Non-catholic Christian spirituality...

kelly1

Hello folks,

I've been wondering what kinds of things Protestants/non-catholic Christians get up to in their relationship with God and Jesus Christ. Church services are an obvious one. I'm talking about outside of church, in your own personal time with Jesus. Reading and meditating on scripture is a given I presume?

Which prayers do you use? Do you use a book of common prayer or something similar? Are there protestant devotions? Do you use litanies? Do you have any equivalent of devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, stations of the cross, Divine Mercy chaplet, Rosary etc, etc?

God bless,
Noel.

PDN

kelly1 wrote: »

Hello folks,

I've been wondering what kinds of things Protestants/non-catholic Christians get up to in their relationship with God and Jesus Christ. Church services are an obvious one. I'm talking about outside of church, in your own personal time with Jesus. Reading and meditating on scripture is a given I presume?

Which prayers do you use? Do you use a book of common prayer or something similar? Are there protestant devotions? Do you use litanies? Do you have any equivalent of devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, stations of the cross, Divine Mercy chaplet, Rosary etc, etc?

God bless,
Noel.

Some non-Catholics may use prayer books etc.

I don't. I speak to God in my own words. I sometimes use what is commonly called 'The Lord's Prayer' (Matthew 6:9-13) as a pattern covering the main bases and themes of prayer.
1. I begin by worshipping God and telling Him how much I love Him.
2. I ask for His Kingdom to be displayed on earth and His will to be done. This includes praying for the sick, the poor, those trapped in addictions etc.
3. I ask God to meet my material needs - to provide what I need to feed and house my family etc.
4. I ask God to forgive my sins. I try to look honestly at my life and confess to Him my sins and failures.
5. I make a conscious decision to forgive those who have wronged me. (This is always easier after the previous step. It's hard to be self-righteous in relation to others when you've just admitted what a ratbag you are yourself).
6. I ask God's help to live righteously and to resist temptation.

philologos

Reading the Bible is a major part yes, personal prayer and confession for wrongdoings. However as PDN says, I do sometimes consult the Book of Common Prayer (2004) for prayers, and readings that have been put aside for a given week. Most of the time like PDN also says, I pray to God as I would to a person. As Christ saw the Father I would see Him as a father figure also, and pray to him for divine guidance.

Hm, as for the rosary, some Anglicans do.

Puck

I don't usually use prayer books or devotional writings but sometimes I come across a really well written prayer I'll use that. Then of course there are the Psalms, I often use those as part of my prayer. I like to open up with a reading from Scripture and the Psalms are used a lot. The Book of Psalms is a prayer book actually so I guess I do use them.

I have in the past used the ACTS pattern for prayer:

• Adoration
• Confession
• Thanksgiving
• Supplication

At the moment I'm using the following pattern. I focus on:

• God - Worship, thanksgiving and praise for all He does for me.
• Me - I seek forgiveness for sins, thank God because I know that my sins have been stoned for with Christ's blood and ask God for any help I need.
• Others - Supplication for others.

I like PDN's pattern.

PDN

Puck wrote: »

know that my sins have been stoned for

I'm hoping that is a typo for 'atoned'.

Soul Winner

In the New Testament, when Christ's disciples asked Him to teach them to pray He said: "When 'ye pray, say this, Our Father who art in Heaven etc.." Jesus never prayed that prayer for Himself. To do so would be to admit that He was a sinner because in that prayer we find the words; "forgive us our trespasses". And if He had any trespasses then His life's blood would not have been accepted as an adequate sacrifice to atone for our sins. So what we call the Lord's Prayer should really be called the Disciple's Prayer. Because He said; "When YE' pray" say thus and so. His prayer is in John 17. So from this we know where to start and with what words to say first. He also said that we must pray in private not to be seen of men. In other words don’t show off to others that you are praying like some were prone to do on the street corners. Rather pray in secret, for who God sees in secret He shall reward openly.

