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Prayer to God

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redacteur-chretien-Benoit

Written by Benoît Santos - Updated on Oct 26, 2024

Summary :

    You always pray to present your needs to God in order to find complete satisfaction. But these prayers to God are not always answered. Is there a right time for prayer?

    Since our knowledge is very advanced on this subject, we decide to answer your concerns and shed light on your gray areas.

    Prayer to God is a dialogue between God and the one who prays. Man was created to glorify God, through prayer he receives glory. The human being benefits from this spiritual grace by receiving the Love of the Father through communion with Jesus Christ thanks to the Holy Spirit.

    Through this article on prayer to God, you will discover:

    • When, where and for how long should we pray to God?
    • Does the body participate in prayer?
    • Who to pray to: the Father, the Son or the Holy Spirit?

    When should you pray to God?

    prayer-to-god-the-father

    In the Bible , it is written that the ancestors of faith received many blessings after overcoming difficulties through prayer. Jesus, who came to earth as the Savior, also accomplished the work of the gospel through prayer. Thus, prayer is essential in a man's life. Prayer is the link between God and us. We must pray if we want to convey our wishes and desires to God. Then, these three parts will be able to better explain when you should pray to God.

    Our life itself must be an unceasing prayer

    In everything you do, you must begin with prayer, continue with prayer, and end with prayer, so that we can put into practice the words, “ Pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17), in our daily lives.

    Prayer Times in Your Daily Life

    Here are some good times for a good, thorough prayer:

    • When we get up in the morning,
    • at every meal,
    • before going to bed, thinking back on the whole day,
    • in need of God's help to overcome temptation, persecution and affliction,
    • receiving the grace of the eternal ,
    • needing to repent,
    • in a particular case.

    Try to have a special time to pray to better grow your faith

    grow-your-faith-in-god

    Fasting prayer is recommended when our faith is not growing or is depressed. God said that He loves to hear the prayer of fasting (Isaiah 58:6).

    The appointed fast day is the Feast of Unleavened Bread (the fifteenth day of the first month according to the sacred calendar), which is celebrated once a year. Fasting on this day has the meaning of participating in the sufferings of Jesus on the cross (Mk 2:20). It is good for the faith of each person or in a particular case, to pray at a certain time very early in the morning or in the open air (Mk 1:35).

    There is a saying, “Too much is bad,” but prayer is an exception. God reminds us of the importance of prayer throughout the Bible : “Pray without ceasing” (Luke 18:1-17). Let us always remember God’s teaching, “Pray without ceasing,” and may we receive many blessings from God as children of Zion.

    Where should you pray?

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    As for the place, the most important thing is to find a place that encourages prayer and meditation. Thus, it is not only chapels that are intended for prayer. God is everywhere with us because he lives in us. When your day is composed of a long time of prayer, it gradually becomes possible to notice the presence of God in your life .

    We must worship God wherever we are for the love of God.

    How long should you pray?

    Setting a realistic time to worship God and sticking to it is the best thing. There is no right time for prayer. What changes everything is that we do not start from ourselves, nor from our moods, but from God, in whose presence we stand.

    Does the body participate in prayer?

    prayer-of-praise-and-thanksgiving

    The body is the means by which we affirm our existence in the world. When we love a person for example, and attach ourselves to him body and soul. Prayer is of the same order, because it is also a relationship between man and the eternal . A completely interior relationship with God. The body helps us to pray and ask for everything our heart desires.

    If I embrace the Gospel before I begin to pray to the Creator , this puts my body at its disposal. Each person can let come from within himself the intimate gestures that set his heart in motion. Sometimes he no longer needs to speak. But the body prays to God .

    By inhaling, you welcome the gift that God gives to life. By exhaling, you give back to God what he has given you: the breath of life. Every morning when you get up and every evening when you go to bed, do a deep breathing exercise, in order to be in contact with yourself; with others and with the Divine .

    How to enter into prayer?

