Prayer

What is a Prayer?It is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.

How do we pray?When we pray, we do not speak from the height of our pride but we pray with a humble and contrite heart. Only when we humbly acknowledge that we do not know how to pray, then we are ready to freely receive the gift of prayer.

When should a person pray?

At all timeIn the morningAt meal timeAt night

What are the

various ways we pray?

• Vocal• Meditation• Contemplation

What is vocal prayer?

It is an expression of what is in our hearts & we offer it to God as a complaint, petition, praise or thanks. Ex. Hymns, Psalms, Our Father.

What is

meditation?It is the lifting of my heart to God and telling Him that I am quite open to what God wants to say to me through what I have heard or seen. It is a quest. The mind seeks to understand why & how.

What is contemplation?It is the humble poor devotion of a creature that drops all masks, believes in love and seeks God from heart.

The Our Father• Our Father, who art in heaven,• Hallowed be thy name,• Thy kingdom come,• Thy will be done • On earth as it is in heaven.• Give us this day our daily bread• And forgive us our trespasses,• As we forgive those who trespass against

us;• And lead us not into temptation,• But deliver us from evil. AMEN.

What is the other name

for Our Father?

The Lord’s Prayer.

How did the Our Father come about?

The Our Father came about at the request of one of Jesus’ disciples, who saw his Master praying and wanted to learn from Jesus himself how to pray correctly.

What position does the Our Father hold among prayers?It occupies the most prominent place because it leads directly into the heart of our Father. The early Christians recited it three times a day. We too must ensure that the day does not pass away without saying Our Father.

What is the structure of Our Father?

It contains a short preface and seven petitions. The first three petitions relate to God and the right way of serving him. The last four petitions present our basic human needs to Our Father.

What does the Father remind us of?

It reminds us that God is our Father, so good and so worthy of veneration that there is no earthly father like Him; and that we, therefore ought to pray to Him with childlike reverence, love and confidence.

Why do we say “Our Father” and not my Father?

Because, God being the father of all men, we are His children, and should therefore love one another as brothers and pray for one another.

If the Father is in heaven, where is that heaven?

Heaven is not above the clouds. Heaven does not designate a place but indicates God’s presence which is not bound by space and time.

What do we ask for in the 1st petition “Hallowed be thy name”?We ask that the name of God may never be profaned or blasphemed, but that God may be rightly known, loved and honoured by us and by all men.

What do we ask for in the 2nd petition “Thy Kingdom come”?That the kingdom of God, the Church, may be more and more extended upon earth. That the kingdom of divine grace and love may now be established in our hearts. That after this life we may all be admitted into the kingdom of heaven.

What do we ask for in the 3rd petition “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”?

We ask that we and all men may do the will of God on earth as faithfully and cheerfully as the angels and saints do it in heaven. And we profess that in all things we submit ourselves to the holy will of God.

What do we ask for in the 4th petition “Give us this day our daily bread”?We ask that God would give us all that is daily necessary for our soul and body. We should ask only for our necessities and not for riches in abundance,

What do we ask in the 5th petition “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”?The mercy that we show to others and the mercy that we ourselves seek is indivisible. Many people have life long struggle with their inability to forgive. If we ourselves are not merciful and do not forgive one another, God’s mercy will not reach our hearts.

What do we ask for in the 6th petition “Lead us not into temptation”?Every day and every hour we are in the danger of falling into sin and saying NO to God. So here we beg God not to leave us defenseless.Jesus, who was tempted himself knows that we are weak human beings and that we have little strength of our own to oppose the evil one.This petition teaches us to trust in God’s assistance at the hour of trial.

• By our flesh – the flesh lusts against the spirit

• By the world – vain pomp, bad example.

• By the devil – waiting like a roaring lion

By whom are we tempted?

Temptation in itself is not a sin but to expose ourselves or to yield to it is a sin.

Is temptation in itself a sin?

We must remain alert and pray.

What must we do in order that we may not yield?

• To keep us humble• To try our faithfulness • To increase our zeal for virtue.

Why does God permit us to be tempted?

This petition brings all the misery of this world before God and begs Almighty God to free us from all evils – the tempter (devil).

What do we ask for in the 7th petition “Deliver us from evil”?

To express by it our own desire and also our confidence of being heard. It means “Yes, so be it”

Why do we add the word “Amen”?

Jesus be

with us

always!

© Romit Alfred