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The scriptures warn against vain repetitions in prayer. I have been concerned in my own prayers that I give thanks for the same things and ask for the same blessings .These are things that I honestly am grateful for and things I need in my life, and yet I wonder if I sound like a broken record ( for those old enough to get this reference ) . Any suggestions? 

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13 minutes ago, strappinglad said:

The scriptures warn against vain repetitions in prayer. I have been concerned in my own prayers that I give thanks for the same things and ask for the same blessings .These are things that I honestly am grateful for and things I need in my life, and yet I wonder if I sound like a broken record ( for those old enough to get this reference ) . Any suggestions? 

I went through the same thing. Maybe have a prayer in our hearts and minds throughout the day? I'm trying to do that, or speak to God like a best friend throughout the day. I haven't accomplished this yet though it's on my mind to do this, but then I let days go by w/o doing this. I wonder if the early teachings of how to pray properly didn't help but only hurt our prayers. The way to say a prayer with thee's, thou's and thine's might not be the proper way either. 

Edited by Tacenda
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One more thought....

The scriptures give us examples of when praying for the same thing in each of our prayers is a good thing.  

Think about the prayers of Alma (and the people with him) on behalf of his son, Alma:

"Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith."  (Mosiah 27:14)

I'm sure it's safe to say that these people did not pray for Alma the younger only one time.  

Here are some other examples:

"But I, Nephi, have written what I have written, and I esteem it as of great worth, and especially unto my people. For I pray continually for them by day, and mine eyes water my pillow by night, because of them; and I cry unto my God in faith, and I know that he will hear my cry."  (2 Nephi 33:3)

And then we have what Jesus says about praying for our families in 3 Nephi 18:21:  "Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed."

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3 hours ago, strappinglad said:

The scriptures warn against vain repetitions in prayer. I have been concerned in my own prayers that I give thanks for the same things and ask for the same blessings .These are things that I honestly am grateful for and things I need in my life, and yet I wonder if I sound like a broken record ( for those old enough to get this reference ) . Any suggestions? 

I think "vain" is the key here. It can take many forms, many of which I see mentioned in other posts. I'll add to that superstition, hedging one's bets and not acknowledging God's will.

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8 hours ago, Tacenda said:

I went through the same thing. Maybe have a prayer in our hearts and minds throughout the day? I'm trying to do that, or speak to God like a best friend throughout the day. I haven't accomplished this yet though it's on my mind to do this, but then I let days go by w/o doing this. I wonder if the early teachings of how to pray properly didn't help but only hurt our prayers. The way to say a prayer with thee's, thou's and thine's might not be the proper way either. 

Tevia knows how to talk to God.

 

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9 hours ago, strappinglad said:

The scriptures warn against vain repetitions in prayer. I have been concerned in my own prayers that I give thanks for the same things and ask for the same blessings .These are things that I honestly am grateful for and things I need in my life, and yet I wonder if I sound like a broken record ( for those old enough to get this reference ) . Any suggestions? 

Repeated expressions of gratitude, if they are heartfelt, don’t strike me as “vain repetitions.”  

What this conveys to me is the idea of florid rhetoric meant as much or more to impress listeners than it is to sincerely communicate with Deity. 

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2 hours ago, JAHS said:

Tevia knows how to talk to God.

 

This is awesome. My niece is a Medium and during a reading, my first ever, when I told her that I don't get any signs from my parents who've passed on she mentioned calling out their names out loud, not always thinking of them in my mind. I figure that's what it's like with God, I believe he's there for us, but maybe needs us to just talk to him like he's in the room. This reminds me of this youtube I watched just today of Jimmy Stewart's famous prayer in It's a Wonderful Life.

 

 

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On 12/27/2020 at 9:59 AM, strappinglad said:

The scriptures warn against vain repetitions in prayer. I have been concerned in my own prayers that I give thanks for the same things and ask for the same blessings .These are things that I honestly am grateful for and things I need in my life, and yet I wonder if I sound like a broken record ( for those old enough to get this reference ) . Any suggestions? 

