How Often Do You Pray?

by Anitar 25 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

Anitar

I know this might sound silly, but one of the most annoying things I find about my mom being a JW is how often she prays. Normally, I would never criticize someone for praying to God, but she prays in such a way that makes me angry for some reason. Let me explain:
What I'm about to say is no exaggeration at all. My mom literally says grace every single time she puts food in her mouth. Three meals a day and snacks in between, she prays. The other day at McDonalds, she prayed over her fish sandwich, then when we were done and I had a leftover chicken nugget, she prayed again! Let me say that again, she said grace over a CHICKEN NUGGET!!
The words she says are always exactly the same: "Thank you God Jehovah for this beautiful day, thank you for the air in my lungs, I thank you for this beautiful food through your son Jesus Christ amen," and that's just the short version. She says this every time. And it's not just what she says; it's how she says it. First of all, she makes a huge deal about NOT making the sign of the Cross. She closes her eyes and bows her head and whispers in a way so that everyone can hear her. It all seems so phony and self-righteous and yet she is so passionate about it. She says she's giving thanks. I know I'm probably picking on her too much, but trust me, if you saw her; it would scare the crap out of you too.
I should point out that she is handicapped both physically and perhaps mentally and has led a very hard life. Many people have discriminated against her. But is that a valid reason for praying so much? I seem to recall somewhere in the bible where it said too much prayer was a bad thing. In my own church we are taught not to pray too much. Personally, I never pray to God for material things unless they're for someone else, and I only say grace if I was in danger of starving before getting food, or there was an important occasion, like a family gathering. It's not that I'm ungrateful or that I put her down for giving thanks to God, and I do know how it feels to starve. It just feels wrong to keep praying all day long. So, this led me to a few questions I hope you all can answer:
1) Do you pray? Why or why not?
2) If you do, than whom do you pray to? Do you believe there is a right one and a wrong one to pray to?
3) How often do you pray?
4) What are the general things you pray for? Do you mostly ask for things for yourself or for others?
4) If you consider yourself religious, than do the rules of your religion influence how you pray?
5) If you are atheist or agnostic or have a nature based religion (for example Wicca), do you have your own form of prayer? How do you view those who are religious who pray?
6) Do you believe everyone has the right to pray? If not, than who doesn't?
7) Do you believe there should be a certain qualification for prayer, or that certain people should not be allowed to pray? If so, than who determines these qualifications and what would they be?
8) Any more thoughts?
Sorry there's so many questions, I just wanted people to think about it and give an honest response. As for my mom, don't be afraid to disagree with me, I would appreciate everyone's input!
Anitar
lovelylil

Hi Anitar,
From reading your post I would say your mother most likely is an obsessive compulsive prayer. I knew some like this who in the door to door work would stop and pray at every single door. And they would pray before a sip of water! It doesn't seem by your post that your mom is trying to be haughty or anything like that so I feel she may have some mental or emotional issues. Or you could pray constantly due to anxiety issues.
That being said, there really are no hard and fast rules for praying. But anything that comsumes that much time is a problem if you ask me. As for me, I pray just about every day. Usually sometime in the morning and I ask for God's blessing on my day. I also ask that he help me treat my family, friends and anyone else I come into contact with during my day with kindness, patience and love. My family usually prayers before the evening meal but not usually before each meal of the day. I also pray before I read my bible or write any of my biblical articles that I use to help others learn biblical truths. I ask God to direct me in his word and to help me help others to get to know him better.
Again, there are no rules for praying. Some people pray daily, some when they are in a need. I choose to pray daily because I feel I was called to be a footstep follower of Chist, btw. I also pray to him as well as Jehovah. And I talk to the Lord and God daily as I would talk to any of my close personal friends. For me it keeps me feeling close to them and them to me and helps make my faith real to me. Prayer helped me thru a lot in my life, especially lonliness when I was newly out of the Tower. Sometimes I pray in a more formal way but often my "prayer" is just speaking to God out loud.
I firmly believe that God hears ALL prayers of everyone. You do not have to belong to a certain religion or church group. If you believe he is listening to you, he will listen. I also believe we need to pay close attention to events in our lives after praying so we can "see" when God does answer. I've had too many prayers answered for it just to be a coincidance. We must persevere in prayer too and sometimes it takes a while before we get an answer. But trust me - if you pester God for an answer like I do sometimes and believe in him, he will respond.
Hope some of this answers you q's. Lilly
Wendy_Warden

1) Do you pray? Why or why not? Yes, I pray. I believe that is the first and foremoat way to commun with God. As a Christain I think that Ineed to be in touch with him throughout the day, not just in the morning or at meals, but whenever I feel the need to reach out and touch him. Even if it only a little silent prayer.
2) If you do, than whom do you pray to? Do you believe there is a right one and a wrong one to pray to? When I pray I pray to God, the Father or Jehovah, if you wish. I don't say Jehovah when I pray but usually I begin with Father.
Like the Bible says there are many false gods in the world, but I believe the God of the Bible is the one and only God and therefore the only one worthy of praying too. I would have serious checks before praying to anything else.
3) How often do you pray? Whenever the spirit moves me.
4) What are the general things you pray for? Do you mostly ask for things for yourself or for others? It really depends. There are all kinds of prayers and all kinds of times for diffferent prayers. Sometimes I only pray about my concerns and sometimes I just pray for others. I ask for things (spiritual and matriel) for myself, family and friends.
4) If you consider yourself religious, than do the rules of your religion influence how you pray? When you use the term 'religious' I think of a form of Faith. The only thing that influences how I pray is the Bible. You won't find me praying to statues or idols or anything like that.
5) If you are atheist or agnostic or have a nature based religion (for example Wicca), do you have your own form of prayer? How do you view those who are religious who pray?
6) Do you believe everyone has the right to pray? If not, than who doesn't? Of course everyone has the right to pray! Who would stop you from praying anyhow? I mean, they can't control you if you say a silent prayer.
7) Do you believe there should be a certain qualification for prayer, or that certain people should not be allowed to pray? If so, than who determines these qualifications and what would they be? My only qualification, if you wish to put it that way, is that I believe women should pray with their heads covered.
8) Any more thoughts? Thanks for asking, I think we should all ask ourselves questions like this just to know in ourselves where we stand.
Scully

