• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

When you pray...how do you talk to Jesus?

I have given some thought recently on how I pray to Jesus. I noticed that when we pray to Jesus that we have a great tendency to rush through the prayer as though it is something that we need to get out of the way. And I used to do that also. But the bible states that Jesus wants a relationship with us. So how do we treat our friends?

If Jesus wants to have a relationship with us, why does it appear sometimes that we are simply trying to rush through our prayers as though we are in a hurry? I know that when I talk to a friend, I am completely relaxed. I am at ease and our conversation is quite relaxing and satisfying.

When I pray I treat it more as a conversation with him. I give thanks and praise for what he has done, and make requests for things I would like to have. Also, I try to put it into terms as though he were my best friend. The prayer or in my case the conversation that I have with Jesus, I want it to have some meaning. Not just something that I feel that I need to do and get out of the way.

Any thoughts?
 

Arkholt

Non-vessel
I agree that prayer should definitely be more conversational. It helps me to think of God as a real person. Prayer shouldn't be a "ritual," it should be an activity, if that makes sense at all.
 

darkendless

Guardian of Asgaard
This is a little off topic, but why do people clasp their hands together and get down on their knees to pray? Seems rather pointless to me. If one is to have a relationship with Jesus i wouldn't have thought it mattered where or how one prayed as long as they did it sincerely?
 

Katzpur

Not your average Mormon
I have given some thought recently on how I pray to Jesus. I noticed that when we pray to Jesus that we have a great tendency to rush through the prayer as though it is something that we need to get out of the way. And I used to do that also. But the bible states that Jesus wants a relationship with us. So how do we treat our friends?

If Jesus wants to have a relationship with us, why does it appear sometimes that we are simply trying to rush through our prayers as though we are in a hurry? I know that when I talk to a friend, I am completely relaxed. I am at ease and our conversation is quite relaxing and satisfying.

When I pray I treat it more as a conversation with him. I give thanks and praise for what he has done, and make requests for things I would like to have. Also, I try to put it into terms as though he were my best friend. The prayer or in my case the conversation that I have with Jesus, I want it to have some meaning. Not just something that I feel that I need to do and get out of the way.

Any thoughts?
Well, for starters, I don't actually pray to Jesus. I address my prayer to my Father in Heaven, and conclude it "in the name of Jesus Christ." That aside, I think you've made some good points. I think we fail to accomplish what you have suggested we should want to accomplish in our prayers when we have other things on our minds or when we are overly tired. I know that I always pray morning and night while kneeling down (usually by my bed), and then throughout the day as things come up (in a less formal way). There is nothing that makes me feel quite so undeserving of His help and concern than when I discover my mind has wandered when I'm praying or, worse, that I've fallen asleep. I try to pray from my heart and not be too repetetive, saying the same things in the same words day after day. That can be hard, though. I mean most of the time I have pretty much the same things on my mind, feel gratitude for the same things and need help with the same things. It's hard to really feel the spirit when you say the same things over and over again. I've never quite figured out how to solve that one, though.
 

Katzpur

Not your average Mormon
This is a little off topic, but why do people clasp their hands together and get down on their knees to pray? Seems rather pointless to me. If one is to have a relationship with Jesus i wouldn't have thought it mattered where or how one prayed as long as they did it sincerely?
I don't think it really matters how one prays. I don't necessarily clasp my hands together, but I do often pray kneeling down. It's just a way to show reverence and respect, I guess. If you were up and around when you were praying, chances are that you'd be multi-tasking. Except when it's absolutely necessary, I think God would prefer that we give Him our undivided attention.
 

darkendless

Guardian of Asgaard
I don't think it really matters how one prays. I don't necessarily clasp my hands together, but I do often pray kneeling down. It's just a way to show reverence and respect, I guess. If you were up and around when you were praying, chances are that you'd be multi-tasking. Except when it's absolutely necessary, I think God would prefer that we give Him our undivided attention.

