/christian/ - Christian Discussion and Fellowship

>>541860

I think a good way to do prayers is to make sure you always take time to do four things: Praise God for who He is, confess your sins and ask for forgiveness, thank Him for the blessings He has given us, and ask Him for the things we need.

It can also be good to take common prayers (for example the Our Father) and actually REALLY think about what you're saying as you say it, maybe with a pause after each phrase for contemplation and connection to your life.

The most important thing is to just keep praying and keep discipline about it. As you grow in the faith, you'll find yourself praying more and better.

>>541860

God already knows what you are going to ask, anon. Prayers are actually static.

Put what you want to ask of him in your mind, but let your mouth speak of something else. While you're still new, I'll recommend the basic prayer Jesus describes in the bible.

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done;

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those

who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation;

but deliver us from evil.

[For thine is the kingdom,

the power, and the glory,

for ever and ever.] Amen.

Remember to pray in secret.

a really good way to start, is simply praying through the Our Father (also known as 'The Lord's Prayer)

the reason i say this is becuase it's the prayer Christ taught His disciples when they asked Him the same question you're asking here

now if you meditate upon each line as you pray it, you find immense depth in every thought being expressed - for instance, one aspect of saying 'hallowed be Thy name' is that you are asking for God's name to be Holy in your heart… but there's so much more to it, and if you made that a regular practice you would soon discover so much more

now when it comes to intercession, where you pray for others, there is an example of a prayerful man in Daniel - and what's more, his action of praying answers a very common question often brought up by unbelievers, namely: "if God knows everything, or if God is going to do everything his way, what's the point in asking him to do things?"

see Daniel had read the prophets that came before Him - these prophets has repeatedly warned a rebellious Israel that if they didn't repent they would be dragged out of the land for 70 years, and then god would restore them to their land

now Daniel was part of those exiled Israelites - and he knew the promise that their exile would end - and around the time of 70yrs he began to plead with God to end their exile

from this, and from other examples of prayer throughout Scripture we discover that God has decreed prayer to be the ordinary means of Grace by which he effects change in the world - in a similar way as he uses the seemingly 'foolish' means of preaching the Scripture to change people's hearts and give them faith

this may seem strange, but basically God is granting an honour to, and strengthening the faith of His children, by allowing them to be intercessors for His will to be done on Earth - the answer to those prayers making them trust in Him more, so that they might be conformed to the likeness of Christ, and in constant fulfilling relationship with their Creator who is the sole and very source of all our joy

so tl;dr, before you pray for others say something along the lines of 'father, i believe you have decreed prayer to be the ordinary means of grace by which you effect change in the world, so i remember before you…' and then list the names and needs of folks you care about

it helps to have a list, but after some time you will remember most of the folks on it

and honestly anon, in all sincerity, i have seen my prayers answered for friends and family in extreme crisis; sometimes miraculously escaping all the evils the world can throw at one

thank me later

>>541887

oh, and it really helps to remember that you are standing before the throne of the Almighty - He is absolutely Holy, so this is not to be taken lightly - but you are to be bold as a child might be in entering their father's study, and asking him for instruction and help for your tasks

with honour and respect to His person, but with the confidence of a child who is loved

There's three major types of prayer: canonical prayer, like the Lord's prayer (Our Father, who art in heaven…). Prayer of the heart like the Jesus Prayer which is a form of contemplation/meditation. And 'open prayer' which is like freely talking to God, like the Psalms.

All of them are good and worthwhile to engage in and serve different functions.

>>541866

>God already knows what you are going to ask, anon.

That's why it's good to actually manifest and verbalize your hopes, fears and repentance. It's a form of honesty, gives them more reality and concreteness.

>. Prayers are actually static.

what does this mean? Doesn't sound right

>>541860

I am >>541864 on my laptop now and wanted to add something.

Depending upon the denomination you've joined, you may find that there's already a prescribed set of prayers you can use for different points in the day. Those can be helpful for structuring prayer. For example, in the Lutheran Service Book (the book used by LCMS), there's a set of individual prayers for morning, noon, early evening, and night. In some ways it is similar to the Daily Office, though meant for personal or family use. For example, the prayers for night are as follows:

>In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

>The Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and peace at the last. Amen.

