|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 1:33 pm
I dont pray
Pure and simple
Though I am christian,I dont believe that by praying you comunicate to God.
I guess I think of whatever God is as a more spiritual being than an Almighty King type figure.
I dont give up any of my time to have a special talk with God,because -to me- God is always there and I can talk to him anytime I want,anyway I want
If God truely is all that is said about him,then I dont see why you should only talk to him in one particular way.
I dont like doing things by a certain way. I prefer to do them my way
Ill look up at the clouds,watch a tree,sit silently with my frineds and just for a few seconds a day,just be glad for everyhting I have
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2005 2:28 pm
Anise Murete I dont pray
Pure and simple
Though I am christian,I dont believe that by praying you comunicate to God.
I guess I think of whatever God is as a more spiritual being than an Almighty King type figure.
I dont give up any of my time to have a special talk with God,because -to me- God is always there and I can talk to him anytime I want,anyway I want
If God truely is all that is said about him,then I dont see why you should only talk to him in one particular way.
I dont like doing things by a certain way. I prefer to do them my way
Ill look up at the clouds,watch a tree,sit silently with my frineds and just for a few seconds a day,just be glad for everyhting I have God doesn't require you to pray a certain way, He just wants you to communicate with Him somehow. As long as you find some manner in which to talk to Him I'm sure that will make Him happy. Prayer is also important for you. While praying you have a chance to share your joy with Him. It also gives you a chance to admit to yourself any sins you commit and time to think about how you are to change your life for God. Also, while praying to God I experience a great calm that helps me through everyday problems to major issues in my life. Prayer is very important and is stressed in the bible for a reason. One more thing to think about, part of prayer is trusting God. Trusting that He lives and that He will listen to you. As a human being brought up in this day and age where God/s is/are no longer a common believed fact but either a myth only a good posibility, it may be hard to do this, but it is well worth it in the long run. Much can be gained from prayer, this is what I have learned.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 10:28 am
Lithanus I hope all of you are praying for the recent hurricane victims. This season has been pretty rough! cry You're right, Lithanus-- the season has been very rough this year. I have been in prayer for not only the victims of Katrina and Rita, but also for the people who lost their lives and loved ones in the earthquake. Sometimes it's easy to forget about them, when you don't see the stories on the news every day anymore. They still need us, you guys.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2005 10:35 am
But to answer the question... most of my prayers are very informal, unless I'm leading a prayer in a group or something. Honestly, I talk to God the same way I do some of my favorite teachers-- as a Friend, but not a "buddy," if that makes any sense. There is a certain, very definite level of reverence there, but I'd rather be "real" with Him than offer up something that I really don't mean. The last thing I want to do is to try and counterfeit gratitude or praise or whatever I might be praying about, just to fit in with the cultural norms or what my family and friends might expect of me.
And besides, my closest friends understand my motives anyway... so I don't really have to worry about them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 10:19 am
From another thread: rockmanx What is prayer? Well many of us pray but we have and idea what it is and each one of us that we know how it is suppose to be done. Many people have turn prayer into a chant, the repeating of a phrase over and over; reciting, reading a prayer that someone wrote instead of coming from your heart; and a choir. But what is true pray? Are we to pray to the Father alone? Or to Jesus? Or a human like Marry or a priest which some churches do.
According to Easton�s Bible Dictionary Pray is �is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or formal.�
To answer one question �Who are we to pray to?�
That is very simple. We are to pray to our Father in heaven, Yahweh. This is shown to us by Jesus in Matthew 6:9 when he teaches us how to pray. The Lord�s Prayer is a model prayer that is to teach us how to pray. In Matthew 6:9-10, Jesus starts the prayer out by proclaiming who He is praying to, and glorifying our Father. Then in verse 11 He ask to �Give us this day our daily bread� which is symbolic of what we need that day. In 12, He as for forgiveness and that He forgive those that did Him wrong. Then in 13, He asks not to let into temptation or as in the Greek �experience [of evil]� and He ends with glorifying our Father again.
I agree with starting out praising our Father because scripture like Psalms 22:3, where we see our Father, �that inhabits the praises of Israel.� Israel is the people of Our Father and all who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and is grafted into that family vine. So now we have the same rights and privileges as the Israelites because we know that in Matthew 18:20, that �where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.�
Now the next question would be, �why do we pray?� Here is a quick list of some reasons and types of prayer in the Bible.
