Christian Prayer
“Lord, teach us to pray” (Lk 11:1).
This particular line is our humble plea in putting our trust to our Lord Jesus as our great teacher. This is,
of course, in our desire to live in a relationship with the Lord intimately.
It is important to note that prayer should not be taken for granted. And it is also necessary to learn how
to pray. Prayer is an art ever anew; even those who are very advanced in spiritual life always feel the
need to learn from our master (Jesus), to really pray authentically. We were taught by example from our
Lord Jesus to have an intimate and constant conversation with the Father: as it is best described as a
profound communion of the One who came into the world not to do his will but that of the Father who
sent him for our salvation.
Examples of prayer:
1) Ancient Egypt
A blind man, asking the divinity to restore his sight, testifies to something universally human.
This is a pure and simple prayer of petition by someone who is suffering. The man prays: “My heart
longs to see you. …You who made me see the darkness, create light for me, so that I may see you! Bend
your beloved face over me” (A. Barucq-F. Daumas, Hymnes et prieres de l’Egypte ancienne, Paris 1980).
The line, “that I may see you is the essence of the prayer.”
2) In the religions of Mesopotamia an arcane, paralyzing sense of guilt predominated, but which
was not devoid of the hope of redemption and liberation on God’s part.
“O God who are indulgent even in the greatest sin, absolve me from my sin. …Look, O Lord at
your tired servant and blow your breeze upon him: forgive him without delay. Alleviate your
severe punishment. Freed from bonds, grant that I may breathe anew, break my chains, loosen
the fetters that bind me” (M.-J. Seux, Hymnes et Prieres aux Diesu de Babylone et d’Assyrie,
Paris 1976).
3) In the pagan religion of ancient Greece, a very significant development may be seen: prayers,
while still invoking divine help to obtain heavenly favors in every circumstance of daily life and
to receive material benefits, gradually became orientated to more disinterested requests, which
enabled the believer to deepen his or her relationship with God and to become a better person.
Plato’s teacher Socrates, held to be one of the founders of Western thought have prayed:
“Grant to me that I be made beautiful in my soul within, and that all external possessions be in
harmony with my inner man. May I consider the wise man rich; and may I have such wealth as
only the self-restrained man can bear or endure” (Plato, Phaedrus, English translation: Loeb,
Harold North Fowrel). Rather than to possess plenty of money, he wanted above all to be
beautiful within and wise.
4) In the Greek tragedies, sublime masterpieces of the literature of all time which still, after
twenty-five centuries, are read, thought about and performed today, there is a content of
prayer which expresses the desire to know God and to worship his majesty. One of these
tragedies says: “O Earth’s Upbearer, thou whose throne is Earth, Who’er thou be, O past our
finding out, Zeus, be thou Nature’s Law, or Mind of man, Thee I invoke; for treading soundless
paths, To Justice’ goal thou bringest all mortal things” (Euripedes, Trojan Women, 884-886,
English trans.: Loeb, Arthur S. Way). God remains somewhat nebulous, nevertheless man knows
this unknown god and prays to the one who guides the ways of the world.
5) In the second century A.D., Apuleius, an author of Roman Africa, attested to this. In his writings
he expresses his contemporaries’ dissatisfaction with the traditional religion and the desire for a
more authentic relationship with God. In his masterpiece, entitled Metamorphoses, a believer
addresses these words to a goddess: “You are holy, you are in every epoch a savior of the
human species, you, in your generosity, always help mortals, offer to the wretch in travail the
tender affection of a mother. Neither a day nor a night nor even a second pass without you
filling it with your benefits” (Apuleius of Madaura, Metamorphoses ix, 25).
6) In the same period the Emperor Marcus Aurelius-who was also a philosopher who reflected on
the human condition-affirmed the need to pray in order to establish a fruitful cooperation
between divine action and human action. He wrote in his Meditations: “Who told you that the
gods do not help us also in what depends on us? So begin to pray to them and you will see”
(Dictionnaire de Spiritualite xii/2, col. 2213).
