It has been a while since we left the church and during that time we have almost completely stopped praying.

I would say that I am agnostic now and so is my husband.

I want to pray, not because I believe there is a Heavenly Father waiting for me to pray so he can answer my prayers, but because it is a nice way to focus on the things I am grateful for and goals I have. I also like praying with my kids, they say such darling things and again I feel like it is so nice for them to focus on the wonderful people/situations/things that are in their life and I think it is good to sort of state the goals they have. This could be done in meditation, but I'd sort of like it to be in the form of a prayer. I like hearing others prayers (and my family hearing my prayer at dinner or whatever), because there is often a beautiful expression of love for those around them that isn't often expressed in everyday conversation.

So, this is my dilemma: I don't really feel comfortable starting a prayer by saying "Dear Heavenly Father," it isn't that it is offensive, but I am not praying to a Heavenly Father. I'm not even really praying to anyone, I am sort of just praying for myself. I sort of think that if there is some kind of a God that He/It flows through us, so, I don't really think I need to look outside of myself for God. I really like the thought that the Kingdom of Heaven is within us. And also, I don't want to end the prayer "In the name of Jesus Christ." I mean, I think Jesus is great and has some wonderful teachings, I just don't feel like I need to pray in his name. So, I don't know how common this dilemma is, but have any of you found alternative ways to pray? When I am praying silently, I can kind of just skip the beginning and end, but when praying out loud it would be nice to have a better alternative.

I would appreciate and am curious to what you guys do.

Why it takes prayer for you to communicate love between your family members?

How about expressing it directly to them rather than making it about some prayer?

Rather than sitting down at dinner and saying a prayer, how about making it a point to say how much you love each person and what they have done that makes you proud of them?

and it is known to most Christians (not mormons though). The Lord's Prayer. When I 'believed' I thought - if it is good enough for Jesus then it is good enough for me.

It covers all the bases pretty well and you might get a sense of righteous satisfaction from it, otherwise it is okay to say what you like if you truly believe someone is listening who is omnipotent. After all, if that is the case that being could understand if you spoke in any language.

Personally, I think praying is just a personal affirmation and therapeutic thinking aloud exercise and little more.

Briggy

They don't recite it, or memorize it (generally), but it is part of the doctrine that is taught.

Just say anything you feel like at the moment. With time the good words will come.

prayer for non religious: hold hands around the table. "I am so thankful for a wonderful family and this great food Let's remember those who are not as fortunate" then pass the squeeze all the way wround the table.

My husband puts his hand on my head and mumbles a prayer in arabic when I'm feeling unwell or discouraged. I have no idea how he addresses the prayer but it always makes me feel better just because it's an expression of his love for me.

I like the term ‘beloved’. Whether you think of this as your highest self, the source of the universe, or whatever, it doesn’t matter. There is an inter connection of matter. Each moment each elementary particle in your body reaches and out connect with every other partice; responding to gravity and electrical magnetic forces. “ Science can’t even find 96% of the matter in the universe (dark matter and dark energy). Existence is mysterious.
"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed." Albert Einstein
Reaching out with gratitude to this mystery of existence feel like a good thing to me. Call it Joe, or Bertha. I like beloved.