Prayer

[edwinG]

Hi,
What is prayer. I looked to Matthew 6:6 Jesus teaching, " But you, when you pray, go into your room,and when you have shut the door,pray to your father who is in the secret place: and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."
Can you give me references please for praying to anyone else, other than God?
Do we worship in prayer?
I understand that praise is words spoken one to another, so that is an earthly function. ie Christ has been blessing me today and showed me how to catch a cheaper taxi. etc.
what is prayer and what isnt a prayer?
Can I be in a “closed place” in a crowded bus or park. ( I suppose closing the door is locking oneself away from the intrusions of this world.
How close to prayer is meditation?
Thank you.http://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/icons/icon7.gif
Christ be with you
Walk in love,
edwinG

 

[Todd_Easton]

edwinG:

Hi,
What is prayer… Do we worship in prayer? …How close to prayer is meditation?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) has a very large section on Christian prayer, (www.usccb.org/catechism/text/partfour.htm).
Here is a selection:

St. John Damascene said, “Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.” (CCC, 2559)

St. Therese of Lisieux said, “For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.” (CCC, 2558)

The basic forms of prayer: blessing and adoration; prayer of petition; prayer of intercession; prayer of thanksgiving; prayer of praise. (CCC, 2644)

The language of prayer: words; melodies, gestures; iconography.
(CCC, 2663)

The major expressions of prayer: vocal prayer; meditation; contemplation. (CCC, 2699)

“…it is the heart that prays. If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain.” (CCC, 2562)

edwinG:

Can you give me references please for praying to anyone else, other than God?

Yes. If by “praying to” you mean simply calling out to unseen departed souls and angels and asking them to do something, then you can see this taking place in the following verses:

“Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word! Bless the LORD, all his hosts, his ministers that do his will!” (Psalm 103:21-22)

“Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his host!” (Psalm 148:2)

“Bless the Lord, you angels of the Lord, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.” (Daniel 3:58)*

“Bless the Lord, spirits and souls of the righteous, sing praise to him and highly exalt him for ever.” (Daniel 3:86)*

• Note: These two verses from Daniel are part of the Catholic canon of Sacred Scripture; they are not part of the Protestant canon.

 

[Dr.Colossus]

Another instance of prayer to the saints comes from Christ’s parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man:

:bible1: “There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.’” Luke 16: 19-24

 

[edwinG]

HI Todd and Dr Colossus

Thank you so much for the info. It is much appreciated. As you are probably aware I am not a catholic but I have a deep desire to seek the truth. You are helping me and I really appreciate this.

Christ be with you

walk in love

edwinGhttp://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/icons/icon7.gif

 

[stbruno]

Prayer does not have to be prescribed or written, although it can be like the Lord’s prayer, the Rosary, psalms. etc.

Prayer can be just simple dialogue with our God.
E.G. God, help me. That’s a prayer.
Jesus, I trust in you…That’s a prayer.
Thank you God. That’s prayer.
Please forgive me Lord. That is a prayer.
Wow, God that’s incredible beautiful. I praise you!.

The God Squad, a Catholic priest and a Rabbi once said, all prayers can be divided into Gimme, Oops, Thanks and Wow.
But in all things, start today. There is more power in prayer than in any other defense weapon. I guarantee it!