improving the prayer

@unuzzz (1273)
Indonesia
May 11, 2008 1:10pm CST
do you have any idea about improving the pray we make ? i'm not good in making prayers actually, and seriously not a devoted one too to be honest, i seldom pray and also seldom go to the church on sunday but i once discover something in praying [ or maybe others had discover this long time ago .. ?? hehe ] all this time mostly we asked something to God explicitly like asking for a fortune, or something else i'd like to use an example, maybe like 'God, please give me a good mark in the test tomorrow .. ' i believe such way of praying is a little egoist i believe it is more polite to say 'God, please guide me to make a good mark in the test..' or maybe instead of saying 'please give me a good day', we should say 'help us to make tomorrow a good day' maybe God will be willing to hear such pray.. haha hmm.. i believe for most people, my opinion is nothing but as a weak and un-devoted person, this is a big invention for myself i hope to some other people, my posting will be helpful
4 people like this
12 responses
• United States
11 May 08
Here are a few prayers you can say if you like, they are very general. I found them and they touched my heart so I say them often. Since I have started saying them I have felt my relationship wiht God blossom. God knows what is in your heart and what you seek so I don't think it is really necessary to be specific, but there is nothing wrong with being specific if you want to be. Anyway, here they are: O Thou Whose face is the object of my adoration, Whose beauty is my sanctuary, Whose habitation is my goal, Whose praise is my hope, Whose providence is my companion, Whose love is the cause of my being, Whose mention is my solace, Whose nearness is my desire, Whose presence is my dearest wish and highest aspiration, I entreat Thee not to withhold from me the things Thou didst ordain for the chosen ones among Thy servants. Supply me then, with the good of this world, and of the next. Thou, truly, art the King of all men. There is no God but Thee, the Ever-forgiving, the Most Generous. Is there any remover of difficulties save God? Say: Praised be God, He is God, all are His servants and all abide by His bidding. O Lord, Thou art the Remover of every anguish and the dispeller of every affliction. Thou art He who banisheth every sorrow and setteth free every slave, the Redeemer of every soul. O Lord, grant deliverance through Thy mercy, and reckon me with such servants of Thine as have gained salvation. I hope you like them. If you want any more I have a whole book. Do not be so hard on yourself. Arrogance is one of the worse faults of people so if you recognize that you are not as good a person as you should be you are doing better than many! Good luck and God bless!
1 person likes this
@unuzzz (1273)
• Indonesia
16 May 08
hi runner0369 i like your prayer !! although i'm not really understand the whole sentences, since my english is very limited but the first lines of the prayer is very beautiful i'm serious with this ^^ it's very beautiful too bad right now i can't get the feeling in the last lines of the prayer but i know it means a lot thanks for your support runner0369 i never think that i'm being too hard with myself .. ^^ i like your prayer, and i'm interested to know your other prayers .. ^^ thanks for sharing this here.. i really appreciate it ^^
@unuzzz (1273)
• Indonesia
18 May 08
hi again runner0369 ^^ hmm, indonesian ?? hahaa, you might not have one in this language ?? hehee i can do a little chinese, but i cannot read i can only practice it for daily chat english is also fine to me thanks a lot for your kindness ^^
• United States
17 May 08
I am really glad you enjoyed the prayers and I am so glad I could help! I have some prayers in a few other languages. What languages would you know better than English?
1 person likes this
@TAPARIA (314)
• India
13 May 08
I pray twice daily in morning and before going to bed. There is no method of praying. Prayers are done from heart and you don't have to think how to say. I just talk to God as i talk to my friend and ask for something just ike a little child asks from his parents. When i hve nothing to ask for, even then i pray to thank God for whatever he has give me and has done for me. Its very selfish and mean to pray only when you want something or when you are in trouble.
@unuzzz (1273)
• Indonesia
18 May 08
hi TAPARIA wow, i only pray at night i don't pray in the morning because i always get up late and too bad that the first thing come to my mind every morning is the bathroom and breakfast hehee, very bad i know.. hehee yeah, i think i ask much more than i thank Him i need to change my way of praying thanks for your respond TAPARIA God bless .. ^^
• India
13 May 08
There is no method to pray, just being urself in front of ur creator will do. I dont stretch my arms out, or kneel down to pray to my God. God is our creator and our father. So i just communicate with him, just as i communicate with all other frendz. I just go to my room and close my eyes or sometimes i even just open them and pour out my heart to him and ask him for deliverance and he sure listens, sooner or later.
