Is prayer merely a monologue?

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anonymous1995

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I do believe that prayer is my conversation with Jesus, especially when I am kneeling in front of the Tabernacle where the Body of Christ resides.

However, from time to time, I would doubt if praying is merely an internal monologue expressing our thoughts in words in the form of vocal prayers or in generation of cognitive ideas through silent prayers.

Do we pray just because we lack someone whom we can fully trust or confide to? Virtually no one in this world can be fully understood by another one, be it your parents or spouses, so we resort to prayer to resolve our solitude.
 
That’s like saying that we only like food because we get hungry.

We get hungry for food because we need food to live.

We get hungry to talk to God because we need Love and Truth Himself, in order to stay alive spiritually.
 
It’s hard for me to conceive of spending an hour in prayer.

To pray is to ask for something. My prayer does not include enough worship.

I am reassured by scripture, James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom [and who doesn’t?] let him ask God who gives to all men generously and without reproaching, and it will be given him…”
 
Crossing the Threshold of Hope
Pope Saint John Paul II

Man is the priest of all creation; he speaks in its name, but only insofar as he is guided by the Spirit.In order to understand profoundly the meaning of prayer, one should meditate for a long time on the following passage from the Letter to the Romans: "For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits
of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

For in hope we were saved" (Rom 8:19-24). And here again we come across the apostle’s words: “The Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings” (cf. Rom 8:26). In prayer, then, the true protagonist is God. The protagonist is Christ, who constantly frees creation from slavery to corruption and leads it toward liberty, for the glory of the children of God. The protagonist is the Holy Spirit, who “comes to the aid of our weakness.” We begin to pray, believing that it is our own initiative that compels us to do so. Instead, we learn that it is always God’s initiative within us, just as Saint Paul has written. This initiative restores in us our true humanity; it restores in us our unique dignity. Yes, we are brought into the higher dignity of the children of God, the children of God who are the hope of all creation.

Peace
 
hazcompat said:
Crossing the Threshold of Hope
Pope Saint John Paul II

Man is the priest of all creation; he speaks in its name, but only insofar as he is guided by the Spirit.In order to understand profoundly the meaning of prayer, one should meditate for a long time on the following passage from the Letter to the Romans: "For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits
of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

For in hope we were saved" (Rom 8:19-24). And here again we come across the apostle’s words: “The Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings” (cf. Rom 8:26). In prayer, then, the true protagonist is God. The protagonist is Christ, who constantly frees creation from slavery to corruption and leads it toward liberty, for the glory of the children of God. The protagonist is the Holy Spirit, who “comes to the aid of our weakness.” We begin to pray, believing that it is our own initiative that compels us to do so. Instead, we learn that it is always God’s initiative within us, just as Saint Paul has written. This initiative restores in us our true humanity; it restores in us our unique dignity. Yes, we are brought into the higher dignity of the children of God, the children of God who are the hope of all creation.

Peace
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Thank you for the enlightening quote! 👍
 
psalm90 said:
It’s hard for me to conceive of spending an hour in prayer.

To pray is to ask for something. My prayer does not include enough worship.

I am reassured by scripture, James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom [and who doesn’t?] let him ask God who gives to all men generously and without reproaching, and it will be given him…”
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It’s hard for me NOT to spend at least 40 minutes (usually 50) in front of the Tabernacle whenever possible.

Every time when I begin to pray, I can’t really concentrate and I don’t know what to talk to Jesus. But then when time passes my Adoration is more ‘in tune’ and, after roughly an hour, I would gradually feel bored and leave the church. I always put aside my phone, wallet, watch and glasses on the pew, so I’m pretty amazed at how Jesus ends our conversation without my looking at the time.

Say the Rosary and begin your every prayer with a ‘Come Holy Spirit’. Rosary is the shortcut to Heaven. A school of prayer. May I promote the Rosary throughout my life on Earth.

My every prayer is like a random conversation. I am always long-winded and have too much to tell my dearest crush in the Tabernacle… 😃

The following is basically what I say in every of my prayer:

Sorry Jesus I was in a hurry just now and the weather is so hot, so I’m sweating all over and my face is dirty.

I don’t know how to pray - as you know I always forget what to tell you. But all I, a big sinner and useless servant unworthy of your graces, can do is sacrifice my time and bring myself to you- I bring my ‘existence’ [being] to you.

I hope you are not too bored at church when everyone in the world forgets about you. I have nothing to ask for. All I want is to love you and love you more.

