Prayer and its workings?

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fakename

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A prayer I think, has the necessary condition of having a set form -that’s why you can’t use any old words for the Hail Mary. But can a prayer be something good said to God and its set form merely the words used?

Maybe. But then again, don’t prayers need to be said in a certain posture, with a certain concentration, and again “Sincerity is another necessary quality of prayer. It would be idle to ask favour without doing all that may be in our power to obtain it; to beg for it without really wishing for it; or, at the same time that one prays, to do anything inconsistent with the prayer. Earnestness or fervour is another such quality, precluding all lukewarm or half-hearted petitions.” -Catholic Encyclopedia

So if I were to pray, “I give You my sufferings today” then, that would imply that I should pray every time I suffer today because prayer is the only way to “give” God anything and since one should do everything in one’s power to obtain the favor, then one must pray all the time one suffers if you make the above prayer.

That implies that I can’t make prayers that are trans-temporal (like “I give You my sufferings for all my life” and then never pray when you suffer in the belief that you have already “covered” it). Is that true?

Also, why do some prayers require that you have an intention before the prayer? Like if I pray, “help me be good” I have to intend to take definite steps towards being good before the prayer if it is to have an effect.

Any takers?
 
A prayer I think, has the necessary condition of having a set form -that’s why you can’t use any old words for the Hail Mary. But can a prayer be something good said to God and its set form merely the words used?
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For me prayer is not about receiting memorized prayers. Prayer is about speaking to God from your heart. Trusting to Him all of your fears, anxiety, hopes… When I pray I first pray that God take from me all my anxieties and distractions so that I can focus on Him. And then I simply talk to God as if I was talking to my best friend, which in a sense I am.
Maybe. But then again, don’t prayers need to be said in a certain posture, with a certain concentration, and again “Sincerity is another necessary quality of prayer. It would be idle to ask favour without doing all that may be in our power to obtain it; to beg for it without really wishing for it; or, at the same time that one prays, to do anything inconsistent with the prayer. Earnestness or fervour is another such quality, precluding all lukewarm or half-hearted petitions.” -Catholic Encyclopedia
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I am really not sure what you are getting at here. When you say “certain posture” are you literally refering to a bodily posture…ie…kneeling? I don’t think God cares about the little things like that. I think it is much more important what is in your heart when you pray. I pray everytime I pass a funeral procession however, I don’t pull over and get out of the car and kneel to do so. I simply say a simple short prayer for the deceased as well as a prayer for the mourners to be comforted by God’s love. I pray whenever and whereever the need strikes.
 
We rose to the bait, now do you have anymore to say on the subject?🙂
 
well as to my ideas on posture this basically sums it up:

“Postures in prayer are also an evidence of the tendency in human nature to express inward sentiment by outward sign…The Orante indicates the postures favoured by the early Christians, standing with hands extended, as Christ on the Cross, according to Tertullian; or with hands raised towards heaven, with bowed heads, or, for the faithful, with eyes raised toward heaven, and, for the catechumens, with eyes bent on the earth; prostration, kneeling, genuflection, and such gestures as striking the breast are all outward signs of the reverence proper for prayer, whether in public or private.”

So clearly prayer can only be prayer if it has outward signs. But that doesn’t mean the outward signs aren’t at the same time reflected inward in the intention. So there may not be such a strict division between external act and inward disposition than what was thought.

But anyways if what I wrote earlier and right now is true, then prayers have to be discrete -that is, you can’t for instance say a prayer that says, “let this prayer count for all time as if it was continuous prayers” w/o contradicting sincerity. Am I right?
 
fakename said:
well as to my ideas on posture this basically sums it up:

“Postures in prayer are also an evidence of the tendency in human nature to express inward sentiment by outward sign…The Orante indicates the postures favoured by the early Christians, standing with hands extended, as Christ on the Cross, according to Tertullian; or with hands raised towards heaven, with bowed heads, or, for the faithful, with eyes raised toward heaven, and, for the catechumens, with eyes bent on the earth; prostration, kneeling, genuflection, and such gestures as striking the breast are all outward signs of the reverence proper for prayer, whether in public or private.”

So clearly prayer can only be prayer if it has outward signs. But that doesn’t mean the outward signs aren’t at the same time reflected inward in the intention. So there may not be such a strict division between external act and inward disposition than what was thought.

But anyways if what I wrote earlier and right now is true, then prayers have to be discrete -that is, you can’t for instance say a prayer that says, “let this prayer count for all time as if it was continuous prayers” w/o contradicting sincerity. Am I right?
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The copy in quotation marks, are these your words, or are you quoting from someone else. It is a very interesting take on prayer.

I will have to ponder this for a bit. But, I will get back with you about this.
 
Peggy_in_Burien said:
The copy in quotation marks, are these your words, or are you quoting from someone else. It is a very interesting take on prayer.

I will have to ponder this for a bit. But, I will get back with you about this.
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Catholic Encyclopedia is where that quotation came from -its where I get a lot of my info.
 
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