s t i a n l i v i n g e d u c atio

Ch r i n

"LORD TEACH US
HOW TO PRAY"
To whom do you engage in
deep conversations?
WHAT IS PRAYER?
What prayer do you know?
When was the last time you
prayed?
 Prayer is a personal encounter
with God. Through prayer, God,
our Creator, and Father, becomes
present, close to us, eager to
listen and speak as our most
intimate friend.
Prayer is speaking to God with respect
and love to adore and praise Him, to
thank Him, to obtain pardon for our
sins, and to ask for His favors and
blessings for ourselves and others. In
prayer, we also listen to God, who
reveals to us what He wants and
expects from us.
 Filipinos instinctively realize the
need for prayer. We brought up in
Christian culture to believe in God
revealed by Jesus Christ, a
personal God who personally
relates in faith, hope and love.
 This personal faith-relating to God
is prayer. Christian prayer, then, is
a loving, conscious, personal
relationship woth God, our -loving
Father, who has adopted us through
His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, in
the Holy Spirit.
Prayer is "Intimate conversation
with God who we know loves us."
St. Teresa of Avila
Actually, it is the Holy Spirit who
brings us into this life of
communion and fellowship with
the Father and with His Son,
Jesus Christ. Authentic prayer,
then, is always Trinitarian, since it
is through Christ that "we have
access in one Spirit to the Father.
Prayer develops a conscious awareness
of our relationship with God. This
relationship depends fundamentally on
WHO GOD IS, and WHO WE ARE. It
Grounds several basic types of prayer.
As creatures called to become children of
God, our prayer is one of adoration of
our Creator and thanksgiving to our
Heavenly Father, whom we petition our
for our needs, As sinners we pray in
contrition for forgiveness from our
divine Savior, and offer Him all our
thoughts, words and deeds.
5 BASIC TYPES OF
PRAYER
 1 ADORATION

In prayers of adoration or worship, we exalt the greatness of

God, and we acknowledge our dependence on Him in all things.
The Mass and the other liturgies of the Church are full of
prayers of adoration or worship, such as the Gloria (the Glory
to God). Among private prayers, the Act of Faith is a prayer of
adoration. In extolling the greatness of God, we also
acknowledge our own humility.
 2 THANKSGIVING

Perhaps the most neglected type of prayer is a prayer of

thanksgiving. While Grace Before Meals is a good example of a
prayer of thanksgiving, we should get into the habit of
thanking God throughout the day for the good things that
happen to us and others. Adding the Grace After Meals to our
regular prayers is an excellent way to start.
 3 PETITION

Outside of the Mass, prayers of petition are the type of prayer with
which we are most familiar. In them, we ask God for things we need—
primarily spiritual needs, but physical ones as well. Our prayers of
petition should always include a statement of our willingness to accept
God's Will, whether He directly answers our prayer or not. The Our
Father is a good example of a prayer of petition, and the line "Thy will
be done" shows that, in the end, we acknowledge that God's plans for
us are more important than what we desire.
 4 CONTRITION

After spending time worshipping God and reflecting on His amazing love
and character, it can often lead into a state of contrition as we
recognise who we are and how we fall short in relation to our holy God.
Contrition requires us to be open, honest, and transparent with God.
It’s acknowledging and agreeing with God about where we have fallen
short of His Holiness.
 5 OFFERING

When we give back to God, we are expressing our trust in him and in
his provision. When we pray over our offerings to God, we are asking
him to bless that which we give and use it for his purposes.
 These basic types of prayer are no way
imposed on us, nor are they simply a
product of particular time, place or culture.
Rather they spring from our deepest selves,
our KALOOBAN, inspired by God's Holy
Spirit.
PRAYER IN
SCRIPTURE
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.....
In the OT the Holy Spirit "spoke through the
prophets." of Yahweh's complaint against those
who "honor me with their lips alone, though their
hears are far from me." Such religious hypocrisy
fastened on merely the external forms of prayer,
fasting and sacrifice, while neglecting the basic
demands of social justice and love of neighbor.
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.....
Authentic prayer, then, is always rooted in the
heart, and related to the neighbor in loving and
service.
Christian prayer, the, is directly addressed to
God, our Creator and Lord, while involving an
intrinsic relation to one's neighbor.
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.....
In the NT, the Spirit's action is shown first in
Jesus' own prayer, then in the prayer of his
disciples. Jesus, "full of the Holy Spirit" prays
before every major act of his public life: for
example, at his Baptism, through his forty days in
the desert, before choosing his apostles, at his
transfiguration, during his passion and on the
Cross.
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.....
This empowerment of the Spirit is frequently
completely missed by our "common sense." We
often think of prayer as our own private
individualistic thing, or as an obligation imposed
on us something "we have to" do, at specified
times and in certain places.
IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.....
Some even think that by praying they are
somehow doing God "a favor," so they actually try
to make "bargains with God" promising extra
prayers to gain special favors. They forgot Christ's
solemn teaching that only "he who lives in me and
I in him will produce abundantly, for apart from
you can do nothing.
Choose one of the forms of Prayer
and compose your own prayer on
it.
 s t i a n l i v i n g e d u c atio
Ch r i n