In the Tabernacle in the Old Testament (which I believe was a type of heaven and earth) we have in the inner court sanctuary what was called The Altar of Incense. When lit this incense typified the prayers that ascend to God alone. Outside in the outer court you had the Altar of Burnt Offering where the sin offering was burnt. When lighting the Altar of Incense you could only use a burning coal from the Altar of Burnt Offering. Any other source of fire (strange fire as it was called) was deemed unworthy by God and if the high priest used any other source of fire then he was struck dead. All this was done in the inner court seen only by God, which coincides with what Jesus said in the New Testament about praying in private, not to be seen of men.

These for me give the focus, the method and the words for praying right. We have the focus, which should be on what Christ actually did to atone for our sins, and nothing else. Come with bended knee in thanksgiving and praise for what He did for us. When we pray in the knowledge that only through Christ have we got salvation then our prayers (the incense) is being lit with the right fire. If our focus is on anything else when we come to pray then I believe it will be deemed unworthy. It should be done with Christ in focus at all times and not ourselves or anything else, sure we can pray for ourselves and loved ones and anyone else but our focus and starting point should be on what Christ did. We have the method in which to pray (in private not showing others that we are praying), and the actual words we need to say to start out in prayer, what we call the Lord’s Prayer.

I try to combine all these elements when I start to pray, and I try to pray at least twice a day (2 being the number for adequate witness) in order to arm myself spiritually in the morning for the day ahead and in a more thanksgiving manner at the end of the day. I will also use memorised Psalms like Psalm 51 or Psalm 116. And claim promises that are in God’s Word that pertain to my particular life’s circumstance, like “I am the Lord that heals you” if I am sick, or “I will never leave you nor forsake you” if I am anxious about a looming problem on the horizon, and so on. There are promises in God’s Word that fit every circumstance that life throws at you, but tomorrow is promised to nobody, so while it is called today I endeavour to incorporate the above procedure into my prayer life in order to have the right focus and attitude as each day comes and goes. I believe if you can make a habit of this procedure then you are on solid ground when it comes to praying to God aright.

However I've often gone days without praying. Sometimes it is due to laziness, other times through forgetfulness and other times because of a stiff neck but in each case when it happens I find life a very dark, empty and pointless endeavour.

kelly1

Thanks to all who posted.

Soul Winner, that was a long one! I agree with much of what you said. The Our Father is an essential prayer. The psalms are also very good particularly as a way or worshiping. I pray the Divine Office when I can so this includes hymns, psalms, scripture passages and prayers of intercession and petition. The psalms are quite good when you're not at your best and full of the joys of Christ! I sometimes procrastinate when it comes to prayer and get distracted by things like posting on this forum But I usually find that when I actually get down to praying that I'm glad I did. Prayer is absolutely vital in order to keep ones relationship with God fresh and alive.

The thing that I disagreed with was you point that we must pray alone. Doesn't God recognize public prayer e.g. at church?

Puck

PDN wrote: »

I'm hoping that is a typo for 'atoned'.

Haha, yeah.

Soul Winner

kelly1 wrote: »

The thing that I disagreed with was you point that we must pray alone. Doesn't God recognize public prayer e.g. at church?

Well it’s not me that you’re disagreeing with Noel. According to Matthew 6:6 when we pray we must pray in secret: “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” But that does not mean that I am against praying as a group, just once the group is not doing it in public view, like the way choir singers would sing as a group in public. What I think Jesus means in the verse quoted is that we are not to show off that we are praying. This can be garnered from the preceding verse: “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.” Matthew 6:5 That is why I do my praying in secret, but like I said I’m not against praying as a group once the group has come together to pray in Jesus name. “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20

philologos

Soul Winner: Please also consult the book of Hebrews. It's not public prayer that is condemned it is boastful prayer.

Hebrews 10:24-25 wrote:

And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Fanny Cradock

This is a really good thread. I've always wondered how individuals approach the matter of prayer from the privacy of their own homes. Personally speaking, I have never used a prayer book, nor do I think that I would. However, it's great to see the approaches and structures adopted by PDN and Puck - something I seem to lack. Food for thought!

Soul Winner

Jakkass wrote: »

Soul Winner: Please also consult the book of Hebrews. It's not public prayer that is condemned it is boastful prayer.

Not sure if you picked the right verse there Jack. You sure it was the one you wanted? I see nothing about boastful payer in it???