    Prayer is a space where we let ourselves be led, attracted by the eternal. At Taizé, young people have this possibility to stop, to let themselves be led by God. Music, songs of praise are ways that allow you to enter into prayer. The songs gently decenter you, open up access to the Word of God . But the vocabulary is that of the psalms. A verse resonates in you.

    Then, the readings often become clearer in another way. In the time of silence, we allow ourselves to be reached in the most hidden corners of our hearts by the Word of the eternal .

    You must favor simplicity of means and gestures; an icon; a cross; an open Bible . Start with a beautiful sign of the cross. Each one also carries within him words, like "Here I am God the father, I am here lord."

    morning-prayer-pdf

    Should we speak to pray?

    Let prayer become prayer, explains Pope Dominic Sterckx: "It is accepting to be silent, letting silence settle in us in forgetfulness of ourselves to concentrate on the words of Jesus and let the Spirit engrave them in our hearts until they bear fruits of faith, hope and charity." So, perhaps, get into the habit of using short and simple words, both as a servant and as a friend, to say: "Lord, what must I do?"

    Sometimes a verse of Scripture permeates and allows us to taste the presence of God. It is enough to pronounce the name of Jesus alone for him to be present. You must enjoy his presence and let yourself be looked at by him. But sometimes also, we cannot believe the presence of the eternal and then we lose concentration. The Lord does not need a great noise before listening to you.

    Silence is like connecting ADSL to a computer, explains Father Antoine d'Augustin, a priest at the Institut Notre-Dame de Vie and a lecturer at the SĂ©minaire de Paris, who runs prayer schools in Paris. It opens the capacity to receive the Almighty , starting by abandoning into his hands what we are, with our weaknesses, our neuroses.

    How to nourish your prayer?

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    Regular reference to the Scriptures is important to know who we are meeting and to try to give substance to the word. The word of God is a compass that guides everyone. Explains Father David, Father Abbot of En-Calcat: “God made himself in the image of man. He entrusts to us, delegates to us by his Spirit , the understanding of the Holy Scriptures. Writing is a small drop that penetrates the stone.

    To better nourish your prayer, you must: read biblical passages from time to time without trying to analyze them too much. Choose a word, a song of praise, to listen to, listen to it again to let the word of God resonate. Even for a quarter of an hour every day.

    Are there any methods to guide prayer?

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    Learning to pray is learning to declare one's desires in the presence of God. The common liturgy is the main place for this learning. It is articulated through a solitary and personal prayer in which the Christian stands before the Father and prays.

    In spiritual schools over the centuries, the methods of guiding prayers have evolved and are encouraging. Pascale Paté, involved in Chemin-Neuf with her husband since 1992, responsible for the Community's magazine and retreat leader, notes that: "Each one corresponds to the experience of a man or a woman."

    For example, Ignatius of Loyola, proposes a pedagogy of prayer. This pedagogy of prayer is the fruit of an experience that led him to recognize the work of the Spirit of God . He transmitted it in his Spiritual Exercises. These schools are necessary to begin all things, to go further, to persevere, to learn to change. It is up to each person to find the right path that suits them. Start by looking at what is offered near you, in your everyday life. Listen to the advice of those close to you, go and see and experiment with them to know the best way to pray .

    Is reciting a prayer praying?

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    Jesus condemned repetition. As an example, he also cited the widow, who was not afraid to bother the judge with the same question (Lk 18:1-8). The Christian tradition offers many prayers. The Our Father , taught by Christ to his disciples, holds a very privileged place. Others have an evangelical reference, such as "Hail Mary" or the Magnificat.

    There are some that hold an important place in the tradition of the Church, such as the Apostles' Creed or the Glory to God . We can even meditate on the mysteries of the rosary or take up the prayer of the heart: "Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on my sins."

    The risk, explains Father Patrice Gourrier, a priest in Poitiers and leader of Talitha Koum, is reciting the prayer with his mouth like a machine. He recites it without being gifted with the desire to be united with Christ. For example, the prayer of the heart was developed by the Eastern Fathers to stop the flow of thoughts, which creates a void and creates a space of inner silence so that Christ lives more and more in our personality. It is advisable to pray with a group of prayers and avoid a mechanical recitation. Prayer together allows for support and gives an experience of communion.