LEVELS OF
CHRISTIAN PRAYER
In the process of growing up, Catholics
are taught to pray on two basic levels,
that is, in private, personal prayer (the
rosary, novenas, devotions to patron
saints, meditations, etc.) and public,
communal liturgical prayer.
 More often than not, many of us
experience a certain tension between the
two sometimes even opposition. For
example, prayer the rosary during mass
is now discourage, contrary to an older
common practice among many pious
Church-goers.
 Actually, the personal and communal
prayer levels are complementary; both
are necessary for an authentic Christian
prayer life. We stand before God both as
unique person created in His image and
likeness, redeemed and adopted as
son/daughter in the Lord, and as a
member of Christ's body, the Church.
This means there us always a communal
context to our personal inner journey of
prayer, and a depth of personal context in
all authentic communal liturgy. How
essential this complementary of the
personal and communal levels of prayer
is can be shown in Christ's own prayer,
as well as in the Prayer of the Eucharist.
This means there us always a communal
context to our personal inner journey of
prayer, and a depth of personal context in
all authentic communal liturgy. How
essential this complementary of the
personal and communal levels of prayer
is can be shown in Christ's own prayer,
as well as in the Prayer of the Eucharist.
 CHRIST'S PRAYER
Christ's Personal/Communal Prayer. As in all
other aspects of Christian faith, Christ shapes
and guides the prayer of all Christians. Christ's
prayer was based on his proclamation of the
Kingdom of God, the Good News that defined
his life, mission and very relation to God, his
"Abba," Father.
 CHRIST'S PRAYER
On the other hand, all Jesus' public acts
manifested his extraordinary personal
freedom, self-assurance, and the depth of
his personal relation to his Father. Such
were his inaugural sermon at Nazareth, his
cleansing of the Temple, and his Last
Supper with this apostles.
 CHRIST'S PRAYER
Thus, Christ's public life and mission were
always the context of his personal interior
prayer, while his inward prayerful journey
furnished the content of all he said and did.
Christ's own prayer, then, demonstrated the
essential complementary of personal
(content) and communal (context) that is the
model for all Christian Prayer.
 IN THE SACRAMENTS
The Prayer of the Eucharist displays the
same integration of the personal and
communal levels of Christian prayer. After
the Communal calling together of the people,
the Liturgy of the God's Word is addressed
to each worshipper in his or her own
personal depth and uniqueness.
 IN THE SACRAMENTS
The Liturgy of the Word is not a lecture or
message for the crowd, nor does it aims at
merely passing on some religious
information. Rather its purpose is to nourish,
challenge and support the personal journey
of each of the assembled disciples, calling for
each one's own personal response.
 IN THE SACRAMENTS
The first reponse of the Christian believer is
"offertory," whether of all that we are and do
(Eucharist), or our repentance for forgiveness
(Reconciliation), or our infirmity of healing
(Anointing), or our availability for service
(Orders) or for conjugal love (Marriage). All
bring out our Baptismal commitment: our life
place within the life and prayer of Christ.
 s t i a n l i v i n g e d ucati
C hr i on

HOW TO PRAY
It is natural for most Filipinos to think of prayer
primarily in terms of explicit vocal prayers like
the Our Father or the Hail Mary, or devotional acts
of piety like novenas to the Blessed Virgin Mary or
their patron saints. Such explicit prayers are
concrete expressions of a deeper dimension of our
personal lives. For besides being a particular,
explicit activity, prayer, for authentic believers, is
more fundamentally an essential dimension of
their whole lives, all of life.
 This is what Jesus taught by his many
parables on the necessity of "praying always
not losing heart" (Luke 18:1). St. Paul
constantly reminded his converts to "never
cease praying, render constant thanks; such
is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thes
5:17).
 s t i a n l i v i n g e d ucati
C hr i on

HOW TO PRAY
 AS CARMELIANS.....
We should be expert PRAY-ERS
In praying together, the leader brings his brothers
and sisters on a holy errand to the very throne of
Almighty God.

