The point of prayer is?
551857
Having an entity that provides a means for one to share their internal personal conflicts is a clever tool. It is easier for one to relive guilt or experss happiness to something they know will remain impartial. E) Is my answer.
345378
It's a prayer for God to judge and render harmless the entire generation or spawn of a wicked society.  It's the kind of prayer one might pray, for example, regarding inner city rap "culture," or the privileged children of the global elite attending Harvard and Yale; two very different "worlds," yet both very destructive of God's people.
838840
Maybe you need to pray for faith.\n\nPrayer is the elevation of the mind and heart to God:\n+ In praise of his glory\n+ In petition for some desired good\n+ In thanksgiving for a good received\n+ In intercession for others before God\n\nThrough prayer the Christian experiences a communion with God through Christ in the Church.\n\n"For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy." (St. Thérèse of Lisieux)\n\n"Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God." (St. John Damascene) \n\nBut when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or "out of the depths" of a humble and contrite heart? (Psalm 130:1) \n\nHe who humbles himself will be exalted; humility is the foundation of prayer. Only when we humbly acknowledge that "we do not know how to pray as we ought," are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. "Man is a beggar before God."\n\nWith love in Christ.
175927
Because we are beginners and often have difficulty in distinguishing what to practice and what to abandon on the path, prayers written by advanced practitioners give us guidelines to follow. Saying the prayers can help us tune into the meanings they express. While we read or recite them, we should simultaneously try to meditate and transform our minds into the mental states described in the rituals.\n\nWe do not need to limit our prayers to those composed by other people. As we study the old prayers and become familiar with the path to enlightenment, prayers may spontaneously arise in our minds. Events that evoke prayers may occur in our lives, and these can be very helpful in deepening our experience.\n\nSome people like rituals and find them useful for their practice. Other people find them distracting. A person may want to do more rituals at certain times and fewer at others. Everyone is unique, and there are no hard and fast rules. We must do what feels comfortable to us and not do rituals simply because everyone else is doing them.
229996
absolutely! He doesn't want to listen to all that monotonous babbeling day in day out. He will simply ignore it. personally I'm not big on prayer, however I am constantly informed that the best way to reach God is to simply talk to Him as you would engage anyone in proper conversation. this makes far more sense to me.
1125023
I don't have an average.  We are instructed to pray without ceasing.  So whenever I need help, peace, or anything I will offer up a quick prayer wherever I'm at.  I pray before and after reading the Bible, when I wake up, before I go to sleep, before eating.  It is our way of communicating with God, why shouldn't we pray always.
417030
Prayer is many things, but most importantly, it is communication with the Almighty. This means it is conversation, not a monologue. When I pray, I try to spend more time listening than talking ... I figure God knows more than I do, so He should have the bulk of the time to do the talking :)\n\nFor my part, there are the short "HELP! ! ! " kind of prayers when I'm in a bind; the pouring out my heart to God, kind of prayers; the lifting up a brother or sister who is in a bind kind; the deep and travailing intercession for others; prayers of blessing for my friends (and enemies); praying for protection, wisdom, direction, etc.\nIn short, even though the form of the prayer changes with the circumstance, the Object of the prayer (God) remains a constant, so any prayer that is prayed in veiw of God's glory being manifested in the greatest possible way, is assured of a positive answer.\nI do try to pray for things VERY specifically (God, please bless Tom by giving him a job that will let him spend more time with his kids, and still pay the bills), as opposed to general prayers like "God, please bless Tom." In this way, I can know with greater certainty that God has answered the prayer (He may very well answer both, but If I have only prayed a general prayer, I won't know if it's really God answering or just 'the way things turned out').\n\nIn my experience the best prayers start with listening to God, finding out what is on God's heart, and then praying for that to happen.\n\nEdit: I wanted to add that prayer does not have to be done in any set or formal way (although formal prayers are not wrong), or use a bunch of high-sounding words that lack personal meaning but sound 'religious'.\n\nAlso, I think God likes us to be 'dirt honest' with Him (It's not like we are really hiding anything from Him anyway). Sometimes my prayers are more like yelling at God, and sometimes I get downright demanding (like a child who still has some 'growing up' to do), but I know that God is big enough not to be threatened by my anger, frustration, disillusionment, disapointment, etc, and even when these emotion are directed at Him, he is patient with me, and (I think) is actually just as pleased in those times as much as the ones we usually refer to as a "good prayer time".
417369
Many people do not understand prayer; a large majority of people pray selfishly, so, when they preceive their prayer not answered immediately they feel like "god has forsaken me", or that prayer does not work.\n\nPersonally, I beleive in the power and strength of prayer. However, I also understand god may not always give me what I want but always what I need.\n\nAs a person who believes in the power of prayer, I included those who don't in my prayers with a hope that one day they will understand.
703301
If they pray for you then good for them....\nIF it some how does something good for you well good for you....don't look a gift horse in the mouth.\n\nThe thing is prayers are cheap and have no proven effect....actions speak louder than words...I believe the world would be a better place if people spent there time doing good for people instead of all that praying....Good deeds have  results....Prayer ...Well the results of prayer are debatable
46330
There's no danger in that, if by interceding you mean praying for them.  I wouldn't run up and tackle them or knock them out with a Bible first, but prayer is powerful.  To those who are offended by anyone who wants to share their faith:  Wouldn't it be more offensive if someone knew of the one and only way to bring meaning to your life and carry it into eternity yet refused to share it with anyone? If someone really loves and cares about you enough to tell you what they know to be the truth- the truth that could set you free from a world of hurt- that should be appreciated rather than scorned, even if you don't take it to heart.
478909
I really, really, really believe that there aren't rules as far as prayers go.  If you want to say something to God then go for it, I don't think God will mind what you say first as long.  I find it unfortunate in some organized religions that there is an "outline" for reflecting with God...or when one isn't even "allowed" to talk to God directly, but through a priest.\n\nI'm not overly religous but I do pray and find it soothing.  So if you want to ask for forgiveness, be thankful or as for blessing just go for it!   If you feel it in your heart and practice goodness (i.e don't be hypcritical! I can't stand that - have  a few of those in my life, ick) I think you're all set!!
978576
Prayer is not just for when u have problems... prayer is meant to be a time for communication with God. Prayer is to be constant.
1024753
beekay had a couple of good ones, but the most important part of prayer is us conforming our will to God's will.  A good passage for this is James 4:13-17, especially 15, which reads;\n"Instead you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."\n\nWhen we seek His will, He fulfills the desires of our hearts, and that is mostly because they become the same as the desires of His heart.  God be with you on your search!
1098989
If a person really had faith, he wouldn't bother praying. Praying indicates a person believes his God is really stupid.
658086
Not neccessarily.  It is more of a well-wish than a prayer.
742640
Prayer is the elevation of the mind and heart to God.\n\nIt should contain one or more of the following:\n+ In praise of his glory\n+ In petition for some desired good\n+ In thanksgiving for a good received\n+ In intercession for others before God\n\nThrough prayer the Christian experiences a communion with God through Christ in the Church.\n\n"For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy." (St. Thérèse of Lisieux)\n\n"Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God." (St. John Damascene) \n\nBut when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or "out of the depths" of a humble and contrite heart? (Psalm 130:1) \n\nHe who humbles himself will be exalted; humility is the foundation of prayer. Only when we humbly acknowledge that "we do not know how to pray as we ought," are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. "Man is a beggar before God."\n\nWith love in Christ.
872014
prayers are gay, why should people waste ther precious time on something like prayers? they're B-U-L-L