Lesson 15

                                                 Once,Jesus was praying  alone.When His prayer was over,His disciples approached Him and said:Lord,teach us to pray as John taught his disciples to pray.Jesus listened to their request and taught them to pray.The prayer that Jesus taught is the ‘Our Father’.It is known as The ‘Lord’s Prayer’.

Jesus taught us how to pray and what to pray for (Mathew 6:5-15).Prayer is a loving conversation with God.In prayer,Jesus used to talk to His father.When He prayed in the synagogues,in the desert,on mountain tops and in Gethsemanee,He was conversing with His Father.

In our prayer,we also should converse with God.We praise and adore God remembering His greatness and glory.We thank Him when we commit mistakes.We approach Him in our need.

Based on the nature of our conversation with God,there are several aspects in prayer like worship,praise,thanksgiving,Petition and Intercession.

Prayer of worship is the confession or declaration of God’s Lordship over us,recongnising His deep love,admitting our nothingness and His all-sufficiency.

Prayer of praise is glorifying God looking at the greatness and goodness in His creation and universe and his great works and activities in our lives.

Prayer of thanksgiving is prayer of gratitude remembering all the graces nd blessings we have received from Him,blessings received by each one of us,our families and our communities.

Prayer of petition is the prayer that asks for the forgiveness of our sins and for the blessings necessary for our lives.

Prayer of intercession is prayer which a person or a community offers before God for another person or community.

Very often we seek the intercession of saints.Daily we seek the intercession of BI.Virgin Mary,St.joseph,St. Thomas the apostle etc.Similarly we too pray for others,especially our parents,brothers,sisters and friends.These are all intercessory Prayers.

Besides this, division,we can divide prayer into two types-personal prayer and community prayer.

 Community Prayer

When more than one person pray together,it is called community prayer.In community prayers the Holy Mass and prayers of the hours occupy a very important place.Holy Mass is the most sublime prayer,containing all the elements of prayer.Family prayers in the morning and evening in our own homes and prayers in Family Units are also community prayers.In community prayer,as a community we worship and praise God,we thank Him,ask Him pardon and offer our petitions to him.

Personal  Prayer

                          Personal prayer is the prayer that a single individual offers to God,all alone.We can pray alone,early in the morning,when we get up and before we go to bed.We can have personal prayer also in times of joy and sorrow,in our difficulties and struggles,sufferings and needs.

Fruits of Prayer

                            We get divine power and blessing in prayer.Jesus spoke of the fruits of prayer:”For everyone who asks receives,and everyone who searches finds,and for everyone  who knocks the door will be opened”(Luke 11:10).Jesus also said."How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him"(Luke 11:13).

                           The grace that we obtain in prayer strengthens us to overcome temptations and to do good.Hence Jesus said to his disciples”Pray vigilantly so that you may not fall into temptations”.We need a lot of strength to lead a true Christain life.Let us strive to empower ourselves with prayer and thus lead a life pleasing to Jesus.

Let us pray

O Jesus you who taught the disciples to pray,

teach us also to pray in all circumstances of life

A word of God to remember

"For everyone who asks receives,and everyone

who searches finds,and for everyone who

knocks the door will be opened"(Luke 11:10).

Let us read the word of

God with devotion

Luke 11: 1-13

My Decision

Daily, I will pray personally to God when I

get up in the morning and before I go to bed.

Activity

Write a short prayer before you

begin your study.