How to pray?

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snowpea

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I guess the title says it all-any info is welcome - i am a blank slate on this

thank you if you reply

snowpea
 
Hi Snowpea, this is what I teach my children about prayer:

Since prayer is talking to God, do just that. You can talk to Him anytime or anywhere. Whether it is in church, outside or a quiet place in your home, God will hear us. Prayer is thinking about God, to adore Him, to thank Him for his many gifts and blessing (and crosses too), to tell Him sorry for any sins we have committed, and also to ask Him for help or for special favors we may need.

Prayers can consist of the common prayers we know (the Hail Mary, Our Father etc…) or our own words. Tell God what is in your heart, what your fears and worries are, ask Him for help, He loves for us to come to Him with our daily troubles.

When we say the family rosary or morning and nighttime prayers, we begin with the Sign of the Cross, but there are other times when we don’t and just begin with a short prayer. For example, whenever we hear an ambulance or police/fire siren, we say a Hail Mary for the person(s) needing assistance as well as for the rescue workers responding. There is also a prayer we say whenever we go by a cemetery for the souls there. A prayer can be as short or as long as you wish it to be. Just the name of Jesus can be a prayer if said with love and adoration.

I think everyone has their own “style” or way of praying and no way is better than any other as long as Our Lord is given the reverence and adoration He is due.

Hope this helps.
 
Momofmyangels said:
Hi Snowpea, this is what I teach my children about prayer:

Since prayer is talking to God, do just that. You can talk to Him anytime or anywhere. Whether it is in church, outside or a quiet place in your home, God will hear us. Prayer is thinking about God, to adore Him, to thank Him for his many gifts and blessing (and crosses too), to tell Him sorry for any sins we have committed, and also to ask Him for help or for special favors we may need.

Prayers can consist of the common prayers we know (the Hail Mary, Our Father etc…) or our own words. Tell God what is in your heart, what your fears and worries are, ask Him for help, He loves for us to come to Him with our daily troubles.

When we say the family rosary or morning and nighttime prayers, we begin with the Sign of the Cross, but there are other times when we don’t and just begin with a short prayer. For example, whenever we hear an ambulance or police/fire siren, we say a Hail Mary for the person(s) needing assistance as well as for the rescue workers responding. There is also a prayer we say whenever we go by a cemetery for the souls there. A prayer can be as short or as long as you wish it to be. Just the name of Jesus can be a prayer if said with love and adoration.

I think everyone has their own “style” or way of praying and no way is better than any other as long as Our Lord is given the reverence and adoration He is due.

Hope this helps.
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what a wonderful response! it helps immensely thank you!🙂
 
mommyofmyangels,
I also thank you for your “how to pray” response.
lorrein
 
If someone is having a difficult time understanding how to pray, or cannot come up with words, I always reccommend the Liturgy of the Hours, especially Night Prayer (Compline) as it really gives one a broad range of bible readings, specific prayers, and the sense of unity with the rest of the church.
 
I always wondered about reading a prayer out loud. I don’t know all the stations and even some of the other prayers we say liturgically speaking I mean. Is it ok to being doing the rosary with the “How to Do The Rosary” Pamphlet in one hand and my Rosary Beads in the other? I know when I pray my own words It feels good but I have been wondering about my question for a few weeks now.
 
jmoneyideas said:
I always wondered about reading a prayer out loud. I don’t know all the stations and even some of the other prayers we say liturgically speaking I mean. Is it ok to being doing the rosary with the “How to Do The Rosary” Pamphlet in one hand and my Rosary Beads in the other? I know when I pray my own words It feels good but I have been wondering about my question for a few weeks now.
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Learning or re-learning a devotional prayer can be tough,
that’s why they make those little pamphlets and such…
they are “tools” to help you. Of course, you can, and probably should, use them if they help keep you on track. 😉

Remember, when it comes to prayer, there is no “one size fits all”!

Pray as you can, not as you can’t! What matters is that you pray!! 😃

Peace be with you on your journey!
 
Big_Feet said:
If someone is having a difficult time understanding how to pray, or cannot come up with words, I always reccommend the Liturgy of the Hours, especially Night Prayer (Compline) as it really gives one a broad range of bible readings, specific prayers, and the sense of unity with the rest of the church.
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Great advice! It’s what got me out of a prayer dry spell.
 
When I first started praying, I looked at the way people prayed in the Bible, especially Jesus.

-Tim-
 
You can use the Psalms as prayers (that is what a large part of the LOTH’s is). When the apostles asked this question Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer.

