How Do You Pray?

Just curious how different people pray. I know we all have our own routines likely, and if you feel comfortable sharing a bit of yours, that is great. If not, that's also great.

My routine is pretty simple and undoubtedly, needs some work. For one, I seldom drop to my knees anymore. As it turns out now for me with everything I have been through, I am pretty much in a continuous conversation with God. All day long. So, I pray about almost everything I can think of to do so for throughout the day and evening. That's just how things have evolved for me. I feel like I have a personal relationship with my HP and am comfrotable talking to Him, like, all the time. He probably gets a bit tired of me. Oh well.

For my prayers before bed, again, I should get on my knees but do not. I just do all my sleep hygiene prep, crawl in, and start praying. I have a set list of people I try to pray for every night--my kids, my elderly dad who I love so, all the homeless and mentally ill and addicted persons--and I just work my way through the list. I always add whatever I feel I need to from the news that day (Coronavirus, helicopter crash, etc.). And that's what I do. Then, I try to sleep.

Now, the problem comes when I am manic. Then, my bedtime prayers can go on and on and on. Forever. I feel I have to pray for the whole planet and everything on it. It can be quite tiring.

Anyhow, that's a bit about how I pray. I did not go to Christian schools, quite the contrary, and my mother used to get angry at me when I asked her to drive me to church as a child, God rest her soul. So, if I have offended any more formally trained Christians or anyone else here, I do apologize. I'm just doing the best I can with what I've got.

I pray like you, its like a conscious contact with my higher power. In the beginning of my sobriety I got on my knees but now i am comfortable speaking out loud.

I'm an Atheist so I don't pray. But I do mediate. I view meditation as a form of prayer. I observe my thoughts and my breathing, and I try not to judge my thoughts as they come in. I just practice being observant without judging myself. I send people good energy when I think about them consciously stating, "I want to send good energy to [person's name]."

And what do you do with those thoughts when they enter your consciousness and try to sidetrack you?

I've learned to just ignore all of my thoughts and focus on my breathing. Like, when you cycle you're on auto-pilot, correct? That's how I treat meditation -- I'm setting my mind and body on autopilot, so I just ignore and observe all the thoughts -- whatever they are -- and just focus on breathing in and out.

I've been told to treat thoughts like clouds, during meditation and just watch them pass by without sidetracking me to create more thoughts about the one thought that bothers me.

Ex. "Blanche you've wasted 30 years of your life. You are a total loser." <-- This is the first thought that pops into my mind every time I meditate. The first thought. I used to react to it and feel bad. Now, 7 months later, I just listen to it and refuse to respond. I just let it happen and try to focus on my breathing in and out rhythm instead. When I was drumming regularly 20 years ago, and meditated, I felt stronger. So, I will need to start drumming every day in my roommate's basement. (Maybe that noise will finally get her to leave her bedroom.)

The Buddhist monks who let the public meditate with them on the weekends (you'd have to climb up a semi-steep mountain to their temple) advised us all to ignore our thoughts and not try to prevent them. Just let them happen but do not react whatsoever. No CBT or DBT self-talk. No talk, period. Just silently watch them, like "oh yeah, there's that thought. Ok. Back to my breathing." Not "I AM such a loser!" And so on.

I think the point of meditation is to practice breathing and learn to ignore random thoughts and not emotionally react to those thoughts as they pop up. Takes discipline. I'm obviously far from enlightenment if I need PC to post about my worries. But I do try with meditation (walking, not sitting) to just walk and breathe and ignore all the thoughts that pop into my head.

You know that you can meditate while you cycle, right? Just focus on your breathing as you cycle and let your random thoughts come and go and just watch them, like a tv show. Just don't react emotionally and just focus on your breathing. Don't have a conversation with yourself about your thoughts or that's not meditating. Just my two cents!

I don't think there is a right way or a wrong way to pray; I don't picture God as frowning down on me if I don't do something how society drills into people's heads we should do.

I pray most of the time too. Or I am Thanking God for everything I have, for how far I have come, and for clear guidance on what I am to do next to best use the skills and talents He Blessed me with.

I gain so much comfort from praying, I can't see myself not doing it every minute of every day I am awake. My God loves me and protects me. To me, He is closer than my next breath.

My prayers are mostly a form of rubber-duck debugging. I talk to the air for insight until I reach it.

Other times, I pray that I find a specific state of mind while meditating on it. You know, like a prayer for strength. This essentially acts as auto-hypnotic suggestion.

Either way, I ball both of my hands into fists and touch them together with the thumbs towards me and the palms facing each other. Then I put a slight pressure on the center of my forehead with the knuckles of my thumbs (at their base, where they attach to the hand). For some reason, this helps me relax and better focus on the prayer.