I’m too stupid to understand the mystery of life, my heart is too small to love, so please help me love you. Even if I’m saying gibberish and you think I’m insincere, please forgive me and make me more sincere. I hope you wouldn’t find me tedious, haha - I know you are always ‘auscultating’ every inner voice within my soul and you are the only one who is serious about every of my word.

I shall wait patiently for you just as you do - I really want to be your friend.

Ah! Please do not forget about the poor souls in the Purgatory as well as all those I’ve not prayed for!

I know you are working mysteriously even though I can’t feel it during my prayer. Of course I wanna you to give me peace and more graces, but I also have to learn to love you without condition. So feel free to work as you wish - I don’t like being threatened to do something, so I won’t do the same to you haha!

Byebye Jesus - Sorry for speaking gibberish. Have a nice afternoon! Don’t forget about me after I leave you - my heart is still in yours! I may sin right after my Adoration as you’ve witnessed before, but my heart is always with you!

By the way, don’t forget to bring in another one to replace my position and spend some time with you…hope you’re not bored or tired after your lunch, haha!
 
anonymous1995 said:
Sorry Jesus I was in a hurry just now and the weather is so hot, so I’m sweating all over and my face is dirty.

I don’t know how to pray - as you know I always forget what to tell you. But all I, a big sinner and useless servant unworthy of your graces, can do is sacrifice my time and bring myself to you- I bring my ‘existence’ [being] to you.

I hope you are not too bored at church when everyone in the world forgets about you. I have nothing to ask for. All I want is to love you and love you more.

I’m too stupid to understand the mystery of life, my heart is too small to love, so please help me love you. Even if I’m saying gibberish and you think I’m insincere, please forgive me and make me more sincere. I hope you wouldn’t find me tedious, haha - I know you are always ‘auscultating’ every inner voice within my soul and you are the only one who is serious about every of my word.

I shall wait patiently for you just as you do - I really want to be your friend.

Ah! Please do not forget about the poor souls in the Purgatory as well as all those I’ve not prayed for!

I know you are working mysteriously even though I can’t feel it during my prayer. Of course I wanna you to give me peace and more graces, but I also have to learn to love you without condition. So feel free to work as you wish - I don’t like being threatened to do something, so I won’t do the same to you haha!

Byebye Jesus - Sorry for speaking gibberish. Have a nice afternoon! Don’t forget about me after I leave you - my heart is still in yours! I may sin right after my Adoration as you’ve witnessed before, but my heart is always with you!

By the way, don’t forget to bring in another one to replace my position and spend some time with you…hope you’re not bored or tired after your lunch, haha!
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This sounds like a lovely prayer. I’m sure Jesus is very happy with it. My own prayers are similar and I also have trouble with the “without condition” part at this stage in my spiritual development. The other day at a shrine I tried to read to Jesus a very flowery prayer attributed to St. Therese in which she surrendered herself to Him and I had to quit in the middle and say things like "God, this is really scary and I don’t think I’m ready for this yet. I’m no saint like St. Therese. I’m afraid. But hopefully if I keep trying and keep growing I’ll get better at this. Would you help me? And if you could also help (prayer intention described), that would be great. Well, I need to leave soon, but it’s been nice spending time with you Jesus, " etc.
 
Prayer is a dialogue, not a monologue. If we want to hear God’s side of the conversation, we just have to open up the Bible. 🙂
 
Thank you to those who shared their prayers. You are so very generous.
 
For me prayer is just spending time with Jesus. I talk to Him about various things. If I don’t feel anything that doesn’t of course mean that its a monologue, because Jesus is still there even if listening silently 🙂 He likes to listen to us, just as we need to talk to Him, because He does understand. But it is still not a monologue because Jesus is there. And if He chooses to, He can respond. Vocal prayer and mental prayer are both important I think, mental prayer can really open us up to God and vocal prayer can teach us what to pray for.

I think Our Lord is pleased when we just talk to Him about what’s in our hearts, as we would to a close friend…
 
psalm90 said:
It’s hard for me to conceive of spending an hour in prayer.

To pray is to ask for something. My prayer does not include enough worship.

