Meditative Prayer

[andrwfields]

After going through a few weeks of depression, I decided to look for "home remedies" that might cure it. Outside of diet, exercise, and proper sleep, there were a few other offerings for ways to prevent and/or treat depression. One of those treatments was meditation.

Personally, meditation (long meditation like they suggest) has never worked for me. I don't have the patience to just sit somewhere quietly for an hour or even 1/2 or 1/4 of an hour and just "be in tune with the world." However, I did successfully attempt to pray for an extended period of time (years ago) and felt very peaceful afterwards.

I'm wondering if anyone else has ever tried this? If so, do you have any tips or things you do to make it work for you?

[Matthew]

I've never done it either. The yoga breathing, visualizing, relaxing techniques make me uncomfortable

Spending time in quiet, lengthy prayer is a great idea. But like you, it is very hard to stay focused for very long at all.

[RevSears]

for depression, diet as in eating less might not be the solution, but chugging water and eating basic foods (like spinach) should level you out a bit, i can attest to that working,a nd if your not getting enough sunlight, vitamin d's wonders.

beyond that physical stuff, to the spiritual, i've spent lengthy time in prayer, even to the point of crying, those long prayer sessions have always been helpful but there is hardly enough time for them, as I am sure you can relate to.

[chad_ghost]

My wife just recently found that she has a Vitamin D deficiency. That has really affected her mood.

Another thing I would recommend, which would be similar to meditation though a little more active, is writing. Just writing your feelings and thoughts and prayers and more. Often we pent up emotions and thoughts because we do not have an outlet for them. I even mentioned this to a student a few weeks back. Think about David's Psalms: are they not just his feelings in prose? And by the end of nearly every Psalm, he praises God.

[destros_elite]

I find that staying focused during an extended prayer time is difficult as well. One thing that helps me stay focused is writing out the points that I want to pray about. I know it sounds silly, but it helps me remember my requests and be specific in my prayers.

[destros_elite]

I find that staying focused during an extended prayer time is difficult as well. One thing that helps me stay focused is writing out the points that I want to pray about. I know it sounds silly, but it helps me remember my requests and be specific in my prayers. So I just go down the list as I pray, stopping to elaborate and be specific on each point. It also helps me to look back at my "notes" and see how God has worked.

[Matthew]

Good thoughts DE

[andrwfields]

Thanks for the suggestions!

Here lately, I've upped my prayer and I've started going to church as often as possible. Admittedly, I've not felt much during my prayer, but that doesn't mean God isn't listening.

[chad_ghost]

but that doesn't mean God isn't listening.

Amen.

[Wowboy]

Sorry I'm late to this party

For a Christian, meditation = prayer. When I was a kid I would see my grandfather do this weekly, sometimes for hours at a time, to prepare for his sermons. He even called it meditation. It sorta dispelled the eastern mystical humming thing your see people do.

Some things I have learned to do:

Since meditation is a time of deep introspection and focusing one's thoughts on a certain thing, which in this case is prayer to the Lord, why not bring a pencil and paper? I noticed that there were times in college when I was doing those exams that could take up to two hours to fill up blue books with an essay response to a question that I felt very much like I was in deep meditation over the subject matter. Why not do the same thing when meditating or having a quiet time with God? We have a great template in the Lord's prayer... just write every line of the prayer down, granting a generous amount of space in between each line, and elaborate. For example, you write "Give us this day our daily bread" and then elaborate by asking God to take care of yours and your family's needs, and writing it all down.

Another thing I do - Try envisioning the next day or so and everything that you have planned to do. It could be as basic as going to work or the gas station. Envision things that could happen to you and think about what God would want you to do in those situations. Fervently pray for the strength to do the right thing in those situations. You will be amazed at how often God will give you the right things to say and do... in advance.

[RevSears]

after having recently watched a video which involved eastern mysticism creeping into Christanity, just had to add that meditation as in chanting or trying to empty the mind, go against Jesu's warnings about vain reptitions and the emptying yoru mind stuff has zero backing in scripture.

It doesn't sound like what your talking about at all, but incase someone wondered into the thread unaware.

[andrwfields]

after having recently watched a video which involved eastern mysticism creeping into Christanity, just had to add that meditation as in chanting or trying to empty the mind, go against Jesu's warnings about vain reptitions and the emptying yoru mind stuff has zero backing in scripture.

It doesn't sound like what your talking about at all, but incase someone wondered into the thread unaware.

Yeah, definitely not looking to empty my mind for this. I will say that I've done it before in the past when I've felt overwhelmed with things around me and it has helped, but not for extended periods like I would do here.

Another thing I would recommend, which would be similar to meditation though a little more active, is writing. Just writing your feelings and thoughts and prayers and more. Often we pent up emotions and thoughts because we do not have an outlet for them. I even mentioned this to a student a few weeks back. Think about David's Psalms: are they not just his feelings in prose? And by the end of nearly every Psalm, he praises God.

I did this a few weeks ago before and in the beginning of a Sunday morning church service. I felt very overcome, depressed, and convicted. You wouldn't believe how much it helped.

[chad_ghost]

Another thing I would recommend, which would be similar to meditation though a little more active, is writing. Just writing your feelings and thoughts and prayers and more. Often we pent up emotions and thoughts because we do not have an outlet for them. I even mentioned this to a student a few weeks back. Think about David's Psalms: are they not just his feelings in prose? And by the end of nearly every Psalm, he praises God.

I did this a few weeks ago before and in the beginning of a Sunday morning church service. I felt very overcome, depressed, and convicted. You wouldn't believe how much it helped.

I really should start doing this again. I feel as it helps me stay focused, too.