The Bible says that God does listen to people on behalf of others, such as Moses with the Israelites, so shouldn’t you be praying for everyone on a whole and then specific people?
When one enters into states of communion with the Holy Spirit through meditation, which chant may help facilitate for the practitioner, you do in fact end up praying for everyone. It is a natural outflowing of what happens when you get yourself out of the way and let God's Love flow through you. You pray for the whole world.
Again, whoever told you these things are selfish or self-seeking prayers, does not know what they are talking about. They are speculating and projecting their ignorances. The exact opposite is the truth of it.
Being humble before God is doing what the scriptures say, not practising something which the bible does not tell you to do, even condemns, and is completely man-made. Do you think that is humbling yourself before God?
You don't know what you are saying here. Yes, when you are humble, that is you have set your ego aside and let God's Love fill your heart, you do fulfil all of the scriptures in two single actions. One, you "Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength", and Two, you "love your neighbor as yourself". When you do that you fulfill God's will entirely. This is what Jesus Christ taught explicitly, using those words.
Nit picking about forms of "how to pray", arguing with others what they believe God accepts and does not, is a legalist interpretation of God, and that stems purely from the ego. "I thank God I am not like this man, a sinner". That is what is lacking in humility. That is what stands in the way of Truth. Love takes on many forms.
And if someone finds something that works for them to let God take over their lives, then HOW is that wrong in your eyes? Are you really ready to tell them that God does not accept that, when in fact it is bearing true spiritual fruit in their lives? Are you really sure you want to do that? Is that serving God, or your own ego? I can tell you, it is the latter only.
Like Deeje said, how long would the friendship last if you just kept repeating the exact same words?
I have to laugh at this when you simply look at any long-term married couple. That is exactly what we do. We repeat the same old stories to each other, year after year.
But again, you fail to truly understand or appreciate what a chant or a mantra is. Is a song. It is simply that. It's singing. And in singing you do in fact repeat the same words over and over. How many tunes do you sing listening to the radio. Aren't those the same words each time you sing it? What's wrong with that? Anything?
That is why we wouldn’t do repeating prayers, because God wants to be our friend, and we can’t if we just reapeat the same things over and over, which could also endanger our faith.
The words are not communication, in the sense of content of ideas such as a grocery list. The chant is simply a vehicle to express the heart and soul, like you do through music. It's nothing more mysterious than that. And it is in fact the intention of the heart while engaged in that particular spiritual practice that is being God's friend. You showed up, and sang your song to him! Goodness, what's wrong with that???
Also, we must also have standards for our friends like God has standards for who his friends are. If a friend started swearing, then I would ask them to stop, since it is against Christian conduct. Who your friends are rub off on you, and as the bible says that bad associations spoil useful habits, you should choose your friends carefully.
I don't disagree with this. Yes, you can't be insincere with God. And if you are in fact sincere in knowing God, then to act in ways which hinder the Spirit in you, such as judging other Christians they aren't following God because they don't believe and practice religion like yourself, then you set aside such things as judgmentalism because that is inconsistent with the nature of God. God is Love. Those things are contrary to Love.
So do you believe that Islam is also correct because they believe in God?
You are not using the correct language here. It is not a matter of being "correct". It is a matter of being honest and sincere. It's not about the religion being "right", it's about the person using it in their seeking of God. Does it help, or hinder that? That is the real litmus test. Jesus said this himself. "By their fruits you shall know them". He does not say by their beliefs and practices. Yet, the legalist says everything in the world to indicate that it is about "correct" beliefs and practices.
You could worship God with a bottle cap, if that held meaning for you and helped bring you closer to God. God will accept your sincerity, and cares a less about the tools you found to help you. It's the end result that bears witness to the truth for you. Fruits of the Spirit, cannot be faked. They are honest, genuine, true, and not the result of the ego claiming to know better what God wants than the Spirit of God itself.
And, could a lot of Christians also not be in the ‘true religion’ as they might not be worshiping God from the heart?
Absolutely. It doesn't matter what truth claims you think you have, if they are not alive in your heart, you are not following Jesus, despite all your Bible studies you go to, witnessing you do, claims to knowing what others don't know, and so forth. A simple child knows more about God than most theologians.
Just a curious question here, if you believe it is about worshiping God from the heart, do you think that us (as Jehovah’s Wittnesses) will be saved or are we worshiping in the incorrect way?
If you are not worshipping from your heart, and are instead trying to climb into another way, thinking having the correct translations of the Bible and such, then that is the wrong way. That is the way of the ego. And wide is that path.
However, even in a system built on error such as this, which you can and do see in many religious thought from all religions, as Legalism is a mentality which exists in all religions, you can and do in fact have sincere seekers within all of them. It's those who are sincere, that are the true children of God, even if they are mistaken in thinking that following the legal rules is what get's them into heaven. The sincerity of the heart, will one day if they continue to allow it to grow, realize it's not in the codes to uncrack, but in the humility of the heart, and the religion you practice is simply a tool that is not the key. Love is the key. Jesus taught this.