Christian prayer
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Christian prayer is an important activity in Christianity, and there are several different forms used for this practice.[1]
Christian prayers are diverse: they can be completely spontaneous, or read entirely from a text, such as from a breviary, which contains the canonical hours that are said at fixed prayer times. While praying, certain gestures usually accompany the prayers, including folding one's hands, bowing one's head, kneeling (often in the kneeler of a pew in corporate worship or the kneeler of a prie-dieu in private worship), and prostration.
The most common prayer among Christians is the
From the time of the
There are two basic settings for Christian prayer: corporate (or public) and private. Corporate prayer includes prayer shared within the worship setting or other public places, especially on the
Historical development
New Testament
Prayer in the New Testament is presented as a positive command (Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17). The people of God are challenged to include prayer in their everyday life, even in the busy struggles of marriage (1 Corinthians 7:5) as it is thought to bring the faithful closer to God. Throughout the New Testament, prayer is shown to be God's appointed method by which the faithful obtain what he has to bestow (Matthew 7:7–11; Matthew 9:24–29; Luke 11:13). Prayer, according to the Book of Acts, can be seen at the first moments of the church (Acts 3:1). The apostles regarded prayer as an essential part of their lives (Acts 6:4; Romans 1:9; Colossians 1:9). As such, the apostles frequently incorporated verses from Psalms into their writings. Romans 3:10–18 for example is borrowed from Psalm 14:1–3 and other psalms.
Lengthy passages of the New Testament are prayers or
Early Christianity
Prayer and the reading of Scripture were important elements of Early Christianity. In the early Church worship was inseparable from doctrine as reflected in the statement: lex orandi, lex credendi, i.e. the law of belief is the law of prayer.[30] Early Christian liturgies highlight the importance of prayer.[31]
The Lord's Prayer was an essential element in the meetings held by the very early Christians, and it was spread by them as they preached Christianity in new lands.[32] Over time, a variety of prayers were developed as the production of early Christian literature intensified.[33]
As early as the 2nd century, Christians indicated the eastward direction of prayer by placing a Christian cross on the eastern wall of their house or church, prostrating in front of it as they prayed at seven fixed prayer times.[12][34][26]
By the 3rd century
Early models of
Meditation in the Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, the monastic traditions of both Western and Eastern Christianity moved beyond vocal prayer to Christian meditation. These progressions resulted in two distinct and different meditative practices: Lectio Divina in the West and hesychasm in the East. Hesychasm involves the repetition of the Jesus Prayer, but Lectio Divina uses different Scripture passages at different times and although a passage may be repeated a few times, Lectio Divina is not repetitive in nature.[39][40]
In the
Early in the 12th century,
The progression from Bible reading, to meditation, to loving regard for God, was first formally described by
In
Contemplative prayer
In the Western Church, during the 15th century, reforms of the clergy and monastic settings were undertaken by the two Venetians,
The Eastern Orthodox Church has a similar three level hierarchy of prayer.[53][54] The first level prayer is again vocal prayer, the second level is meditation (also called "inward prayer" or "discursive prayer") and the third level is contemplative prayer in which a much closer relationship with God is cultivated.[53]
Types of prayer
Christian prayer can be divided into different categories, varying by denomination and tradition. Over time, theologians have studied different types of prayer. For example, theologian Gilbert W. Stafford divided prayer into eight different types based on New Testament scripture.[55] Interpretations of prayer in the New Testament and the Christian faith as a whole widely vary, leading to the practice of different types of prayer.
Daily prayer
Canonical hours
In Apostolic Tradition, Hippolytus instructed Christians to pray seven times a day "on rising, at the lighting of the evening lamp, at bedtime, at midnight" and "the third, sixth and ninth hours of the day, being hours associated with Christ's Passion."[12][13][14][15]
In the
Lord's Prayer
The injunction for Christians to pray the
Sign of the Cross
The
Mealtime prayer
Christians often pray to ask God to thank Him for and
Seasonal prayer
Many denominations use specific prayers geared to the season of the Christian
In the seasons of Advent and Lent, many Christians add the reading of a daily devotional to their prayer life; items that aid in prayer, such as an Advent wreath or Lenten calendar are unique to those seasons of the Church Year.