This advice of the Emperor philosopher was effectively put into practice by innumerable
generations prior to Christ, thereby demonstrating that human life without prayer, which opens
our existence to the mystery God, lacks sense and direction. Always expressed in every prayer,
in fact, is the truth of the human creature who on the one hand experiences weakness and
impoverishment, who therefore addresses his supplication to Heaven, and on the other is
endowed with an extraordinary dignity, so that, in preparing to receive the divine Revelation,
finds himself able to enter into communion with God.
The aforementioned prayers of different epochs and civilizations emerge the human being’s
awareness of his creatural condition and of his dependence on Another superior to him and the
source of every good. The human being of all times prays because he cannot fail to wonder
about the meaning of his life, which remains obscure and discomforting if it is not put in relation
to the mystery of God and his plan for the world.
Reality: Human life is a fabric woven of good and of evil, of undeserved suffering and of joy and
beauty that spontaneously and irresistibly impel us to ask God for that light and that inner
strength that support us on earth and reveal a hope beyond the boundaries of death.
The pagan religions remain an invocation that from the earth awaits a word from Heaven. One
of the last great pagan philosophers, who lived fully in the Christian era, Proclus of
Constantinople, gives a voice to this expectation, saying: “unknowable, no one contains you. All
that we think belongs to you. Our evils and our good come from you, on you our every yearning
depends, O Ineffable One, whom our souls feel present, raising to you a hymn of silence”
(Hymnal, ed. Vogt, Wiesbaden 1957, in Preghiere dell’umanita, op. cit., p. 61).
We now see a testimony of the religious dimension and of the desire for God engraved on the
heart of every human being, which receives fulfillment and full expression in the Old and in the
New Testament. The Revelation, is in fact purifying and brings to its fullness man’s original
yearning for God, offering to him, in prayer, the possibility of a deeper relationship with the
heavenly Father.
What is Prayer?
“For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of
recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.” St. Therese of Lisieux
Prayer is not an activity, but it is a state of being, a state of self-giving, which is what is the
definition of love.
It is not about what I want necessarily and there is time for that but it’s mainly about giving
which is love, showing my love for God.
It engages our whole being that’s why it’s a state of being our body, our soul, our emotions but
in essence here is what one word prayer is___________________. Describe prayer in one word.
Communication: It’s communion with God and each other that’s why we get Holy Communion.
Prayer is communication and that is best found in communion. That’s why the Eucharist is the
ultimate form of prayer. Now, it is also tied to love, yes it is, because love is intimacy and
intimacy is communication. So, communication with God or intimacy with God is prayer. Those
who are in love express themselves through communicating (words, gestures, and feelings) this
is communication.
Example: Reason for failed marriages. Number one reason; lack of communication. Prayer
together and engaging together in a conjugal act.
Prayer is standing before God. It’s realizing what should I say, what should I do? How would I
communicate?
Prayer is raising one’s mind and heart to God and making request of him. Not just give me, give
me but make me a better person. Help me grow in virtue and holiness. Basically, it’s a covenant
relationship with God in us. Way back in the Old Testament. We actually have a covenant with
God personally and it’s prayer. That’s our covenant with God like Abraham, David, and Noah, we
have a personal covenant with God and it is our prayer. In it, God slowly reveals himself to us.
When we go to prayer that covenant takes over and God slowly reveals himself to us and then
we do the same in return. This is why prayer is so critical. You cannot know each other if you
don’t reveal yourself with each other. A life of prayer is actually practiced in being in the
presence of the Holy Trinity. It’s a preparation for heaven. This is why it is like dating before
marriage, courtship. Accordingly, young people did not date anymore, they don’t court
anymore. They usually hang-out. Well, they need to know each other if they are going to get
married and it’s the same with our Lord. If we are going to go to heaven, we need to go to that
practice here on earth. If you could define eternal life this one word would be “prayer.” That’s
how we know God. We know him better by prayer than reading a thousand books. We could
read a thousand books and we would know him better in prayer. This is what the saints tell us. If
we talk about God, read about God, we know about him that’s great. But when we talk to him
we get to know him. In order to be a Christian, people say you must be pro-life, believe in the
Eucharist, etc. this is true, but we can’t be called Christian without prayer. When you say you are
a Christian and you did not pray you cannot say you are a Christian. It’s like needing faith and
good works in the bible. And also the bible tell us that we must pray. If God is necessary and we
know he is then prayer is necessary. Why? Because prayer is our lifeline to God. So God is
necessary and therefore if our lifeline to God is prayer, prayer is necessary.
