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Vanessa
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| Joined: | Tue Mar 20th, 2007 |
| Location: | United Kingdom |
| Posts: | 42 |
| First Name: | Vanessa | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Catholic, atheist, Catholic |
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Posted: Thu May 10th, 2007 11:59 pm |
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I have only recently come back to the Church, and so prayer is something I am (re)new to. It has become very important, very quickly, and I can feel a little overwhelmed at times.
I have recently prayed specifically about a couple of things, understanding of a co-worker who was really making my life unpleasant, and understanding of why I found the jobs that I had done so hard. I don't suppose it will surprise you, the thoughts that just seemed to filter in to my mind over the following day, but it was astonishing to me. My prayers were truly 'answered'
However, and here I feel lost, I start my prayers in the way that I find best for me, in prescribed prayer, and then follow with my own words. But it is here that I feel very unsure. I may pray for an individual situation and the people involved, but there may be many such cases all over the world which I don't know about, and many people suffering and all those who devote their lives to helping them. And so if I pray for everyone in the world every time that I pray, I mean the prayers most genuinely, and I certainly don't say 'I pray for everyone in the world' because that is meaningless.
But I do wonder about praying everyday for everyone in need. It sounds rather ridiculous to ask if prayers can be diluted, that is not what I mean. But I don't feel right to only pray about specific people, because there are so many who have no one to pray for them.( Not true, I know that the Religious who devote their lives to prayer are there for all mankind).
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David W. Emery
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
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| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Fri May 11th, 2007 12:52 am |
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My own approach to intercessory prayer (and this is the kind you seem to be pointing at here) is to pray first for specific people, then add something like, “And I also pray for others who are experiencing the trials and difficulties these people face.” Another idea is to pray in turn for different classes of people, different types of problems, etc. You certainly cannot and should not try to pray for every individual in the world, but by breaking humanity down into manageable groups and offering a little something each day for a specific group of individuals and “people like them,” over time you will cover most of the world’s ills and problems.
Now you are worried that the larger the group, the more abstract your prayer, and therefore (perhaps) the less effective it will be. This is precisely why I keep my prayers on the personal level as much as possible. I have a strong tendency to slip into the abstract unless I am consciously working to maintain contact with a personal God on specific, concrete matters.
On the other hand, there are times when we need to make a different kind of prayer. For instance, we may be drawn to a more vague, affective, yearning prayer than the “grocery list of petitions” kind. After all, one of the basic things we are taught as Catholics is that there are different kinds of prayer. Among the vocal prayers, we have those dedicated to praise, thanksgiving, contrition, intercession (petition). Then we have mental or meditative prayer, where we concentrate on a passage from a book or a specific spiritual topic. Thirdly there is affective prayer, where we just love God and ask what he wants of us today. So you see, you can do a lot of different things and remain in prayer through it all.
The point is that some of it needs to be specific, but some of it needs to be just “making contact,” to round out our inner needs. The Catechism has a whole section devoted to the exploration of prayer, and you would be well advised to allow its wisdom to penetrate your efforts.
One last point. I recall that you have had some doubts regarding how to keep from slighting those you do not specifically include in your good works. You are a creature, Vanessa, and as such you are limited both in scope and in power. No one can do all things; we leave that to God. What we are assigned to do by God’s manifest will is what should concern us, not trying to outdo him in our concern for others.
David
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Vanessa
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| Joined: | Tue Mar 20th, 2007 |
| Location: | United Kingdom |
| Posts: | 42 |
| First Name: | Vanessa | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Catholic, atheist, Catholic |
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Posted: Fri May 11th, 2007 01:45 am |
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Re your last paragraph..I thought you might tell me that David, and I needed to hear it.
I've started praying the Rosary, sometimes, with a particular intention on each bead, really centred on things like, women in childbirth, child soldiers, parents watching over sick children, abused women and men, child prostitutes, and that has helped me to focus.
I am still hesitant and more than a little scared of the power of prayer. The incidence that I mentioned above, when I prayed for understanding of another person's actions, rather that my own hurt, was defining for me in my return to the Faith.
