Is there a way I can pray to God when I don't experience him as a being, but more as a feeling of fullness, of deep well-being simply (when I let go of my everyday worries, usually; usually at bedtime)? Is there a way to make my experience of God more active than passive, when I'm alone?

I think this is a very important question. Whether or not I will be able to answer this question is tenuous at best. Over time I have come to settle into a nighttime routine of prayer similar to you. It has become apparent to me that it is much easier to talk to God when you let down all defenses and know in your heart that you cannot hide anything from him. Better said, when you feel free to speak your mind in both humility and honesty. From these two approaches I have found that I cannot fail to bring to the forefront my most inner feelings of doubts about myself. It is at this point that I do my best praying. Mostly in thoughts where my heart is expressing itself intimately. There are times when I am praying I experience such clarity of thought that my words flow from prose to poetry, although I am not sure that there is a difference between the two during prayer. Imagine that I can actually talk to God! Better yet, that he is actually listening! This brings such rest of my soul. I have peace with him.
Have I answered the question? I am not confident about it. I can only say that your prayers should contain this question. From there it is between you and him.

Matthew 6
Prayer
5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth; they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray go into your room close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then you’re Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9"This, then, is how you should pray: 
 " 'Our Father in heaven, 
 hallowed be your name, 
 10your kingdom come, 
 your will be done 
 on earth as it is in heaven. 
 11Give us today our daily bread. 
 12Forgive us our debts, 
 as we also have forgiven our debtors. 
 13And lead us not into temptation, 
 but deliver us from the evil one. [A]' 14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Hi, Silverglass,

Thanks so much for your kind and heartwarming response to my post. It's nice to know that there are people out there praying in the night! No one talks about such things anymore, do they. It's surprising, almost a shock even, to think that prayer is still going on -- really going on, in the real world, to learn that it is directly like this, from a real live human being, and not via a news report or televised documentary, say. I sometimes wish we could go back in time, hundreds of years back, when there were less distractions in the world, and the reality of God could surely be felt more easily. Was the modern world "created" to make us forget him, to turn us into lost, soulless workers and consumers -- to make us lose contact with our souls, I should say --, to make us better serve the almighty dollar? (I'm out of my league here, but you get my drift.)

How lucky you are (probably the wrong word, 'lucky'...) to enjoy a personal relationship with God; my relationship with him is only abstract, as I say. (I use the word 'him' for convenience's sake only.) I no doubt feel 'him' more closely at bedtime because I'm tired, because my ego is zonking out then and my more essential self rises to the surface. I wonder, if I got into the habit of addressing him as a father, would he come to seem more and more like one, more and more like a being and less like... just a vague but definitely comforting, all-pervasive... well, "warmth," feeling?

You're thinking about it too much. Give it up and let it go. Don't hold back...YIELD.

It is a simple thing but you must let go of everything you KNOW and become only what is REAL.

I thought I knew God until I knew Him and then I knew nothing but Him.

you can do it

Replace my self with my Self? Let go of one thing, to swing towards and grasp another? What if I'm not strong enough to grasp it tightly, this other "thing," and hold on?! What if I fall into a void in the attempt, can't go back, lose my mind? Not all 'leaps of faith' must be successful?

HOW can I do it?

Thanking you kindly,

Why you people gotta be all replace self with self and what not....Just don't do anything that you already know is wrong (Through the inner self...The Holy Grail) and there is no need for prayer..All prayer is to make you feel better about something you done wrong or that another has done wrong..Which means: Unless the ones around you start living the way they should...Then their guilt will fall on you too..It's a bad rap....Just live for yourself and try and teach others of your ways

Prayer means auto fellatio or Fellatio. That is the most acceptable prayer to the Father who created man. Verbal prayers are unanswered. Nor do you do good or bad that does not qulify you to an afterlife...

When I pray I get on my knees and lower my head. I clear my mind and then I actively try to recall my actions during the day. I consider how I acted, consider how those actions relate to God and His Will. I try to see how I could have done better. I apologize for my short comings and failures. I ask His forgiveness then I allow all the love I feel for Him to suffuse me. For this part I always turn my face to Heaven. I picture a shining beam of light coming from my face and splitting the sky straight up to God. I tell Him how much I love Him and how grateful I am for all the He gives me including all the opportunities I have to serve Him everyday. I thank Him for carrying the worst of my burdens. I finish praying by letting my mind empty and thinking of ways I can better serve Him the next day.

this is what I call yielding to God. The experience is about me and my relationship with my Creator. I know He has already forgiven my all my sins and did so before I was ever a person in this life. For me the act of praying to Him is a conversation about me, my failings, my triumphs, my love for Him and my willingness to be His above all else.During these times I feel so intensely at peace I often cry spontaneously without sorrow. I feel an overwhelming sense of joy which is His gift to me, the manna from Heaven that keeps my soul fed during the times when I am not praying.

does this help?

Excellent reply and I believe the clearest response to real prayer I have heard yet!

I don't believe there is a method nor do I believe there is a general purpose of prayer. Go desires a personal relationship with you, and prayer is simply us talking with God. You can pray aloud; you can pray in your head; you can pray on the bus; you can pray in your bed.
Our feelings are terrible indicator of the truth, and prayer is not about the experience. Prayer is about communion with the creator. You can talk about anything with God, ANYTHING. Religion has turned prayer into a ceremony, when Christ's true desire is intimacy.

You must remember God Created Man. Everything in mans brain is of God- knowledge is the key. but since woman became involved our knowledge deteriorated. Our brains do not function as the original man. Now what I am Saying is that you are the prayer. you do not need to pray. all good virtues are with you. the templates of God's Mind is with you. You just need to activate the templates. and that is a secret I could not share with you yet....I will give you a tip...sodium ions and potassium ions can be found in semen...also if for women it can be found in their mucus but only women for women; men for men.
Socrates is a pioneer...very homey....

Obviously not for YOU.

"I know he's already forgiven me my sins"

Is that why you act so vicious towards people who don't share your views on Barack Obama?
Anybody wanting proof of Dawn's Christian attitude towards others would, I am sure, LOVE to read her posts in that forum.
If you can make it through the rest of her drivel, that is.

Hypocrite.

Just praise God and ask Him nothing. First because He already knows what you need. And then, according to Malachi
3:6, "I am the Lord; I change not." It means that God is not like a man to change His mind. Since, by definition, prayer is an attempt to make God change His mind, it is a waste of your time. If you just go out and do something good
for someone else is the best prayer. Ah! And if you are praying for someone else, don't forget to let him or her know you are praying for him or her. Otherwise, you are just
wasting more of your time.

Yes, I know I have to go out and do some good, get out of my head and make it all concrete, with real people, let love, God, live then and there, while and where I'm doing good with others, but I'm frozen, afraid of everyone, everything. Took the day off today, am so tired of it all, living on the outskirts, of life, out of it, God's world. I remember when I was a kid, standing alone in the back yard, early in the morning on the lawn, feeling solid, substantial on the ground. I was on the earth then, I felt it solidly beneath me, beneath the grass, pushing up beneath me suddenly, my feet, the pressure of it. I was in God's world, I thought, knew, felt, in that instant. There were roses nearby, my mother's roses she'd planted along the white wooden rail fence, wood painted white. I walked from plant to plant, slowly. I was okay. I was more than okay. It became a ritual for me, this walk, my special time. I guess this memory came back to hold me. I guess it'll have to do for now. Thanks for jogging it, Masada007. Have to reach out, connect with others. If only here, for now.