Intercession of saints
The ancient church, in both
Meditation and contemplative prayer
A broad, three stage characterization of prayer begins with vocal prayer, then moves on to a more structured form in terms of
.Christian meditation is a structured attempt to get in touch with and deliberately reflect upon the revelations of God.[68] The word meditation comes from the Latin word meditārī, which has a range of meanings including to reflect on, to study and to practice. Christian meditation is the process of deliberately focusing on specific thoughts (such as a bible passage) and reflecting on their meaning in the context of the love of God.[69]
Christian meditation aims to heighten the personal relationship based on the love of God that marks Christian communion.[70][71]
At times there may be no clear-cut boundary between Christian meditation and Christian contemplation, and they overlap. Meditation serves as a foundation on which the contemplative life stands, the practice by which someone begins the state of contemplation.[72] In contemplative prayer, this activity is curtailed, so that contemplation has been described as "a gaze of faith", "a silent love".[73]
Meditation and contemplation on the
Intercessory prayer
This kind of prayer involves the believer taking the role of an intercessor, praying on behalf of another individual, group or community, or even a nation.
Ejaculatory prayer
Ejaculatory prayer is the use of very brief exclamations. Saint Augustine remarked that the Egyptian Christians who withdrew to a solitary life "are said to say frequent prayers, but very brief ones that are tossed off as in a rush, so that a vigilant and keen intention, which is very necessary for one who prays, may not fade away and grow dull over longer periods".[76]
Examples of such prayers are given in the old Raccolta under the numbers 19, 20, 38, 57, 59, 63, 77, 82, 83, 133, 154, 166, 181.[77]
They are also known as aspirations, invocations or exclamations and include the Jesus Prayer.[78]
Listening prayer
Listening prayer is a traditional form of Christian prayer.
Listening prayer requires those praying to sit in silence in the presence of God. It can, but need not, be preceded by a scripture reading. This method of prayer is most fully explored in the works of Catholic Saints such as
Child's prayer
A Christian child's prayer is typically short, rhyming, or has a memorable tune. It is usually said before bedtime, to give thanks for a meal, or as a nursery rhyme. Many of these prayers are either quotes from the Bible, or set traditional texts.
Prayer books and tools
Prayer books as well as tools such as prayer beads such as chaplets are used by Christians. Images and icons are also associated with prayers in some Christian denominations.
There is no one prayerbook containing a set liturgy used by all Christians; however many Christian denominations have their own local prayerbooks, for example:
- Agpeya also known as the Book of Hours for the Coptic Orthodox Christians of Egypt. The book is a collection of texts from the gospels, epistles and most importantly the book of Psalms as well as ancient prayers of the Church Fathers; seven main prayers are distributed over the seven fixed prayer times of the day with relevant texts about every particular hour from the Bible.
- Lutheran Church.
- Anglican prayer book, still in use or modified by the constituent churches of the Anglican Communion, and one of the most influential prayerbooks in the English language)
- The Book of Psalms
- The Raccoltabook of indulgenced prayers for Catholics
- The Roman Roman CatholicMonastic Hours)
See also
- Christian mysticism
- Intercession
- Roman Catholic prayer
- Roman Catholic prayers to Jesus
References and footnotes
- ISBN 0-618-15288-1.
- ISBN 0-435-30324-4.
- ^ ISBN 9780802822505. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
The praying of the Lord's Prayer three times a day in Did., 8, 2 f. is connected with the Jewish practice --> 218, 3 ff.; II, 801, 16 ff.; the altering of other Jewish customs is demanded in the context.
- ^ ISBN 9004146032. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
The Church had now two hours of prayer, observed individually on weekdays and corporately on Sundays – yet the Old Testament spoke of three daily hours of prayer, and the Church itself had been saying the Lord's Prayer three times a day.
- ^ ISBN 9781426722851. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
Late in the first century or early in the second, the Didache advised Christians to pray the Lord's prayer three times a day. Others sought disciplines in the Bible itself as ways to make the scriptural injunction to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17) practical. Psalm 55:17 suggested "evening and morning and at noon," and Daniel prayed three times a day (Dan. 6:10).