@unuzzz (1273)
• Indonesia
18 May 08
hi keep_onwatch thanks, the method is the most simple one my tutor in the church taught this too when i was a small kid thanks you for responding, God bless .. ^^
@di1159 (1580)
• United States
12 May 08
I pray every night. I don't have a set prayer, but I usually say the lord's prayer and then I add a bit of own, where I ask for forgiveness for my sins and tolerance for others. I ask to God to help me be a better person, and to bless friends, family and enemies alike. I pray for the sick, poor, and those less fortunate than myself and I ask God to help me help others and myself. I never ask for any specfic thing for me as I don't feel that any requests for material items don't have a place in my prayers. I like you am humbled in the presence of the lord and want to try to make this world a better place. Peace be with you!
@unuzzz (1273)
• Indonesia
18 May 08
hi di1159 thanks for the compliment ^^, but it's too much.. hehee i don't think i'm a humble one anyway, thanks for responding di1159 God bless .. !!
• United States
12 May 08
All you have to do is have a one on one conversation with your God and express to him from your heart what you truly want. It's hard for people to talk to someone whom they can't see but he is there. Ask God for strength, peace, for safety for you and your family. Pray for your fellow classmates. If there is something specific you need God to help you work on, mention that too. He already knows what's on our minds and our hearts all we have to do is voice it to him. And remember, after you finish praying, say " In Jesus's name I pray...Amen
@unuzzz (1273)
• Indonesia
18 May 08
hi Linda4ualways thanks for sharing here ^^ wow, i never ended my prayers like you it's new to me.. thanks ! i'll put those in my prayers thanks for responding Linda4ualways cheers .. ^^
• United States
13 May 08
i just posted what i thought was a new discussion on this subject. i am new to facebook so i guess i should have checked to see if a discussion such as this had already been started. i'll get my land legs soon i hope. i'd like to share my viewpoint with you about this; seriously. i am a firm believer in praying the word of god in any given situation. for example; a friend of mine recently called me because her mother that is in a nursing home already, began to have congestive heart failure. you might know that means her heart was not pumping the fluids off of her lungs or the rest of her body properly so the lungs were filling with fluid. she was literally drowning. of course, my friend called so that we coulld join in prayer together for her mom's condition. there is a scripture in isaiah 43:2 that says: "when you walk thru the waters, i will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you........" it says more, but this is the part we prayed and claimed for her mom. when you are a saved person, meaning you have accepted jesus as your savior, it doesn't matter how many times you go to church or how eloquently you can speak or think, etc. but what does matter is that every promise made in the word of god is yours for the taking. there is a "but" in there tho', you have to know about them first, and believe in them 2nd, and trust him 3rd. that's it. so if you spend some time reading the scriptures it won't be long until you run across one that says "his word never fails", "his word never goes forth then comes back void, but goes forth where it is sent bearing back with it fruit", and one that says that "the lord holds the hearts of kings in his hands to turn which so ever way he desires". when you read stuff like that you begin to see how powerful he is and therefore his word is, then up pops one that says "he watches day & night o'er the whole earth to fulfill his word". wow! i'm convinced that there is a scripture for any & every given situation that can pop up in my life that i or someone else can pray that will cause the lord god almighty to come running to my aide! so, of course, the more you read the scriptures the more skilled you will become at powerful word praying! how about it, does this make sense?back atcha, mama vickie
@unuzzz (1273)
• Indonesia
18 May 08
hi vickmahon11 wow, thanks for your respond i seldom, well almost never read the bible.. :P you must be very good in praying hmm, maybe be reading the scripts there will help me out ^^ thanks for your opinion, this surely make sense to me .. ^^ God bless you vickmahon11 .. ^^
@praveenjena (1304)
• India
11 May 08
i do pray to god.... but not in a manner which makes it seem like a prayer.... i ask him to forgive my sins and prevent me from committing any sins... i pray before going to bed and before i rise from the bed. you only need to feel that you are praying there is indeed no need to improve the prayers. have a nice day.
@unuzzz (1273)
• Indonesia
16 May 08
hi praveenjena thanks for sharing ^^ hmm, in my case, i think i ask to much maybe with my way now, i'll have something more not to experience the good one, but make something good to be experienced hmm, am i wrote it right ? LoL.. sorry if you find this hard to understand i'm not really good in english, so sometimes i cannot deliver what i mean well enough anyway, thanks for responding praveenjena .. ^^
@Pose123 (21635)
• Canada
11 May 08
Hi unuzzz, We are always praying because life itself is prayer. There is no need to set aside a special time to pray. If you believe in a God who knows all, he already knows your every thought. If you want to consciously pray, let it be a prayer of thanksgiving. Be thankful for life, for family and friends and other things you can think of. Blessings.