Why should I pray?
Because God wants you to. –an easy answer. It’s not thinking about yourself, what, I need, I
need this that’s why I need to pray. No, because God wants you to. He does because we need it
for our own good. It doesn’t help God. God doesn’t need it. We do. To remind us of God and his
importance in our life.
“We must remember God more than we breathe.” - St. Gregory of Nazianzen.
Prayer can filter out the deceptions and the delusions in life and we’re fooled at those. Why do
you think the world is in such a mess? One of the saints said that if everybody on the earth just
pray 15 minutes a day we would be back to paradise. We need God’s spirit to prevent us from
falling into sin and delusion. But why did Jesus pray? He did not fall into sin. Because he
submitted his human will to the will of the Father and that’s what we need to do. That’s why
prayer is important. When Jesus prayed he taught us to pray to lead us to the Father. All comes
from God, all will return to God. We came from the Father and we will return to the Father. And
this is what the Mass is. All of the Masses about us coming from God getting broken, being fixed
by the Son and then through the power of the Holy Spirit. He takes us back to God the Father,
he does that through prayer. So he’s living an example and showing us to do the same.
Diary 14 146 of St. Faustina:
Every single grace comes from prayer with trust.
God knows what we need. So, why do we pray?
It’s actually a trap. God awaits our petitions because the dignity of us as human people and
children lies in our freedom so, he wants us to use our freedom.
CCC 2736
We pray to exercise our free will which is the greatest gift God gave us and it shows our desire
to be with him. He wants us to show our desire. If we never pray we are not showing any desire
to be with him. It’s not about he can do it or we can change his mind by praying that you let me
pass this test or not but it’s about him wanting to see that we want to be with him. It’s a loving
response to God.
What do I need to Effectively Pray?
Prayer does not require wisdom or saintliness because it is for fools and sinners.
Prayer requires 4 things;
1. Love
2. Faith
3. Hope and
4. Humility (is the foundation) –it is not thinking less of yourself. It’s thinking of yourself less.
It’s false humility for Michael Jordan to say; you know I really wasn’t a good basketball
player. Is that humble? No, it’s a lie! He’s a great basketball player. So, humility is not
thinking less of yourself. Humility is thinking of yourself less like being a better team mate.
Remember; St. Francis de Sales said, there’s many souls in heaven that did many sins but
not one is in heaven with the vice of pride. Likewise, there’s many souls in hell that did many
good things but not one soul is in hell with the virtue of humility. It’s our key to heaven. So,
we must be humble. So, unless God finds our hands empty he has nowhere to place our
gifts. Humility empties our self so that God can fill us. With his wine of the Holy Spirit.
Remember the wedding feast of Cana where the jars ran out of wine? Where they were
then empty so then our Lord filled them with the best wine. You have to be empty so that
God can fill you with the wine of the Holy Spirit just like at Cana.
Only when we recognize that we do not know how to pray as we ought, are we ready for the
gift of prayer. (Rom. 8:26)
Love is the source of prayer because it helps us to trust and be obedient. The surest test of
love is sacrifice putting someone’s good above your own. So this is why the prayer is a
sacrifice. Example: Sacrificing someone’s free time to pray somebody manifested his/her
love to the one whom they have prayed.
The surest test of love is our time.
Jesus said; come to me in the Blessed Sacrament because the currency of friendship is time.
Prayer mostly comes from the heart and so the source of love is the heart. So it’s deeper
than emotions or feelings. Love is an act of the will because I choose to spend time with you.
That’s true love. Prayer shows that God cannot be reached just to believe alone. People say I
believe in God and I want to go in heaven. No, the devils believe in God. To believe just
know that you confirm heaven exists but to love and to live becomes an act of the will, not
just the intellect. Faith is also important because some things can’t be proven scientifically.
