What is Prayer?
Revised version
Mr. Pablo Cuadra
Religion Class
Scripture
Luke 18: 1-8
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to
show them that they should always Pray
and not give up. He said: "ln a certain town
there was a judge who neither feared God
nor cared about people. And there was a
widow in that town who kept coming to him
with the plea, "grant me justice against my
adversary." For some time he refused. But
finally he said to himself, "Even though l
don't fear God or care about people, yet
because this widow keeps bothering me, l
will see that she gets justice, so that she
wont eventually wear me out with her
coming". And the Lord said, LISTEN to what
the unjust judge says. And will not God
bring about justice for his chosen ones, who
cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep
putting them off? l tell you, He will see that
they get justice, and quickly. However, when
the Son of Man comes, will he find Faith on
the earth?”
What is prayer?
• Prayer is a gift from God
• Prayer is a conversation from
the heart with Lord.
• Prayer is the spiritual oxygen
of every Christian person.
• Prayer helps us to nurture a
relationship with Almighty
God.
• Prayer is an act of trust in
God’s divine providence
Prayer is: “The God connection”
What is the Purpose of prayer?
• To bring us closer to
God’s transforming
presence.
• To strengthen us
spiritually through God’s
grace.
• To help our faith grow
• To help us listen to God’s
will for our lives.
• To seek divine assistance
and wisdom.
Prayer
• Sister Bridge Mckena once said
that prayer is like sunbathing. The
more we are exposed to the rays
of the sun. The more our skin will
show its radiance. Likewise, the
more we expose our soul in prayer
to God’s presence, the more
radiance and grace our soul will
manifest in our daily living.
When and where is the best time to Pray?
• Any time
• Any place, is a good
place or time for prayer
• Rabbi Abraham Joshua
Heschel, a good friend of
Pope Paul VI, in his book
God in search of Man writes:
“Even before we have
moved in search of God,
God has come in search of
us”.
Any time, Any place, is a good time and place for Prayer
• Early in the morning, before
our daily responsibilities and
routines.
• Before meals
• During the course of a daily
walk.
• While doing the laundry or
cutting the grass.
• As you wait for the subway to
arrive or the plane to depart.
“Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays.”
Soren Kierkegaard, 1813-1855
Any time, Any place, is a good time or Place for Prayer
• While listening to the ocean
waves reach the shore in a
nice evening
• In the car, driving to and
from and work.
• While switching classes in
school.
• In church, before the
Blessed Sacrament.
• While cooking the family
meal
• At night, before bed.
Prayer, “The Desire for God”
• “There was a young man who approached a hermit with this request: “Show me how
can I find God.” “How great is this desire of yours?” asked the saintly man. “More than
anything in the world,” came the reply. The hermit took the young man to the shore of
a lake and they waded into the water until it was up to their necks. Then the Holy man
put his hand on the other’s head and pushed him under water. The young man
struggled desperately, but the hermit did not release him until he was about to drown.
When they return to the shore, the saint asked, “Son, when you were under water,
what did you want more than anything in the world? “Air”, he replied without
hesitation. “Well, then, when you want to find God as much as you just then wanted
air, your eyes will be open to the wonder of God”
Types of prayer
• Prayers of adoration and
blessing
• Prayers of praise
• Prayers of petition
• Prayers of thanksgiving
• Prayers of Intercession
What is a prayer of Adoration and
Blessing?
• A prayer of acknowledgement
of God’s awesome greatness.
• Prayers of Adoration and
Blessing show great reverence,
awe and respect for God’s
unending goodness.
• Catechism # 2626
“Blessing expresses the basic movement of
Christian prayer: it is an encounter between
God and man. In blessing, God's gift and
man's acceptance of it are united in dialogue
with each other. The prayer of blessing is
man's response to God's gifts: because God
blesses, the human heart can in return bless
the One who is the source of every blessing.”
What is a prayer of Praise?
Psalm 33
“Sing joyfully to the Lord, you
righteous;
It is fitting for the upright to praise him.
Praise the Lord with the harp;
Make music to him on the ten-stringed
lyre.
Sing to him a new song;
Play skillfully, and shout for joy.”
• Prayer of praise are joy filled prayers
• They are a response to God in the
form of song or dance.
• St. Augustine of Hippo: “To sing is to
pray twice.”
What is a prayer of Petition?
• Is a prayer that requests for
something personal for
ourselves. Psalm 34:6
• Prayers of Petition include:
contrition, the act of being
sorry for our sins and
asking God’s forgiveness.
What is a prayer of Thanksgiving?
• A prayer of thanksgiving is
one that acknowledges
God’s many gifts with a
profound spirit of gratitude
toward almighty God.
• Who are the people you are
grateful for?
• What are the material blessings
you are thankful for?
• What are the human
experiences God has blessed
you with?
What is a prayer of Intercession?
• Is a prayer for other people
• For example: the general prayers of
intercession at mass.
• On this year’s Ash Wednesday
message (2008). Pope Benedict XVI
called prayer the “engine of the
world”.
• The Pope said: “true prayer is a dialogue
with God, and without this our interior
dialogue becomes a monologue, giving
rise to thousands of self-justifications.
Prayer, therefore, is a guarantee of being
open to others. True prayer is the
engine of the world, because it keeps us
open to God. Without prayer, there is not
hope, just illusion, which induces us to
escape from reality".
Please Pray For
• The lonely
• The poor and homeless
• The sick
• Those who find life difficult
• Those who are in the darkness
of sin
• Those who do not believe in
God
• Those who are away from God
• Those in need
• Those who have no one to
pray for them
The End
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