Thanks for clearing that up :)

I recall from my religious education at school praying on our knees with our hands clasped together. A fellow student questioned the religion teacher and said something along the lines of "at home i pray in bed before i go to sleep" and the religious teacher was horrified and said it didnt count :rainbow1: Thats why i've always had the notion that to pray it had to be on your knees with hands clasped.

I also remember FFH's old avatar of Jesus praying in the same fashion. I don't think there could be a better model for prayer than Jesus himself ;)

I think this is the most naive/ignorant of Christianity sounding thing i've ever said on RF :eek:
 

Katzpur

Not your average Mormon
I recall from my religious education at school praying on our knees with our hands clasped together. A fellow student questioned the religion teacher and said something along the lines of "at home i pray in bed before i go to sleep" and the religious teacher was horrified and said it didnt count :rainbow1:
I don't think it matters to God at all whether we're kneeling, sitting, standing or lying down. I think all He cares about is that we're focused on what we're doing. When I pray lying down, I generally fall asleep before I'm done.

I also remember FFH's old avatar of Jesus praying in the same fashion. I don't think there could be a better model for prayer than Jesus himself ;)

I think this is the most naive/ignorant of Christianity sounding thing i've ever said on RF :eek:
LOL! Why would you say that? It didn't sound ignorant to me in the slightest.
 

Arlanbb

Active Member
I have given some thought recently on how I pray to Jesus. I noticed that when we pray to Jesus that we have a great tendency to rush through the prayer as though it is something that we need to get out of the way. And I used to do that also. But the bible states that Jesus wants a relationship with us. So how do we treat our friends?

If Jesus wants to have a relationship with us, why does it appear sometimes that we are simply trying to rush through our prayers as though we are in a hurry? I know that when I talk to a friend, I am completely relaxed. I am at ease and our conversation is quite relaxing and satisfying.

When I pray I treat it more as a conversation with him. I give thanks and praise for what he has done, and make requests for things I would like to have. Also, I try to put it into terms as though he were my best friend. The prayer or in my case the conversation that I have with Jesus, I want it to have some meaning. Not just something that I feel that I need to do and get out of the way.

Any thoughts?

I have never found one scripture that tell anyone to pray to Jesus. We are to pray to God and God only if you believe what the bible says.:yes:
 
Prayer is a uniquely individual thing. How you do it is between you and He with Whom you are speaking. Notice I didn't say, "to whom", but rather "with whom", implying that prayer should be a two way conversation. I don't believe there is a set way that one must pray. We can pray standing up, lying down, kneeling, sitting, while driving, lying prostrate -- heck, even sitting on the toilet :)cover:)! I have experienced all of the above.

Like Katzpur says, it's whether or not we are focused on what we're doing that counts. Like Katzpur, I too tend to fall asleep when I pray in bed... so I generally avoid that position. I would like to go one step further than Katzpur, though, and say that what really matters, beyond being focused, is that it truly is a two-way conversation. How is that achieved?

Only by including the entire Godhead in the process. But we have to have a complete and correct understanding of what/Who the Godhead is in order to understand how to include the entire Godhead in our prayers.

Latter Day Saints believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three distinct personages who are unified as One in purpose (this is in direct defiance to the Nicene Creed, which defines God as all three in one person). God the Father is the father of our spirits. Jesus Christ is the literal offspring of God (Mary concieved by the power of the Holy Ghost, as the Bible clearly describes). He was also God's firstborn, and was with Him in the beginning. That is to say, Christ was the first spirit child begotten of God, and the only child begotten in the flesh. Because Christ was the first-born in spirit, perhaps by millenia, he was obviously far more advanced and knowledgeable than the rest of us. He was God's prodigy, His most beloved. Christ grew in knowledge under the direct tutelage of His Father. Eventually, he learned all that his Father knew, and thereby became as One with Him.