I am reassured by scripture, James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom [and who doesn’t?] let him ask God who gives to all men generously and without reproaching, and it will be given him…”
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Have you ever looked into mental prayer? 🙂 an hour of vocal prayer can be tiring. Mental prayer becomes easier the more it is done and is very beneficial spiritually together with vocal prayer 🙂

I think the best thing is to just be very honest with God. Sometimes we like to act 🙂
 
Here is a message from St. John of the Cross:

"God spoke one Word, and that Word is His Son,

And in silence must it ever be heard in the soul."
 
anonymous1995 said:
Do we pray just because we lack someone whom we can fully trust or confide to? Virtually no one in this world can be fully understood by another one, be it your parents or spouses, so we resort to prayer to resolve our solitude.
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True. But we are praying to God who fully understands us, and that is what makes it a dialogue. Yes, at times I wish God could send me a text in the morning and tell me what to do. Then it would feel more like a “real” person to person dialogue. But prayer is all we have to communicate with God.
 
Prayer is always a dialogue. Sometimes prayer doesn’t require words. The best prayer I’ve experienced is when I sit in silent before the Blessed Sacrament. I just sit there and communicate with God in the silence of my heart. I can do the same in my house. Turn off the TV, switch off the radio, log off the computer and silently contemplate in the presence of God.
 
Dorothy said:
Here is a message from St. John of the Cross:

"God spoke one Word, and that Word is His Son,

And in silence must it ever be heard in the soul."
Click to expand...
👍 Excellent!

And St. John of the Cross also said, in Living Flame of Love,

“The language of God is the effects He produces in our souls.”

We won’t likely hear God’s response to our prayer the way do when we chat back and forth with a friend, but God’s response is still very real.
 
christofirst said:
👍 Excellent!

And St. John of the Cross also said, in Living Flame of Love,

“The language of God is the effects He produces in our souls.”

We won’t likely hear God’s response to our prayer the way do when we chat back and forth with a friend, but God’s response is still very real.
Click to expand...
Yes! 🙂
 
Second reading
From the catechetical instructions by Saint John Mary Vianney, priest

The glorious duty of man: to pray and to love

My little children, reflect on these words: the Christian’s treasure is not on earth but in heaven. Our thoughts, then, ought to be directed to where our treasure is. This is the glorious duty of man: to pray and to love. If you pray and love, that is where a man’s happiness lies.

Prayer is nothing else but union with God. When one has a heart that is pure and united with God, he is given a kind of serenity and sweetness that makes him ecstatic, a light that surrounds him with marvelous brightness. In this intimate union, God and the soul are fused together like two bits of wax that no one can ever pull apart. This union of God with a tiny creature is a lovely thing. It is a happiness beyond understanding.
We had become unworthy to pray, but God in his goodness allowed us to speak with him. Our prayer is incense that gives him the greatest pleasure.

My little children, your hearts are small, but prayer stretches them and makes them capable of loving God. Through prayer we receive a foretaste of heaven and something of paradise comes down upon us. Prayer never leaves us without sweetness. It is honey that flows into the soul and makes all things sweet. When we pray properly, sorrows disappear like snow before the sun.

Prayer also makes time pass very quickly and with such great delight that one does not notice its length. Listen: Once when I was a purveyor in Bresse and most of my companions were ill, I had to make a long journey. I prayed to the good God, and, believe me, the time did not seem long.

Some men immerse themselves as deeply in prayer as fish in water, because they give themselves totally to God. There is no division in their hearts. O, how I love these noble souls! Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Colette used to see our Lord and talk to him just as we talk to one another.

How unlike them we are! How often we come to church with no idea of what to do or what to ask for. And yet, whenever we go to any human being, we know well enough why we go. And still worse, there are some who seem to speak to God like this: “I will only say a couple of things to you, and then I will be rid of you.” I often think that when we come to adore the Lord, we would receive everything we ask for, if we would ask with living faith and with a pure heart.

divineoffice.org

Peace
 
Joe_5859 said:
Prayer is a dialogue, not a monologue. If we want to hear God’s side of the conversation, we just have to open up the Bible. 🙂
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Sometimes I’ll say to God, “I’m going to just open up this Bible at random, please guide me to the part that You want me to read” and then do so.
It has produced at least one pretty amazing result.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Sometimes I’ll say to God, “I’m going to just open up this Bible at random, please guide me to the part that You want me to read” and then do so.
It has produced at least one pretty amazing result.
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Same here. 🙂 When I was in the process of discerning a major change in life direction, I opened up the Bible to three different random passages. All three contained the phrase “Follow me.” It’s nice to have those moments of clarity.
 
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