CHRISTIAN LIVING EDUCATION 11

MODULE 2

FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIAN FAITH AND LIFE

Basic Study on Prayer

Content Standards Performance Standards

The learners will demonstrate deeper The learners will be able to

understanding on the importance of demonstrate the ways on how to pray
prayer. From these virtues flow the and able to manifest the attitudes of
essential Christian and moral being prayerful. They will also
standards necessary for living an encourage the people to pray
authentic Christian and moral living frequently amidst the situation they
especially for the youth today. encounter.

COMPETENCIES
Doctrine: Moral: Worship:
The student will: ·         develop skills in ·         appreciate the
·         know the searching for Biblical significance of prayer in
significant role of verses that manifest our daily lives
Prayer in our daily Prayer values and
lives. attitudes ·         remain hopeful and
prayerful amidst the trials
·         know and ·         make a encountered in one’s
explain the meaning comparative analysis journey
of the Prayer and its on the different prayer
relevance today disposition.

·         know the
different forms of
prayer
· 
 Basic Study on
Prayer
“WHAT IS PRAYER?”i
Prayer is a form of communication, a way of talking to
God or to the saints. Prayer may formal or informal.
While formal prayer is an important element of
Christian worship, prayer itself is not synonymous with
worship or adoration.

The Origin of the Termii

The word pray is first found in Middle English, meaning to "ask earnestly." It
comes from the Old French preier, which is derived from the Latin word precari,
which simply means to entreat or ask. In fact, although pray is not often used this
way anymore, it can simply mean “please,” as in “pray continue your story.”

Talking to God
While we often think of prayer primarily as asking God for
something, prayer, properly understood, is a conversation with
God or with the saints. Just as we cannot hold a conversation with
another person unless he can hear us, the very act of praying is
an implicit recognition of the presence of God or the saints here
with us. And in praying, we strengthen that recognition of the presence of God,
which draws us closer to Him. That is why the Church recommends that we pray
frequently and make prayer an important part of our daily lives.
Talking with the Saints
Many people (Catholics included) find it odd to
speak of "praying to the saints." But if we
understand what prayer truly means, we should
recognize that there is no problem with this
phrase. The trouble is that many Christians confuse prayer with worship, and
they understand quite rightly that worship belongs to God alone, and not to the
saints. But while Christian worship always includes prayer, and many prayers are
written as a form of worship, not all prayer is worship. Indeed, prayers of
adoration or worship are only one of the five types of prayer.

How Should I Pray?iii

How one prays depends on the purpose of one's prayer. The Catechism of the
Catholic Church, in discussing the five types of prayer
in paragraphs 2626 through 2643, provides examples and
pointers on how to engage in each type of prayer. Most people
find it easier to begin praying by making use the traditional
prayers of the Church, such as the ten prayers every Catholic
child should know or the rosary. Structured prayer helps us focus our thoughts
and reminds us of the way in which to pray.

But as our prayer life deepens, we should advance beyond

written prayer to a personal conversation with God. While
written prayers or prayers that we have memorized will always
be a part of our prayer life—after all, the Sign of the Cross,
with which Catholics begin most of their prayers, is itself a
prayer—over time we should learn to speak with God and with the saints as we
would with our fellow men and women (though always, of course, maintaining a
proper reverence).

EXPRESSIONS OF PRAYER

The Lord leads all persons by paths and in ways pleasing to him, and each
believer responds according to his heart’s resolve and the personal expressions
of his prayer. However, Christian Tradition has retained three major expressions
of prayer: vocal, meditative, and contemplative. They have one basic trait in
common: composure of heart. This vigilance in keeping the Word and dwelling in
the presence of God makes these three expressions intense times in the life of
prayer.iv

-Vocal: When something is spoken, this is an action on our part.  By speaking

prayers, speaking praises, individually and communally,
we are actively allowing the Holy Spirit to come to us and turn our words into
authentic communication with God.  These prayers are often the work of the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  So, a good place to start is to pray the wonderful
prayers of the saints, pray the psalms, or join in the Liturgy and pray it aloud.  
God will take these prayers and turn them into true prayer.

