ST. VINCENT’S HIGH SCHOOL OF SAN REMEGIO, INC.

Poblacion, San Remigio, Antique

WEEK 3
SUBJECT: Christian Living Education
GRADE LEVEL: 7
LEARNING COMPETENCY/IES:
Doctrine: Understand the meaning and importance of prayer.
Identify the different types and kinds of prayer.
Moral: Open themselves to the grace of God through prayer.
Worship: Pray constantly.

I. INTRODUCTION
Guide Questions:
1. What is Prayer?
2. Do you know how to pray?
3. When is the proper time to pray?

These questions will be answered as we are going to discuss prayer in our topic.

II. INTERACTION
We are brought up in a Christian culture to believe in the God revealed by Jesus
Christ, a personal God who personally relates to us by adopting us as his sons and daughters.
He calls us to a personal response in faith, hope and love.
 This personal faith-relating to God is prayer (cf. NCDP 321).
 Christian prayer, then, is a loving, conscious, personal relationship with God,
our all-loving, good Father, who has adopted us through His beloved Son,
Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit.
 It is "intimate conversation with God who we know loves us" (St. Teresa of
Avila).
 Prayer develops a conscious awareness of our relationship with God. This
relationship depends fundamentally on WHO GOD IS, and WHO WE ARE.
 Prayer is our direct line with heaven.
 Prayer is a communication process that allows
us to talk to God.

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 God wants us to communicate with Him, like a person-to-person phone call. Cell
phones and other devices have become a necessity to some people in today’s society. We
have blue tooth devices, blackberries, and talking computers. These are means of
communication that allow two or more people to interact, discuss, and respond to one
another. To many people, prayer seems complicated, but it is SIMPLY TALKING TO
GOD.

How to Pray?
It is natural for most Filipinos to think of prayer primarily in terms of explicit vocal
prayers like the Our Father or the Hail Mary, or devotional acts of piety like novenas to the
Blessed Virgin Mary or their patron saints. Such explicit prayers are concrete expressions of
a deeper dimension of our personal lives.
For besides being a particular, explicit activity, prayer, for authentic believers, is more
fundamentally an essential dimension of their whole lives – all of life. This is what Jesus
taught by his many parables on the necessity of "praying always and not losing heart" (Lk
18:1). St. Paul constantly reminded his converts to "never cease praying, render constant
thanks; such is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1Thes 5:17f).
A recent work entitled how to Pray Always Without Always Praying responds to the
practical difficulties experienced by active persons in their ordinary daily routine. How to
"find time" for prayer? What is the best method of praying? Even what is the best posture for
prayer? These are some of the practical problems, which we shall always have to wrestle
with. But they are all based on the deeper reality that we have no way of talking to God"
unless He first turns toward us and reveals Himself, and graces us with His Spirit.
St. Paul explains how prayer is really a grace of God. “We do not know how to pray
as we ought; but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot
be expressed in speech. He who searches hearts knows what the Spirit means, for the
Spirit intercedes for the saints as God himself wills." (Rom 8:26f).
 Our Christian prayer, then is not something we do on our own power "for God,",
as it were, but a precious gift to us by the Spirit.
 "Prayer is not learned through the teaching of others; it has its own special teacher,
God, the teacher of all people who gives prayer to those who pray" (St. John
Climacus, Step 28).

