tell me what is the point of a prayer.
millions of people all over the world chanting the same paragraphs of words parrot fashion for years and years, when people go to confession they are told to parrot fashion the same said prayers.
whats the point why would a god listen to something he or she has heard a billion times, wouldent being told to go pray or when you pray to speak your mind to the higher power, better chance he or she might listen and it could give you a more personal experence in your prayer time.
Do you think are pre formed prayers a waste of time.

For any real concerns, yes those prayers are a waste, in my opinion but, there is something to be said for traditions that bring comfort and a sense of peace as these prayers do. My church doesn't have the repeated prayers as some denominations do aside from The Lord's Prayer but, within my family grace has always been said the same, I continue that in my home and with my younger nieces and nephews I do use the "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayer at bed time.

Christ warned against this type of prayer in the 6th chapter of mathew .

In the catholic bible they hid this with a series translation error to keep their flock chanting .

They say it says don't bable like a pagan ,when it really says use not vain repetitions as the heathen do .



The secret to prayer is very Simple rightousness . The more you want to obey God . The more you try . The more he will Answer your wishes .

Most peoples prayers don't go past the ceiling as they don't even try to repent of sins .


If there is Men and women out there that would really obey God at all cost .I think their prayer might be connecting.

For me personally, prayer is simply talking to God. I talk to God the way I would talk to a friend at the coffee shop. Remembered repetitive prayer seems to be a total waste of time for me. I've never been to confessional, so I can't say as I know how the catholics do it (though I've seen movies on tv where the priest counsels 20 "Hail Mary's", whatever they are).

Once a month at church we have the Holy Communion, and at this time we do have a rather ritualised set of prayers we speak. Honestly, I feel a little uncomfortable when we do this. I hear the words, I think about them and understand them, but I wonder how many others in my church have decided to do the same. How many actually think about what they are saying, rather than simply chanting along with the masses?

In short, prayer is a personal thing. It's a way that I as a Christian talks to God. That's all it is, and I don't see any reason for repetitive prayers (indeed, I believe there are various passages in the Bible that speak out against such prayers, though off the top of my head, I can't recall exactly where they are).

Of course, this is just my personal opinion.

Regards, PA

Matt 23-14...this is one of the prayers that Jesus warns us about....He also says that when you pray, pray from your heart and that the Holy Spirit will aid you if you do not know what to say. Many churches have good hearts whgat they pray even thought they may be repeating themselves but unfortunately there are the ones who pray to the audience as a show. Jesus says they are headed to damnation just as the Pharisees in Matt 23-14.

Pray what you feel in humility and a sincere desire to fellowship with God through Jesus Christ. It works for me everytime.

randomhit10

We all know how irritating it is when we hear from people who say the same thing over and over. I would think God mite just smite em for being annoying, but He probably does as I and just roles His eyes

Irish

I think a couple of things...

First, parroted prayerd aren't really about the praying as much as they are about the discipline (that sounds bad). THey are about taking the time out of our day to praise God

BUT....you have to say the prayers with the right meaning in your heart. Just saying the words without thinking about what they mean does seem pointless to me.

I usually pray by simply talking to God. However, I do use the prayers taught to us by the church as well. If you see my prayers work post, you'll see that I repeated a prayer to Jude. It wasn't necessarily about the words thought. It was about what was in my heart as I said the words.

Does that make any snese at all?

It does to me

I see it this way, for centuries ritual prayer has been used to get oneself into the frame of mind to speak to their particular "higher power". Also, by taking part in ritual you enhance the difference between daily life and that special place where you feel connected.

I hope made sense too lol

Chants are a form of meditation. I do them as part of some of my rituals.

There is a phrase in the bible which speaks of Gods word being written in the hearts of man, and NOT simply in the minds.

Waste of time IMO. I only go to church when I have to. Weddings/Funerals. When everyone else prays with the priest I'm usually in my happy place.

I think you're right about this, the only exception being, if you find a prayer somewhere that has meaning for you, it isn't vain if you use it. I'm with Paranoid, prayer is simply talking to God. But I've seen prayers in Psalms that I have used a couple times because I thought they were beautiful and applied to my situation. I think if you're relying on those as a complete prayer life, you have a serious problem. Empty repetitions are dangerous. You might as well not bother in the first place.

Yes but you use those Psalms in context and have a specific reason for it. You probably add in your own thoughts after you use a passage. Like people may start a public speech with that famous JFK quote but they add to it.

Saying The Hail Mary twenty times rarely has any context to a situation...and is never needed to be said twenty times in a row.

I totally agree ... they do, I find them meaningful and truely sacred!
However .... I remember when I was 10 (Raised Roman Catholic - pagan now) I had to get into "the box" and half the bloody "parrot" rehersed words I had forgotten ... the priest had to help me right and all I did wrong was hit my brother cause he peed me off like you cant believe.
.... I had to say 10 hail marys and 11 our fathers and "poof" Im forgiven ..... Was part of the 21 prayers for forgetting the lines to the prayer???
Its a bit stupid if you ask me and I didnt feel nor think that these prayers were special.

~*~

Texasgirlheather I beleave the Psalms are good to use in prayer . I know when i have been really down in life i find psalms are very helpfull .
Praying with a psalm of David reading it once I don't think is what we are talking about . The psalms I do beleave will help you like nothing else when you really are down . when you really need repentence . when you really need your God .
David was a man who Knew God and he had his share of sin to repent of .He is a good one to watch in this life to get your relationship right with God ,David knew how to repent and win Gods favour .


The Lords prayer is not even a prayer .It was Christ giving them directions on how to pray .