They are a mystery. This is what our hope is. We need hope because we cannot prove that
heaven exists by seeing it scientifically but I have hope and faith that it’s there for me after
the death that I will incur and we all will.
When and Where to Pray?
Whenever and wherever you can.
Pray always! (Ephesians 6:18)
Big 4 times to Pray
1. When you wake up
2. At meals
3. After receiving the Sacraments
4. At Bedtime
Pray before making major decisions. Jesus prayed before picking his disciples. Although he is God and he
already know who he wanted but he still prayed.
We, as well, need to pray before making big decisions.
Another thing; special moment to pray in the Blessed Sacrament called “Holy Hour,” making other times
during the day to pray.
Islams have five (5) designated times to pray a day. But not to us Christians excluding those who prayed
using the Liturgy of the Hour-Breviary.
You never got time to pray. You got to make the time. If you say I’ll find the time later, you will not. It
means that you have to unmake something else because pretty much all of our days are full. Whether or
not it is full with junk or good stuff. That’s for you to find out.
“The only way to install the tenant of prayer in the apartment building of your life is to evict some other
tenant from those premises that prayer will occupy such as TV, sports, the internet.”- Peter Kreeft
Few of us have any empty rooms available so we got to evict some of those other tenants to create
room for prayer in our apartment of life. When you can fit it in it will never work. I’ll do my prayers Lord
when I can fit it in. It’s not going to work.
How long should we pray for?
At least 15 minutes. Even for those busiest people or person in the world.
What do you want to offer to God in the apartment building of your life?
Do you want to offer him the worst apartment or the best one?
When is the best time to pray?
The saints told us, in the morning. Prayer in the morning is really good because it gets your day started
off right. But give God your best time.
Place is also important. Where should we pray?
We should consecrate a place, make it holy; place a crucifix, holy card, statue, or an icon. In a church is
best but obviously not all of us can go there regularly. But we can meet God in a home and even in
nature. Fishing is also a good example as well along with praying while walking.
Most important thing that was not how you pray or how you do it but that you do it. Just begin, just do
it.
How to pray?
Types of prayer
Prayer does not always have to be done on your knees on the church which is beautiful if you do. Keep it
up!
But prayer can be private or public. Private means personal prayer and public prayer is called the liturgy.
So, prayer can be in the church by yourself in the liturgy in a community. But prayer can be private
(personal) or public (liturgical). It can be vocal (with words) or silent (in your heart). It can be formal
meaning I read the words of the Our Father or I say the words in the Hail Mary. Those are formal written
words that are given to us or it can be informal like when we pray before classes. I just say whatever
God puts in my heart. Just say it as it comes to you. (That’s informal) It’s in our own words, it can be
active or we do the talking, it can be receptive where we listen to God. You who talked is active and God
who talked is receptive. Both private or personal prayer and public or liturgical prayer are necessary.
Perhaps we can conclude that we are only talking about the Mass but no, private prayer for example
while we are inside the church in addition to the Mass. The bible tells us, go to your room close the door
and pray but it does not say that it is all to do. We need to worship God publicly as well.
But let’s start with private or personal prayer
That’s most people think when we talk about prayer
Types of prayer
1. Vocal
2. Meditation
3. Contemplation
All of these forms have one common denominator, the heart.