There. We now have a clear understanding of how Christ and his Father are two distinct beings, united in purpose. Where does the 3rd personage, the Holy Ghost come in? As for when or where he came into the picture, I don't have an answer. But the necessity for his existence is clear. As Latter Day Saints, we also believe in the progression of mankind. Believing that Jesus Christ was once a man, with a body of flesh and blood, and is now a resurrected being -- still possessing a glorified body of flesh and blood -- AND, knowing that man was created in the image and likeness of God, it follows that God, too, has a body just like ours. If not, how could we be made in His image?

Now, as much as some spiritualists think they can enter into another person's body, or read their thoughts, they can't.. Neither God nor Christ can enter into our bodies or convey messages to our minds via ESP or any other questionable practice. If we believe that our consciousness is our spirit, and our spirits inhabit this mortal tabernacle, there is only one way that we can communicate with our Father and His Son, and they with us -- and that is, spirit to spirit. And, just as our spirits can't jump out of our bodies and run up to heaven to talk with God face to face, His spirit can't either. Not only would it be impractical, it is fundamentally contrary to the laws of the universe. Some would say, "God is God -- He can do anything he wants." Sure he can -- but only within the bounds of the Law. Otherwise there is chaos, yada yada... that's another discussion. So, to get back on track, there must needs be a messenger, or emissary; a 3rd member of the Godhead, whose purpose (one of many) is to serve as a contact between God and his children who are here on earth. He it is whose glory it is to remain in spirit, without a mortal body. It is through the Holy Ghost that our prayers are carried to our Father in Heaven. And, it is through that same spirit that our loving Father speaks back. The grand key, then, to having your prayers heard and answered is to attune your heart to the same "frequency" as the Holy Ghost. When your mind and will are in tune with the mind and will of the Father, the Holy Ghost carries your heart-fealt pleadings to your Father. He in turn sends back His loving reply. Sometimes that reply comes in the form of comfort (is it a coincidence that the Holy Ghost is also knows as the Comforter?). Sometimes, the holy emissary carries instructions to the mind of another human being, prompting them to answer your prayers (often without their knowledge). Sometimes, if it is direct wisdom you seek from your Father, the Holy Ghost will speak the answer directly to your soul, and you will feel it deeply in your bosom in such a sacred special way that can not be duplicated nor described.

So, where does Christ fit in to all of this? Not 100% sure, other than to say that we pray to our Father in the name of Christ. Christ is our advocate with the Father ("...we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous..." 1 John 2:1), meaning that he intercedes in our behalf. Perhaps the Holy Ghost relays our messages to Christ, who decides which should be relayed to the Father (there may well be others involved in this whole relaying of messages... who knows? I've always wondered how God could hear and answer millions of prayers at once... but He's got a system in place that works somehow. This I know, because He answers my prayers, and if He answers mine, He must answer everyone's -- because God is no respecter of persons.) The actual mechanics of how Christ is involved is really not important. What is important is that Christ is an absolutely necessary part of our prayers. There are a good many scriptures that make this fact abundantly clear. Here is one:

John 16:
23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.





Here, Christ is explaining to his bewildered disciples that up to this point, they haven't had to pray for anything -- Christ has prayed the Father in their behalf. But soon, he would no longer be with them, and they would have to ask the Father in Christ's name.

To this point, I've only referenced scriptures from the Bible. But the LDS scriptures make it so much plainer to the understanding:

Ask the Father in my name, in faith believing that you shall receive, and you shall have the Holy Ghost, which manifesteth all things which are expedient unto the children of men. (D&C 18:18)

and,

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. (Moroni 10:4)

"Wow! Does God really answer our prayers, I mean, in a real and miraculous way?"

He most assuredly will, if we ask in a real and meaningful way.

Yes, it is true that our prayers, in order to be most effective, must involve the Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost, along with a sincere heart, real intent, and faith in Christ. Without faith that Christ will plead in our behalf, what's the point in even praying in the first place?
 
Thank you everyone for such wonderful input! I do find that as I prayer every day that I agree that it can sound reptitive. I don't think that God minds. For me personally I try and imagine sitting across from God, and talking to him as a friend. Thanking him for what he has done for us, that he listens intently for our wants, needs and desires. That he truly receives praise and glory and thankfullness for his intercession.

