Spontaneous or formatted standard Prayers??

MY VIEWS

Of late there has been alot of debate , whether prayers should be spontaneous, spirit inspired and arising from the heart or recite from  standard formatted prayers which had been passed down from early times..We Catholics have been severely criticized  for our repetitive method of praying. The view from the outside certainly appears that we have been  too ritualistic and mechanical .......But... 

THOUGH Yours Truly has a preference and  favours spontaneous prayers , (pray like Jesus) she is not about to give up formatted prayers.Prayer is really a private conversation with her God and Father and a Father listens when it is an outpouring of heart and need. A Father smiles and blesses even more when a child comes before Him to thank, appreciate, revere and honour Him and it is something entirely private and bonding, which grows with the sincere outpouring of love and somehow, spontaneity does it better....It opens the connection...it draws  the good Lord towards you with outstretched  hands...

YET where the Rosary is concerned, where the "Hail Mary"  is concerned, it is something very  Biblical . It is an act of honouring, even as you utter the very words......it is an echo of  the Arch Angel 's  greeting- " Hail Mary, full of grace...the Lord is with Thee"...beautiful , full of reverence! And if you proclaim it from your heart, it becomes  personal. It is the way - how you recite  standard prayers that makes it into a private conversation, that it becomes spontaneous...full of feelings and heart . Too many of us..rattle on without understanding the words of the prayers that it becomes mere words and sounds....habitual, routine- No merit.

And yet standard prayers can  be so beautiful, comforting and powerful. Three years back, after an event which saw YT leaving the event premise,( in the town centre) ...close to midnight...and being the total "Ah Beng" or country pumpkin that she was where directions were concerned., she got lost-going home! ...Imagine.the scenario .folks....midnight...lonely roads..dim lights....middle of nowhere..and your  blood getting colder by the minute. It was freezing and she had to off the air-con.......A rosary was in her car....so she wrapped it around her wrist and  prayed  non stop  the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be... ..

Then Lo and Behold, before long, Clarity arrived and she recognised her surroundings .. she had  nit-witted-ly  ventured into Rawang!! Would you believe it!!! How could that possibly happened????God be praised, she was quite familiar with that road and so her blood warmed up  again and she zoomed through familiar roads- and safely reached home. All the time, she had unceasingly recited the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be...Guess, she must have recited hundreds of the Three Prayers.... Blessed John Paul would have applauded. Without realising it, she had invoked the Holy Mother to pray with her, she had invoked the presence of the Lord to be with her....Believe it or not..it was as though...she was not alone...as though...the Lord sat by her  side, assuring her and keeping her company.... I know!~ I know! you guys would go Bah! bah! Nonsense!! My,  what imagination you have!!!  But, YT truly believe something extraordinary happened that particular night. 

The Lord's Prayer, is an  amazing marvel.... ...."Our Father who art in Heaven..Hallowed be Thy Name" , ...it is an absolute, total prayer honouring God.  OUR  FATHER, we call out to Him, proclaiming that we are His children,..., we belong to Him ......such intimacy! kinship! He designs ,  He decides., He wills........"Thy will , will be done on earth as it is in heaven"...His providence..."Give us this day our daily bread"...Everything comes from Him. He is the source of all goodness!!

There is praise, honour,  appreciation, providence, forgiveness, deliverance,  love , protection.. there is Presence of the Holy spirit, ...hence our  ability to forgive others......It is biblical , holy and comes directly from the Lord Jesus, himself.......the ultimate, power prayer and it is so effective when we digest and pronounce each and every word with understanding, with acknowledgement, with appreciation, with expectancy , with faith and with humbleness!   In our daily existence, it comforts and reassures , in our hour of need, it becomes a living power!

Hey guys, there is another true  life incident, which demonstrates just how powerful that prayer is-total  unexplained mystery .., but let's keep that story for another time....

Spontaneous or standard prayers???It entirely depend on how you pray, the circumstance and the need.  Yours Truly uses both formats and it work  just fine. Do not draw a line...more importantly ...converse and pray from your heart.-methodology does not matter. Whichever  format or method, brings you closer to God, that is the way you should be following and practising..Cheers!!!