>It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

>To herald Your love in the morning, Your truth at the close of the day.

>An appointed reading is read.

<Here it lists some passages of Scripture applicable for night, though there's also a lot of things such as the Daily Lectionary you can work with.

>The Apostle's Creed is confessed

<Nicene Creed also works.

>Lord, now You let Your servant go in peace; Your word has been fulfilled. My own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people: a light to reveal You to the nations and the glory of Your people Israel. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

>Lord's Prayer

>Prayers for others and ourselves

<This is the "open prayer" mentioned by >>541934. I would point to my earlier recommendation to find ways to praise God, give thanks, and confess your sins as well as present your supplications. You can also get into a habit. Usually I'll pray for the armor of God in the morning and to produce the fruits of the Spirit at night, as an example.

>Visit our dwellings, O Lord, and in Your great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love of Your only Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

>I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.

>Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God.

This is just an example, though I find it to be a good one, and not just for Lutherans. Look around your church and flip through the hymnal or the service book. See if you can find a section like that. It's helped my prayer life immensely.

>>541944

It basically means something is holy. Halloween means Holy Evening.

i got a question on prayer for the orthodox anons.

i've been trying to pray using the prayer book, (the pocket prayer book for orthodox christians) doing morning and evening prayers, and each one seems kind of long. is this rote repetition to say all these words every morning?

for example, in morning prayers do i say the trisagion prayers, the troparia to the Holy Trinity, the prayer to the Holy Trinity, the creed, and the prayer of st. basil the great?

what attitude am i supposed to approach these prayers with? I am definitely not a morning person, and it can be an hour or two after waking up before I don't feel incredibly hostile to the world.

does it matter if I say these prayers quickly or slowly? I can talk and read pretty fast, but is it better or worse to do it fast or slow?

>>541983

i just starting saying the evening prayers, then got the feel of that, and added morning eventually. every time you read them i feel like i see and understand something new, but it's OK if some parts are faster, or if you understand less than others. if i am feeling bad (brain hurt = hard to read) on a day for instance i will only read some of them and then focus on God with my own prayers. but really the important thing is understanding and living "prayer without ceasing".

Literally however and whenever about whatever i want.

>>541860

>>541946

>>541966

Well, you are wrong. Halloween means "All Hallows' Eve" ego "Eve of feast of All Saints"

Across this week I came up with a few simple phrases to meditate* on and pray which can be combined into a longer (still short) prayer, which go as follows:

Thank you for the gift, Lord, thank you for the gift

——————–

Forgive me for my sin, Lord, forgive me for my sin

——————–

Shield me from my sin, Lord, shield me from my sin

——————–

Draw me near to you Lord, draw me near to you

——————–

Help me grow in faith, Lord, help me grow in faith

——————–

Open up my eyes, Lord, open up my eyes

——————-

Fill my cup with joy, Lord, fill my cup with joy

——————-

Provide me peace and rest, Lord, provide me peace and rest

The first is thanking God for his gift of life, and that we are able to exist and experience (His) goodness, beauty, love only by Him

The second and third are about sin: firstly seeking forgiveness for sins committed, and then asking for protection from temptation and sin, asking for resolve to resist them in his power and strength

The fourth, fifth and sixth are petitioning that you be made to see Him and to know him

Finally the sixth and seventh are about the results of God's work in our hearts that we yearn for

I want to get something in there simply about how God is good, but haven't thought up anything that fits, and also am a fan of the idea/words of 'singing' and praise, but again nothing has come to mind yet.

But whatever you're feeling, you could try taking one of the above appropriate to your mood and what you're feeling and looking for in your prayer, at that time, close your eyes, focus on your breathing, that is, the involuntary breath of life given to you by God which sustains you as His spirit (which means breath/wind) does and, once you've calmed down, got into a quiet head space, focus on God, pray one of the above, over and over, and, as others have said, with your breathing, contemplate carefully on the meaning and the importance of what you're saying and who you're saying it to with sincerity. *This is what I mean by mediate don't know if that's correct

Also the Lord's prayer is a good starting point as others have said

The Jesus prayer (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner) is another one I like