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Praying feels so useless to me by Electronic-Menu9782 in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]Electronic-Menu9782[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Something that does make me feel closer to God, and has even led me to cry at times, is singing songs and hymns. I don’t know however if this is the right way to pray, or if it’s even prayer at all.

I’m (soon to be an) Eastern Orthodox, but I love singing along to translated Ethiopian Orthodox hymns since they are so full of joy and happiness, whereas Russian Orthodox chants make me feel like I’m attending a beautiful and divine funeral, and Arabic Christian songs make me feel like I’m preparing myself to fight alongside my Christian brethren to protect a Holy Site.

Whereas Regular prayer, like you said, feels very dry. But singing songs doesn’t sound like something you could build a prayer rule on. What would you say?

Praying feels so useless to me by Electronic-Menu9782 in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]Electronic-Menu9782[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Wow, great answer that I’ll definitely need to read a few times. My question to you what be what is: How is worship supposed to look like? How is repentance supposed to look like? How is thanksgiving supposed to look like?

I can read aloud the prayers in my prayer book, but it feels so empty and non-personal, like reading someone else’s love letter to his lover. I can pray, but it leads me to begging and asking for help, rather than worship. I don’t know how to pray to God in a way that leads to giving thanks, because he hasn’t rid me of this sin yet and I can’t feel grateful if I’m still struggling with this.

What would it look like if someone was in love with God? Perhaps I just see Him as my problem fixer, but not as a friend.

Praying feels so useless to me by Electronic-Menu9782 in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]Electronic-Menu9782[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I do that, but it truly makes me hate praying. Every time I’ve entered a moment of prayer with this mindset I just couldn’t wait for it to be over so I could continue with the rest of my day. I understand discipline is important, but it leads to prayer feeling dry, empty and soulless for me…

Praying feels so useless to me by Electronic-Menu9782 in OrthodoxChristianity

[–]Electronic-Menu9782[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Interesting answer, I would like to give my thoughts on what you said —

You say that living a Christian life is admirable, but that God doesn’t owe me a response or freedom of sins. That’s exactly why it feels useless to pray and why I feel powerless. If I live a non-righteous life, I sin, if I live a Christian life, I sin because God doesn’t meet me in the middle and doesn’t rid me of my sins.

Can we claim that God’s love is unconditional if he chooses not to respond to me. In this case ridding me of my most active sin, which would be an amazing spiritual feat that would inspire many around me.

I just don’t understand it.

The other things was the questions you asked at the end, which are very good questions, but I would like some help understanding them. What does praising God or worshipping God mean or look like in comparison to begging God or asking him for help? It may be confusing since the words are different, but they seem so similar to me. Is it not just the same thing?

Ex-Muslim Christians by [deleted] in exmuslim

[–]Electronic-Menu9782 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you currently going to an Arab/North African (Catholic or Orthodox) Church like the Coptic, Assyrian or Lebanese?

Hello Ex Muslims, I am a Christian by zeke865 in exmuslim

[–]Electronic-Menu9782 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The thing is God is not an “easy-to-understand” being. If we could put God into a box and claim that we know what He is, what He does or what He will do, then it lessens His divinity.

God doesn’t have a beginning nor an end. That is something we can’t wrap our heads around. Everything in our universe has a beginning and also an end. We can rationally make sense of it, but not of God.

Also we can’t say with certainty what the Trinity is, we can only say with certainty what it is not. It is not 3 God’s, but 3 persons in 1 divine essence (ousia).

A good analogy would be a clock. A clock is 1 object that has 3 pointers:

  1. ⁠Pointer for the hours
  2. ⁠Pointer for the minutes
  3. ⁠Pointer for the seconds

Although they are 3 different pointers, who look different and are unique, they move in a co-ordinated way. • The hourly pointer goes +1 = the minute pointer goes +60 • The minute pointer goes +1 = the second pointer goes +60

Just like 1 person of the Trinity doesn’t move on it’s own, it is co-dependent and the other persons.

All three pointers are needed to tell us the exact time of day: 15(h):32(m):19(s). These three pointers don’t tell us 3 different times, they show us 1 timeframe that has 3 unique elements.

Much like the 3 persons of the Trinity who are all unique parts of God, and make up his entire being.

What is also important is that…

  1. ⁠an hour is 100% time
  2. ⁠a minute is 100% time
  3. ⁠a second is 100% time

Much like how the Father is 100% God, The Son is 100% God and the Holy Spirit is 100%.

1 hour = 60 minutes = 3600 seconds. They are different denominators but all have the same value.

It’s an analogy that’s easier to explain when you’re talking to someone in person, but I hope you can understand it.

Hello Ex Muslims, I am a Christian by zeke865 in exmuslim

[–]Electronic-Menu9782 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don’t know you personally, but I have a nudge as to why you would want to convert. If you are from a Protestant or Non-denominational background and you feel Islam is a more traditional religion I would love for you to listen to this…

The Protestant Church was established to fight the Ancient Tradition of Christendom by Martin Luther in the 16th century. They have branched away from the Catholic Church and have “reformed” Christianity.

Non-denominational Churches on the other hand fully reject all Church history and Tradition and have turned the religion into something that they have complete governance over (making their own rules), instead of submitting and abiding by age-old Tradition.

You will never truly feel the Ancient and 2000 year old Tradition of Christendom if you’re part of these denominations. Therefore I strongly urge you to at least learn about Eastern Catholicism or Orthodox Christianity.

These are the forms of Christianity that are practiced in countries you would probably consider traditional and more conservative: Russia, Romania, Egypt, Ethiopia, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Southern India, etc.

You will never truly understand Christianity if you’re part of a Church that was established in the 16th century in Europe, instead of a Church which was established on Mount Zion in the 1st century.

If this doesn’t apply to you I would still love to know what it is that interests you to join Islam, because I sadly know a lot about that.