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 Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 8:49 pm
Some of us , when we pray, are often in a seat- or standing, kneeling or laying flat on our faces. Some of us stand or kneel before a cross, others kneel or prostrate ourselves before an image of Jesus. Some of us use a rope with knots in it, knotted in a cross, some use beads on a string of rope and some use beads on a Rosary, to contemplate while in prayer and submission to Jesus. SOme of us have an altar at home, or an Icon Station, or a table of books and effects that we see or hear or hold to bring us closer to Him. Some of us light incense and candles, or a wick in a votive full of oil, some of us censer ourselves and family while in prayer, while others hide themselves in a closet to keep us in a place of solitude away from family to maintain or homage to the Holy One. Some of us read prayers which were written by Saints of long ago or taken from Sacred Scripture while others use Sacred Scripture itself to guide their prayer and some of us sue our hearts to lift up ourselves and others in prayer. Some of use do all this while some of us have only one devotion, yet it is enough to have us return again and again to His altar and lift ourselves upon it for Him every time we go to pray. What is your practice while in prayer? Is it a family time or a quiet time within your home? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I use icons, incense and oil lamps along wit a prayer rope and Liturgical Texts and Sacred Scripture in my devotion to Him. I also contemplate from the heart for the sake of my family and myself together and alone. I use the Jesus Prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have mercy on me a sinner" unceasingly in my heart as often as I can focus. I fall short daily but its a lifetime I have to learn inner, unceasing prayer. I pray the Small Compline every night with my family and then we each say a prayer from the heart before bedtime. My children do some of the reading along side me but they are still very young. It becomes a family time and it strengthen us to be accountable to Him, as my daughters wil come to me and tell me to start "prayer time" while I am watching the television. I love it.
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Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 11:05 pm
i love the idea of making a certain spot in one's home sacred. if my room was not a complete mess, i would set something up. for me, having that kind of focus and sense of coming into the presence of the Lord is very sobering. not to say of course that we are not always in the presence of the Lord, but having a spot as if to say "I am here to worship the Lord. This is not a time for anything other than God." it would help me to dedicate the time and focus my mind.
i'm also a huge fan of aesthetics in worship. i love liturgy (grew up in an Episcopalian church), hymns, and i'm becoming interested in the Catholic and Orthodox "tools" (prayer rope, icons, etc.). i think that is something that the modern Protestant movement has lost and it's such a shame, because beautiful things have been thrown out under the guide of "we should be simple so we can focus on God". i'm hard pressed, for example, to find good worship music because so many people who play are second-rate, not to belittle their passion for God but to say that they settle for less.
rabbit trail aside, i don't have any specific practices right now, as i am definitely not a creature of routine. usually i talk to God when i feel some divine nudge or see or hear something that reminds me of our magnificent Creator.
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Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 3:11 am
my prayer is just conversation with Jesus.
i can be in any mood at the time, or in any setting.
it is not a mental process and requires no eloquence, ritual or preparation.
i also practice meditation and contemplation, and for those activities i do use things like candles, spiritual reading, follow guided steps from masters such as the McNutts, use collages i have made on various themes, and so on.
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 9:48 am
I don't pray as such.
I occasionally recite, typically from a combination of a book and my memory, as my memory needs to be primed for the whole poem to be reproduced. (Liturgy is poems.)
There are some religious observances which I occasionally observe, such as the waving of lulav and so on, which requires that you have the appropriate leaves, branches and fruits in hand to wave them. Does that count?
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 6:32 pm
Shaviv I don't pray as such. I occasionally recite, typically from a combination of a book and my memory, as my memory needs to be primed for the whole poem to be reproduced. (Liturgy is poems.) There are some religious observances which I occasionally observe, such as the waving of lulav and so on, which requires that you have the appropriate leaves, branches and fruits in hand to wave them. Does that count? Interesting. Do you do this on a regular occasion or only during Sukkot? Addressing all of creation is an awesome thing, and Sukkot is by far an incredible and spiritual experience. I just could not build my sukkah that well, as a small wind would blow and it was gone... biggrin
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 11:35 pm
I pray anywhere anytime. Using objects might be helpful to some but they can be a distraction too. Have you ever read The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis? In one passage it talks about how demons turn our eyes to objects while we pray and we end up worshipping those before God.
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Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 6:27 pm
i love the Screwtape letters!
