Is wanting to pray less, a sin?

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Anthony3

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Hello everyone,

I pray 3 decade of the Rosary at night and 5 Hail Marys and Our fathers in the morning each day. But I’m feeling that I prayed too much and a bit of laziness because I already prayed at night. So I thought of getting that time down to 1 Hail Mary and Our Father in the morning.

However, I think the Holy Spirit had stopped me from doing that.

But I’m not sure if thinking about praying less is a sin. Maybe a sin of Sloth or something else.

Please help
 
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Hey, Anthony.

Well, I also have a situation similar to you. I often track the time of how much I pray, and if too much time passed I speed it up. I feel that it is wrong and not appropriate. I mean, prayer is communication with our Creator and Father, imagine how He feels when we’re looking at the time constantly and speed up our prayers, it’s like we’re praying just because it is on our schedule or because it is just one of our duties.
I don’t know is it a sin, your situation or mine, but I think that we should approach prayer not as some thing on a schedule or so, but communication and time with our Creator and loving Father, and with the gratitude that we, sinners unworthy of any good, have the chance to approach God, the Supreme, all-knowing and almighty being.
We need to work on getting sloth out of our lives daily, if we fail a hundred times, we will get up a hundred and one times. Perseverance, perseverance, perseverance, dear brother!
So, I think that the solution and answer to this, for you and me, is to approach prayer for what it is, communication and time with the Supreme and loving God Almighty. And, let us try to be grateful more.
Also, one piece of advice, when we start getting feelings of dryness, or just like we’re not for prayer, let us cut that off from ourselves, relax ourselves, and with faith and gratitude enter into God’s presence. Glory to Jesus for giving us the ability to be the children of God! For Jesus is the ONLY way to the Father.
Peace and blessings, Anthony. The Lord be merciful upon us all, especially those who need His mercy the most!
 
Thank you CroatCatholic, I will try to use your suggestion in my daily life.
 
No problem.
Remember, if we fail a hundred times, we will get up a hundred and one times. Perseverance!

Glory to Jesus! Honor to Mary!
 
Before the Blessed Sacrament is the preferred place to pray - but as we know that is not entirely possible at this time. Regularly, though, making time to spend in silence before our Lord can bring tremendous spiritual benefit and comfort.

The Lord knows your heart and there are times when words interrupt our interchange with God. He will speak to you much more clearly if you can achieve an almost totally relaxed (muscles and mind) and silent state and simply listen.

As to prayer, the strongest, most fruitful prayer I ever offered contained no words at all. Just tears from the heart. Have a crucifix? Just hold it and silently contemplate it. If you are feeling dryness or overburdening, it is enough.

Find silence, for it is only in silence that your Lord can be heard.
 
Thank you po18guy, I will also use suggestion.

But can anyone please tell me if it’s a sin, so I can improve my attitude and say the right thing at confession.

Thanks
 
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CroatCatholic said:
Well, I also have a situation similar to you. I often track the time of how much I pray, and if too much time passed I speed it up. I feel that it is wrong and not appropriate. I mean, prayer is communication with our Creator and Father, imagine how He feels when we’re looking at the time constantly and speed up our prayers, it’s like we’re praying just because it is on our schedule or because it is just one of our duties.
I don’t know is it a sin, your situation or mine, but I think that we should approach prayer not as some thing on a schedule or so, but communication and time with our Creator and loving Father, and with the gratitude that we, sinners unworthy of any good, have the chance to approach God, the Supreme, all-knowing and almighty being.
We need to work on getting sloth out of our lives daily, if we fail a hundred times, we will get up a hundred and one times. Perseverance, perseverance, perseverance, dear brother!
So, I think that the solution and answer to this, for you and me, is to approach prayer for what it is, communication and time with the Supreme and loving God Almighty. And, let us try to be grateful more.
Also, one piece of advice, when we start getting feelings of dryness, or just like we’re not for prayer, let us cut that off from ourselves, relax ourselves, and with faith and gratitude enter into God’s presence. Glory to Jesus for giving us the ability to be the children of God! For Jesus is the ONLY way to the Father.
Peace and blessings, Anthony. The Lord be merciful upon us all, especially those who need His mercy the most!
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CroatCatholic. This was one of the more sincere and thoughtful posts I have read here. A good prayer life takes time and sincere/honest efforts. At some point in our prayer life, God becomes a constant presence in our heart and in our thoughts. Thank you.
 
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Of course. We’re not born as great prayer warriors. We need time for our prayer life to be better.
Thank you for your kind words, but may God be thanked that He gives us the ability to talk to Him and to love Him. So, let us all remember this word, perseverance! 😁
Peace!
 
@edward_george1

We could use some advice from a priest, father.
😁
 
Why the need to keep count of prayers made of repetitive words? I am non-Catholic so I have a tough time getting this rosary stuff. We didn’t have the rosary in the church’s most powerful age, that’s when the apostles were alive. If they didn’t need the rosary and did just fine, why do we need it today? Just asking! (for context, see Matthew 6:7 which says God already knows what you want before you pray, so no need to worry about the exact number of words/prayers you used)
 
I’m not sure if it rises to the level of sin, but it’s definitely a sign of a shift in your attitude.