Your mom has forgotten one of the fundamental teachings of Jesus regarding prayer:
When you pray, you must not be as the hypocrites; because theylike to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the broad ways to be visible to men. Truly I say to you, They are having their reward in full. ~ Matthew 6:5
No wonder it's so annoying!!

1) Do you pray? Why or why not?

I do not pray. I am an atheist. When I wasn't an atheist, I found that prayer was a very unreliable method for getting the things I asked for. I've since learned that setting goals and doing what needs to be done to achieve them is far more effective in achieving the things I want to achieve.
<snipped questions 2 - 4, not applicable>

5) If you are atheist or agnostic or have a nature based religion (for example Wicca), do you have your own form of prayer? How do you view those who are religious who pray?

I do not have a ritual that resembles prayer. To me, prayer is a behaviour that is based on superstitious beliefs.

6) Do you believe everyone has the right to pray? If not, then who doesn't?

If people wish to practice a superstitious ritual, it's none of my business. Conversely, I feel it is nobody else's business if I choose not to participate in superstitious rituals.

7) Do you believe there should be a certain qualification for prayer, or that certain people should not be allowed to pray? If so, then who determines these qualifications and what would they be?
If people wish to practice a superstitious ritual, it's none of my business. Conversely, I feel it is nobody else's business if I choose not to participate in superstitious rituals. Additionally, the only qualification I would suggest is that people who do make it their business to engage in PUBLIC prayer should refrain from hatemongering against those who do not share their point of view, whether it be religious, political, related to sexual orientation, racial issues, etc.
8) Any more thoughts?
Nope.
kid-A

Let me say that again, she said grace over a CHICKEN NUGGET!!
"Oh Jehovah, we give thanks for this delicious golden chicken nugget we are about to receive!;
Yay, we ask mercy on the soul of the chicken who was so bravely cast into the blender; and lo,
tho we doubt this fried nugget actually contains any chicken meat, we thank thee for the plentitude of
polyunsaturated fats, glycerols, MSG and dye # 32 we are about to ingest.....We also pray for our brothers less
fortunate than us, those living in "non-chicken nugget" countries who cannot partake of the rich and bountiful
harvest of Ronald Mcdonald....through your son christ jesus, grimace and hamburgler, amen......"
jambon1

"Thank you God Jehovah for this beautiful day, thank you for the air in my lungs, I thank you for this beautiful food through your son Jesus Christ amen,"
Just a side point.
Why do people say thank you to 'god' for food when there are millions of people starving in other countries because gods 'perfect creation' doesnt yield for them there?
Saying thank you for food is extreemly egocentric, introverted, even selfish. Mind you, so is religion in general. "Thank you god for my health, my food and my home" - Eh? What about all the ill, the starving and the homeless?
Did people in Indonesia pray "thank you god for sweeping away my beutiful children, my home and all my lifes belongings in that lovely tsunami. Thank you, thank you and thrice, thank you!"
Such crap!
StillGroggy

1) Do you pray? Why or why not? I fake pray. I don't even know if there's a god who's listening?
lonelysheep

...and I do know how it feels to starve

I do. ~~Praying~~ Talking to myself did nothing. Money pays for food and resources in the country are responsible for food being available.

1) Do you pray? Why or why not?

No. I am athiest.

5) If you are atheist or agnostic or have a nature based religion (for example Wicca), do you have your own form of prayer? How do you view those who are religious who pray?

I don't have any form of prayer.
For those who do--to each his own, I don't care because it is not my concern. I despise the judgements for NOT praying.
6) Do you believe everyone has the right to pray? If not, than who doesn't?
Sure, who cares.
8) Any more thoughts?
There's nothing wrong with not praying.
As for your mom, I think she feels she HAS to pray constantly because she HAS to thank Jehovah. They do guilt you into thinking that way, that you are ungrateful if you don't pray rather then allowing you to just be appreciative without speaking it.
Anitar

Lonleysheep: Excellent point. For her, I think prayer is like a drug that gives her a sort of "high." But it's strange because the "high" is not based on a relationship with God, but rather the excitement she gets by knowing she's a witnesses, and she's doing it the "right" way, and that everyone else is being misled. But at the same time, it's not just plain arrogance. As Lilly pointed out, she has mental and emotional issues. I think she should be pitied because she so desperately wants to help herself and her family, but keeps going about it all the wrong way.
It's just like using drugs or alcohol or even too much television. A nything we do in this world can become an addiction.
M.J.

Three times a day!
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner...
Question. Do JWs have something against praying out loud in a restaurant or public place? My wife does.

How Often Do You Pray?

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