I think of how birds sing in the mornings when I say my morning prayers every morning.  Pretty much the same song every day and I think I am probably at least as happy as a bird to have a new day to sing about every morning.

A "vain" thing is a useless thing, like something that is said with pretty much no thought going into what is being said.  Like when some people say something like:  "Lord, make us truly thankful (for yada yada)"

If they don't appreciate something what makes them think the Lord wants to make them grateful for it?  They are either thankful for it or they are not and the Lord wants them to make their own decisions.

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8 hours ago, Ahab said:

I think of how birds sing in the mornings when I say my morning prayers every morning.  Pretty much the same song every day and I think I am probably at least as happy as a bird to have a new day to sing about every morning.

A "vain" thing is a useless thing, like something that is said with pretty much no thought going into what is being said.  Like when some people say something like:  "Lord, make us truly thankful (for yada yada)"

If they don't appreciate something what makes them think the Lord wants to make them grateful for it?  They are either thankful for it or they are not and the Lord wants them to make their own decisions.

Ahab, Hi. You are probably at least as happy as a bird that sings the same song every day! Heh. Thanks. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 12/27/2020 at 10:59 AM, strappinglad said:

The scriptures warn against vain repetitions in prayer. I have been concerned in my own prayers that I give thanks for the same things and ask for the same blessings .These are things that I honestly am grateful for and things I need in my life, and yet I wonder if I sound like a broken record ( for those old enough to get this reference ) . Any suggestions? 

I suggest that you meditate on several aspects of your life and the role that your Heavenly Father plays in those areas.

Do you praise Him for ALL that He has done in your life and continue to do? Do you praise Him for who He is and the qualities of His being that are the absolute essence of what it is to be His follower? Do you pray for your family members, individually and by name? Do you pray for Him to allow His Spirit into their lives so that their lives are improved in spiritual ways in a fruitful manner? Do you pray for those that have hurt you in the past (or continue to do so) or that you struggle in your interactions with them? Do you repent and confess your sins, ask for forgiveness and strength to overcome your weaknesses and shortcomings? Do you pray for His help in becoming who you need to become, "until Christ is formed in you"?

If you really open your heart to God in this fashion you will be praying for an hour before you know it. Just some thoughts.

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3 hours ago, Islander said:

I suggest that you meditate on several aspects of your life and the role that your Heavenly Father plays in those areas.

Do you praise Him for ALL that He has done in your life and continue to do? Do you praise Him for who He is and the qualities of His being that are the absolute essence of what it is to be His follower? Do you pray for your family members, individually and by name? Do you pray for Him to allow His Spirit into their lives so that their lives are improved in spiritual ways in a fruitful manner? Do you pray for those that have hurt you in the past (or continue to do so) or that you struggle in your interactions with them? Do you repent and confess your sins, ask for forgiveness and strength to overcome your weaknesses and shortcomings? Do you pray for His help in becoming who you need to become, "until Christ is formed in you"?

If you really open your heart to God in this fashion you will be praying for an hour before you know it. Just some thoughts.

Nope, still too annoyed at Him.

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On 12/27/2020 at 10:59 AM, strappinglad said:

The scriptures warn against vain repetitions in prayer. I have been concerned in my own prayers that I give thanks for the same things and ask for the same blessings .These are things that I honestly am grateful for and things I need in my life, and yet I wonder if I sound like a broken record ( for those old enough to get this reference ) . Any suggestions? 

Here is one of the greatest lessons the Lord has taught me about prayer through praying:

"Let your life be a prayer unto me", is what I heard and felt profoundly in my heart.  That answer shattered my previous perceptions of what prayer could/should be.

This answer came to me when I was meditating upon the scriptural injunction to pray always.  That always puzzled me. 

There are different forms of prayer and all are appropriate at different times.  One of my favorite forms of prayer requires no words at all - meditative prayer.

