Prayer practises.

MoreCoffee

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With the rosary and most Catholic liturgical prayers from the Divine Office Catholics (me included) open with the sign of the cross and its accompanying prayer In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Then follows the prayer we intend to pray, be it spontaneous or liturgical, and when we pray liturgically, we read from and say some psalms and passages from the prophets and the gospels.

How do you pray?
 
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Lamb

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I pray in different ways.

I pray with my church as we go through the liturgy and prayers within the service.

I pray when I'm not at church and those are all different kinds, be it for family, friends, or the ambulance I hear driving down the road. Then there are times I pray without words, just offering my emotions for God to know, because He does know.
 

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I pray in different ways.

I pray with my church as we go through the liturgy and prayers within the service.

I pray when I'm not at church and those are all different kinds, be it for family, friends, or the ambulance I hear driving down the road. Then there are times I pray without words, just offering my emotions for God to know, because He does know.


Ditto.

It just depends on the context, the situation.


.
 

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With the rosary and most Catholic liturgical prayers from the Divine Office Catholics (me included) open with the sign of the cross and its accompanying prayer In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Then follows the prayer we intend to pray, be it spontaneous or liturgical, and when we pray liturgically, we read from and say some psalms and passages from the prophets and the gospels.

How do you pray?
Mostly not out loud and most of the prayers are save so and so and everyone and heal so and so and so and so and when I pray out loud same but also I bind those demons of sickness and tell em to move it. We had lists in church of Bible texts you could pray. I used to lead the intercession often in church and that was just pick a topic from the list, mostly souls. I didn't care much about the other topics. And then pray those points out loud and texts and for the rest pray in tongues, because we don't know what to pray, but not only tongues. Both. Still do it like that when I pray with my mom or alone. For instance open their eyes, ears, send christians on their path to tell them the Gospel, forgive their sins. Stuff like that.
And in the Name of Jesus.
 

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~
Heb 4:14-16 . .Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through
the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we
do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we
have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-- yet was without sin.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive
mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

The Greek word translated "confidence" basically means all out-spokenness, i.e.
frank, blunt, and/or candid. In other words: courageously.

For example when I was a little boy, the old standby "Now I lay me down to sleep"
became my favorite bedtime mantra. Well that was okay for an immature child who
knows no better. But I don't associate with God like that now because it's neither
outspoken, nor frank, nor blunt, nor candid. In point of fact; children's prayers like
my bedtime mantra are just rote, and really little different than reciting the beads
of a rosary and/or chanting the lines of a siddur while rocking back and forth like a
bobble toy in front of the Wailing Wall.

Take the Bible's luminaries for example. Their one-on-one prayers with God were
typically conversational and to the point. So then:

Phil 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.

C.S. Lewis, famed author of The Screwtape Letters, and The Chronicles of Narnia;
once remarked that he prayed, not because he expected results but, because it
made him feel better. Well, if spilling their guts to God brings people peace of mind,
then more power to them because that passage from Philippians says it's supposed
to.
_
 
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believer07

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Same here. I pray in different ways at different times.

I pray in different ways.

I pray with my church as we go through the liturgy and prayers within the service.

I pray when I'm not at church and those are all different kinds, be it for family, friends, or the ambulance I hear driving down the road. Then there are times I pray without words, just offering my emotions for God to know, because He does know.
 

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With the rosary and most Catholic liturgical prayers from the Divine Office Catholics (me included) open with the sign of the cross and its accompanying prayer In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Then follows the prayer we intend to pray, be it spontaneous or liturgical, and when we pray liturgically, we read from and say some psalms and passages from the prophets and the gospels.

How do you pray?
To whom and through whom do you pray? Is it to Mary or the saints. The answer makes all the difference because Jesus instructed us in his Sermon on the Mount to pray to the Father.
 

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To whom and through whom do you pray? Is it to Mary or the saints. The answer makes all the difference because Jesus instructed us in his Sermon on the Mount to pray to the Father.
Two points.
1. Jesus didn't say pray only to the Father. If he meant only to the Father then we shouldn't pray to Jesus, which is clearly wrong.

