Some Thoughts on Prayer
Prayer is a gift to us from Heavenly Father. We can communicate directly with Him as we make our way through life. True, it isn't as simple as talking to our neighbor when we can clearly hear what he says and respond to that. Still, as we gain prayer experience, we gain a greater closeness to God and a greater understanding of how He answers us and what those answers are.
In the Church, we are given some basic instruction about how to pray. I think that is very helpful to those who have little or no prayer experience. One has to start somewhere and a little guidance is a marvelous thing. We also are urged to use "thee" and "thou" rather than "you" and "your." I like this--it feels more like "God language" somehow, perhaps due to the word usage in the King James Version of the Bible, which I also prefer. It helps me shift to a more spiritual frame of mind if there is a shift in language.
Prayer is personal. How we talk to God is something that is solely between us and Him. Some instruction or advice can get you started, but ultimately everyone finds his own way. I do not think God is all that particular--He just wants us to talk to Him, to turn to Him.
I find something special in prayer. It is a quiet time to commune with God and to feel closer to Him. It is a time to not feel so alone, to feel comforted and reassured. It can also be a time to gain insight, understanding, and direction. Not every prayer will be all of those things, but every prayer can be a direct link to our Heavenly Father, Who loves us more completely and more perfectly than anyone else can.
In the Church, we are given some basic instruction about how to pray. I think that is very helpful to those who have little or no prayer experience. One has to start somewhere and a little guidance is a marvelous thing. We also are urged to use "thee" and "thou" rather than "you" and "your." I like this--it feels more like "God language" somehow, perhaps due to the word usage in the King James Version of the Bible, which I also prefer. It helps me shift to a more spiritual frame of mind if there is a shift in language.
Prayer is personal. How we talk to God is something that is solely between us and Him. Some instruction or advice can get you started, but ultimately everyone finds his own way. I do not think God is all that particular--He just wants us to talk to Him, to turn to Him.
I find something special in prayer. It is a quiet time to commune with God and to feel closer to Him. It is a time to not feel so alone, to feel comforted and reassured. It can also be a time to gain insight, understanding, and direction. Not every prayer will be all of those things, but every prayer can be a direct link to our Heavenly Father, Who loves us more completely and more perfectly than anyone else can.
Labels: prayer
posted by Mary A | 2:31 PM
15 Comments:
nice start.
Thanks, Stephen!
thee and thou are also more personal than "you". "thou" is the same as "tu" or "ti" in Russian. That is why it is used in Romantic poetry. It was dropped for some reason from everyday Englsih language. In languages like French or Russian you use "tu" or "ti" when talking to God because of the personal nature of prayer. Knowing this makes using thee and thou more meaningful and beautiful. You are using a pronoun so personal, you don't even use it with your spouse.
Good point, NMW. It's the same way in Spanish, too. Personal.
I had a cousin, long since passed, who was a Friend. It is a beautiful way of speaking and has what I would call a comforting sound.
Pop
Pop, I'd forgotten that the Friends would speak with thee and thou. I liked hearing it. Nice.
Prayer. I wouldn't want to be here without prayer. There are times that I feel so close to Heavenly Father during prayer and often during times when I have a real concern. It is hard for me to feel that I am in tune the with hearing answers to my prayers. I feel a lot of comfort for which I am very grateful. I am so afraid of failure though and that probably impedes my recognizing promptings from God.
Barb! Nice to hear from you! I think we all struggle with getting the answers to our prayers. The nice things is that we can pray about that. We can pray about whatever we think is keeping us from understanding answers that the Lord might be giving us. It seems like a lot of this takes time to figure out, but, thankfully, the Lord is patient!!
To build somewhat on what Barb said, I think that we need to be very careful that we don't have an answer in mind when we pray. If we start out thinking or hoping to much for a particular answer we might just miss the one that Heavenly Father sends. We need to be very carefull that pride doesn't cloud our prayer.
Pop
Pop, that's a good way of putting it. It's easy to want something so much that we get to thinking Heavenly Father has said yes, when it was really our own emotions. There's a lot to learn about prayer, isn't there?
Pop, that's a good way of putting it. It's easy to want something so much that we get to thinking Heavenly Father has said yes, when it was really our own emotions. There's a lot to learn about prayer, isn't there?
And a lot to learn about answers. Comfort doesn't always mean yes, sometimes it means "No, but I do love you" when the Spirit sends comfort in response to prayer.
I like the way you think, Stephen! Thanks for adding your insights--that's good to remember.
I was taught at education week by Brother Bartholemew to keep a note book with you when you pray, then you can jot down what impressions you get. I haven't done that too much, but it sounds like a wonderful idea to get in touch with the spirit during and after prayer.
That does sound like a good idea, Tigersue. So does a scripture reading journal. And maybe a journal for other gospel reading. I know I forget insights and ideas that I've had. I don't know how you would keep from being overwhelmed by paper, but at the same time, this is important--the gospel.
Mary
P.S. I've GOT to post something new here, don't I?!
Yes
Pop
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