-Meditation: Meditation is a way for us to take the revealed Word of God

deeper.  It is not only a speaking of God’s Word, it’s also a deep interiorizing of
it.  By meditating we are letting the Voice of God sink in. 
It’s like a gentle and sustained rain on the crops.  The slow
and steady nature of this form of rain allows the water to
sink deep into the soil so as to nourish the roots.  So, it is
with meditation, it’s a way of letting the Word of God sink in
deeply so as to nourish our soul.
-Contemplation: Contemplative prayer is the prayer of the child of God, of the
forgiven sinner who agrees to welcome the love by which he is loved and who
wants to respond to it by loving even more.  Contemplative prayer is the poor and
humble surrender to the loving will of the Father in ever deeper union with his
beloved Son. Contemplative prayer is the simplest expression of the mystery of
prayer. It is a gift, a grace; it can be accepted only in humility and poverty.
Contemplative prayer is a covenant relationship established by God within our
hearts. Contemplative prayer is a communion in which the Holy Trinity conforms
man, the image of God, "to his likeness."

BASIC FORMS OF PRAYERv

Blessing and Adoration: First, our prayers rise to the Father in Christ and by
the power of the Holy Spirit.  To bless God means that
we offer up this worship and praise of Him, adoring Him
and letting this blessing rise to the Father.  Additionally,
we are blessed by God in that His grace descends upon
us as we bless Him.  To adore God is to be in His presence with an interior
solitude and love.  It means we are not only aware of God’s divine presence
intellectually but are also attentive to Him with all the powers of our soul.  Our
whole being is moved with love toward God and with an acknowledgment of His
divinity, majesty and glory.  

Petition:  First of all, our petition is for mercy and forgiveness.  We always need
to pray that prayer.  From there, we must continually
petition God for every good thing.  But we must be
careful to understand this correctly!  Often, it is easy to
simply pray for what WE think is good.  True petition
seeks only the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God on
earth.  It seeks the will of God and only the will of God.  The ultimate petition to
God is, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done.”

Intercession: We are called to intercede for the needs of all people.  Our prayers
are efficacious.  Why?  Because God desires to use us
as mediators for others.  This reveals the great
communion we share with all Christians, in that our
bond with them, in Christ, enables us to be instruments
of grace for others through our prayers.

Thanksgiving:  All is a gift, and all is grace.  This should move us to an attitude
of thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is an appropriate response to God in all that He
has done for us.  

Praise:  Closely associated with thanksgiving, praise of God is given because

God is God and is worthy of all praise.  Praise is given
not so much because of what God has done for us;
rather, it is given simply because God is worthy of
praise.  The Psalms, especially, highlight the form of praise that should be given
to God.

To sum up everything we had better also know

what prayer really means. Otherwise, as has
happened to so many of us, without actually giving up
prayer, we do not profit as much as we should from
what is by all odds the most profitable enterprise in
which any person can engage. There is nothing more
profitable in which any human being can engage than
to pray. Remember that even though it may be hard to
define prayer to everyone's satisfaction, it obviously is
something that all of us do. In fact, Prayer seems to be
a universal thing with human beings. It has been said
that at least one time in a person's life he will pray—
even atheist! Since prayer is so universal, it is
important that we know accurately what the Bible says
so that we can be sure that our prayers have value
and can prevail with God.
CLOSING PRAYER: Heavenly Father, as we come to the end of our time together, we
thank you for what has been accomplished here today. May the matters discussed
serve as a catalyst to move us forward and cause us to advance and see growth in all
areas of our lives. Amen

Great Job! If you are done reading the module, studying

the materials provided, and answering the questions in
the module, you are now going to take the assessment
to check your understanding of the topic.

REFERENCES
i
My Catholic Worship: A Summary of Prayer and Sacraments. (2013)
ii
https://bit.ly/38t2Bvr
iii
Catechism of Catholic Church (CCC #2626-2643)
iv
Catechism of Catholic Church (CCC #2699)
v
https://bit.ly/2BkYXrk