You’re not required to pray rosaries.
You may start when you like and stop when you like.

But maybe you’re feeling discouraged. Or lazy. Or you’re angry at God. Or you’re feeling the effects of the tension in the world.

Sounds like you need to kick start your spirituality. Maybe try a different devotion, or replace it with Bible reading. Or spiritual reading. Or maybe just talks to God like you’re talking to us.

(If you’ve lost interest in all your usual activities and this feeling persists, it could be depression, and please seek help)
 
Hey.

The Rosary is not obligatory, people can pray it whenever they want and however they want, though there are some suggestions so that it is organized.
The Rosary is a meditative prayer. You first say the Apostles’ Creed, one Our Father, three Hail Marys, one Glory be, and the Fatima prayer(optional).
Then you have a set of mysteries(every set has 5 mysteries). And, before a mystery, you announce it, pray the Our Father, then WHILE saying 10 Hail Marys you meditate on the mystery. After the 10 Hail Marys, you say a Glory be and Fatima prayer(optional). You repeat this four more times to finish the one set. You conclude the Rosary with, well, you choose. It can be the Hail, Holy Queen or a litany and so.
The Rosary is a prayer full of scripture, because you meditate upon events that happened in Jesus’ and Mary’s life.
There are Sorrowful, Joyful and Glorious mysteries(there is also a fourth set, Luminous, but they are optional and weren’t present in the Rosary until St. John Paul II suggested the fourth set). I personally pray the traditional Rosary, but I have no problem with the Luminous Mysteries or St. John Paul II.
If you are still curious, search about the Rosary on the internet.
Peace!
 
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There is no rule about how much to pray. But if you are feeling lazy about prayer, it may be that your prayers are “too routine” and you are just saying them to “get it over with.”

I don’t believe you have sinned, I think you just feel guilty for not praying as you once did. I agree that a new devotion or a change of prayers might be helpful to you. There are so many things to pray about, so many saint whose intercession we can pray through, and so many different chaplet and novenas that one never needs to feel bored by their prayer life. I encourage you to try something new or perhaps change your prayer times.
 
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Can you talk to your father too much? What about talking to your wife, does she get tired of hearing you say “I love you”?
 
Prayer should be a joy - communicating with your Creator. No other creation can do that! If you have overloaded yourself, or have focused on a type of prayer which does not suit your spirituality - that is simply a matter of choosing the “wrong” form of prayer.

It is a sin to stop prayer or to neglect prayer for those things which have come to your attention as needing prayer.

The above may be an indication of sloth or acedia:
acedia |əˈsēdēə|
noun
spiritual or mental sloth; apathy.
ORIGIN
early 17th cent.: late Latin, from Greek akēdia ‘listlessness,’ from a- ‘without’ + kēdos ‘care.’
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This is something to ponder. It would be good to mention at your next confession, as Father will hear the entire circumstances and may be familiar with your personal struggles.

Knowing yourself, knowing your faith, knowing your crosses to bear, you may already know the answer. Again, if you have to ask; if you suspect that it is sinful, it may very well be sinful. In any event, it is good to make an act of perfect contrition - this may actually be done at each occasion of sin, or even on a daily basis.
 
Anthony3 said:
Thank you po18guy, I will also use suggestion.

But can anyone please tell me if it’s a sin, so I can improve my attitude and say the right thing at confession.
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It’s not a sin, but maybe it’s a sign your prayer life has become too routine and disconnected. Like, you’re just saying certain prayers mechanically like a robot without really thinking about what you’re saying. Maybe try praying without a set script or a specific “routine” or set amount of time.
 
CroatCatholic said:
Of course. We’re not born as great prayer warriors. We need time for our prayer life to be better.
Thank you for your kind words, but may God be thanked that He gives us the ability to talk to Him and to love Him. So, let us all remember this word, perseverance! 😁
Peace!
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Amen. As I have become older and perhaps little wiser, I have realized that prayers are truly precious gifts that God gave us to be united with Him in our soul, our heart and our mind. It connects us with God, purifies us, humbles us, comforts us and counsels us.

May God bless you.
 
Anthony3 said:
Hello everyone,

I pray 3 decade of the Rosary at night and 5 Hail Marys and Our fathers in the morning each day. But I’m feeling that I prayed too much and a bit of laziness because I already prayed at night. So I thought of getting that time down to 1 Hail Mary and Our Father in the morning.

However, I think the Holy Spirit had stopped me from doing that.

But I’m not sure if thinking about praying less is a sin. Maybe a sin of Sloth or something else.

Please help
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Anthony3 said:
But can anyone please tell me if it’s a sin, so I can improve my attitude and say the right thing at confession.
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I see that in two days you have created 5 threads in this forum, and 4 out of them (this one, Is being proud of your grade a sin?, Is overestimation a sin?, Praying too much?) ask if something is a sin.

Could it be that you are suffering from scrupulosity?

For if you are, much of advise that assumes otherwise might not be all that useful.
 
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