I guess, the best way for me to think about it is that we talk not just in prayer, but in every day activities. I thank God for a parking spot next to the door at the mall, I thank God for a beautiful day, and I thank God for watching over my family and keeping them safe. Just to name a few.

I also have begun to thank him for being our first love and that I hope that everything that we say and do brings glory to him, thru his son Jesus Christ.

Have a blessed day!:yes:
 
You're on the right track, Space Janitor. Keep praying! I believe God hears and answers everyone's sincere prayers -- even when you're directing them to His son. ;)

I realize it goes against all you've been taught, but you really should examine the bible more closely with an open mind and ask yourself if it makes more sense for God/Christ/Holy Ghost to be one person (Holy Trinity thing), or to be 3 separate beings that are One in purpose. There are some contradictions there, of course... but there are only a handful of passages that seem to support the Trinity concept, whereas there are hundreds that support the 3 separate beings concept that I believe in. It wouldn't hurt to experiment, would it? Try praying to your Father, and do it in the name of His son, Jesus Christ. You believe that Christ was our intercessor... I believe that he still IS our intercessor. Tonight when you pray, imagine God our Father, sitting on His throne sitting quietly, thoughtfully, as He listens to you speak to Him. But imagine also that Christ is there, standing beside you, interceding, pleading in your behalf. See if your prayers feel any different.

Take care...
 
Last edited:

Storm

ThrUU the Looking Glass
This is a little off topic, but why do people clasp their hands together and get down on their knees to pray? Seems rather pointless to me. If one is to have a relationship with Jesus i wouldn't have thought it mattered where or how one prayed as long as they did it sincerely?
When we pray at church, we don't kneel, but I always bow my head and clasp my hands. I'm not sure why, probably just tradition, but it feels right.

But this:
I recall from my religious education at school praying on our knees with our hands clasped together. A fellow student questioned the religion teacher and said something along the lines of "at home i pray in bed before i go to sleep" and the religious teacher was horrified and said it didnt count :rainbow1: Thats why i've always had the notion that to pray it had to be on your knees with hands clasped.
Is just stupid. "It didn't count" indeed. :thud:
 

Wookiemonster

The*****isBack
This is a little off topic, but why do people clasp their hands together and get down on their knees to pray? Seems rather pointless to me. If one is to have a relationship with Jesus i wouldn't have thought it mattered where or how one prayed as long as they did it sincerely?

First of all I would like to state that being Jewish I do not pray to Jesus. However I wanted to respond to this question.

In Judaism the "ritual positions" for prayer have two motivations behind them. 1) Tradition plain and simple. 2) When one prays one should be fully focused on G-d and what is being prayed, it helps to "ready" a person for prayer, to focus their mind on what they are doing. Much like a basketball player taking a deep breath and shaking off before a free throw shot or a baseball player working the bat before he steps up to home. It get you in the mindset of I'm praying and fully focused on the prayer, rather than the million other things we have going on in our lives.
 

Storm

ThrUU the Looking Glass
First of all I would like to state that being Jewish I do not pray to Jesus. However I wanted to respond to this question.
Oh, yeah, I should've mentioned that. My congregation (UU) doesn't pray to Jesus, either.

Much like a basketball player taking a deep breath and shaking off before a free throw shot or a baseball player working the bat before he steps up to home. It get you in the mindset of I'm praying and fully focused on the prayer, rather than the million other things we have going on in our lives.

Yeah, this is what I was talking about.
 

Dunemeister

Well-Known Member
You're on the right track, Space Janitor. Keep praying! I believe God hears and answers everyone's sincere prayers -- even when you're directing them to His son. ;)

I realize it goes against all you've been taught, but you really should examine the bible more closely with an open mind and ask yourself if it makes more sense for God/Christ/Holy Ghost to be one person (Holy Trinity thing), or to be 3 separate beings that are One in purpose. There are some contradictions there, of course... but there are only a handful of passages that seem to support the Trinity concept, whereas there are hundreds that support the 3 separate beings concept that I believe in. It wouldn't hurt to experiment, would it? Try praying to your Father, and do it in the name of His son, Jesus Christ. You believe that Christ was our intercessor... I believe that he still IS our intercessor. Tonight when you pray, imagine God our Father, sitting on His throne sitting quietly, thoughtfully, as He listens to you speak to Him. But imagine also that Christ is there, standing beside you, interceding, pleading in your behalf. See if your prayers feel any different.

