question about prayer

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jrose90

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on another thread i saw comments about how catholic prayer is different from baptist prayer. maybe i’m just naive, but i thought prayer is prayer no matter what denomination you’re a part of. are baptists some how praying the wrong way, and if so, how is one supposed to pray?

and what exactly is adoration? what do you do there?
 
jrose90 said:
on another thread i saw comments about how catholic prayer is different from baptist prayer. maybe i’m just naive, but i thought prayer is prayer no matter what denomination you’re a part of. are baptists some how praying the wrong way, and if so, how is one supposed to pray?

and what exactly is adoration? what do you do there?
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Jrose,Prayer to God is expressed in Worship, Adoration,petition, thanksgiving…
Catholic spirituality is expressed in many ways.
If you continue here at Answers you will learn much by following the different forums.
I welcome you and hope you will continue with us. God bless you in your journey,and I wish you peace.🙂 Carlan
 
jrose90 said:
on another thread i saw comments about how catholic prayer is different from baptist prayer. maybe i’m just naive, but i thought prayer is prayer no matter what denomination you’re a part of. are baptists some how praying the wrong way, and if so, how is one supposed to pray?

and what exactly is adoration? what do you do there?
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Hi jrose:wave:!! I think the difference you’ve heard of is mostly in the arrangement of the words spoken during prayer (though Catholic prayer includes more than spoken words alone). I’m just learning, but I know that my prayers as a Baptist may have always started with, “Dear Lord,” and ended with “Thank You. Amen,” but the middle was free-form. Baptist prayers are like improv, and it’s not common to find the same prayers being said repetetively (because Baptists believe repetitive prayer is against the Bible), whereas Catholic prayers are (for lack of better description) “scripted”, and every member knows them by heart. What I’m finding with Catholic prayer is that they allow every member of the church to pray the same way (like the Rosary) and in unison at Mass. (Granted, the Lord’s Prayer is memorized by Baptists as well, but it’s the only common prayer memorized, that I know of.)

When I pray it’s still a mix-n-match method…but I don’t think God has a problem understanding intentions either way 🙂

Adoration, how I understand it, is a time set aside specifically for reflecting on your relationship with God. Silent prayers, spiritual reading, or just sitting and adoring Him. My Church posts a schedule for times of Adoration and Benediction.

Hope this helps (and if I’m incorrect about Adoration, someone please correct me?)
 
Being_Brave said:
When I pray it’s still a mix-n-match method…but I don’t think God has a problem understanding intentions either way 🙂

Adoration, how I understand it, is a time set aside specifically for reflecting on your relationship with God. Silent prayers, spiritual reading, or just sitting and adoring Him. My Church posts a schedule for times of Adoration and Benediction.

Hope this helps (and if I’m incorrect about Adoration, someone please correct me?)
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Correct Brave, Adoration, such important prayer. Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist, Body, Blood , Soul and Divinity, hidden behind the veil of the Host. He is the very center of our Catholic worship. :)Peace, Carlan
 
Brave-- So Catholics do not believe in free form prayer? Is there a specific scripted prayer for each type of thing you would pray for? Being raised Baptist, I was always taught that I could always “talk” to God, albeit in a respectful “voice.” So no matter what the situation, I’ve always felt free to just talk to God, almost in a conversation-style. Are Catholics not allowed to do that? Do they just stick to scripted prayer prescribed for individual circumstances?
 
Often times the “scripted prayers” were written by saints or other holy people, so whenever we pray those prayers, those saints are also praying with us. In a sense it is preferable because they know more about God than we do, and they understand better who He is, so we learn in prayer. I’m not Catholic, but I don’t think “free form” prayers are unacceptable. Tell God what’s in your heart, tell Him sorry, give Him thanks. In Orthodoxy, and probably in Catholicism, silent prayers and extemporaneous prayers have also their place, but written prayers prevent us from our natural tendency to be selfish in submitting our own needs before God without a penitential heart.

Hope this helps!
 
jrose90 said:
Brave-- So Catholics do not believe in free form prayer? Is there a specific scripted prayer for each type of thing you would pray for? Being raised Baptist, I was always taught that I could always “talk” to God, albeit in a respectful “voice.” So no matter what the situation, I’ve always felt free to just talk to God, almost in a conversation-style. Are Catholics not allowed to do that? Do they just stick to scripted prayer prescribed for individual circumstances?
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Catholics DO believe in free form prayer. We also do believe that we can “talk” to God and bring to Him all of our life- wants/needs/hopes/dreams/struggles etc. any time we want. There are “scripted” prayers which are helpful, particularly for someone who doesn’t quite know what to say or how to say it. In the end, all sincere prayer is pleasing to God. 👍

Here is an example of what to do/pray during Eucharistic Adoration. I’m copying/pasting the link from a site since it’s too long to type in. 🙂 It’s called “A Meditation Before the Blessed Sacrament” - scroll 3/4 of the way down the page to find that title.

angelfire.com/hi3/catholichomeschool/blessedS.html

As you can see from it, formulaic prayers are not the only way Catholics “talk” to God.
 
That does clear up a lot! Thank you 🙂
One more question- is it ok for non-Catholics to attend Adoration?
 
jrose90 said:
Brave-- So Catholics do not believe in free form prayer? Is there a specific scripted prayer for each type of thing you would pray for? Being raised Baptist, I was always taught that I could always “talk” to God, albeit in a respectful “voice.” So no matter what the situation, I’ve always felt free to just talk to God, almost in a conversation-style. Are Catholics not allowed to do that? Do they just stick to scripted prayer prescribed for individual circumstances?
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This is just one of some Protestants wrong opinions and impressions of Catholic spirituality. already on this thread you are learning from everyone what is true about our prayer lives.:)Peace, Carlan
 
Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like Catholics exclude free-form prayer :o.

This site and its members have helped me with every single question I’ve ever had about Catholicism. Even when I “Google” something it leads me back here. If you ever have a question this is definitely the place to ask 🙂

(I need a “Peace” Smiley)
-Crystal
 
Being_Brave said:
Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like Catholics exclude free-form prayer :o.

This site and its members have helped me with every single question I’ve ever had about Catholicism. Even when I “Google” something it leads me back here. If you ever have a question this is definitely the place to ask 🙂

(I need a “Peace” Smiley)
-Crystal
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🙂 Thank you Brave! God bless you in your prayer life,:)Peace, Carlan
 
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