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Christian Prayer LORD, TEACH US TO PRAY “He was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.’” (Luke 11:1-2) Prayer is central to the Christian way of life. Just as Jesus often and always prayed to his Father in heaven, so he taught his followers also to pray. What is prayer? One might say that prayer is “talking to God.” Another might see it more as “listening for the promptings of the Holy Spirit” or “raising one’s mind to the Lord.” Some may pray only in a formal way, together with others in a church. Many also pray at home alone, in the privacy of their rooms and their own quiet thoughts. We pray before meals, in the car on the way to work, when trouble disturbs our lives, when joys lift our minds to God. We pray when those we love are sick, when a child is born, when the elderly die, when tragedy strikes. We pray for guidance when in doubt, for forgiveness of our sins, to ask for help, to give thanks for our blessings. In short, we pray always. Prayer thus can and should touch every moment of the day. For two millennia, Christian believers have prayed upon rising from bed to face the challenges of our day. Again, at night, Christians have always turned our thoughts inward, reviewing the events of the day and begging God’s forgiveness for sin as we examine our conscience. Christian prayer over the centuries has taken on many forms. The Eucharistic liturgy, representing the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, in which he offered his Body and Blood at the Last Supper - prefiguring his passion and death on the Cross - is the supreme prayer of the Christian faithful in the form of a holy Oblation (Qurbana). Within the liturgy we join our minds, hearts and voices to worship God as we offer him our praise, thanksgiving, petitions and intercessions. Prayer can include meditation and contemplation; reading of the Scriptures or other written works of faith; using the Psalms, the prayer book of the Jewish people and of Jesus Christ, as in the Liturgy of the Hours (Sapra, Tahra, Ramsha & Lilya); free-form dialogue with God, pouring out our hearts and souls to his listening ear; and the Lord’s Prayer and other formal prayers, used at liturgy or on other occasions. Generally speaking, four basic kinds of prayer can describe what Christians are doing when we pray. We can remember these four kinds of prayer by the acronym “ACTS”. First, there is the prayer of Adoration (praise or blessing). This prayer recognizes and adores God simply for who he is, apart from anything he does for us. We honor and give glory to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Triune God, eternal, almighty, Love itself. This kind of prayer is what is most properly called “worship,” for in the prayer of praise we bow down before the Lord of heaven and earth, offering our lives and all that he has given us back to him. Second, there is the prayer of Contrition. Here we ask God’s forgiveness for our sins. When we nightly examine our conscience, recalling the events of the past day, keen eyes aware of God’s love operating in every moment of the day will see where we have failed to live in that love. To the Lord, then, in a prayer of petition, we offer our sorrow for our sins, and ask the Lord’s forgiveness and merciful love. Third, there is our prayer of Thanksgiving. Here we offer due thanks to God for all that he is given us - life, health, faith, family and friends, and every other blessing in our lives. Christians are a people steeped in gratitude. No day of our lives should pass without offering thanks to the Lord who has given us so much, and who asks in return only our love. Fourth, there is the prayer of Supplications. While our praise is due to God simply for being God, and our petition helps us to be rightly disposed to be in his presence, our prayer of intercession offers to the Lord all that we need in our lives. This kind of prayer is probably what most people think of when they use the word “prayer.” We pray on behalf of others (we “intercede” with God for them), we ask God’s help in our lives, we focus on what we need - be it a better job, healing from illness, or anything in between. In Christian prayer, ACTS therefore stands for: Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving & Supplications. Special mention is due to what we call the “Lord’s Prayer.” When his followers asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he cautioned them against multiplying words and rattling off long prayers as the pagans do - “For your Father knows your needs before you ask him.” (cf. Matthew 6:7-8) Rather, Jesus said, as he taught them his famous prayer, “pray like this.” Jesus taught his disciples to address God as he himself did, as “Abba” - Father. Everything else in this prayer and in the life of Christian prayer flows from this relationship that Jesus has reminded us of, that we are sons and daughters of God. Thus, when we revere God’s name as holy, when we pray that his kingdom will come, when we pray that his will be done, we are offering that praise and worship to the Father as his beloved children. In the Lord’s prayer, we also ask the Father to give us what we need: daily bread to sustain us in life (both the earthly bread, and the Eucharistic Bread, which is the Body of Christ); forgiveness of our sins as we have forgiven others; and that God may strengthen us when we are tempted to sin, and that he may deliver us from the power of evil. Just as we pray to God on behalf of others and ask their prayers for ourselves, so do we pray to the Saints, that they too will intercede on our behalf to God. This type of prayer is not worship, for worship is due to God alone. But the Church recognizes that those who have died and gone before us in faith are in a unique position to help by their prayers. They remain members of the Church, the Body of Christ, while at the same time being now members of God’s kingdom in heaven. They are still members of the family of the Church, and they reinforce the promises of Christ that he will bring those who love him into the kingdom of his Father.
From baptism
to burial, from daybreak to nightfall, at home and away, we
Christians are people of prayer. Believers in many religions also
pray, according to their own tradition, so we may say that one may
pray without being a Christian, but one cannot truly be a Christian
without a life of prayer. |