2. It also depends on what is meant by "pray" and "pray to".
 

BruceLeiter

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Two points.
1. Jesus didn't say pray only to the Father. If he meant only to the Father then we shouldn't pray to Jesus, which is clearly wrong.

2. It also depends on what is meant by "pray" and "pray to".
Mat 6:9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Why is it "clearly wrong" to pray to the Father and not to Jesus? Jesus tells us to pray "in his name" but not to him.
Jhn_14:13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Jhn_14:14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Jhn_14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Jhn_15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Jhn_16:23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.
 

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Mat 6:9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Why is it "clearly wrong" to pray to the Father and not to Jesus? Jesus tells us to pray "in his name" but not to him.

Are you saying that we shouldn't pray to Jesus?


Jhn_14:13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Jhn_14:14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Jhn_14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Jhn_15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Jhn_16:23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.

If Jesus says "Jhn_14:14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it." then we should pray to him.
 

BruceLeiter

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Are you saying that we shouldn't pray to Jesus?




If Jesus says "Jhn_14:14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it." then we should pray to him.
It is clear in the Bible that the three Persons of God work together all the time. That truth is in the context of your verse:
Joh 14:13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Joh 14:14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Joh 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
Joh 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
Joh 14:17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

However, as a general rule, the Lord's Prayer's pattern is a good one to follow.
 

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It is clear in the Bible that the three Persons of God work together all the time. That truth is in the context of your verse:
Joh 14:13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Joh 14:14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
Joh 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
Joh 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
Joh 14:17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

However, as a general rule, the Lord's Prayer's pattern is a good one to follow.

Are you saying we should not pray to Jesus?
Yes or No?
 

BruceLeiter

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Are you saying we should not pray to Jesus?
Yes or No?
Yes and no. As a general rule to the Father through Jesus; as an occasional prayer, yes. But don't neglect the Father. Remember that the three Persons of the Trinity as our one God always work together. Therefore, all blessings come FROM the Father THROUGH Jesus BY the Holy Spirit.
 

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Yes and no. As a general rule to the Father through Jesus; as an occasional prayer, yes. But don't neglect the Father. Remember that the three Persons of the Trinity as our one God always work together. Therefore, all blessings come FROM the Father THROUGH Jesus BY the Holy Spirit.
So your implication that Jesus said pray only to the father was incorrect.

We can pray to anyone - depending (as I said in post #8) what you mean by "pray".
 

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So your implication that Jesus said pray only to the father was incorrect.

We can pray to anyone - depending (as I said in post #8) what you mean by "pray".
If you request anything from a saint or Mary, how can you be certain that they hear you? They are limited human creatures, who are not everywhere, the way God is. They are in heaven, not on the earth anymore, since their bodies have been buried, unless you subscribe to the unbiblical notion of Mary's assumption.

The saints and Mary didn't become God when their souls went to heaven. Thus, they can't hear your prayers. However, God hears your spoken and unspoken prayers and thoughts, and he loves you through Jesus' death and resurrection. Why isn't that fact enough for you?
 

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If you request anything from a saint or Mary, how can you be certain that they hear you? They are limited human creatures, who are not everywhere, the way God is. They are in heaven, not on the earth anymore, since their bodies have been buried, unless you subscribe to the unbiblical notion of Mary's assumption.

The saints and Mary didn't become God when their souls went to heaven. Thus, they can't hear your prayers. However, God hears your spoken and unspoken prayers and thoughts, and he loves you through Jesus' death and resurrection. Why isn't that fact enough for you?

No they are not God.
They are not omniscient. If they hear our prayers it is because it is God’s will that they do and He will make it possible.

God makes things known to people as he wills and makes possible.

Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." And the Lord said to him, "Rise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul; for behold, he is praying, and he has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight." (Acts 9:10-12)

God communicates to Ananias that Paul is praying and that he (Ananias) must go and lay hands on Paul. God communicates to Paul that Ananias will come to him and lay hands on him to receive his sight. Neither are omniscient yet they know things that only God can know. They know because God wills that they know and makes it known to them.

God has only given us glimpses of what goes on in heaven. Paul was taken up into heaven “and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter” (2Cor 12:4). We cannot expect to understand God’s ways in any detail. Yet we do know some things, if not in details.