Last edited on Fri May 11th, 2007 07:36 am by Vanessa
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David W. Emery
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
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Posted: Fri May 11th, 2007 09:43 am |
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I've started praying the Rosary, sometimes, with a particular intention on each bead, really centred on things like, women in childbirth, child soldiers, parents watching over sick children, abused women and men, child prostitutes, and that has helped me to focus.
This is a good thing, Vanessa. But I do think you would benefit more by saying an entire decade for each group instead of a single bead. This increases focus; it allows God and his grace into the prayer, and the people you pray for will become living human beings, far more than the abstraction they are at present.
In the spiritual life, depth is more important than breadth. If your soul is like a slow moving river — a mile wide and an inch deep — it does not much resemble “living water,” and it will not become “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14; cf. John 7:38; Revelation 7:17). Ultimately, if there is enough “life” in the water God produces within you, it will be sufficiently wide without your conscious effort, for love is naturally diffusive.
David
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Vanessa
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| Joined: | Tue Mar 20th, 2007 |
| Location: | United Kingdom |
| Posts: | 42 |
| First Name: | Vanessa | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Catholic, atheist, Catholic |
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Posted: Fri May 11th, 2007 10:58 am |
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Yes, I think I understand now, many thanks,
Vanessa
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Carolyn
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| Joined: | Mon Apr 30th, 2007 |
| Location: | Torrington, Connecticut USA |
| Posts: | 117 |
| First Name: | Carolyn | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Im a married catholic, with four children Devoted to Mary ... |
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Posted: Fri May 11th, 2007 12:32 pm |
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| i FIND THAT WHEN I AM SUFFERRINig i offer my sufferings to Jesus as a prayer for anyone else sufferring,or ill particularly offer up my sufferings as a prayer to stop abortion or for our youth,for the young girls who dont know Jesus and are headed for darkness, i was told that any time I suffer to accept it and offer Jesus the suffering as a prayer, i also was told to pray the rosary for people who annoy me, somehow the power they have to annoy me is weakened by saying the rosary or a few hail marys while in their presence quietly to myself for them,i feel we have many wonderful families in our world but I think it is up to us to pray for the people who are in darkness or sufferring,,,,,,,,,god Bless
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Credo Catholic
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| Joined: | Sat May 5th, 2007 |
| Location: | Greenville, South Carolina USA |
| Posts: | 1270 |
| First Name: | Marsha | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Baptist, Catholic |
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Posted: Fri May 11th, 2007 04:00 pm |
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| I'm so glad you asked that question and got that wonderful answer from David because I often feel overwhelmed in prayer myself. I have the most trouble in the morning when I feel I have to "take care of everyone" for the day! I do have a "grocery list" of requests for everyone I know! I'm sure God knows what's coming next because He heard it yesterday and the day before, etc. There's a great book by Fr. Thomas Dubay about prayer. I gave it away and can't think of the title but it was very helpful to me as I was learning to pray as a Catholic.
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David W. Emery
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| Joined: | Fri Sep 29th, 2006 |
| Location: | Brownsville, Texas USA |
| Posts: | 1796 |
| First Name: | David | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
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Posted: Fri May 11th, 2007 11:40 pm |
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Carolyn: Whoever taught you how to “offer it up” did a magnificent job.
Marsha: From your description, you may be speaking of Dubay’s Prayer Primer. On the other hand, his Fire Within and Seeking Spiritual Direction are also excellent books on prayer and the spiritual life in general.
My personal favorite, however, is a work he wrote back in the 80s, Authenticity. This book is about establishing the genuineness of one’s faith and how to make sure we aren’t deceiving ourselves with empty affirmations.
David
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Credo Catholic
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| Joined: | Sat May 5th, 2007 |
| Location: | Greenville, South Carolina USA |
| Posts: | 1270 |
| First Name: | Marsha | | Gender: | Female | | Faith History: | Baptist, Catholic |
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Posted: Sat May 12th, 2007 02:10 am |
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David W. Emery wrote:
Authenticity. This book is about establishing the genuineness of one’s faith and how to make sure we aren’t deceiving ourselves with empty affirmations.
Thanks for the recommendation on Authenticity, I will look for it at the bookstore! The title I couldn't remember was Prayer Primer.
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