Too Much Prayer?

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trevor123
Posts: 15
Joined: Mon Jun 08, 2026 12:49 pm

Too Much Prayer?

Post by trevor123 »

Can one pray too much?

It seems that prayer, per se, is not necessarily a good, thing, and in certain circumstances it could even be spiritually detrimental. This is clear from what our Lord says:
But thou when thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber, and having shut the door, pray to thy Father in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee. And when you are praying, speak not much, as the heathens. For they think that in their much speaking they may be heard. Be not you therefore like to them, for your Father knoweth what is needful for you, before you ask him
Matthew 6.6-8
It seems that sometimes, prayer can be a kind of chore, as it were. Speaking personally, oftentimes prayer does not come out of a desire to confide my heart, and my mind, and my person within God, but rather as a task that needs to get done so that I can move on to "more important" things in my life. And it seems to me that if I can recognize this corruption of what prayer really is within my mind, then it would be better to simply not pray as I usually would, because to do so would be to reinforce this idea by my actions.

It would seem to me that the heart of man can only be exhausted in prayer towards God so much. Insofar as prayer in to be sought in the movements of the passions towards God, in the emotional effect that it arises in man, it would seem that this capacity is limited within man, and thus, the act of prayer itself. And in this way, it would seem that there truly could be too much prayer.

It would seem that the problem in general is that man, always changing with the wind, is attempting to connect with God, who is unmovable, and never changes.
StudentDriver
Posts: 55
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2026 9:24 pm

Re: Too Much Prayer?

Post by StudentDriver »

Thank you for your reflection! Most of my prayers are for the well-being for others as well for myself ( if I do pray specifically for myself then it's mostly for strength to overcome hardships (including anxieties), and also to repent). Since most of my prayers is for the well-being of others and myself, then it should be a daily-occurrence? Even if prayer feels like a chore, then I'll just be honest within the prayer that this feels like a chore. (Any may perhaps cut it short). But It doesn't feel like a chore all the time!
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