Christianity Prayer Study

CHRISTIANITY TRADITION STUDY

Devotional Practices

Focus Question

Describe the different types of personal prayer.

Students learn about:
Prayer
Students learn to:
Describe the different types of personal prayer

Prayer plays a significant role in the tradition, as all Christians are called to be people of prayer following the example of Jesus. Traditional and formal prayers encompass a wide variety of occasions and are often adapted from biblical texts Lord's Prayer (Our Father) - this prayer is taken from the occasion in the Gospel where the disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray The Lord's Prayer is used throughout all Christian denominations and is commonly included in liturgy as well as personal prayer
The Rosary is a prayer that draws heavily on biblical texts and is commonly prayed communally or as a form of personal prayer by the Catholic community The Rosary is organised into 5 decades each containing 10 recitations of the prayer known as the "Hail Mary" The intention of the Rosary is that a person can meditate on the events of the life of Jesus from the perspective of Mary, the mother of Jesus Divine Office (Prayer of the Church) is a traditional prayer that developed from the monastic rule of Benedict of Nursia and commonly used in Catholic and Orthodox religious communities The Divine Office is also widely used as a personal prayer The Divine Office which relies heavily upon the prayers in Psalms, is organised daily into a number of times of prayer to mark the day from early in the morning until late at night Christians across a range of denominations use a variety of informal and spontaneous forms of prayer for different occasions and times Morning and evening prayer is commonly used across the spectrum of Christian denominations, with morning prayer typically being a dedication to God and evening prayer often being a prayer of thanksgiving for God's providence during the day Grace before and/or after meals is a widely practised custom of expressing gratitude to God for the provisions of the necessities of life Christian denominations urge their members to find time during the pressures of normal daily routines to spend a period of time in prayer. This is often referred to as Quiet time The time for prayer and the form of prayer used during quiet times will vary greatly, however, common elements may include prayer of praise and thanksgiving, bible reading, quiet reflection and prayers of petition Prayers of intercession and prayers of petition are prayers where a person requests their needs and the needs of others
Prayers of intercession and petition encompass many forms of prayer ranging from formal prayers such as the Lord's prayer to informal and spontaneous prayers In the Orthodox and Catholic communities the belief in the Communion of Saints means that in some cases Christians will offer their prayers to a particular saint, who is believed to intervene on behalf of the person on earth Prayers of reflection and meditation involve finding a time and place free from distraction and centring one's thoughts on God The main purpose of prayers of reflection and mediation is to create an inner stillness which allows a person to deeply contemplate the nature of God and the meaning of events and circumstances in life to more clearly see these events in the light of God's love There is a strong emphasis across the spectrum of Christian denominations but particularly amongst the Protestant denominations on the reflective reading of the bible as a form of prayer Praise and thanksgiving which allows an individual to acknowledge the greatness of the person of God, finds expression in many forms such as praying the Psalms In recent times the growth in the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements, where praise is an integral element of prayer has brought a renewed emphasis to the place of praise in Christian
prayer Throughout Christian history various notable individuals have developed approaches to prayer which have been adopted by a significant number of Christians. These are known as schools of prayer and spirituality Ignatian spirituality, which is based on the inspiration of Spanish priest Ignatius of Loyola, offers a 30 day programme of meditations, prayers, considerations and contemplative practices that it is commonly used by individuals in a retreat environment. Teresian spirituality traces its origins to the spiritual experiences of Teresa of Avila as documented in her most well known work "Way of Perfection" Taize prayer is a simple, meditative prayer that emerged from the French Taize community led by Br Roger Schutz. It involves a process of contemplation based on the chanting recitation of simple mantras Taize prayer which is steeped in the notions of hope and renewal in response to the post World War II disillusionment adopts a strong emphasis on justice, peace and ecology Creation Spirituality is generally thought of as a modern movement that celebrates the spiritual dimension of creation as the expression of God's love and thus seeks to highlight the goodness of creation as a gift of God Creation spirituality as seen in the works of Thomas Berry grew out of modern ecological concerns