I don't really pray for people or to gain anything. I use prayer more like a pneumatic device.

I sit up in my bed, bow my head and say a prayer in my head when I first go to bed and when I first wake up. I always pray for my family, especially my son as he is homeless again. I now my head asking for inspiration and flow right before I begin teaching every morning. I pray in other places as well. The prayers are always silent but heartfelt. I rarely cry in front of people but praying and crying happens a lot for me.

Thank you, @bpcyclist, for this wonderful thread. My relationship with God has been helping me since I was a small child. My prayers are always one on one with God, usually expressing my thankfulness for my
many blessings, feeling some sort of shield when bad things happened. I thank God for all the incredible beauty on our planet, including sound. And life is so interesting!

I also don't think there's a right or wrong way to pray. I don't think God cares whether we're on our knees or walking in a park, just so long as we feel that personal connection with Him/Her/It/Them. I start by thanking God for my blessings, and then pray for the people I love and the people who are suffering.

A Tevye-like constant familiar conversation isn't at all a bad way to go! And God would never get tired of us, especially when we're in need.

Thanks for a great post, bpcyclist!

I pray in the shower, of all places. LOL. I don't know why either. But it's where I have complete privacy. I pray every morning almost.

I also pray privately. It's just between me & God.

I try to have at least one prayer of the day that follows this acronym:ACTS
A--Adoration
C--Confession/Repentance
T--Thanksgiving
S--Supplication
The rest of the time my prayers are just like having a conversation with a friend. Sometimes when I am stressed I'll do the Lord's prayer. I hope it is okay to say that here. And some of my prayers are the "Please help me right now, God!" variety. Short. Sweet. To the point! Usually when I am in crisis mode.

Oh, my goodness, @SlumberKitty! I feel the same way! Thank you!

All lights are off and then I just say "thank you and sorry" for what happened today.

For someone like me who doesn't pray to a deity, I saw the number 3:33 today and googled it. So I looked up the meaning and it was interesting to see the advice; focus on the solution of a problem instead of the problem itself, and that's supposed to create ideas and opportunities. Seems like good common sense advice; focus on the positives, not the negatives.

I sit on my bed or if the weather is dry, outside in our woodland clearing. Sit and open my hands out, palms upwards...that is when I begin stilling myself within, before praying. Or, in the evening I'll kneel with my partner and our children join us, and that's when we'll pray together as a family.

As many have said there is no right or wrong way to pray. Anyone, anywhere, whatever faith they have they can pray quietly to themselves, be it in the car or at a bus stop...anywhere.

Thank you everyone for helping enlighten me

I have a christian catholic background but stopped going to the church when i was around 15, then tried again, than moved away

I currently find myself in a situation where i feel the need to pray but i haven't been paying respect to Jesus in a long time so I can't pray in a christian way plus i don't really believe in it anymore
It's hard for me to believe in anything but still I try by lighting a candle and have a sort of penitence in my own way. I ask for forgiveness and peace even if somewhere I think they won't come. It's a hopeful, not hopeful cry

I pray in peace. Closing my eyes, but sometimes i talk to God walking around the room. Other times its a more formal prayer. I do this to declare success and happiness and righteous behaviour for myself.

I pray throughout the day no matter where I am. I am grateful in my prayers as I rest in bed before falling asleep. I also pray when I read. I have books with prayers and I like to meditate on them.

I have a "list" prayer(s) before I get out of bed in the morning. I have a list of people to pray for, including myself.

Before dinner I have a "communion" time where I confess known things I've done wrong and ask forgiveness from God.

When I got to bed before sleeping I thank the Lord for all of the good things He has done.

For me, I go throughout my day talking to God as if He was a friend standing right next me. Most of my day is like casual conversations with God. Sometimes I do more formal prayers, sometimes I do confession type talk with Him...sometimes I do my thing with God in the backseat. Sometimes I ask God to talk me through really tough situations. I do not know the bible very well, but I abide by Timothy 2:15, the inscription my mom wrote in my first bible and it spoke to me very well. When the fire happened and I lost my home, I also lost my bible. My mom asked me what I'd like for Christmas that year. I thought for a moment, and of all the things I could ask, what I told her was, "I want another bible like the one you gave to me." It is a student bible, and it is very special to me.

[QUOTE=TunedOut;6766108]....I always pray for my family, especially my son as he is homeless again..... /QUOTE]

One prayer was answered for me since I wrote this. My son has not been homeless during this pandemic (mostly he has been at home with us). Now I pray for his healing. Being homeless is a traumatic experience. I also always thank God for everything He has provided. I value my home more than before having seen what people who are homeless go through...