Learning to pray again (page 2)

Quendi

I still pray to Jehovah in Jesus' name, but I have seen that it took me a while to become comfortable praying to God again. It has been more thann a year since I last set foot inside a Kingdom Hall, and it has taken all that time to get back into the habit of praying. My prayers are certainly quite different from what they were when I was a Witness. I ask for help tackling difficult issues, I ask for my material needs to be supplied, I ask for forgiveness of my sins. But I am also seeing that I ask for God to bless and look after all whom I love and also those who need his help. I am also praising and thanking him more than I did in my Witness days, and I feel all the better for it.

Quendi

dogon

Nothing fails like prayer. If a man talks into a oatmeal can to go he is crazy, take away the can and he is suddenly spiritual. lOL God is only pretend.

Cagefighter

So if a Christian jumps on an thread dealing with an strickly Agnostic or Atheist issue they are being self righteous, pushy, and accused of proselytizing and everything else. Why do the Atheist feel the need to jump in on a thread about prayer like this one? Are you trying to convince us or yourself that praying is a waste a time.

Keep praying Cinciguy74 or talking in to your Oatmeal can, whatever makes you feel closer to God.

Cagefighter

So if a Christian jumps on an thread dealing with an strickly Agnostic or Atheist issue they are being self righteous, pushy, and accused of proselytizing and everything else. Why do the Atheist feel the need to jump in on a thread about prayer like this one? Are you trying to convince us or yourself that praying is a waste a time.

Keep praying Cinciguy74 or talking in to your Oatmeal can, whatever makes you feel closer to God.

GLTirebiter

Why not start with the words the Lord gave us (Matthew 6:9-13):

"This is how you are to pray:
Our Father 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 also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil."

ohiocowboy

Yes, it is hard to pray after not having prayed in a long time. The past while, I have tried to pray again myself, but now as of tonight I feel that I just can't do it anymore. There are just too many disappointments in life for me now. I hope that you are able to continue though. I did learn that it gets easier over time if you do continue.

Qcmbr

I am much happier not praying now. Means I face the unfair world as it comes without expecting any last ditch help to ride around the corner nor do I feel a need to be grateful for things god clearly didn't do ( he's never made me my meal - why thank him for it - seems it's the wife or McDonalds who need my gratitude :) ) nor do I feel guilty about praying to a being responsible for the abused kids , trapped miners and tsunami victims. Try meditation, all the benefits non of the cog-dis.

But by all means go back to praying, just remember there are lots of jealous gods you can choose from be careful you get the right one. One less vengeful one is John Frum if you need a temporary one while you sort out which god to worship.

ShadesofGrey

As a JW if anyone ever said that God answered their prayers I was either very confused because he never answered mine, or because since they weren't JWs God couldn't possibly answer their prayers, since they weren't approved by Him, or I simply did not believe them. "Yeah right, coincidence, or part of that ignorant drivel about "working in harmony with your prayers", yeah, that works pretty good huh? I prayed that I would go out in service and then I did! LOL! You just fulfilled your own prayer. But now I have an entirely different view. My prayers are answered now, every time I pray in faith and need. I don't pray to put God to the test, but when I pray in need, the need is taken care of. And each time, I did nothing. You can see my post about that here: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/216558/1/Why-have-you-remained-theists#4125674

So on to the topic of the OP. I have also had to learn how to pray and at times it can be difficult. I do still fight it. There are many words and patterns that cause me to slip back into the JW mode of prayer and I have to fight it. I ask God to help me to fight it. I have had to read the Bible before I pray. I have also quoted scripture in my prayer to be sure I would have it right. I started out praying to Father, because that is what Jesus taught. I have also prayed to My Lord and My God, because if Thomas was commended for it, then it must be okay. People prayed in the OT and the NT. It helps to read their prayers. I have also asked others to pray for me because I felt that my prayers were flawed somehow (in the early days).

Not just Stephen but John and Paul and others also prayed to Jesus. "Come Lord Jesus!" I have found many times that praying to Jesus comes more naturally to me and I am comforted by 1 John 2:27. As JWs the names and titles of God were broken for us. :( I can also switch to praying to the Father just as Stephen did. Here is a link about prayer that really helped me:

http://www.bible.ca/ntx-praying-to-jesus.htm

Please don't let me offend you as I do not know where you are in your walk, but one thing that really helped me was researching the Living Water that Jesus spoke of to the Samaritan woman in John 4 and John 7:37. What did they need to do to receive the Spirit? Know to whom they were speaking and ask Him for it. :)

The two biggest thing that are helping me with my prayers right now is studying God's name and studying the manifestations of God. I have also found that reading Genesis chapter 18 and other passages in the OT I see that sometimes YHWH is speaking of God, plain and simple, the God who manifests Himself to us in three ways, and other times the name YHWH is referring to Jesus. In studying God's name I have found that Jehovah is not really any more accurate than LORD and that "name" means something other than "name" in the Bible. Try reading http://www.seekgod.ca/htname.htm and http://www.seekgod.ca/htwhatsinaname.htm

Your sister in Christ,

SOG

Learning to pray again

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