Take care...

Ironically, your mental experiment is consistent with conceiving of God in trinitarian terms.

But as to the issue of whether prayer to Jesus is permissable, we do have examples in scripture of apostles praying to Jesus, even though we have no commands to do so, it seems we have the green light. (Of course, this practice of praying to Jesus sits better with a trinitarian understanding of God than it does with an LDS understanding.) And I don't think one way is "better" than the other.
 

michel

Administrator Emeritus
Staff member
I have given some thought recently on how I pray to Jesus. I noticed that when we pray to Jesus that we have a great tendency to rush through the prayer as though it is something that we need to get out of the way. And I used to do that also. But the bible states that Jesus wants a relationship with us. So how do we treat our friends?

If Jesus wants to have a relationship with us, why does it appear sometimes that we are simply trying to rush through our prayers as though we are in a hurry? I know that when I talk to a friend, I am completely relaxed. I am at ease and our conversation is quite relaxing and satisfying.

When I pray I treat it more as a conversation with him. I give thanks and praise for what he has done, and make requests for things I would like to have. Also, I try to put it into terms as though he were my best friend. The prayer or in my case the conversation that I have with Jesus, I want it to have some meaning. Not just something that I feel that I need to do and get out of the way.

Any thoughts?

I must admit to finding it hard not to be repetitious, day after day, and lately I have made efforts to try and change the wording of some of my prayers.

I don't know if any of you have seen a British comedy program "Open all hours" - but if you have, you would see the main character having a "chat" with God most evenings when he shuts up his little carner shop. I think that gave me the inspiration to do much the same - it seems so natural .

Having said that, there are formal prayers that I keep formal.....

As to praying to Jesus, I tend to agree with Kathryn about addressing the prayer to God, and conclude it with "in the name of Jesus Christ"; I mostly kneel, and have my hands in the classical prayer position, but (of course), as I sometimes pray whilst waking, I don't think that it is a matter of great importance.

In the local angklican church, it would be near impossible for most of the congregation to kneel, because the average age of most of the congregation is 70 +.........:cover:
 

Dunemeister

Well-Known Member
Could you elaborate?

Sure. On a trinitarian understanding, the persons of the trinity are indeed distinct as persons. So, the standard formula (as it is for LDS) is that we pray TO the Father, IN THE NAME OF the Son IN THE POWER OF the Holy Spirit. Thus the Holy Spirit empowers the pray-er to pray, the Son intercedes for the pray-er (puts in his two cents' worth on the pray-er's behalf, which is more than anyone can actually count), and the Father receives the prayer. At least, that's the "model" form.

However, on a trinitarian understanding, as far as the deity of the persons is concerned, there is nothing to choose between the persons. Each has equal dignity. So there is nothing inappropriate about directing prayer to Jesus. (One could, by these lights, also pray to the Holy Spirit, although that is far less commonly done.) Besides, these three ARE one God (again, thinking trinitarianly). That is, although they are three as persons, they are one divine being. (On a traditional trinitarian account, there is one and only one true God, period.) So, one successfully prays to God no matter which person is specifically addressed in prayer.

As far as I understand it (and please feel free to correct me), LDS theology holds that Elohim is superior to Jesus, and for that reason Jesus is not an appropriate object of worship (of which prayer is a species). Although Elohim and Jesus are one in purpose, they are not one in essence (they are not the same being).

Hope that clears up how prayer works from a trinitarian perspective. If I've got the LDS side of things wrong (likely), feel free to point up the errors. I assume they're manifold.
 
Top