- ^ ISBN 0-860-12324-3. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
Late in the first century or early in the second, the Didache advised Christians to pray the Lord's prayer three times a day. Others sought disciplines in the Bible itself as ways to make the scriptural injunction to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17) practical. Psalm 55:17 suggested "evening and morning and at noon," and Daniel prayed three times a day (Dan. 6:10).
- ^ ISBN 9780567082497. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
Moreover, the central portion of the Eighteen Benedictions, just like the Lord's Prayer, falls into two distinct parts (in the first half the petitions are for the individuals, in the second half for the nation); and early Christian tradition instructs believers to say the Lord's Prayer three times a day (Did. 8.3) while standing (Apost. const. 7.24), which precisely parallels what the rabbis demanded for the Eighteen Benedictions.
- ^ ISBN 978-90-04-14603-7.
So three minor hours of prayer were developed, at the third, sixth and ninth hours, which, as Dugmore points out, were ordinary divisions of the day for worldly affairs, and the Lord's Prayer was transferred to those hours.
- ^ a b George Herbert Dryer (1897). History of the Christian Church. Curts & Jennings.
…every church-bell in Christendom to be tolled three times a day, and all Christians to repeat Pater Nosters (The Lord's Prayer)
- ^ a b Joan Huyser-Honig (2006). "Uncovering the Blessing of Fixed-Hour Prayer". Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.
Early Christians prayed the Lord's Prayer three times a day. Medieval church bells called people to common prayer.
- ^ "Church bells". Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. 25 July 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4982-9023-4.
Peterson quotes a passage from the Acts of Hipparchus and Philotheus: "In Hipparchus's house there was a specially decorated room and a cross was painted on the east wall of it. There before the image of the cross, they used to pray seven times a day ... with their faces turned to the east." It is easy to see the importance of this passage when you compare it with what Origen says. The custom of turning towards the rising sun when praying had been replaced by the habit of turning towards the east wall. This we find in Origen. From the other passage we see that a cross had been painted on the wall to show which was the east. Hence the origin of the practice of hanging crucifixes on the walls of the private rooms in Christian houses. We know too that signs were put up in the Jewish synagogues to show the direction of Jerusalem, because the Jews turned that way when they said their prayers. The question of the proper way to face for prayer has always been of great importance in the East. It is worth remembering that Mohammedans pray with their faces turned towards Mecca and that one reason for the condemnation of Al Hallaj, the Mohammedan martyr, was that he refused to conform to this practice.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-101-16042-8.
Hippolytus in the Apostolic Tradition directed that Christians should pray seven times a day - on rising, at the lighting of the evening lamp, at bedtime, at midnight, and also, if at home, at the third, sixth and ninth hours of the day, being hours associated with Christ's Passion. Prayers at the third, sixth, and ninth hours are similarly mentioned by Tertullian, Cyprian, Clement of Alexandria and Origen, and must have been very widely practised. These prayers were commonly associated with private Bible reading in the family.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-01746-6.
Clement of Alexandria noted that "some fix hours for prayer, such as the third, sixth and ninth" (Stromata 7:7). Tertullian commends these hours, because of their importance (see below) in the New Testament and because their number recalls the Trinity (De Oratione 25). These hours indeed appear as designated for prayer from the earliest days of the church. Peter prayed at the sixth hour, i.e. at noon (Acts 10:9). The ninth hour is called the "hour of prayer" (Acts 3:1). This was the hour when Cornelius prayed even as a "God-fearer" attached to the Jewish community, i.e. before his conversion to Christianity. it was also the hour of Jesus' final prayer (Matt. 27:46, Mark 15:34, Luke 22:44-46).
- ^ ISBN 978-0-567-16561-9.
Not only the content of early Christian prayer was rooted in Jewish tradition; its daily structure too initially followed a Jewish pattern, with prayer times in the early morning, at noon and in the evening. Later (in the course of the second century), this pattern combined with another one; namely prayer times in the evening, at midnight and in the morning. As a result seven 'hours of prayer' emerged, which later became the monastic 'hours' and are still treated as 'standard' prayer times in many churches today. They are roughly equivalent to midnight, 6 a.m., 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Prayer positions included prostration, kneeling and standing. ... Crosses made of wood or stone, or painted on walls or laid out as mosaics, were also in use, at first not directly as objections of veneration but in order to 'orientate' the direction of prayer (i.e. towards the east, Latin oriens).