JimiTime

Soul Winner wrote: »

Not sure if you picked the right verse there Jack. You sure it was the one you wanted? I see nothing about boastful payer in it???

I think he means that the gathering together of the faithful was encouraged, thus showing that puiblic prayer, i.e. the faithful gathering together in prayer, was not a problem. The context Jesus spoke of, was really about self-righteous prayer. Seeking the glory of men as the Pharisee's did. As he said 'they are having their reward in full'. I've never heard it called boastful prayer, but it says it well I think. Jesus and his Apostles sang praises together, so its all about whats in ones heart. If someone is visibly praying, to show others how 'holy' they are, this would be what Jesus spoke against. If a group of the faithful are gathered together in prayer for the sake of prayer, then there is no issue.

MattKid

My prayer time is basically a chat to God, I thank him, I ask him to look over certain people I know are having problems, I ask forgiveness, ask for guidance for myself and my church.

My bible reading time I choose a book and read basically, I've got the NLT Life Application Study bible so it highlights certain verse and how they can relate to our everyday life as Christians.

I'll go over the key scriptures used in the Sunday and Wednesday sermons as well.

At the moment I'm also looking for applicable scriptures for lyrical inspiration for a couple worship songs I'm writing.

philologos

JimiTime wrote: »

I think he means that the gathering together of the faithful was encouraged, thus showing that puiblic prayer, i.e. the faithful gathering together in prayer, was not a problem. The context Jesus spoke of, was really about self-righteous prayer. Seeking the glory of men as the Pharisee's did. As he said 'they are having their reward in full'. I've never heard it called boastful prayer, but it says it well I think. Jesus and his Apostles sang praises together, so its all about whats in ones heart. If someone is visibly praying, to show others how 'holy' they are, this would be what Jesus spoke against. If a group of the faithful are gathered together in prayer for the sake of prayer, then there is no issue.

My sentiments exactly.

TravelJunkie

Soul Winner wrote: »

Well it’s not me that you’re disagreeing with Noel. According to Matthew 6:6 when we pray we must pray in secret: “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” But that does not mean that I am against praying as a group, just once the group is not doing it in public view, like the way choir singers would sing as a group in public. What I think Jesus means in the verse quoted is that we are not to show off that we are praying. This can be garnered from the preceding verse: “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.” Matthew 6:5 That is why I do my praying in secret, but like I said I’m not against praying as a group once the group has come together to pray in Jesus name. “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20

About public prayer - like in a prayer group :
I heard something recently that is actually quite poignant. It relates to praying for someone (else) at a prayer meeting. It said always pray respectfully about another person as if he/she is in the room with you.


Kelly,
In quiet time, which unfortunately is not daily, I ask God's help and guidance. Then I read the bible and often I will read a passage that I may have read before but with a new insight and that is truly special.
The best times I've had with God however was when I would play my guitar and sing praise songs and then followed by worship songs. (I'm not very good with guitar but God liked it!) That is when I'm closest to him.

kelly1

Nice post TJ!

sorella

Beautiful , bright thread.

Often Prayer will change also as we grow... from Book prayer to heart prayer.

Blessings this day

LordSutch

Beautiful, bright thread indeed. but .................

May I suggest that the Title of this thread is flawed (as currently being discussed in another thread).

Just to point out that 'Non-Catholic' Christian spirtuality does not equate to all Protestant Churches, for we Anglicans (for example) are also of the catholic tradition.

May I suggest for a full & detailed explanition of the Church of Ireland (Anglican) that you click on this Link http://www.ireland.anglican.org/index.php?do=information&id=6

God Bless, and I hope this helps ..........

PDN

As a Pentecostal I certainly do not class myself as Protestant.

I'm not protesting against anything. I'm proclaiming the positive Good News.

sorella

Nice one:)

We get accosted/attacked by some pentecostals .. They cannot see that catholic nuns can be born-again.

when we also are proclaiming Jesus

so much stereotyping, is there not?

PDN wrote: »

As a Pentecostal I certainly do not class myself as Protestant.

I'm not protesting against anything. I'm proclaiming the positive Good News.