But beyond all that, we are told that the Holy Spirit will lead us in prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit for help in praying, along with the gifts he gives in confirmation. The Spirit is the one working in the world today, enlist his help, make a place for him in your soul be rooting out sin, and he will guide you in prayer.
 
snowpea said:
I guess the title says it all-any info is welcome - i am a blank slate on this

thank you if you reply

snowpea
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Peter Kreeft has two good books on prayer:
  • Prayer For Beginners
  • Prayer: The Great Conversation
 
jmoneyideas said:
I always wondered about reading a prayer out loud. I don’t know all the stations and even some of the other prayers we say liturgically speaking I mean. Is it ok to being doing the rosary with the “How to Do The Rosary” Pamphlet in one hand and my Rosary Beads in the other? I know when I pray my own words It feels good but I have been wondering about my question for a few weeks now.
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Absolutely nothing wrong with it. Do you think most priests and religious have all 150 psalms remembered off by heart, including Lessons and Antiphons, from the Divine Office :D?
 
Lately, after I’ve done all my vocal prayers (Rosary, Divine Office, etc.), I have gotten into the habit of talking to Jesus one on one after all the lights are out.

I talk to Jesus about how I want to be in complete union with him. I talk about my struggles and fears. I thank him for his blessings. I pray for the souls of my children.

I usually fall asleep right in the middle of it all:o.

It is the most beautiful thing to fall asleep while speaking to our Lord. You sleep well and you wake up spiritually refreshed. At least, that’s what I’ve found.
 
Momofmyangels said:
Hi Snowpea, this is what I teach my children about prayer:

Since prayer is talking to God, do just that. You can talk to Him anytime or anywhere. Whether it is in church, outside or a quiet place in your home, God will hear us. Prayer is thinking about God, to adore Him, to thank Him for his many gifts and blessing (and crosses too), to tell Him sorry for any sins we have committed, and also to ask Him for help or for special favors we may need.

Prayers can consist of the common prayers we know (the Hail Mary, Our Father etc…) or our own words. Tell God what is in your heart, what your fears and worries are, ask Him for help, He loves for us to come to Him with our daily troubles.

When we say the family rosary or morning and nighttime prayers, we begin with the Sign of the Cross, but there are other times when we don’t and just begin with a short prayer. For example, whenever we hear an ambulance or police/fire siren, we say a Hail Mary for the person(s) needing assistance as well as for the rescue workers responding. There is also a prayer we say whenever we go by a cemetery for the souls there. A prayer can be as short or as long as you wish it to be. Just the name of Jesus can be a prayer if said with love and adoration.

I think everyone has their own “style” or way of praying and no way is better than any other as long as Our Lord is given the reverence and adoration He is due.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
👍

Wow, this post takes me back to my childhood, when I was in CCD class. I was a very hyperactive kid, so this nun would take me to the side and we would do a one on one class away from everyone else, and she told me the same, about how to pray, been doing this everyday since then. God bless her.

God bless

jesus g
 
You can also pray borrowing from Ignatian Spirituality: contemplation. It’s one of my favorite forms of prayer. Commonly, one takes a passage from scripture, usually from the Gospels, and then imagine being part of it using all your senses. You maybe anybody or anything in passage. You try to feal the heat or the smell of your surroundings. You listen to Jesus’ words and watch his actions. The goal is to engage the Gospel personally, with all our senses and faculties. 🙂
 
Along with all the other answers I would recommend making an altar for your house, there are many details about that if you google search it.
 
you can read the Psalms, David was a wonderful man of prayer. Ask Jesus to help you pray, talk to God like he is your best friend which he is.
 
There’s lots of good advice here.

My copies of the Catechism of the Catholic Church have been laying around here for years. I just crack them open for a selected topic.

But, a couple weeks ago I decided to look at the last part of the Catechism, which is devoted to the subject of prayer. There’s a lot in there, I read it just a page or two at a time, and just nibble away at it.

I’m still working on my first read through of it. I’ve already found it useful to look up the scripture references in the footnotes.

I’ve had a cold for the last few days, and I haven’t been praying as much as I usually do. I try to pray for everything, the world, for starters. The wars, the financial crises, the president, a cure for homosexuality, for the poor and dying, for the Church. Everything that crosses my mind. I try to remember to pray for people I don’t think about much, like past acquaintences. Pray for neighbors. Pray for a happy death for my mother. Pray for the souls in purgatory.

Pray for all the requests posted in these forums.

I think the catechism repeats what I read somewhere. If you don’t say any other prayer, pray in thanks to God.
 
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