Vocal prayers are; Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be and the most powerful of all prayers is the
Psalms. But this is an example of private prayer that is formal meaning the words are given to us. When
we say vocal prayers when we say the ones that were given to us like the psalms or Our Father, we are
praying in union with the whole church. Especially when we pray the psalms in the Divine Office because
in you united with hundreds of thousands of people around the world praying those same prayers. The
most powerful form of those vocal prayer is the Our Father because Jesus gave it to us and the psalms
because it is on the book of the bible. It is the only whole book of prayer in the bible. There are psalms
for everything, for every mode, situation or person depraved by the Jews and the Christians so it unites
us. They were prayed by Christ, he prayed the psalm 22 on the cross and he fulfilled it. The Our Father
too because Jesus gave us this. And it is important to pray because the Our Father captures our entire
existence not just the present moment. But it captures the past, present and the future. Jesus prayed,
forgive us our trespasses, that means, touch the past Lord I made mess ups from the past. Then he says,
give us this day our daily bread, that’s the present, so we have to pray in the present and ask for his
blessings but then he says and lead us not into temptation so even the future is brought to the throne of
God. Lord, forgive our past, help us in the present and protect our future. This is the powerful stuff. But
sometimes we want to pray our private prayer informally where we make up our own words or we just
talk from the heart. For example, before our discussion I would say; “Heavenly Father, please send down
your Holy Spirit…,” this is an informal prayer. I just make it up and it is not written prayer of the saint, I
just pray it; “Heavenly Father, please send down your Holy Spirit down upon us to open our hearts and
minds to receive the grace you wish to bestow. Give us this grace to lead us to eternal life. And we ask
this through Christ our Lord. Just whatever comes into the heart. That’s informal or personal private
prayer. It’s sometimes good because when we don’t say our prayers we really pray them and the
problem with the formal or written ones is, “Hail Mary full of grace2x,” we cannot pray them, we can
just recite them. So what makes our prayers heard is not the number of words but the love by which we
pray.
The simplest form of vocal prayer is simply invoking the name of Jesus.
“Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God have mercy on me a poor sinner.” It’s called the Jesus’ prayer.
And our youth are not being taught it anymore. And it’s a shame because it is one of the most powerful
prayers you can ever make and we don’t say it anymore. That prayer has everything. It invokes the name
of Jesus. When you pray the name of Jesus you have it all; you have him as God, you have him as man
and you have all his creation because all creation is being made through him. So some of the best form
of prayers is just the name of Jesus.
Another form is called ACTS.
Vocal Prayer: “ACTS”
1. Adoration-glory you, praise to God
2. Contrition-I am sorry, Lord I messed up
3. Thanksgiving-always thank God especially after receiving the Holy Eucharist, waking up in the
morning and before going to bed for surviving the day
4. Supplication-intercessory prayer for others and yourself/petition prayer.
Adoration-adoring God, acknowledging that you are the creature and he is the Creator. Lord, I come
before you as your creature. I am the lowly creature, you are the mighty Creator, I adore you, I praise
you. Before you chat with God which is good, we must adore him first. He is not your lunch male buddy
event though he wants you to take him along in your lunch to work but he’s still your God. God is our
friend but we must adore him first because he is our God. But God is due our praise and worship. This is
the virtue of justice, to give what is due. And God is due for our worship, praise and adoration.
Contrition-it’s best to come into God’s presence on our knees. Not maybe physically, but spiritually.
Jesus Christ, son of the living God have mercy on me a poor sinner. Basically, the tax collector and the
publican. The publican said; I fasted and I am just a good holy man. And the tax collector put down his
head and said, “Lord, I am not even worthy to look at you,” that’s contrition. To do this, examine your
conscience daily. When you go to bed and it walks to your day, just don’t hit the pillow and crush out.
When you go to your bed and go to your room a couple of minutes early and walk through your day. It’s
a very important part of church tradition called an examination of conscience where you walk through
your day.
Tell God that you are sorry but don’t get depressed. If I messed up again I’m a liar. No, God said, say you
are sorry and try to do better. Saints are simply sinners who keep on trying. Not that they never sin.
Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. I may not be perfect but I can try perfectly. So,
saints are simply sinners who keep on trying, confess their sins privately, every day. Lord Jesus Christ,
son of the living God have mercy on me a poor sinner, forgive me, I’m sorry. But then do it sacramentally
at least once a month. Technically, the church teaches once a year but it is also good to try to avail the
sacrament of Confession/Reconciliation once a month.
Thanksgiving-count your blessings even in the poorest and most wretched life. There are things to be
thankful for, immeasurable riches such as life itself, salvation, eternal life, the church, God’s patience
with you. It doesn’t matter if you are sick or poor you still have a lot to be thankful for. God only ask that
we give him thanks he does not demand that we feel thankful. Is not it hypocritical? No, an active will is
that you go and said “thank you, Lord.” He only wants you to say thank you, he does not demand that
we feel thankful. So don’t worry, it will come.
