I know this wasn't directed towards me, but I'll jump in I do both. I find asking of Him (whether that be a new heart, a directed heart, or circumstances to pan out certain ways) reveals my motives and heart to myself, it's beneficial and effective for transformation
It's completely random. Sometimes I talk, sometimes I ask for things. The things I ask for aren't "things" though. Most of the time I just ask that his will be done through me. Sometimes I ask Him questions, sometimes I simply let Him know how I feel about things without a question or a request of any kind. Like I said, it's random. My prayers are usually totally spontaneous, so I never know what I will pray about until it starts. Then it simply flows on its own.
Well then this is absolutely effective, if you find motivation through it. If you do ask a question, how do you know if it's answered or solved? IF god does have a will, and is going to do it anyway, why ask anything of him?
Yeah man it definitely is, like Lay Low implied it's not a religious practice that is done any specific way, it's spontaneous and done in complete freedom.
You misunderstand slightly. Living according to God's will is to live according to wisdom. All actions should be done solely by wisdom, not by emotion, laziness, habit, environmental influence, cultural influence, etc. If one acts solely according to the dictates of true wisdom, and not those other things, then that person is acting according to God's will. I am not at that level yet, so I pray for God to help me achieve it. As far as God's responses to my own prayers, I don't talk about that to anyone, sorry.
You have to accept my misunderstanding as I am not religious so I do not understand some concepts dealing with it, for that I apologize. That's why I am asking. That is all.
I pretty much just talk to God when I pray. I also ask for things, the bible says ask and you shall receive. When I ask God for things, it usually is for the wisdom it takes to overcome something, instead of asking for him to fix it. You gotta take responsibility for things. I also thank God for the things I pray for, after all he has already answered my prayers. I also think that prayer is to be done with meditation (which is just thinking about something, pondering it, from a place of unshakable peace). I meditate on how all things through Christ are possible, then thank God for the wisdom
In Hasidic Judaism prayer is a meditative act. There are still small aspects of that "ask and ye shall receive" mode of prayer in the religion, but that has by and large gone to the wayside. If one picks up a Jewish prayer book, they will notice that 90% of the prayers express gratitude toward G-d or a pronouncement of blessing upon someone or something (food, water, the moon, etc). This is an important distinction between Jewish prayer and Christian prayer: Jews pray to bestow something upon someone or something; Christians pray for the reception of things (blessings, strength, a new car, etc). I only bring this up to show that the way most people consider prayer is not the only way to consider prayer. Prayer is by and large the act of looking within when the focus is not to bestow something upon another thing. A Jew will say that what is within is G-d. G-d communicates through His Shekinah, the Holy Spirit, which is part of our soul (and psychologically can be linked to our inner voice, or conscience). Have you ever had a problem that you couldn't solve until you sat down in quiet contemplation and all of a sudden figured it all out? That is how I define prayer. "Working it out in your mind." In this way, prayer has been super effective in my life. However, I have still enjoyed many positive effects from the "ask and ye shall receive" types of prayers; especially when praying for comfort (like after my brother died) or when praying for strength when entering a stressful situation. Even if it is all just a strict psychological process (I don't believe that it is at all, though) I am fine with that.
awww... a sweet lady.... haha dude I totally agree, unfortunately this is difficult for most humans to admit. Our ego's tend to inflate our pride which prevents us from ever admitting we are ultimately dependent and need help.
I don't want to offend anybody with my religious views (or lack of for that matter.) I was just curious if what I've been experiencing the last few years/portion of my life is normal, and I was looking for anyone who feels the same way, or can comment on why I might feel this way: I don't consider myself religious. Don't worry, I won't say I'm spiritual either. I don't necessarily believe there is a god who made everything that is, and everything else that goes along with believing in one. I was a "Christian" for 10 years so I know some about the basics of Christianity/a few other major religions. I'm not ignorant about religion, I just don't necessarily put faith or trust into it. So with that said, I'm not a religious person. Although I still have a huge urge to pray at times when I need it most. It's not often at all. I know this is one of the trademarks of a fair weather religious person, but that's the way I am. Most of me tells me it's useless, there's no point... but there's a tiny, tiny part of me that thinks WHAT IF? Maybe. It might be worth a shot. Does anybody else feel this way? I know this was a semi-pointless post, like I said it wasn't meant to offend anyone I was just wondering how some of the more spiritual blades think I should handle this. Also, if anyone else feels the same way feel free to chime-in. Thanks.
I have a fairly similar background to yours, except maybe with a bit more religious influence. Religion wasn't a big part of everyday life at home..my family religious practices were limited to going to church most Sunday's. However, I went to a catholic school from first grade though my senior year of high school. I started to question the faith in high school, and dropped it completely a few months after I graduated. It you want to be technical about it, I would be an agnostic atheist- I can't know 100% that there is no god, but I believe it's ridiculously unlikely. And if there were some divine creator, I'm sure none of the worlds religions have gotten it right. Anyway, for a while after I had freed myself from organized religion I occasionally got the urge to pray. Like you said, only in extreme circumstances, but it still happened. I think I just wanted to make sure I covered all my bases. I have mild OCD and I check things a lot, and if I don't do something I feel that I should, I can't stop thinking about it until I do it. I think that had an influence as well...once I thought about prayer, I couldn't stop thinking about the slim possibility that it might help. It stopped happening after a while though. Just one of those after-effects of being indoctrinated at a young age. Plus I felt like to much of a hypocrite being all anti-religion in my day to day life, then praying when things are bad. Edit: to the rest of the thread, I'm not hatin on prayer. If it works for you and helps you improve your life then by all means do it.
Feed yourself on possibilities...dont apologize for being a seeker...our minds want to come to greater understanding....Of course that's different to everyone. I dont not consider myself a follower of any one specific creed, but Buddhist/eastern thought has helped put me in touch the most with the seeking process. "Don't try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist; use it to be a better whatever-you-already-are." His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama View on Buddhism: (Tibetan) Buddhist practice and philosophy Anything written by Thich Nhat Hanh is worth a read....He is an exceptional Teacher for provoking thought.
You do know talking to your self is a mental disorder. And doing the same thing over and over and expecting the same result is insane.
i guess you don't talk to yourself, ever. everyone talks to themselves, if you do the same process over and over, like meditating on the fact that you can succeed and prosper, it will create a true belief in you that you can in fact succeed and prosper.
Not pointless at all. Prayer, especially the Christian model of prayer, is deeply ingrained into our society. Even for a non-Christian/non-theist, the act of praying for comfort, or in times of tribulation, is something that is just known because of the emphasis society places upon it through all sorts of media. If you feel that you derive some benefit from praying during these rare occurrences, then by all means, pray. It won't hurt you, or anybody else, and it certainly won't offend G-d. Even if the only perceivable benefit you get from the act is stopping the desire to pray that you have from time to time, then it's all good. Hope you're doing well man!
Appreciate the advice. I agree with what you're saying... I just can't help but to feel somewhat guilty for being a complete non-believer 95% of the time, and having the urge to pray the other 5%, or less. I think you're definitely right though, and I'll handle it that way. I'm doing pretty good for the most part. Hope you're doing well too! Getting ready for school? Shoot me a PM any time brother.
Haha what are you even saying. Of course I talk to my self who doesn't. I'm saying talking to your self and expecting something to happen is Insane.