Learning How to Pray After Finding God, from the perspective of a born again Catholic

I have told my story in part many times in earlier threads, but this gives me a fresh opportunity to share my journey. Forgive me if I sound like I am preaching or proselytizing...though it may be true. My intention is to simply share my story.First off, I was raised in a Christian environment to a limited extent. My parents belonged to a Methodist Church, and were not hyper religious...in retrospect I think that they equated God with prosperity. They and the many peers they knew all became financially stable and successful after World War II and joined many churches. They sung hymns and chatted after church, showing each other their kids and their new cars which they had bought through hard work. I was never taught much about how to relate or identify with God or Jesus. All that I remember was that I was told to eat all of the vegetables on my plate because "somewhere in India, a small boy or girl did not have what I had."As I grew older I began to form my own beliefs...at least within the context of my world view. We smoked pot, took LSD, dabbled with pyramid power and positive thinking energy, and experienced life free to make our own minds up as to what to believe in or not. Above all, we were indoctrinated to believe in our Country...right or wrong, damnit. In 1993, I was exposed to a non-denominational charismatic church. The people seemed hyper-Jesus, and they all seemed to smile a lot and act smug, but one day I went to the altar and confessed...as I had done many times before in my life...except this time I honestly felt a strong internal change. It was as if my perception had changed. God became personal. They told me I was saved. I had no reason to doubt them. Much of my early indoctrination was done through sermons which were always tied to certain Bible verses.I left that church and went to several others over the course of the next ten years. I also had many life experiences that tested my faith, belief, expectations, and critical solutions.
I also attended college and was exposed to more disciplined and varied thinking. And last but not least--I found EvC Forum. Here, largely through jar whom I have enjoyed debating with and found fascinating beacuse he believed virtually nothing that I did yet also called himself a Christian, I learned to a limited degree critical thought.So what does this all mean? It means that I have my own definite beliefs at this point.

God exists. He can be personal if one is serious about listening as well as asking for things.
Many people know about God and can define Him any way they so choose. Fewer people have actually met God...and cannot prove it. I believe that they have genuinely experienced conversion, though I would agree that to keep it requires a choice of daily commitment. We have no selfies of God nor Jesus, so at best we should listen and question and even challenge our preconceived notions.

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I haven't really learned how to pray yet, and by that I mean in a way that I find value, so I don't. Friends in RL are telling me that I'll figure it out. Anybody here want to help me?

I simply go to a quiet place where no one can disturb me. I talk...sometimes audibly. Occasionally I will recite written prayers. I believe with a high degree of certainty that God exists and hears my prayers. I feel that the purpose of prayer is not so much for Gods benefit as it is for mine...because I learn a lot about my deepest intentions when I am honest.

How do you pray? I feel like it might just literally be "to relate to God".

Thats actually a good way to put it. I agree.

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Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. —RC Sproul
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." —Mark Twain "
~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~Faith
Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.~Proverbs 28:26

Thats actually also good advice. Keyword: Surrender. Never assume you already know more than they do. Reading this made me realize that we are not so different--you and I. Edited by Phat, : added jabberwockian discourse

My prayers are getting longer than they used to be and I dont always ask for something anymore. If I do, it is usually for someone else. One Pastor that I knew suggested we use the acrostic ACTS when we pray.
Each prayer should include:
A-Adoration. Thanking God for being so absolutely huuuuge! Humbling myself before the vastness of a Creator.C-Confession. No shortage of material there. I always have something to confess.T-Thanksgiving. Gratitude for what I have, what we all have, and the need to stay humble.S-Supplication. Because there is always something to ask for. Maybe God grants it or maybe He gives me insight into how to find it. Edited by Phat, : huuuuge spelling error

I always like your balanced approach to these types of topics! I once took a course known as Denver Leadership Initiative where they taught us five core values which all worked synergistic ally to get our heads straight.

Balance

Accountability

Leverage

Interdependence

Empowerment

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I needed to remind myself of them which is why I am writing this reply. Your word "Balance" jumped out at me!

In my understanding, all people are different.

Yes. Some would argue that "One God does not fit all.....and I suppose that you are living proof! For some reason, you and I usually get along, however. I rarely try and convert you and you rarely if ever try and deconvert me. It is part of what makes EvC Forum such a folksy place....

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Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. —RC Sproul
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." —Mark Twain "
~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~Faith
Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.~Proverbs 28:26

Isn't that basically the philosophy of positive thinkers such as Napoleon Hill? Calling the universe "She"....I like that Hmmmm "Fortune"...is that a bit like "chance"? I suppose that my point...apart from my tendency to respond to everyone who I read...is that prayer is belief in a certainty while meditation could include gratitude for fortuitous happenstance.

quote:

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Here's an example of a story people told about Confucius:

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Zi Lu, they say, asked Confucius, "When we hear a good idea, should we start to do it right away?" Confucius told him no. "First, you should always ask someone with more experience." Later on, Ran You asked Confucius the same question. But this time Confucius said, "Yes, of course you should do it right away." There was another student who had heard both of these conversations and was very confused. He asked Confucius why he had answered the same question in two different ways?
"Ran You has a hard time making a decision," Confucius said. "So I encouraged him to be bolder. Zi Lu sometimes decides things too quickly. So I reminded him to be careful. Naturally different people should get different answers. "

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I like this "one size does not fit all" approach.This is one reason that I like to use prayers that I say off the cuff versus books of prayer and ritualistic prayer. I believe that God does in fact deal with us as individuals and that He knows we all are different.

All I know is that when I pray, I choose to think about God existing and listening to my petition. I also meditate while praying on the things in my own life that I can improve...how to be less jealous, for example, and empathy for my opponents. I believe that prayer gives me a chance to become introspective on my responsibilities as well as my needs.

I didn't think so either...when it happened to me. Darn if I can prove it, though!

well it cant hurt. For me its easier to say it out loud....it makes me focus better