We know that those in heaven are aware of what is happening on earth.
Lk 15:7 & 10
Rev 6:10

We also know that (at least) some of those in heaven are presenting out prayers before the throne.
Rev 5:8 & 8:3
Tobit 12:12
 

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"No they are not God.
They are not omniscient. If they hear our prayers it is because it is God’s will that they do and He will make it possible."


"IF" they hear our prayers.

And if they don't we are praying in vain,

My preference is to pray to God the Father directly in Jesus name where I KNOW my prayers are heard.

That's the way I approach prayer, how my life has taught me it should be done, but I suppose each person has to decide that for themselves if their prayers are to be sincere as prayer.

I find no need to put someone between myself and and God.
 

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"No they are not God.
They are not omniscient. If they hear our prayers it is because it is God’s will that they do and He will make it possible."


"IF" they hear our prayers.

And if they don't we are praying in vain,

But as I pointed, out we know they heat our prayers.
We know that those in heaven are aware of what is happening on earth.
Lk 15:7 & 10
Rev 6:10

We also know that (at least) some of those in heaven are presenting out prayers before the throne.
Rev 5:8 & 8:3
Tobit 12:12


My preference is to pray to God the Father directly in Jesus name where I KNOW my prayers are heard.

That's the way I approach prayer, how my life has taught me it should be done, but I suppose each person has to decide that for themselves if their prayers are to be sincere as prayer.

I find no need to put someone between myself and and God.

Paul asked people to pray for him:
"Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak." (Eph 6:19-20)

"At the same time pray for us as well....." (Col 4:3)

"Beloved, pray for us." (1Thess 5:25)

"Finally, brothers and sister, pray for us....." (2 Thess 3:1)

“Pray for us; we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.” (Heb 13:18)
Why did he not just pray to God himself.
It seems he valued the prayers of others on his behalf.

There are examples of people praying for others:
“The prophet Jeremiah said to them, “Very well: I am going to pray to the Lord your God as you request, and whatever the Lord answers you I will tell you.’” (Jer 42;4)

In one instance at least God specifically commands it.

"After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly; for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has done.” So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer."(Job 42 :8-9).

“The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective” (Jas 5:16).
Are not those in heaven righteous & therefore their prayers powerful and effective?

If someone asks you to pray for them do you tell them - no, just pray to God yourself.
 

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"If someone asks you to pray for them do you tell them - no, just pray to God yourself."

Of course not, and that is a rather misleading question to ask. I will pray to God for them, not some man declared a saint by some other men that are every bit as fallible as I am, Not to Buddha or Krishna or maharishi something or any other man that people have decided either is or is as good as God.

In the words spoken by Jesus while on earth, whom did he say we should pray to and in whose name should we be praying?

Following the direct teaching of Jesus as given by him while on earth is how we avoid being deceived, and deception is one of the signs of the latter days as the Church shifts away from the sound doctrine given by him and replacing it with an unsound doctrine of falsity that has appeal to the masses instead.

We are in the age of deception, don't accept anything without seriously questioning it first.

This is my belief.
 

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"If someone asks you to pray for them do you tell them - no, just pray to God yourself."

Of course not, and that is a rather misleading question to ask. I will pray to God for them, not some man declared a saint by some other men that are every bit as fallible as I am, Not to Buddha or Krishna or maharishi something or any other man that people have decided either is or is as good as God.

So, according to you it is OK for someone to ask you to pray to God for them, and you will do it.
But it's not OK for you to ask someone else to pray to God for you.
You don't see an error with that?

In the words spoken by Jesus while on earth, whom did he say we should pray to and in whose name should we be praying?

Following the direct teaching of Jesus as given by him while on earth is how we avoid being deceived, and deception is one of the signs of the latter days as the Church shifts away from the sound doctrine given by him and replacing it with an unsound doctrine of falsity that has appeal to the masses instead.

We are in the age of deception, don't accept anything without seriously questioning it first.

This is my belief.
Assuming you are referring to your post #7 then my reply is in post #8. And we are back to where we started.
 
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