- ^ a b "Prayers of the Church". Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ a b "Why We Pray Facing East". Orthodox Prayer. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ "What is the relationship between bells and the church? When and where did the tradition begin? Should bells ring in every church?". Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
- ^ a b Mary Cecil, 2nd Baroness Amherst of Hackney (1906). A Sketch of Egyptian History from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Methuen. p. 399.
Prayers 7 times a day are enjoined, and the most strict among the Copts recite one of more of the Psalms of David each time they pray. They always wash their hands and faces before devotions, and turn to the East.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c Kosloski, Philip (16 October 2017). "Did you know Muslims pray in a similar way to some Christians?". Aleteia. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ a b Bercot, David. "Head Covering Through the Centuries". Scroll Publishing. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ a b Duffner, Jordan Denari (13 February 2014). "Wait, I thought that was a Muslim thing?!". Commonweal. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ "Sign of the Cross". Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East - Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon. Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East - Archdiocese of Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon. Archived from the original on 14 April 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
Inside their homes, a cross is placed on the eastern wall of the first room. If one sees a cross in a house and do not find a crucifix or pictures, it is almost certain that the particular family belongs to the Church of the East.
- ISBN 978-0-8146-6282-3.
Because Christ was expected to come from the east, Christians at a very early date prayed facing that direction in order to show themselves ready for his appearing, and actually looking forward to the great event which would consummate the union with him already experienced in prayer. For the same reason the sign of the cross was frequently traced on the eastern wall of places of prayer, thereby indicating the direction of prayer, but also rendering the Lord's coming a present reality in the sign which heralds it. In other words, through the cross the anticipated eschatological appearance becomes parousia: presence. The joining of prayer with the eschatological presence of Christ, unseen to the eye but revealed in the cross, obviously underlies the widely attested practice of prostrating before the sacred wood while praying to him who hung upon it.
- ^ "Home Altars". Eden Prairie: Immanuel Lutheran Church. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8294-2030-2.
Long before Christians built churches for public prayer, they worshipped daily in their homes. In order to orient their prayer (to orient means literally "to turn toward the east"), they painted or hung a cross on the east wall of their main room. This practice was in keeping with ancient Jewish tradition ("Look toward the east, O Jerusalem," Baruch 4:36); Christians turned in that direction when they prayed morning and evening and at other times. This expression of their undying belief in the coming again of Jesus was united to their conviction that the cross, "the sign of the Son of Man," would appear in the eastern heavens on his return (see Matthew 24:30). Building on that ancient custom, devout Catholics often have a home altar, shrine, or prayer corner containing a crucifix, religious pictures (icons), a Bible, holy water, lights, and flowers as a part of the essential furniture of a Christian home.
- ^ Shoemaker, Caleb (5 December 2016). "Little Church Foundations: Icon Corner". Behind the Scenes. Ancient Faith Ministries. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
Identify a wall or corner in a main living area of your house. Preferably, your icons will be on an east wall so your family can be facing east–just like at Divine Liturgy–whenever you say your prayers together.
- ^ Basenkov, Vladimir (10 June 2017). "Vladimir Basenkov. Getting To Know the Old Believers: How We Pray". Orthodox Christianity. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-7151-4010-9.
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- ISBN 0-8308-3942-9page 203
- ISBN 1-59333-275-0pages 13-15
- ISBN 0-8108-6987-Xpages 135-138
- ^ Kalleeny, Tony. "Why We Face the EAST". Orlando: St Mary and Archangel Michael Church. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
Christians in Syria as well, in the second century, would place the cross in the direction of the East towards which people in their homes or churches prayed.
- ISBN 0-87907-231-8pages 26-35
- ^ Vatican website: Benedict XVI, General Audience 2 May 2007
- ISBN 0-8028-6459-7page 100
- ISBN 978-0-8091-3660-5page 88-94
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4411-2547-7pages 31-38
- ISBN 0-8264-6084-4page 44
- ISBN 0-8122-3602-5page 105
- ISBN 0-8294-2081-9page 20
- ISBN 0-8006-2130-1pages 32-37
- ISBN 978-0-8091-3660-5pages 91-92
- ISBN 0-8028-2464-1page 103
- ISBN 978-0-8091-3660-5pages 38-39
- ISBN 0-8146-6012-6pages 207-208
- ISBN 0-913836-81-8page
- ISBN 0-8132-0754-1.
