This is kind of an aside. When a new minister was called to a church where I was, I asked , "what passion does your partner have in the church? outreach etc. etc.". He was very quiet and seemed uncomfortable and then he said "She has an active prayer life." Hello. What is that all about? I can't help because I will be praying. If we all said this, nothing would get done in the church.

I would have to say that I am not much different than you.  Go on Sunday and do as the rest do, and then go to the Bible study on Tuesday and discuss that Jesus really didn't rise again.

I would say that prayer means little to me.  I look at the world much like our friend Arminius, and perhaps am more Jewish in thought than anything else.  I believe our goal is to make Earth a Heaven, not blunder our way about, hoping for great things in the hereafter.  If that hereafter even exists.

There is no doubt that for those who are more conservative, prayer is very important.

You don't pray, and don't want to, who cares.  Right up there with the person who sneezes and I say God Bless.  An autoprogrammed reaction.  If you believe, fine, if you don't, well God Bless (there I go again) anyway.

IT

Russ

crazyheart - that's an interesting aside!  It sounds almost as if he was ashamed of his partner... which in itself is sad.  I have no problems telling people that my partner is a failed Catholic, whose ideas of religion are traditional, but whose ideas of divinity are more questionable.  I feel sorry for him being uncomfortable, but it sounds like it's still something that needs worked through.  Maybe the partner hadn't found the right community to dig into?

RussP - Yes, I think that's why I was drawn to Arminius and his comments from the get-go.  It's true that we are programmed to do things, but I've been very careful to examine everything I do that seems that way, and see if it has any significance to me or not.  Prayer I've just never understood.  Thanks for the comment and the God Bless!

Hello everyone:

Prayer, to me, is contemplation. I contemplate a lot, in all kinds of situations, and have an easy time slipping into a contemplative/meditative state of mind, but I don't do conventional prayer, least of all prayer as a petition for the fulfilment of selfish wishes. At prayer time in church I contemplate.

To me, the purpose of prayer is linking oneself with the Divine. One can accomplish that by various means, and has to experiment to find out which means are best suited for one's unique personality.

Arminius, you do know how to put a girl's mind at ease.  You've summed up my thoughts and feelings exactly.

Hello Faerenach........God bless you....

Oh prayer what a Preciousness to have in life....I have built such a Personal Relationship with Our Father ...I cannot believe it myself sometimes...prayers are just one way of doing this ...getting prayers answered...getting God to intervene when you think there is no hope left ..Awesome God we Serve...blessing others with Gods love another form of prayer...cease without praying the bible says..well worship is showing God our great appreciation for all the changes around us because we have taken their names to Him in Faith....just spending time in Gods presence....Awesome Awesome...our minds cannot comprehend what God has in store for those of us who Love Him...amen and amen...

Talking to God ...I believe God is available to talk to each and everyone of us ...the scriptures constantly tell us about our Shepard....Gods sheep know His voice...why would God say that if we couldnt hear Him...John 17: 20 neither I pray for those alone but for them also which shall believe on me through the Word ...and Faith...Christ is a intercesser in the Body of Christ The High Priest...

John 10: ...to him the portal openeth; and the sheep hear His voice and He calleth His Own Sheep by Name ..Awesome God we Worship...amen and amen...all of chapter 10 tells you how to hear Gods voice...

I believe we need to Love God with our whole heart and soul...but there are some people who stand in the Gap for others and sometimes this would be a dramatic prayer...and God Faithful anwers....sacrificial prayer ....

Good gracious God without prayer ...just wouldnt be God ...meditation as others do is also a type of prayer ....praying is Sitting in the Presence of the Almighty, Awesome God of all time and space and the Cosmos...amen and amen...

If people cannot hear Gods Voice , I would refer them to more seeking and searching , Gods Voice will be opened to you...By Faith......

IJL:bg

On those rare occasions that I do pray, it is alone and silent --- more of a medition really. In some chat rooms and church services I have winced at long, elaborate and flowery prayers. Even Jesus had a problem with ostentacious prayer --- go to your closet.