    Who to pray to: the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit?

    grow-your-faith-in-jesus-christ

    All prayers should be addressed to our Triune God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches us that we can pray to one or all three because the three are one. We pray to the Father as Psalm 5:3: “Hear my cry, O my King and my God; for I will pray to you.” One should pray to the Lord Jesus as the Father, because they are alike. A prayer to one member of the Trinity is like a prayer to all.

    Stephen prayed when he was stoned, “Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit!” (Acts 7:59). We are also to pray in Christ’s name. Paul exhorted the Ephesian believers, “Give thanks to God the Father always for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20). We must pray in the Holy Spirit and in His power. The Spirit helps you pray even when you don’t know how or what to pray (Romans 8:26; Jude 20). All three are active participants in a believer’s prayer.

    Some non-Christian religions encourage prayer to multiple gods , deceased relatives, saints and spirits. Roman Catholic believers are taught to worship Mary and various saints. To understand why this is so, you need to look at the quality of prayer. Prayer is made up of different elements and if you look at just two of them here honor and thanksgiving. You can see that the heart of a prayer is the worship of our God. When you praise Him, worship God for His attributes and works in our lives. When you pray with gratitude, you are worshiping God in His goodness, grace and kindness coming to you.

    Should we be accompanied spiritually?

    thanksgiving-prayer

    All spiritual families are based on the gospel story in which Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted (Matthew 4:1). He says: he who prays is necessarily confronted with his demons .

    For example, when you only hear what we want to hear. You leave out certain passages of Scripture because you don't understand them. Accompaniment can also help us not to judge our prayer by emotion alone.

    Accompaniment is not the only way to walk in prayer. The main thing is not to stay alone. It is enough to join a team that feeds on the Word of God .

    What can we do to rekindle the taste for prayer?

    This dryness is not unheard of, explains Maurice Bellet. The disappearance of the taste for adoration is almost normal. The old authors considered it useful and fruitful. To purify prayer is to make the desire to pray clean, until it joins the will of God.

    In modern times, boredom and disgust often come from the regulatory and obligatory side of obedience to God. It also comes from an ambiguous sentimentality, from a dogmatism that has become sterilizing. Some continue at all costs.

    prayer-of-praise-to-god-almighty

    When you no longer know how to pray, do what you can without envying the path chosen by others. Without forgetting something very specific that John speaks of in his first epistle (4-12). God is the Unknown, beyond the abyss of absence that awakens in our hearts and in our hands as we approach our neighbor.

    Everything you need to remember to pray to God

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    The Holy Spirit teaches us and enables us to remember all that Jesus said. He also educates us in the life of prayer , giving rise to expressions that are renewed in permanent forms of prayer: bless God, ask for forgiveness, ask him for what we need, give him thanks. And congratulate him. Man can discover in his heart all the blessings that God has shared with him.

    In turn, man can respond to God, the source of these blessings, with a prayer of blessing. Worship is the first attitude of a person to recognize himself as a creature before his Creator. The prayer of petition aims at forgiveness, the search for the Kingdom and any real need.

    Intercessory prayer is a request on behalf of another. It knows no boundaries and extends to enemies. It is based on the trust we have in our Father God , who wants the best for his children and cares for their needs.

    Who is God, and why pray to him?

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    God is the supreme divine being at the origin of all things. He is the one who has full power over everything around us. According to theologians and the Christian faith, it is the very Holy Trinity that would represent him best. It would be made up of God the father , Jesus Christ the son of man and the Holy Spirit. Depending on the intentions of the believer, he can address a prayer to each of these representations, or to the supreme God himself. The Catholic religion, for example, devotes prayers that are intended for each of these entities, but by insisting on the differences that exist between them.

    The gospel preaches mercy through the word of God . The arrival of the Lord Jesus is one of the greatest demonstrations of love and humility that the Almighty has made. A prayer to God should not only focus on asking for blessings , but it should also give glory to Him. The words of said prayer should testify to all the praise and worship that is due to Him.