@unuzzz (1273)
• Indonesia
16 May 08
hi Pose123 wow, your words are very meaningful hmm, i read your respond here very carefully i never thought about life itself as a prayer maybe you're right, maybe i should constantly make a pray of thanksgiving but at some points, i'm not ready for that maybe i'm still being egoist right now, and not ready to stop asking but truly, your respond really helps thanks a lot Pose123.. God bless ^^
• India
29 May 08
actually im not tat much serious in praying to god since i dont beleive it with my full heart its all a myth
• United States
12 May 08
well when I pray which is at any given time I just speak my mind as if I was talking right here on mylot or to a good friend or my parents. Prayer is about connection its not about asking for anything or needing anything. But we always put our burdens on our Father, Lord and Savior. To me its as if I am his best friend and I need advice on something or just to talk or relax or even vent sometimes.It gives me great comfort knowing there is someone watching over us and he is the creator so he knows how to fix it. You go to a doctor if you need medical advice right? Well God is the all creator of all things, so why not ask him for the advice instead. Some people say they never here him answer their prayers well if he didn't answer prayers then how did you make it through those tough and rocky times when you were asking him to help you. Ever hear the joke about the flooded town? This woman was trapped on her roof and had no way to get out of the flood, so she prayed to God to save her and sure enough a boat came by and she said no she was waiting for God to save her a few minutes later she is praying still and a helicopter comes by again she said she is waiting for God to save her.... she drowns.... Gets to heaven and asks God why didn't you save me and he said I tried I sent you a boat and a helicopter. So even though we don't know for sure if he is listening he always does...So just talk to God and always ask for him to come into your life and ask for forgiveness. Best wishes to you
@unuzzz (1273)
• Indonesia
18 May 08
hi foundmyangel thanks for replying ^^ hmm, you're right.. what makes me afraid is that He won't listen to my prayer, so that's why i guess i try to improve the words thanks foundmyangel, yeah i know your story i think someone told the story once i forgot whether i heard it on the church ? hmm.. anyway, thanks for your thought this also helps me a lot ! God bless .. ^^
@lieanat (1137)
• Malaysia
12 May 08
hey, unuzzz. Prayer is not a tough thing to do. You can pray anytime, anywhere you want. It just like talking to your dad, but this Dad in Heaven, we can't see it with our human eyes. Bible taught us faith and it is indeed by faith (believe God though we can't see Him) that our prayers will be granted. I accepted God for about 5 years now. What've I learnt about prayer what I've shared just now. Besides that, when you need God's help and you convey it in prayers, God will definitely hear your prayers. Why? Because He is omnipresent and He even know what you have in mind before you make prayers. Don't get me wrong that since God know what we want, why not let God to guess and bless us without pray to Him? It just like sometimes we need to tell our parents what we like to eat, what we want for this christmas and so so. Otherwise, our parents will not know our inner need or they just simply want us to learn to talk to them and voice out our needs. In short, pray to God just like how you will talk to your dad/mum. When you pray, you can ask for forgiveness, pray for self and other's needs, or just merely share your thoughts with God! God will definitely answer your prayers in 3 ways. a) If your prayer has right motive and good for you, He'll grant it b) If you have bad intention behind what you've pray for, surely God will not say yes to it. For e.g., you pray that you will able to cheat during exam, surely you will get caught! c) Maybe this is not the right time to grant your prayers yet. For more clear information on prayers or more testimony, I encourage you to learn from Joyce Meyer. You can find lots of information about her and her ministry through online. May God bless you. Amen.
@unuzzz (1273)
• Indonesia
18 May 08
hi lieanat wow, you've just been 5 years and you're very wise thank you, i find myself very greedy sometimes i'm afraid i ask to much to Him and i'm afraid that how i pray these times is not that sincere some mylotters before said that i might push myself too hard thanks a lot lieanat .. ^^
@Bebs08 (10681)
• United States
12 May 08
I have an idea of how to improve our prayer. Many times people prayed because they want to ask something from God and when they got the answer to their prayers, they don't give thanks to God. What would you feel when you give gift to someone and you didn't hear any word of gratitude from him? Of course you know how it feels. Therefore God would be gald to hear you when you can improve your prayer. There are ways how to do it. First and foremost in prayer is to Give thanks to the Lord for all the blessings he has given you. Second is to commit your lives to him for guidance. The last is asking frogiveness of your sins so that you will be worthy to receive the blessings intended for you. Present to God your needs and let him provide you according to his promise then believe that you will receive them. Relinquish everything into God's hands.
@unuzzz (1273)
• Indonesia
16 May 08
hi Bebs08 wow, thanks.. ^^ i got lots of good advices today i almost forgot that keywords you mentioned, "believe and we shall receive" your ways about improving is beautiful by thanking, committing, and asking for forgiveness is very easy to say, but difficult to do especially the committing one sometimes we're being arrogant by thinking that we don't need God in this life as we can handle every matters but sometimes even if we failed to handle it, we still don't think of God anyway, thanks for sharing here Bebs08 God bless ..