Anonymous wrote:I was not brought up in any religion, so I have limited understanding about prayer.

A friend said to me recently that she was praying and praying about a decision she had to make and therefore she made X decision.

What I don't understand is, how does prayer help you make a decision? Do you think you're getting an answer from a higher being? What does that answer sound like? How is prayer different than going through pros/cons of a decision, which one can do without prayer.

I'm not trying to be critical, just trying to understand.

My understanding is this: she's basically asking God/dess /The Gods (we don't know what religion she is) to show her what the best decision would be according to her spiritual values. Sort like reviewing before a big exam, if you get my simile.

I'm in a spiritual rut right now, actually I'm mad at God as I was taught about him for some things that are happening, so I'd rather pray to my loved ones who have passed on. It's comforting because they know me, what I perceive as an answer is a sort of nonverbal "We've got your back". It can take various aspects, but that's very personal and I don't feel like sharing more in depth on a forum.

I consider prayer a conversation with God. I experience changes in my perceptions and approaches following prayer. I also experience a deep peace and steady calm following prayer. I love prayer as I love God.

I have cried every day and am just looking for the way out of this nightmare. Thank you everyone for your kindness and prayers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been praying constantly through my cancer treatments. Some days it is all I have left.

Op here. I truly hope those prayers work. Much love and health to you.

Thank you. I am at the lowest point I have ever been in my life. The chemotherapy has been brutal and has left me with neuropathy. I have young children so I am trying to get through this. And yes I pray every day because sometimes I just don't think I can get through another minute. Thank you for you kindness.

I'm not religious, but hang in there. My mother went through a similar ordeal. As dark as things look right now, you can beat this thing, and come out the other side....

To 20:29,

NP here, I'm praying for you and your family.

I am so sorry for what you are going through, it touched my heart. May God do the miracles to get rid of your cancer and give you long life to raise your children!!!'n

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been praying constantly through my cancer treatments. Some days it is all I have left.

Op here. I truly hope those prayers work. Much love and health to you.

Thank you. I am at the lowest point I have ever been in my life. The chemotherapy has been brutal and has left me with neuropathy. I have young children so I am trying to get through this. And yes I pray every day because sometimes I just don't think I can get through another minute. Thank you for you kindness.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been praying for work for over a year, and making donations to monks to pray for me to get work, and so far, nothing.

And when you finally do get a job, will you thanks the monks and assume the prayer finally worked?

Yes.

Will you wonder what took it so long to work?

Anonymous wrote:I have been praying constantly through my cancer treatments. Some days it is all I have left.

Op here. I truly hope those prayers work. Much love and health to you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been praying for work for over a year, and making donations to monks to pray for me to get work, and so far, nothing.

And when you finally do get a job, will you thanks the monks and assume the prayer finally worked?

Yes.

I don't pray fro something to happen or not happen. I pray for God to help me with the personal strength to get through things or the courage to face trials. I pray for wisdom in making difficult decisions and peace to accept unfortunate circumstances. I don't "hear" things back, but I do experience a feeling of calm and serenity.

I have been praying constantly through my cancer treatments. Some days it is all I have left.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP would you ask the same question if someone said they were going to meditate over something?

Good question. With meditation, I feel that clarity comes from within. Whereas with praying, the influence comes from an external source. But like I said, I'm not familiar with praying, so I could be wrong.

People who pray are just meditating and calling it something else so they don't have to take responsibility for whatever they decide.

Meditation taps into the mind and prayer taps into the soul. Both are effective but different even though they can overlap. When we pray with our mind, such as when we recite familiar phrases, it can be relaxing and help us focus inwardly in a more mental way like meditation and help us clarify problems. When we are longing and earnestly seeking God through heartfelt prayer, it evokes the connection between our soul and God's soul, which does not have to involve any words and I don't think involves any mental or meditative process.

Many times I pray with my mind, as I was raised to do. It sometimes helps, but I agree with the PP that this involves the mind/self. It's more self soothing. But, when I am sincerely yearning for God's Love and help, then I sometimes feel something different happening. I may not get an answer, but in these more rare moments, I believe I am connected outside of myself to God.

Just in the past couple of years I've been trying to pray more from my soul and less from my mind or memorized prayers, and asking God to help make my soul more receptive to His ministrations. I think it's an eternal effort on our part to do this which takes us beyond the scope of our finite mortal lives.

Anonymous wrote:I usually start prayer with thanksgiving. That alone is helpful because it shifts my perspective. Recently, I had to make a decision about whether or not to medicate my child with ADHD, and I started by thanking God for giving me the opportunity to parent this incredible, wonderful little boy, and recognizing how incredibly lucky I am that I am not making this decision alone, but have the counsel of an excellent medical/psychological team. In the end, those thoughts gave me a new perspective, and helped me have more confidence in my eventual decision, which was not to medicate him.* It wasn't "Jesus says no drugs", it was like talking with a friend with shared values and getting clarity.

I have never had an experience where I felt like Jesus talked to me or directed me to a decision. That wouldn't fit with my understanding of free will anyway. It's more like he stood with me and that presence gave me the ability to calm down and put aside my anxiety and have some perspective.

*DS has medical issues that made this a complicated decision, in other circumstances I would likely have made a different choice.

Thank you. This is the op and this answer made the most sense to me.

Anonymous wrote:I've been praying for work for over a year, and making donations to monks to pray for me to get work, and so far, nothing.

And when you finally do get a job, will you thanks the monks and assume the prayer finally worked?