    Beginning a prayer with "my God" is a beautiful mark of submission, because the believer positions himself as a servant. Throughout communion, he must go through several steps that begin with giving glory to God , and end with imploring his goodness and forgiveness. It is therefore in the middle of prayer that we must ask for grace, piety or healing.

    Prayers to God

    prayer-to-god-the-father

    God can be called upon at any time and for any reason. During religious services that take place in church (or in similar circumstances), it is common to close the ceremony with the "Our Father". According to the New Testament, this prayer of Jesus was transmitted to the apostles by God the son himself. Officially, the words that make up this prayer are:

    “ Our Father , who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. ”

    This prayer is sometimes called the Lord's Prayer, because it closes religious services such as Mass, the Eucharist or the sacrament.

    But it is also possible to implore Jesus in everyday life. The great figures of Christianity, such as Martin Luther or Saint Augustine, wrote prayers for all circumstances. This prayer can, for example, give us hope in illness:

    " You put in me the passion to live and move forward. When nothing is going well and I say "what's the point of fighting?" I can still turn to You, pray to You and ask You to help me. You put in me the passion to live and move forward, You chose me to make life triumph, You cannot let me down. Lord , be my comfort, bring me that breath of hope that will sustain me all day long. You are my companion as I wait for better days. With You, I will take the road of life again. And without end, I will proclaim your Love. "

    There are thousands of prayers that can be addressed to God , and this for all occasions (such as unemployment, misfortune, insomnia, etc.).

    How to pray to God?

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    A prayer is a kind of conversation. It does not need to be structured according to a well-defined pattern. But the ideal is to structure your prayer so that it is not too focused on requests.

    God is good , and His main goal is to save our souls, and to spare us from the tortures that Satan has prepared for us. God's love is true, and His intentions are good. He gave us His only Son so that all our sins could be atoned for. We must ask Him to forgive us in order to enter the kingdom of God . We must worship Him and swear obedience to Him. Our lives here on earth would have no meaning without the living God.

    It is by taking into account all these recommendations that you must pray to the good Lord . Before praying to obtain something, pray above all to be saved. If necessary, do not hesitate to confess and make a vow of penance. It is necessary to glorify and praise the splendor of the preacher each time we speak to him.

    Why worship God in prayers addressed to Him?

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    The heavenly father has put in place all the means necessary to offer us eternal life. He offered his only son as a sacrifice to spare us from darkness and demons.

    As children of God , we must remain under His benevolence, and act as true worshipers. We must show brotherhood and pray to heaven that His prophecy will be fulfilled. The Christian faith is based on spirituality. We must thank the Lord for His compassion, because despite our pride, He continues to bless us. The redeeming father is all that is good, that is why we must always worship Him in our prayers. After that, we can repent and place complete trust in God .

    Learn more about the prayer of the saints

    To accompany us in prayer, the saints can help us

    Every day we celebrate a different saint defined from the Roman calendar, this saint of the day is a support for our prayer. This spiritual heritage allows us to have support in prayer both through these examples of lives offered that can inspire us. But also thanks to their intercessions, it is enough to enter a church and see the number of plaques (Ex-voto) adorning the chapels to understand the strength of our prayer . Special mention to Saint Rita, patron saint of desperate causes who is often very solicited.

    Practice prayer to God daily

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    Now you will be able to pray to God daily thanks to the article we have shared with you. 🙏

    Christianity is a monotheistic religion that worships a very particular god. In fact, this god is made up of three distinct entities that form a whole. When Christians address God , they address a prayer to each of them. But in fact, it is always as if they were addressing the Holy Trinity.

    Saying prayers to God is in some way starting a real conversation with him. The believer can take advantage of this opportunity to share his feelings with him, and ask to obtain something. But the most beautiful prayers are often structured incantations that follow a well-defined logic.

    Do you know about angels? Do you know that you have a guardian angel? Do you want to invoke it? Here is an excellent article, on your guardian angel , which will surely help you.

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