the nourishment of everything spiritual.”-------- from page 276, “The beginning of prayer is the expulsion of distractions from the very start by a single thought, ie, monologististos— or " by a repeated prayer”.

I love the prayer throughout the day whenever my mind has free time–the Jesus Prayer------- OH LORD JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD, HAVE MERCY ON ME A SINNER. Something short but meaningful.
 
Thank you all for your time spent on thinking up these replies. They are very helpful indeed.
 
Yes sometimes the shortest most simple sentences are the most meaningful and deeply touch our hearts… What is good about a short prayer that it doesn’t take long so you can concentrate on it for the whole duration…
 
i am a born again christian… i might finding answers also how to PRAY with all your heart ,the reason i begin to search it out its because i dont feel God’s presence by praying… i think i must pray hard, organize, and discipline myself and begin to seek God’s wants me to be. i wanna share that if you begin praying you must pause for a while and feel God’s Holy Spirit working with you… think God’s work, his creation, think Positive thoughts that makes you concentrate. think only GOD and Jesus. i enjoy reading others advice on how to PRAY with all your HEART. i hope this could HELP a lot.
 
Certainly, the Jesus Prayer is the “prayer of the heart” and one needs to say it many times, slowly and with feeling, but many times - hundreds,thousands.

The Way of the Pilgrim, as has been mentioned, is all about that. We need to be faithful to a prayer rule to allow us to really build up a spirit of internal prayer. God will reveal to us the rest, in His good time.

And Phillip Rolfes makes excellent rosaries and chotki’s for such prayer!

Alex
 
Alexander_Roman said:
Certainly, the Jesus Prayer is the “prayer of the heart” and one needs to say it many times, slowly and with feeling, but many times - hundreds,thousands.
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Unceasingly…and hopefully it carries over so that we say it in our sleep. 🙂
 
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