"Beseeching the Lord" (Exodus 32:11);
"Pouring out the soul before the Lord" (1 Samuel. 1:15);
"Praying and crying to heaven" (2 Chronicles 32:20);
"Seeking unto God and making supplication" (Job 8:5);
"Drawing near to God" (Psalm 73:28 );
�For Healing� (James 5:15);
So next question is �How do we pray?�
Well first it is best to be sincere (Heb. 10:22), but other then that, there is no rule given that say you have to kneel, or close your eyes, or stand on your head. There are place like Isaiah 45:23 & Luke 22:41 where you see kneeling but in 2 Chronicles. 20:9& Mark 11:25, we see standing. We also see the raising or spreading of hands like in 1 Kings 8:22 & in 1 Timothy 2:8. We do need to pray in the name of Christ as stated in John 16:23.
To some it all up, we are to pray to the Father in heaven through Jesus� name. It is wise not to pray to anyone else but our Father. Jesus would be the only exception if any because He and our Father Yahweh are one in the same, John 10:30. Anything else and you will be praying to an idol or false god, which would not be good on your part.
I hoped you enjoy this quick study on prayer. I know I did not cover everything but I believe that I covered the basics.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 14, 2006 3:03 pm
I posted a blog about this on my page titled, "How to Pray."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 13, 2007 11:57 am
I pray both formally and informally, talking to Him as I would my friends (well, not exactly), and talking to Him as He was God, whcih He is. So yeah.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 6:11 pm
when i pray I face a cross in my room and pray.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jan 23, 2007 9:13 am
Moving this here. biggrin brad175 Prayer I am sure that most have a general understanding of prayer. It is the occurrence in which many people close their eyes, bow their heads, hold their hands together, and talk to God. Many mature Christians have overcome the difficulty of prayer and continue to pray to God daily, as they should. There are even those that have been given a gift from God that allows them to pray for hours on end. However, this is not the case for many new Christians who are still mastering some of the "complex basics" of God. Many new Christians struggle with prayer for the sole purpose that they do not know what to say. I know some older Christians who have learned to pray so well that they can improvise in public tend to oversimplify prayer by saying, "If you want to learn to pray well, then just pray," which can be correct. Practicing praying does make someone better at praying. However, someone must know how to pray in the first place. People's ignorance towards prayer is something that God expected, of course. It's no coincidence then that God includes in his Holy Word not the exact way to pray, for there is of course no such thing, but the basic outline of a prayer: Matthew 6:9-13 9"This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us today our daily bread. 12Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. These are the key elements of prayer: 9: Praise God and thank him for what he has given us. Isn't it fitting that we should do this, considering that prayer is one of the ways that we bring glory to God? 10: Pray that God's will be done in general and also that it will be done in specific areas of your life. This can also include praying for others, for it is God's will that we love each other and his will to provide for your brothers and sisters and show unbelievers the truth. 11: Pray that God will provide for you. You could ask him to feed you every day and support you financially. You can ask him for protection, peace, and comfort. You can ask him for wisdom, learning, and to change your heart. The list goes on… 12: Pray for forgiveness, for God will not forgive you unless you ask. Some claim that Christians do not sin every day. Why then would God include forgiveness in his prayer outline? Prayer is also a time to forgive others, to remember ways that people have hurt you and to forgive them in the presence of god. Forgiving the same person more than once is not uncommon. God will also neglect to forgive you if you do not forgive others. 13: Pray that God will help you to resist the temptations to sin that will inevitably come. Pray that he will protect you from the devil's advances. This is, of course, a simple outline of prayer. None of this is required in prayer, though it is definitely recommended. Get out there and pray to God! Yay prayer! 1 John 5:14-15 "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him." James 4:3 "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." James 5:16 "…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" Ephesians 6:18 "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Romans 8:26 "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 7:45 am
When I pray, I usually just talk to God, almost like I do my friends. I pretty much do it anywhere I am whenever I need reassurance or guidance or something is happening. It really helps to know that you always have your best friend with you at all times.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2007 8:43 pm
Usually when I pray to God alone, I just talk to Him like a friend standing right next to me and I have a strange habit of pacing around the house while doing so sometimes...
I usually pray for others, thank Him for everything, ask for forgiveness, and tell him about my troubles or what I'm honestly worried about at the time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 22, 2007 8:37 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2007 9:24 pm
I always talk to god a bit more informally. i think of him highly and talk to him like a friend. it makes me more comfortable while praying about everything to just speak out whats on my mind smile Although i never really have the chance to pray that formally just because i never really pray with anyone around me normally.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
