To me the phrase 'active prayer life' says you are disciplined in spending time in prayer, That you regularly seek out God' s presence. It is not the polar opposite of doing things. For me regular prayer gives me the perspective and strength I need to face each busy day.

ditto, RevJM

I think that action comes out of the raising of a concern.  I tend to believe that it goes part and parcel...cms

"Active prayer life" can mean regularly practiced meditation, contemplation, prayer, or any meditative or contemplative excercise.

Anybody else got ant thoughts on this? What does an "active prayer life" do for you, for God, for others?

Crazyheart, I agree that active prayer life is about being active about praying (doing prayer).

I am still disciplined like Judaism and like Dr. Shilling's school taught me to be. I read Scripture daily, not counting other religious material. I also spend time in prayer.  I recite blessings, except when company is here. That is a personal thing for me, since as company as a Jew I heard many meal graces that were not my thing. I do not wish to make anyone else uncomfortable.

For me, it is not a task to be accomplished or a work to get me any special treatment... it is for me an honour and a part of my living. It is like brushing teeth or showering, it is something I just do without thinking about it.

I still pray every morning when I get up and every night before bed. I also still do some blessings when it is just us. It is so much a part of me, it is who I am.  When we had rain last weekend and I saw a rainbow I started to pray. The wife just smiles, because she says " it is the Jew in me".  

I pray mostly adoration prayers and prayers of thanksgiving. I am not a confessor, God already knows whatever I might say. I am also as sorry or penitent as I am and words do not eman much. I am not much of a petitioner. When I do petitionary prayer, I pray for strength, acceptance, peace... for myself and others, not cures and fixes.

What does it do for me? For me, it reminds me... For me, it provides introspection.  It provides perspective. It provides motivation.... I could honestly say it flavours me, I am better with it.

What does it do for God? One would need to ask God. LOL It does little or nothing for God, I would bet.

What does it do for others? Well, you would have to ask them... LOL
It makes me who I am and that is the me I have to share with others, so whatever that is worth.... 

Stevie, that all makes perfect sense to me, Thank you

Ohh,  you're good, crazyheart.  I fully agree that putting time and effort into a 'prayer life' is a responsibility.  It is one that I shirk. 

I'm not a great follower of routine.  I'm lucky if I remember to brush my teeth every day.  Consistently finding time to pray every day would be very, very difficult for me, so I don't try.  I prefer spending my time getting involved with things like committees and theological discussions (thanks WC!).  But prayer?  I have never been motivated to do it for more than a few days at a time, and so I let it go.  It's one of my greatest flaws, in my opinion.

Prayer for me isn't a responsibility- it's a gift. Checking my email every day is a responsibility.

RevJames, if you would - could you tell be what your prayer life would be like during a day?

This is a great topic!

Prayer for me is essential for good communication with God.

When He answers payer it's a way of Him communicating back, sometimes we don't get the answers we want or expect, But I have yet to find that when I put my heart out there for God to see, & for me to examine it for myself, He always answers in some form or another.

To act on a prayer request is just good sense IMHO.

If one wants to show the love of God, one must act on it, if at all possible, & not just pray.

Bolt

My personal prayer time starts with twenty minutes of centering/meditative prayer at home. When I get to the office there is a prayer circle with all the staff and volunteers who are working at the church that day. In the evening at bedtime I pray the Anglican rosary.