Well expressed! Prayer in the house of God ... a shadowed place that we little understand yet we still (some of us) explore as according to Jesus' suggestion: "Go into that dark closet/cubit!" Should the worry of currency be tossed off the tables ... plateaus? Crumbs for the children!

Once pondered do we keep that item there or share it for growth of self and the other? Then of course many people think that "the other" is anything beyond thy's elf ... ain't that devilish? The unknown ... et'erish!

How often do we attend services for self and how often to assist the other ... perhaps just to banish ... build walls in the system? Where did Christ/Light speak mostly ... on the mountain side? Well ain't that a veil/vale to get over/through? It possibly requires rending, or rant for some people to get through ID as a hill of time to cross. Are there mountains in the myths and winds rising and falling with mists/mysts? Would a story be told to a tyrant without aphorism ... oxy-moron? Something said in a manner that wasn't quite the intent! Evolution or Rae-volutions/Revelations gone in a flash in the Pan? That's a flat spot!

I struggled for years and years with prayer.  In my tradition, all prayers in church were read from a prayer book, and they were poetic, flowery and written in 17th century English.  How could I ever duplicate THAT on my own?  That, on top of the whole problem of why God apparently answers some prayers and not others put a halt to any prayer life for a long time.

But, I call myself a follower of Jesus, both his teachings and his example.  And what did Jesus do to gain strength?  He prayed.  So somehow I had to work out what prayer meant for me, to try to model my life after Him.  

Now I have the same idea of prayer as Arminius - it is a way to connect with the Divine, and to open ourselves to the work of the Divine within us.  It is my way of surrendering myself in trust to God, rather than asking God for certain outcomes that suit me.   I practice centering prayer, which is just one of many forms of meditation that help us open up and build that connection to the Divine.   I'm also one of those who blocks out prayers in church, and just meditates.  (I also go to my meditation group every week, and to church only once a month or so; it seems the better balance for me!).

I believe in prayer. As others have said, it 's a way of connecting to the Divine.

How can any important relationship exist without communication?

In my case, it's not formal. I think my thoughts, ask for guidance or comfort, and, on a good day, express my gratitude. Time reveals His answers.

bygraceiam - You said God without prayer just wouldn't be God... to me, that's like saying "The universe, without you thinking about it, wouldn't be the universe".  Does that make sense?

JRT - Indeed - you aren't the only one to remind me that Jesus told us not to flaunt our piety.  Maybe I just have to stop measuring myself against others that I think are more connected to God.

WaterBuoy - Prayer is such a different thing for so many different people... I guess I'm just frustrated that I haven't found anything that I can comfortably call 'prayer' and want to enact myself.

Diana - "And what did Jesus do to gain strength?  He prayed.  So somehow I had to work out what prayer meant for me, to try to model my life after Him."  

You are so, so right.  I'm looking for inspiration from people, when I should be looking at Jesus first.  Thank you for reminding me.

Pilgrims Progress - I'm very happy that that works for you, and for so many people.  But it has never been much of a communication for me.  I feel like a foreigner trying to speak the native tongue - awkward and frustrated at not saying what I mean.

A great book on prayer is Marjorie Suchocki - In God's Presence - prayer is living well, speaking with others, being intimate - The prayer fact is it takes many forms, it is done "unceasingly' as Paul said - in begins in a relationship, being connected with the aim of God and lived out... silence to speaking, to action, to silence, to speaking, to action - in the end it is feeling with and being touched by - it is simply interactive living. And like all relational times - we focus at times on the other, and other times the other is there without the focus.  We live in and breath the divine, and there are times we need to see that and formal prayer is one method to do that activity... it is like feeling love for another and there are times we act it, and there are times we speak it and there are times it just is who we are.  All ritual activities makes it more vivid - it is like music - we live in it but at times we need to sing it.