Lesson 4. Types and Levels of Prayer

Types of Prayer

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 As creatures called to become children of God, our prayer is one of adoration of our
Creator and thanksgiving to our heavenly Father, whom we petition for our needs. As sinners
we pray in contrition for forgiveness from our divine Savior, and offer Him all our thoughts,
words and deeds.
Thus, we have the basic types of prayer adoration, thanksgiving,
petition/supplication, contrition and offering. They are in no way imposed on us, nor are
they simply a product of a particular time, place or culture. Rather they spring from Our
deepest selves. We can easily remember them by using the acronym ACTSO.
A – doration. In prayers of adoration or worship, we exalt the greatness of God, and we
acknowledge our dependence on Him in all things. The Mass and the other liturgies of the
Church are full of prayers of adoration or worship, such as the Gloria (the Glory to God).
Among private prayers, the Act of Faith is a prayer of adoration. In extolling the greatness of
God, we also acknowledge our own humility.
C – ontrition. As sinful creatures, we offend our Lord when we break His Divine Law. To
be God’s friend and be in the state of grace, it is necessary to observe His Law-the
Commandments. Our Lord has said, “If you love me, keep My Commandments.” We
should regularly pray in reparation for our sins. While only Sacramental confession can
wash away the guilt of sin and restore us to God’s friendship, works of charity, indulgences,
and prayers can make restitution to Divine Justice and pay the debt of our sins – thus
saving us from prolonged trials in purgatory after death. If you do not, you should pray the
Act of Contrition every single night before bed.
T – hanksgiving. Perhaps the most neglected type of prayer is a prayer of thanksgiving.
While Grace Before Meals is a good example of a prayer of thanksgiving, we should get into
the habit of thanking God throughout the day for the good things that happen to us and
others. Adding the Grace After Meals to our regular prayers is an excellent way to start.
S – upplication. Outside of the Mass, prayers of petition are the type of prayer with which
we are most familiar. In them, we ask God for things we need—primarily spiritual
needs, but physical ones as well. Our prayers of petition should always include a statement
of our willingness to accept God's Will, whether He directly answers our prayer or not. The
Our Father is a good example of a prayer of petition, and the line "Thy will be done" shows
that, in the end, we acknowledge that God's plans for us are more important than what we
desire.
O – ffering. We offer Him all our thoughts, words and deeds for the day that whatever
we are facing, all our trust is according to his will and intervention.

What is the difference between a STRUCTURED and a SPONTANEOUS PRAYER?

1. STRUCTURED PRAYER - one of the advantages of the very most structured
variety of prayers, namely pre-written prayers, is that they give you words to say
that you mean when you can’t find the words. In biblical terms, the Lord’s prayer
is a good example of a structured prayer. Like most structured prayer, this prayer is
extremely short and to the point. god’s kingship is recognized; four things are
asked of him (or five depending on if you ungroup the last two requests). the first
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 request of god is god-centered, namely that his will be done. the next three deal with
us, providing for our needs, forgiving ours sins, and keeping us from temptation/evil.

2. SPONTANEOUS PRAYER - prayer doesn’t have to be structured though;

sometimes you can just talk to god and tell him what is on your mind. The advantages
of this type of prayer is that it facilitates an active relationship between yourself and
God and is flexible enough to cover whatever you are going through. Spontaneous
prayer is the go-to style of prayer when you know you have something on your heart,
something burning and needing to come out.

Levels of Prayer
1. Personal Prayer
- a prayer in private. (the rosary, novenas, devotions to patron saints, meditations,
etc.)
- is that in which an individual, or even group of individuals, offer their own personal
praise to God. Such prayer is called individual prayer, even if is prayed in large
groups (for example 1000 people praying a rosary for peace constitutes personal
prayer), for in this prayer it is not the entire body of Christ that is praying, but
individuals.

2. Communal Liturgical Prayer

- a prayer in public. (liturgical celebrations/mass)
- prayer that is prayed by and on behalf of the Church.
 The most notable form of communal prayer is the Mass, but there are other
forms of communal prayer as well.
 The celebration of the sacraments, as well as the recitation of the Liturgy
of the Hours is always communal prayer. This does not mean,
however, that there is always a community of people on earth gathered
together when the prayer is prayed.
- is the prayer of the Universal Church that exists throughout time and space.

