Faithfulness

What is Prayer?

Prayer can be defined as:

Drawing close to God in friendship, fellowship, and trust (Jas 4:8)

Pouring out of our heart to God (Ps 62:8)

A sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the soul to God, through Christ

Bringing our current emotional state into the presence of God

Why do we pray?

Brainstorm all the ideas that you can think of as to why people pray or offer prayer for others?

Why do we pray?

To develop our faith

To show respect and our trust in God

To further understand and demonstrate virtues, The Beatitudes, and the Ten Commandments

How do we respond to those who think prayer is “useless”? How can we respond to them?

Garth Brooks “Unanswered Prayers”

1. If God is all-knowing, why do we need to pray?

We pray to bring ourselves closer to God and to build a relationship with Him.

The only benefit of prayer is psychological (to make a person feel better).

God might not answer our prayer in the way we might hope or image, but on His own time, and in His own way, God always responds. We must also understand that praying for something does not necessarily mean that it was part of God’s plan.

God hasn’t performed any miracles lately, so why pray?

God performs miracles every day. We must be open to the small miracles as well as the larger ones. Like his son, Jesus, God does not perform miracle to make us believe.

 

Types of Prayer…….there are five different types of prayer. What do you think the

five types might be?

Adoration and Blessing ……appreciating His greatness and acknowledging that through him, all things are possible. This type is more like a personal reflection than praise. EXAMPLES: A) “The Gloria” b) Taking 5 minutes to appreciate the Earth God has given us.

Petition

A common type of prayer where we ask God for something for ourselves, our community, or the Church. EXAMPLE: a) Prayers we share with God right after communion b) intentions during class

Intercession

asking for someone to pray on our behalf

Example:

a) Prayer to saint Christopher b) The Hail Mary

Thanksgiving

Thanking God for something that he has done for us, or has provided for us. Example: Saying “Grace” before a meal

Praise

An outward prayer in which we praise the greatness of God. This type of prayer can be sung or said out loud. EXAMPLES: a) Hallelujah B) The Our Father