Prayer
Learning Goals
Success Criteria
I will explore the purpose of
prayer and different types of
prayer.
- Participate in various forms of
prayer
I will be able to recognize prayer
as a connection to God and that
when people pray, it allows them
to be strengthened to meet life's
challenges
I will understand and assess the
value of both personal and
communal prayer
I will understand the importance
of the main traditional prayers of
the church (Our Father, Hail Mary,
Glory to the Father, Apostle’s
Creed)
- Reflect on the forms of prayer
that best suit you
Check it out …
“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to
stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they
may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray
to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will
reward you.[b]
“When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles
do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you
ask him.
7
9
“Pray then in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11
Give us this day our daily bread.[c]
12
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13
And do not bring us to the time of trial,[d]
but rescue us from the evil one.[e]
What Matthew 6:5-13 tells
us about Prayer
- don’t pray for other
people to see you
- Prayers can be short
- God knows what you
need before you ask
- The Our Father is a
VERY important prayer
Think about it …
Define Prayer
Brainstorm the reasons for prayer?
Brainstorm various types of prayer?
Have you Prayed today?
What is prayer …
 a dialogue or communication with God
 a spiritual exercise that draws us closer to God
Why should we pray …
 To thank God (glorify God)
 To acknowledge God’s presence in our lives
 To get comfort
 To seek forgiveness
 To seek guidance in our lives
 To pray for our needs and the needs of others
3 major expressions of prayer
Vocal
Meditation
Contemplation
Vocal
Vocal prayer is giving voice to what
is stirring in our hearts and in our
souls.
Vocal prayer can be as simple and
uplifting as “Thank you, God, for
this beautiful morning.”
Meditation
 To meditate is to reflect on or think about
God.
 When we meditate, we keep our attention
and focus on God so that we can
recognize his presence in our daily lives
and respond to what God is asking of us.
 Meditation, also known as reflective
prayer, leads us to conversation with God.
Remembering that we are in God’s
presence, we can listen to him speak to
us.
Contemplation
 When we rest quietly in God’s presence, we
engage in contemplation.
 In contemplation we spend time with God in
wordless silence, aware that he is with us.
 To understand how contemplation occurs, we can
compare it with thinking on—or contemplating—a
beautiful sunset. We are conscious of its impact,
but our reaction is wordless.
 When we experience God personally, we feel his
love and wait for him to speak to us in his own
way. The key is to make time to relax and listen in
God’s presence, to seek union with the God who
loves us.
Who Should I Pray with?
”For
where two or
three are gathered in
my name, I am there
among them.”
But whenever you pray, go
into your room and shut the
door and pray to your Father
who is in secret; and your
Father who sees in secret
will reward you.[a]
Communal Prayer is important
because …
 It is the overflow and expression of our
life in community.
 It nourishes and sustains our life allowing
us to know that others are with us in our
beliefs
 unity in prayer creates a oneness of mind
and heart.
Personal Prayer is important
because…
 It builds our relationship with God
 It puts us into habit of living and acting as God
would find Good.
 It can improve our participation in our faith
community
 It gives us time to be with God on our own
 It helps to make our religion more personal and
more deeply rooted.
 It can come to our aid in the little pinpricks of daily
life as well as in temptations and trials
Types of Prayer
 Vocal Prayer
Traditional Prayer – The Rosary
Body Prayer (Praise and Worship)
 Meditation
Scripture reflection
Journaling
 Contemplation
Art as prayer (mandala)
Art as Prayer
Mandalas
 Mandalas have been used for centuries by
people to create healing and establish
wholeness both for individuals and the
world at large.
 a mandala is art contained in a circle that
can reconnect us to God
 While colouring the Mandala reflect, think,
relax, contemplate on the beauty you are
creating
http://spiritualawakening.weebly.com/mandalas-what-are-they.html
Mandala
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-5kttiDPnw
Unit 2 Summative Assignment
Reminder
 - Full Assignment Outline Available on Classnet
 - Rough Copy of Assignment is due Monday
 - We will be in a computer lab RM. 56 on
Monday finishing up the good copy.
 - I will collect the good copy of assignments at
the end of the period or at the beginning of
class on Tuesday.
 - Questions???
The Rosary
 The Rosary is prayed to Jesus Through Mary
 It came from Mary as a private revelation to St. Dominic in
about 1180 CE
 The Rosary involves 2 different types of prayer: Traditional
and Meditative
 Traditional- because we pray the traditional prayers of the
Church
 Meditative – because we reflect on one great event in
each decade
 There are 4 different meditations for the Rosary; the Joyful
Mysteries, The Glorious Mysteries, The Sorrowful Mysteries
and the Luminous Mysteries
 For each of the Mysteries we as Catholics meditate on 5 different events
either in Jesus’ life or in Mary’s Life
Let’s make a Rosary
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DisweFpz3g&list=PL52ckf4_kwyIJzp-94yDyo7qtRtOauRvg
Let’s Pray The Rosary …
I believe in God, the Father
almighty,
Creator of heaven and
earth,
and in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by
the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius
Pilate,
was crucified, died and was
buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose
again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right
hand
of God the
Father almighty;
from there he will come
to judge
the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy
Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the
body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.
Scripture Meditation
 Choose a passage from the bible
 Read it 3 times prayerfully reflecting on the passage
 Write down 1 or 2 statements that speak to you from
the passage
 Then write a short statement to Jesus expressing your
feelings about the passage you just read
Body Prayer
 lesson 4 - Movement prayer.docx
 Anima Christi
Journaling Meditation
 In a prayer journal you are free to write to God whatever
you like
 You can write all the things you are thankful for
 The things you are struggling with
 It is your free flowing conversation with God