I feel strongly that when we act and live in gratitude to God, our very lives become a savory smoke from our offering that rises up and pleases the Lord. 

Quote

Let my prayer be set before You as incense, The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.

Psalms 142:2

 

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On 12/27/2020 at 12:26 PM, MiserereNobis said:

I just want to add to the voices that are pointing out that repetitions are not bad per se, but it is the vanity that is bad. Praying to appear pious, praying an "empty" prayer (vain comes from the Latin vanus, meaning empty).

I'm preemptively defending the Rosary :) Like any prayer, the Rosary can devolve into "vain repetitions." Prayed properly, it is heartfelt and contemplative. In fact, (something most Catholics don't know) we are supposed to contemplate different mysteries of the faith while we pray the Rosary. Done properly, praying the Rosary is a deep prayer.

One of my favorite contemplative prayers I have learned from a Benedictine monk of your faith, is to use the word "Maranatha" (Come o' Lord) as a mantra in prayer. Talk about repetition!

Edited by pogi
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19 hours ago, The Nehor said:

Nope, still too annoyed at Him.

Yeah, I know the feeling. But, recognize (and it is hard) that at the core of any broken relationship there is selfishness and pride. And those are the middle names of every human. He wants a relationship with you. He is looking for you from afar and will eagerly run to meet you before you can close the distance on your own. That is, my brother, the message of the parable of the Prodigal. A Father whose joy will eco across the eternities when His son who was lost returns. He had no regard, not did He wait for explanations for He needed none. He knew His son had repented and was coming home. The Father's mercy and grace have no end.

 

Hang in there.

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On 12/27/2020 at 11:26 AM, MiserereNobis said:

I just want to add to the voices that are pointing out that repetitions are not bad per se, but it is the vanity that is bad. Praying to appear pious, praying an "empty" prayer (vain comes from the Latin vanus, meaning empty).

I'm preemptively defending the Rosary :) Like any prayer, the Rosary can devolve into "vain repetitions." Prayed properly, it is heartfelt and contemplative. In fact, (something most Catholics don't know) we are supposed to contemplate different mysteries of the faith while we pray the Rosary. Done properly, praying the Rosary is a deep prayer.

On the other hand we have litanies, I am not even sure if LDS folks know what that word means

I find them quite meditative, myself

https://youtu.be/ZEJddliapxY

Edited by mfbukowski
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20 minutes ago, MiserereNobis said:

Yep! For those LDS who peeked at the video, notice how the congregation recites "have mercy on us." In Latin, that is "miserere nobis," from which I take my name :) 

I recall doing that litany with a couple of hundred congregants, and it became very much like a song when the words melted into spirit and totally lost their literal meaning.

The rythm of the words changed and the response became phonetically 

"Have mer, 

See on us",

-an interesting idea in itself! ;)

I nearly made my moniker here "Domine, non sum dignus"

Edited by mfbukowski
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On 12/27/2020 at 12:26 PM, MiserereNobis said:

I'm preemptively defending the Rosary :) Like any prayer, the Rosary can devolve into "vain repetitions." Prayed properly, it is heartfelt and contemplative. In fact, (something most Catholics don't know) we are supposed to contemplate different mysteries of the faith while we pray the Rosary. Done properly, praying the Rosary is a deep prayer.

I told this story in another thread, but one of the things that has recently endeared me to Biden was the story of one of his friends who asked him on inauguration day, "are you going to be okay?".  President Biden stopped him, put his hand on his friends shoulder and pulled out his rosary beads and said "I am going to okay." 

In searching for that story online, which I cannot find, I came across this video which gives a deeper significance of those beads (from Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico) to him.  He stated they are like a meditation for him and give him great solace, but he also feels a touching and deep connection to his son Beau through those beads.  

The whole clip is very touching and terribly sad, and it is interesting to see his hesitance to run in 2020.  The part about the beads is at 2:04.

 

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