OK I NO IT SOUNDS STUPID BUT HOW DO U PRAY? iM SERIOUS :)?

Question

OK B4 U GO TO BED WE PRAY. WHT EXACTLY DO U DO. DO SAY *OUR FATHER* AND THEN ASK 4 WISHES AND STUFF AND THEN AFTER THT DO OUR *HAIL MARY'S*? AND THEN UR DONE? AM I DOING THT RONG OR WHT IS THE CORRECT WAY?

Answer 1

There is no right or wrong way to pray if you are a true born again believer. God only desires a relationship with you. Relationships require communication. That's what He wants. He isn't looking for formality. He does however look for respect. Pretend God is your best friend. You probably talk to your best friend for hours. This is what God wants. He isn't looking for "Hail Mary". God is real. He doesn't need you to speak to Him through a statue of a Saint. Only the catholics believe this is the way to pray to God. NOT TRUE!!! He wants you to talk to him and tell him about your whole day. It is lovely to say the "Lord's Prayer", however, that is a formal prayer that can be left for church. At home, just talk to Him. Make it audible or in your mind. God hears you both ways. Satan cannot. Satan can only hear audible words, not your thoughts. This is why Satan retreats and cringes at the word "Jesus". Treat God like your best friend, without swear words, or nasty phrases. He loves to hear about your problems, your day, and your needs. The best thing is, He will answer you. You simply have to be still, quiet and listen.

Answer 2

I love your question. The answer is very simple, even though a lot of people think it is complicated. "Prayer" is simply talking to God. There is no formula for it, and you don't have to wait until you go to bed. You can talk/pray to God any time of the day or night. Just imagine that you are talking to a flesh-and-blood friend standing right in front of you and that is exactly what you do when you pray. God is, after all, and among other things, your friend and wants to talk with you. But remember that when you talk with friends, you also listen, so when you pray, don't just talk all the time and that's it. Give youself some time of just being quiet to hear what God just might want to say to you in your spirit. He can "talk" to you in many different ways -- from putting someone in your mind, to maybe using someone else as a way of talking to you. You never know what God might do or say, but if you really expect an answer, I know you will get one, in one way or another. You just have to be open to hearing it.

Blessings to you.

Answer 3

Jesus told us how to pray...

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,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen

Im not catholic so I dont say any hail Mary's because Mary was just a human being. Dont treat the Lord as some sort of genie either, he knows what you want, but more importantly he knows what you need. The above prayer would suffice if it was the only prayer you ever said each day.

Answer 4

First (not judging - just making sure) if you aren't sure you are a Christian, check out www.godlovestheworld.com.

Second, how people pray varies. Some pray with their eyes open while driving, some pray kneeling. Some out loud and some quiet. People address God differently and end differently. I personally start with "Father God", or "Lord God" and end with "In Jesus Name, Amen". Amen means, "Let it be so." God hears it all.

There are examples of prayer in the Bible you could look up. Here are some themes of things to pray for:
1. Praise and worshiping God.
2. Asking for wisdom and guidance.
3. Asking for our needs to be fulfilled.
4. Asking for God's will to be done.
5. Praying for others.
6. Asking forgiveness of sins.
7. Just talking to Him like He's your best friend since He is.

The Lord's prayer is an example of some of these:
Matthew 6:9-13 Pray like this: 'Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. (10) Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. (11) Give us today our daily bread. (12) Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. (13) Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.'

Answer 5

There are plenty of ways to pray, but the main thing is that you pray daily (before going to bed is great). You can say one of the traditional prayers such as the ones you mentioned, but you don't have to be limited to that. You can thank God for helping you through something tough (ex. a math test), ask Him for help and guidance, tell Him you are sorry for something you did wrong and ask forgiveness, or just talk to God about what's on your mind. It doesn't have to be a sermon--even 30 seconds is fine, as long as what you pray comes from the heart. :)

Answer 6

Praying is having a conversation w/ God. Saying a Prayer that is the same thing isn't really talking to Him. It's a "ritual". If u are born again and love Jesus, then He is ur best friend. Would u talk to ur best friend that way? No.

He already knows ur thoughts and what's in ur heart anyway.

Just talk to Him and He'll answer u. God bless!

Answer 7

There is no right or wrong way to pray. The Our Father is a good one, because it was an example laid down by Jesus, a part of God Himself. However, technically, praying is when you talk to God. For example, I talk to God all the time when I'm at work (I work in retail, so people just think I'm lonely and talking to myself...) Anyway, that could be considered prayer just as much as the Our Father.

Answer 8

Prayer methods vary culturally and based on your religious beliefs.

If you feel that you are sincere in your prayer, and it satisifies what you want prayer to do for you, it works.

An example: Prayer to thank the Lord may be nothing more than bowing your head on a subway, acknowledging God in your thoughts and heart, and feeling gratefulness. No words required even. Done.

A more formal prayer may be like the Hail Mary that you mention. Some find the structure and repitition of this kind of prayer comforting as it provides an easily followed set of 'instructions' to accomplish the goal of praying.

I encourage you to work with both elements discussed--saying word to say words is meaningless, they must matter in heart and mind, you must have INTENT.

Equally so, many find that part of forming intent is to create STRUCTURE that, to them, represents giving respect and honor to the divine. This is part of the rosery, and prayer mats, and so many other parts of various religions.

This is a link to a more detailed description of prayer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer

Good luck!

Answer 9

Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Jesus said to pray this way.

It is the only prayer demonstrated by Jesus so I'd say it's pretty safe. It praises God and has asks for his blessings of sustenance, forgiveness and deliverance ends with an aknowlegement of God's power.

That's all I got. Oh yeah and paul (I believe) said we should be in a constant mind of prayer. Which I think means God's will should be something we consider alot of the time and we should be listening and feel free to speak with God at any time.

Answer 10

God has no right or wrong way to pray. There is no 'hail mary', 'our father', etc. Jesus was giving an example of how to pray in the Bible, you first bless and thank God, (He is the reason for the season.) Jesus was giving an example of what to pray for, not a word for word memorization technique out of people.

Be wary of religions that emphazise memorization or rites. Instead, read the Bible for your self and see what you get out of it.....

As you read, ask God to show Himself to you as you read, and you might be amazed at some ideas or values that you might discover.....