The Christian never prays alone, and the Christian

never leads others in prayer by himself
the listening Father,
the mediating and interceding Son,
and the helping Spirit.
 1 BE READY
By studying the prayers in Scripture and
reflecting over them
B y paying attention to the context and
culture of the community
B y drawing meaning out of the current
situations
B y thinking ahead
 2 BE CLEAR AND SIMPLE
Remember: Others would pray along with you. So…
Pray with simplicity and humility,
Encouraging others to join their hearts to yours.
Pick one or two images or symbols as a guide
Use the language of Scripture
adopted or infused by your natural way of speaking.
 2 BE CLEAR AND SIMPLE
Its length depends on the occasion:
Very formal events – 5 to 10 minutes
Receptions, civic gatherings, assemblies – 3
to 5 minutes
Simple group (class, community) meetings
– 1 to 2 minutes
 3 BE CORPORATE
When you lead in public prayer, you are
not praying for yourself only but also with
others.
You are asking them to join you
Use corporate language (Ex. “we,” “us,” and
“our”)
Pray for things that are common to
everyone.
LITURGICAL PRAYER LEADING
I. CALL TO PRAYER
II. SHORT PAUSE
III. SIGN OF THE CROSS
IV. RITUAL GREETING*
V. PRAYER PROPER*
VI. CLOSING FORMULA PRAYER
Vii. SIGN OF THE CROSS
RITUAL GREETINGS
(L) This is the day that the Lord has made…
(P) let us rejoice and be glad.

(L) Lord open my lips…

(P) and my mouth shall declare your praise.

(L) God, come to my assistance…

(P) Lord make haste to help me.

(L) Our help is in the name of the Lord…

(P)Who made heaven and earth.
PRAYER STRUCTURE
I. ADORATION AND PRAISE
II. CONTRITION
III. THANKSGIVING
IV. SCRIPTURE AND ANAMNESIS
V. PETITION AND ESCHATOLOGY
VI CONCLUDING ADDRESS
ADORATION AND PRAISE
Our Roman way prayer is always
addressed to God the Father.

Addresses God’s eternal characteristics

CONTRITION AND
THANKSGIVING
Humility is an important aspect of
prayer. Mention the short penitential
formula.

Highlighting one or two important

things to be grateful for. (you may
mention the event)
SCRIPTURE AND
ANAMNESIS
Anamnesis: Remembering something
in the past
(usually, scriptural)

Adopt and refer a short scripture

reading of the day or something that
may illustrate or reflect the
celebration.
PETITION AND
ESCHATOLOGY
Indicate specific petitions and needs of the
community or the group gathered.

You may also mention the event's intended purpose

and offer it to God’s Divine fulfillment.

Eschatology:
E ya mu wishful thinking, but a realized reality
It’s not about anticipation but a celebration in the
here and now.
CONCLUDING ADDRESS
Always remember to end your prayer with the
TRINITARIAN ENDING :

“THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST YOUR SON,

WHO LIVES AND REIGNS WITH YOU AND THE HOLY
SPIRIT, GOD, FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN.”

or (Christological ending)
Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
(THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD. AMEN.)
ENGLISH SAMPLE
PRAYER
 Most powerful and loving God,
(Adoration)

with our humble self we come to your presence,

(Penitential)

yet with grateful hearts to be part of this spiritual

conference.
(Thanksgiving)
As one community in faith, like Peter, Andrew, James
and John who were called to follow you,
and like the multitude who listened to your teachings
and later on, were filled,
(Scripture/Anamnesis)

fill us also with your Divine knowledge so that we, too,

may faithfully listen of your Word and later on, be
instruments of evangelization.
(Petition/eschatology)
KAPAMPANGAN SAMPLE
PRAYER
 O Ibpa, ing Dios ning kabiasnan,
(Adoration)

mitmung kababan pusu lalapit kami keka,

(Penitential)

pasalamat kaniting pinandit ning maulang gracia

kambe na niting pamipulung.
(Thanksgiving)
Kalupa nung makananu mu lang inaus ding alagad mu,
at kauangis da ring dakal a taung mekiramdam karing
Amanu mu,
(Scripture/Anamnesis)
Katmuan mu kami naman king Espirirtu mu, ban
makapanatili kami king lugud mu, at misan a aldo,
maging dalan mu naman ning kabiasanan at
kabanalan.
(Petition/eschatology)
Kalupa nung makananu mu lang inaus ding alagad mu,
at kauangis da ring dakal a taung mekiramdam karing
Amanu mu,
(Scripture/Anamnesis)
Katmuan mu kami naman king Espirirtu mu, ban
makapanatili kami king lugud mu, at misan a aldo,
maging dalan mu naman ning kabiasanan at
kabanalan.
(Petition/eschatology)
LEADING PRAYER IS NOT A
PERFORMANCE.
IT’S SIMPLY SHARING
YOUR FAITH IN A NEW
WAY AND INVITING
OTHERS INTO PRAYER.
 LEX ORANDI LEX
CREDENDI’.
‘WHAT IS PRAYED IS
WHAT IS BELIEVED.’