What are your thoughts on prayer?

[Htom Sirveaux]

Do you pray? If not, why not? If so, what kinds of prayer do you engage in? Out-loud or silently or both? In a group, by yourself or both? Do you set aside special times or just pray as you go? Have you had experiences that you took to be direct responses to your prayer? Who (if anyone) do you pray to? If someone didn't have a lot of experience with prayer, what advice would you give them?

[hrmjustin]

1. I pray for strength. I pray aloud and in my head.

There are what I call Holy Ghost moments where I feel the presence of God.

[Htom Sirveaux]

2. Are those Holy Ghost moments

the kind that only poetry has any hope of approaching with words?

[hrmjustin]

3. It is a feeling of the grace of God. It is the feeling that God is with you and giving you strength.

[Htom Sirveaux]

4. That's really cool.

I'm not sure I've had any experiences like that. Do you know of any good books or articles or other resources on prayer?

[hrmjustin]

5. To be honest I rarely read books on prayer but at the top of this group is a resource thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1264656

[kentauros]

6. I'm not of any particular religion, so no, I don't pray.

I do meditate some, just not regularly. I do that whether to just relax or discover answers about whatever is on my mind.

I don't really have any advice on prayer or meditation. I consider both to be rather personal in how one goes about it, even if you read about it or participate in meditation with a group. It's still going to be modified by your own ideas on what works best for you.

[TM99]

7. If we are talking prayers as in the pleadings and beggings

of a 'child' towards an external deity that isn't 'there' then I don't think too highly of that type of prayer no matter which religion.

If we are talking prayer as a type of mantra and contemplative meditation practice, then yes, I highly recommend it to those of any religion. It has all of the benefits of meditation, offers a deeper understanding of the positive use of metaphor and allegory in religious texts, and brings a religious person closer in their own internal consciousness to a realization of 'godhead' or 'buddha-nature' or whatever you wish to call the mystery of life as we know it.

[goldent]

8. I think prayer is like exercise

it's better to just do it, and not get hung up on the details. I pray at random times about random things (joy, sadness, fear).