Prayer

[WinePusher]

I've been thinking about the concept of prayer lately and would like to get some opinions form other Christians.

1) Do you pray? How do you pray? And how often to you pray?

2) Have you ever had an unanswered prayer?

3) Can you recommend any good books on prayer? I found one by Phillip Yancey whose a great Christian author but would like to read more.

[Slopeshoulder]

I've been thinking about the concept of prayer lately and would like to get some opinions form other Christians.

1) Do you pray? How do you pray? And how often to you pray?

Yes. I don't pray in the way I did as I was taught as a kid, in speech to a person-god. I'm not a "hey jesus, howdy" kind of prayer. I don't speak christian or say composed prayers or psalms. Although my wife says if that's how we're wired, then hell, why not? She doesn't identify as a Christian after going to 8 seminaries, but I suspect she talks to God all the time; i guess it's just sensible not to fight it. I don't ask for things, although I have been known to "negotiate." Mostly I 1) try to silence myself and "listen," taking a tip from Merton, taking a more meditative approach, 2) take long walks that are sometimes about silence and sometimes about "talking" (silently), in both cases trying to center and clarify, increasing presence and availability; this is sort of thomas keating's centering prayer combined with tich naht hanh style walking meditation, and 3) take a tip from I forget who and just be thankful over and over like a mantra. Oh, lastly, I write and improvise music, which I consider a form of prayer.

2) Have you ever had an unanswered prayer?

I'm longer sure what this means.I find prayer-as-request primitive and childish. These days, I think prayer is self answering, a form of alignment that leads to and even is itself co-creation; the very act of prayer makes the spirit present. So I just try to discern and be present to whatever the program is, AKA God's will. I think of it not as an act, but rather as mindfulness and aligned action itself. A choice to be in a sacred space, available to and a vessel of grace in the world (except when we get into a pissing contest!! )

3) Can you recommend any good books on prayer? I found one by Phillip Yancey whose a great Christian author but would like to read more.

A few:
- Thomas Merton, Contemplative Prayer, recommended by a catholic turned methodist minister years ago. It's great.
- and assorted stuff by tich nhat hanh, bede griffiths, wayne teasdale, henri nouwen, thomas keating, and the mystics. Most in the catholic traditions of course.
I'm pretty sure a close friend of mine likes Yancey a lot.
Another close friend swears by Olivier Clement, but I haven't read him yet.

[otseng]

I've been thinking about the concept of prayer lately and would like to get some opinions form other Christians.

1) Do you pray? How do you pray? And how often to you pray?

My dedicated prayer time is kneeling in my closet in the mornings. I try to do it every morning. I like how Mother Teresa responded to this:

Mother Teresa was once asked by a reporter, “When you pray to God what do you say?� to which she responded, “I don’t say anything, I listen.� The reporter lost no time turning the question around and asked; “When you pray to God what does He say?� Mother Teresa matter-of-factly answered, “He doesn’t say anything, He listens.�

http://frjamescoles.wordpress.com/2009/ ... nce/#_ftn1

2) Have you ever had an unanswered prayer?

Depends on what you mean. I like what a friend of mine said. God answers all prayers, but often not in the way we would like him to answer it.

3) Can you recommend any good books on prayer? I found one by Phillip Yancey whose a great Christian author but would like to read more.

I really like Yancey. Though I have not read his book on prayer yet.

[Slopeshoulder]

That mother theresa quote is brilliant!! Presence and availability, beyond words. Just great.

[Fides et Veritas]

I've been thinking about the concept of prayer lately and would like to get some opinions form other Christians.

1) Do you pray? How do you pray? And how often to you pray?

2) Have you ever had an unanswered prayer?

3) Can you recommend any good books on prayer? I found one by Phillip Yancey whose a great Christian author but would like to read more.

I've been thinking about the concept of prayer lately and would like to get some opinions form other Christians.

1) Do you pray? How do you pray? And how often to you pray?

Do you:Yes
How: It depends on what the prayer is. Obviously if it is a blessing over food then I am generally sitting at the dinner table, head bowed, hands holding the people near me as I pray.
Sometimes I pray as I drive. At this time, I tend to keep my eyes on the road and pray about whatever topic I decide to. Most times this is merely me conversing to God bout this or that without any actual request. Similar in fashion to having a conversation with a friend.
More typically is my Daily prayers where I follow the guidelines set by our Church. I pray on bended knees without interruption for an extended period of time. We use the following phrase to help guide the time we spend with God in prayer, “30 minutes to survive, 60 minutes to thrive.�
How often:Daily at least. The main daily prayer is done twice for me; once in the morning to prepare myself for the day and then again in the evening as I prepare for rest. The meal prayers are done at each meal (I tend to not prayer over a bag of M&M’s).
We also recognize that prayer is where we speak to God and Bible Study is where God speaks to us.

2) Have you ever had an unanswered prayer?

Wow, yeah. Lots.

3) Can you recommend any good books on prayer? I found one by Phillip Yancey whose a great Christian author but would like to read more.

My Church offers a great many articles on the subject all of which are free as they are paid for by the tithes of me and other members. This is the best suggestion that I can give on this portion of the topic.

[EduChris]

...Can you recommend any good books on prayer? I found one by Phillip Yancey whose a great Christian author but would like to read more.

I haven't read Man's Quest for God yet, but I have read several books by the author (Abraham Heschel) and every one of his books (so far) has been an absolute masterpiece.

[TheTruth101]

I pray all day long.

[Chabalala]

1)I always pray before a meal, and I often pray when things are not going my way, and I sometimes pray when things are going well as a thanksgiving. I need to work on praying for others more. As far as how I pray, nothing fancy. I usually don't pray out loud, unless I'm in a bible study or something and I'm asked to open/close in prayer for it, and it's more of a monologue of me just talking to God.

2)Sure, but I don't think we're entitled to have all of our prayers answered. And sometimes, I think God answers it one way, but we don't realize it until much time has passed and we look back.