Supplication-pray for others, intercede for others and petition for yourself. The word pray means
petition. Intercessory prayers for others are great but don’t just say Lord, I want you heal that person.
Invoke the saints. Get the big guns, St. Faustina if it’s somebody that struggling with trusting God, St.
Rita for the impossible cases, St. Peregrine for cancer patients. It’s not just interceding by ourselves,
invoke the saints to intercede for our loved ones. When we pray the saints we do not adore or worship
that. We pray to them but not the same thing. As friends of God we are asking them to intercede for us
and our loved ones as you do with your friends on earth. For the non-Catholics they also have this
statement; hey, would you pray for my mom she’s got to have a knee replacement tomorrow. That’s
intercessory prayer. So, when you pray for others many times your problems don’t seem as bad. Then,
prayers for ourselves are last and only for what we need. God sometimes may withhold things from us
until we ask because what we need first is to pray. So, through petition we admit to God that we are
beggars and the only thing that we are without him is miserable (St. Faustina).
Meditation-this uses more internal words or themes. This is more mental prayer. It engages more of our
thoughts, our imagination, our emotions and it takes it to a higher level. Most people do their vocal
prayer but they don’t get into meditation. And this is important, you need it, you need a blend. You just
can’t recite your prayers. You are not fulfilling the fullness of your being. Vocal prayer is good but in
meditation, it don’t confuse it with yoga and this kind of stuff. Since meditation is not about emptying
one’s mind and think you are the center of the universe. You empty your mind and fill it with Christ. That
is why yoga is not what we do as catholic. We fill our things with Christ, that’s meditation. And in it we
allow the Holy Spirit to illumine our minds about the truth of God. Can we use other things? Absolutely,
the books, the bible, images, icons even sacred music, things of creation.
Another form of meditation
Lectio Divina-divine reading of scripture
One powerful prayer every day is to read the daily scripture passage for the mass and do lectio divina.
4 R’s
1. Read-it obviously includes comprehension
2. Reflect-what is God’s message for the world? What Jesus is trying to tell us?
3. Respond-what does it mean for me personally?
4. Rest-in silence God’s word will fill you. God’s word will sink into your inner being.
Contemplation
This is the most interior of all prayer. It is wordless and it is also the easiest because you don’t say
anything. You don’t do anything. Its silence and surrender. Listening to God and not doing the talking
2709 What is contemplative prayer? St. Teresa answers: "Contemplative prayer [oracion mental] in my
opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone
with him who we know loves us." Contemplative prayer seeks him "whom my soul loves." It is Jesus, and
in him, the Father. We seek him, because to desire him is always the beginning of love, and we seek him
in that pure faith which causes us to be born of him and to live in him. In this inner prayer we can still
meditate, but our attention is fixed on the Lord himself.
It is being in God’s presence.
Finding the time to be with God in loving communion and silence. It’s a gaze of faith just fixed on Jesus.
You gazed on him and he gazes back either in the Eucharist, in the crucifix or in the image of the Divine
mercy. It is a childlike prayer which is considered to be the highest form of prayer. It is silent love with
forgetting about ourselves, no self-awareness, it’s a renunciation of self-will. It’s all about God. You are
not saying anything, I need this, I need that. You’re saying, Lord, fill me. You’re servant is here, I am
listening and you just relax and rest in his arms. What replaces the self is not nothingness but Jesus. It is
actually training for future ecstasy in heaven. How is that? Ecstasy means standing outside of one’s self.
A sharing of the very life of God.
2715 Contemplation is a gaze of faith, fixed on Jesus. "I look at him and he looks at me": this is what a
certain peasant of Ars in the time of his holy curé used to say while praying before the tabernacle. This
focus on Jesus is a renunciation of self. His gaze purifies our heart; the light of the countenance of Jesus
illumines the eyes of our heart and teaches us to see everything in the light of his truth and his
compassion for all men. Contemplation also turns its gaze on the mysteries of the life of Christ. Thus it
learns the "interior knowledge of our Lord," the more to love him and follow him.
The presentation is not mine. Credits to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and to Rev. Fr. Chris Alar, MIC.
