Need Help with Saying and Reciting Prayer Intentions

[Parobek82]

Hi All,
I am not sure if this is the correct forum. I am not asking for prayers right at this moment, but rather, how to present my intentions when I pray. I have a long list of intentions, that I always pray for and are perpetual intentions - do I need to recite them every time I pray or is it okay just to say “My intentions and hearts desires”, how should I present them when I pray and how can I shorten my list, but still make all my intentions known? I thought that God was all-knowing and knows what we want and need before we even know what it is that we want or need? Also, how long should I pray for something, before giving up on it? Case in point, I had wanted to get into a University for the past 5 years and to rekindle old acquaintanceships, however, that person has moved on and graduated, got married, had a child and has a job - so, my intentions are no longer valid? How do I know when God has answered my prayers with a “No, I have something else in store for you”? I am also dyslexic with memory issues, does God know what we mean when I recite some of my intentions, even if they are not clear or I mis-construct them? Finally, why does it seem that God will answer my prayer in a partial manner, and then turn around and turn it into a hurtful situation (not necessarily a curse), but its like He only half-answers my prayers and then turns it around and makes it not what I want or need. Case in point, I met this guy last year and he seemed genuinely concerned for my mental wellbeing and I thought he was a gift from God and we ended up striking up a friendship, only later, did I realize that he had resented the relationship as he thought I wanted him to be my psychotherapist (which I did not, and I told him that) and when I saw him again, he seemed to put distance between us, like he had resented getting to know me. It always seems that God only half-answers my prayers and places strings attached to them and turns them around (if that makes sense).

I need clarification

Thanks,
Parobek82

 

[St_Francis]

This is what I do:

1. I have “circles:” the first is my immediate family; the second my extended family; the third, well, one half is friends and the other half parish; and so on.

The second thing I do is to take turns on what or whom I pray for. for example, immediate family every day, extended family is young people with the Joyful mysteries, adults with the Sorrowful mysteries, and those who have died for the Glorious mysteries.

And the third thing I do is to pray for things I ought to be praying for or for intentions I have missed, etc.

And for some things I will pray for X (the particular intention) and for Y (the general intention): I offer this for my friend Susan, and for all my other friends, picking different friends on different days; or for Mrs X and all the elderly people we know.

Hope this helps!

 

[ccmcmg]

I’m hoping I can say “all those listed in my prayer journal”. However, there are some people that I always pray for by name (family, friends with new intentions, a matter at hand).

I aim to be as reverent as possible, but the Lord also knows my own peccadilloes, so I might mention one if I didn’t at the ‘right’ time.

Christina

 

[Viola_Incognita]

Perhaps you could ask your confessor these questions. If you have a regular confessor who knows you and your situation, this can be very helpful. Print what you have written here and take it with you.

May Christ’s peace be with you.