Expressions of Prayer
i. VOCAL PRAYER
Vocal prayer is an essential element of the Christian life. To his disciples, drawn by
their Master's silent prayer, Jesus teaches a vocal prayer, the Our Father. He not only prayed
aloud the liturgical prayers of the synagogue but, as the Gospels show, he raised his voice to
express his personal prayer, from exultant blessing of the Father to the agony of Gesthemani.
The need to involve the senses in interior prayer corresponds to a requirement of our
human nature. We are body and spirit, and we experience the need to translate our feelings
externally. We must pray with our whole being to give all power possible to our supplication.

ii. MEDITATION

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 To meditate on what we read helps us to make it our own by confronting it with
ourselves. Here, another book is opened: the book of life. We pass from thoughts to reality.
To the extent that we are humble and faithful, we discover in meditation the movements that
stir the heart and we are able to discern them. It is a question of acting truthfully in order to
come into the light: "Lord, what do you want me to do?"
Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of
faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of
our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ. Christian prayer tries above all to meditate
on the mysteries of Christ, as in lectio divina or the rosary. This form of prayerful reflection
is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the
Lord Jesus, to union with him.

iii. CONTEMPLATIVE PRAYER

What is contemplative prayer? St. Teresa answers: "Contemplative prayer [oracion
mental] in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends; it means
taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us." Contemplative
prayer seeks him "whom my soul loves." It is Jesus, and in him, the Father. We seek him,
because to desire him is always the beginning of love, and we seek him in that pure faith
which causes us to be born of him and to live in him. In this inner prayer we can still
meditate, but our attention is fixed on the Lord himself.
Entering into contemplative prayer is like entering into the Eucharistic liturgy: we
"gather up:" the heart, recollect our whole being under the prompting of the Holy Spirit,
abide in the dwelling place of the Lord which we are, awaken our faith in order to enter into
the presence of him who awaits us. We let our masks fall and turn our hearts back to the Lord
who loves us, so as to hand ourselves over to him as an offering to be purified and
transformed.
Contemplative prayer is the simplest expression of the mystery of prayer. It is a gift, a
grace; it can be accepted only in humility and poverty. Contemplative prayer is a covenant
relationship established by God within our hearts. Contemplative prayer is a communion in
which the Holy Trinity conforms man, the image of God, "to his likeness."

ACTIVITY/IES:

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1. Create your own prayer by using ALL THE TYPES OF PRAYER that was mentioned
above in lesson 4. Write it in the space provided.

My Personal Prayer
by:___________________________

III. INTEGRATION
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Direction: Answer the following questions with at least 3-5 sentences.

1. Why do we need to pray? Do you think praying is a requirement?

TRUE OR FALSE
Write TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE if otherwise. Write your answer on the
space provided.

_____________1. Christian prayer is a loving, conscious, personal relationship with God, our
all-loving, good Father, who has adopted us through His beloved Son,
Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit.
_____________2. The advantages of a structured prayer is that it facilitates an active
relationship between yourself and God and is flexible enough to cover
whatever you are going through.
_____________3. In prayers of adoration or worship, we exalt the greatness of God, and we
acknowledge our dependence on Him in all things.
_____________4. We should regularly pray in reparation for our sins.
_____________5. The most neglected type of prayer is a prayer of thanksgiving.
_____________6. In the offering type of prayer, we ask God for things we need – primarily
spiritual needs, but physical ones as well.
_____________7. In supplication, we offer Him all our thoughts, words and deeds for the
day that whatever we are facing, all our trust is according to his will and
intervention.
_____________8. Our Christian prayer, then is not something we do on our own power "for
God,", as it were, but a precious gift to us by the Spirit.
_____________9. Prayer is a communication process that allows us to talk to God.
_____________10. "Prayer is not learned through the teaching of others; it has its own
special teacher, God, the teacher of all people who gives prayer to those
who pray".

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Catechism for Filipino Catholics. (1997). CBCP: Manila
All about prayer. (2002). Retrieved June 16, 2020, from AllAboutPrayer.org Web site:
https://www.allaboutprayer.org/what-is-prayer.htm
5 types of prayer. (n.d.). Retrieved June 16, 2020, from Learn Religions. Web Site:
https://www.learnreligions.com/the-types-of-prayer-542772
The five types of prayer. (2006) Retrieved June 16, 2020, from A Catholic Life. Web Site:
https://acatholiclife.blogspot.com/2006/02/five-types-of-prayer.html

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