Obsessive prayers -Is it possible? Is it wrong?

[AServantofGod]

I know the Bible says to pray without ceasing; however, is it wrong to be continuously praying about a situation or person to the extent that whenever your mind is free that is the only thing running through it? Let’s say that the prayers are not selfish or against God’s commandments but are sincere prayers for the good of another or for God’s will to occur re: a situation. In other words, is it possible to be obsessive with prayer?

 

[Lux_et_veritas]

I would say that the answer is yes, based on what St. John of the Cross says about Spiritual Gluttony. And, there are several forms of it. One has to be careful to not pray for the sake of comfort only that it brings too. Also, if other things and people are being neglected as a result, then yes this too would be included.

Here’s more on the topic from St. John of the Cross in his book, Dark Night of the Soul. I didn’t want to paste the text in the thread as that is against site policy, so please just follow the link.

members.tripod.com/~chippit/darknight6.html

 

[romano]

I would say that the answer is no, based on what I have understood of the practice of the Jesus Prayer.

Far better to be engaged in prayer than to be occupied with the trivia that usually occupies our minds during idle moments, idle moments that taken together can add up to a large part of one’s day – or at least my day!

 

[AServantofGod]

Lux_et_veritas:

I would say that the answer is yes, based on what St. John of the Cross says about Spiritual Gluttony.
members.tripod.com/~chippit/darknight6.html

“Spiritual Gluttony”, that is an interesting concept. It’s an interesting ploy of Satan to use your own spirituality against you to get you to ignore your own duties. However, it seems that God would honor any attempt to try to remain close to him or bring others close to him. It seems like an oxymoron. How can Satan use something that is directly addressed to God?

 

[AServantofGod]

romano:

I would say that the answer is no, based on what I have understood of the practice of the Jesus Prayer.

Far better to be engaged in prayer than to be occupied with the trivia that usually occupies our minds during idle moments, idle moments that taken together can add up to a large part of one’s day – or at least my day!

I agree that it is better to be engaged in prayer than allow your mind to get caught up in trivial matters or worse. What is the saying, “an idle mind is the devil’s playground”? However, I still wonder if prayer can also be used as an excuse to procrastinate or to avoid facing difficult issues where action is necessary. When do we need to get off our knees and just get movin’?

 

[contemplative]

The Practice Of The Presence Of God
****Conversations and Letters
of Brother Lawrence
http://www.practicegodspresence.com/brotherlawrence/index.html

Try reading this!

Living daily in the presence of God is the best continuous prayer…something to strive for.