Lewis is a master satirist.
but when i practice meditation (prayer for me is more like conversation and is unaided by any props) i use a candle and a "screen" which is a folder on which i have pasted scenes of global life, all ages and kinds of people. it could be any theme but that is one that appeals to me. then i place the folder upright and open before me like a triptych, and look through it rather than at it.
here is an example of a triptych: http://www.toomanymornings.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/memling_last_judgement_triptych.jpg
for me, this device helps me "screen" out distractions.
my problem with Lewis' statement is that he seems to assume that we need no help with dealing with distractions. maybe if we prayerfully choose the theme for our screen it will be of less use to those demons?
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Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 6:10 pm
I talk to God just like I talk to you. Sometimes I even yell and scream at Him. I sure am not going to approach Him piously pretending that He doesnt already know what is in my heart.
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Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 3:38 pm
Vasilius Konstantinos Shaviv I don't pray as such. I occasionally recite, typically from a combination of a book and my memory, as my memory needs to be primed for the whole poem to be reproduced. (Liturgy is poems.) There are some religious observances which I occasionally observe, such as the waving of lulav and so on, which requires that you have the appropriate leaves, branches and fruits in hand to wave them. Does that count? Interesting. Do you do this on a regular occasion or only during Sukkot? Addressing all of creation is an awesome thing, and Sukkot is by far an incredible and spiritual experience. I just could not build my sukkah that well, as a small wind would blow and it was gone... biggrin Only during Sukkot. The first sukkah my parents owned was made basically of wooden panels that latched together. It collapsed in a high wind - while they were having lunch elsewhere, fortunately. The second, which they still own, is a frame of aluminum pipes, nine feet high and nine by fourteen in footprint, and they use canvas sheets that clip (with plastic cable ties) onto the pipes at the upper and lower edges for the walls. The bamboo mats and rods across the top for the roof are attached to the pipes using twine and more cable ties. It goes up in a couple of hours and seems fairly resilient to weather.
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Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 7:44 am
Deidra Diamonds I talk to God just like I talk to you. Sometimes I even yell and scream at Him. I sure am not going to approach Him piously pretending that He doesnt already know what is in my heart. I do the same thing. In the Bible, God is referred to as "Father, Aba" many times and he uses the family metaphor just as much. I think God is trying to tell us that we can talk to Him like as if he was our biological father. he also says that we are the bride of Jesus and uses the marriage metaphor when we enter the kingdom of God. In my marriage, i dont talk to my husband like he's the dictator of our household, so I dont understand why we have to talk to Jesus that way either.
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 8:31 am
XDBitterSweetXD Deidra Diamonds I talk to God just like I talk to you. Sometimes I even yell and scream at Him. I sure am not going to approach Him piously pretending that He doesnt already know what is in my heart. I do the same thing. In the Bible, God is referred to as "Father, Aba" many times and he uses the family metaphor just as much. I think God is trying to tell us that we can talk to Him like as if he was our biological father. he also says that we are the bride of Jesus and uses the marriage metaphor when we enter the kingdom of God. In my marriage, i dont talk to my husband like he's the dictator of our household, so I dont understand why we have to talk to Jesus that way either. The disciples spoke to Jesus very respectfully and adoringly, referring to him in a respectful position as 'Teacher', 'Lord' and 'Master'. We sometimes try to turn God into "Buddy Christ!" when in fact He deserves our respect, homage and worship. Your husband is your mate, equal to you. Jesus is our Creator, our Master who spoke the world into existence. He is not your husband but your God.
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Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 7:33 pm
I agree Vasilius there should be a certain humbleness to it, but, correct me if I'm wrong, Jesus treated everyone as his equal. You should not talk to him as your best friend 'sup Jesus my day was ballin' but more as that old man who's always looking for someone to talk to while he's waiting for the bus to arrive. I imagine that if the creator were next to me I'd speak to him the same as the disciples. I would have a mixed sense of fear, happiness, and shame. Not to say I don't when I pray to him already, but I feel that it would be more emphasized if he were materialized right next to me instead of there with me in Holy Spirit.
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 8:08 pm
I go by the Gospel of John: 15:14Ye are my friends, if ye do the things which I command you. 15:15No longer do I call you servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I heard from my Father, I have made known unto you.
So I do the things my friend asks me to do, and I talk to my friend.
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