- ISBN 0-521-52191-2page 76
- ISBN 0-89870-068-Xpage 180
- ^ Catholic encyclopedia
- ^ ISBN 0-88141-250-3 St Vladimir Press, "Chapter 2: Degrees of Prayer" pages 39-42 [1]
- ISBN 0-571-19165-7pages 63-65
- ^ Gilbert W. Stafford, Theology for Disciples, (Anderson: Warner Press, 1996), 411–426.
- ^ Richards, William Joseph (1908). The Indian Christians of St. Thomas: Otherwise Called the Syrian Christians of Malabar: a Sketch of Their History and an Account of Their Present Condition as Well as a Discussion of the Legend of St. Thomas. Bemrose. p. 98.
We are commanded to pray standing, with faces towards the East, for at the last Messiah is manifested in the East. 2. All Christians, on rising from sleep early in the morning, should wash the face and pray. 3. We are commanded to pray seven times, thus...
- ^ a b Shehimo: Book of Common Prayer. Diocese of South-West America of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. 2016. pp. 5, 7, 12.
- ^ Smith, Bertha H. (1909). "The Bath as a Religious Rite among Mohammedans". Modern Sanitation. 7 (1). Standard Sanitary Mfg. Co.
The Copts, descendants of these ancient Egyptians, although Christians, have the custom of washing their hands and faces before prayer, and some also wash their feet.
- ^ Bishop Brian J Kennedy, OSB. "Importance of the Prayer Rug". St. Finian Orthodox Abbey. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ISBN 978-1-4514-1719-7.
- ^ Mayes, Benjamin T. G. (5 September 2004). "Daily Prayer Books in the History of German and American Lutheranism" (PDF). Lutheran Liturgical Prayer Brotherhood. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2004. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- General Board of Discipleship. 6 May 2007. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Why do Lutherans make the sign of the cross?" (PDF). Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. 2013. p. 2. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-8307-4811-2.
- ^ Ferguson, S. B.; Packer, J. (1988). "Saints". New Dictionary of Theology. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press.
- ISBN 0-7425-5084-2.
- ^ "The Christian tradition comprises three major expressions of the life of prayer: vocal prayer, meditation, and contemplative prayer. They have in common the recollection of the heart" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2721).
- ISBN 0-88489-361-8.
- ISBN 81-7109-429-5.
- ISBN 1-57383-227-8pages 12-13
- ISBN 90-04-12654-6.
- ISBN 0-88141-250-3.
- ^ "Contemplative prayer is the simple expression of the mystery of prayer. It is a gaze of faith fixed on Jesus, an attentiveness to the Word of God, a silent love. It achieves real union with the prayer of Christ to the extent that it makes us share in his mystery" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2724).
- ^ "Rosarium Virginis Mariae on the Most Holy Rosary (October 16, 2002) | John Paul II".
- ^ "Ignatian Contemplation: Imaginative Prayer - IgnatianSpirituality.com". Ignatian Spirituality. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
- ^ Augustine, Letter 130, To Proba, paragraph 20
- ^ The Raccolta: Index of prayers and pious works contained in this collection
- ^ Stephen Beale, "Deepen Your Prayer Life Through Exclamations"
- ^ Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language, vol. 2]
- ^ Matthew Hole, Practical discourses on the liturgy of the Church of England (London. William Pickering. 1837), p. 153
- ^ Johann G. Roten, S.M. "Lutheran rosary". University of Dayton. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
Further reading
- Callan, Very Rev. Charles J. (1925). . Blessed be God; a complete Catholic prayer book. P. J. Kenedy & Sons.
- Carroll, James. Prayer from Where We Are. In series, Witness Book[s], 13, and also in Christian Experience Series. Dayton, Ohio: G.A. Pflaum, 1970.
- Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. (1856).. St. Vincent's Manual. John Murphy & Co.
- Heiler, Friedrich (1997). Prayer: a study in the history and psychology of Religion. Oxyford: Oneworld Publications. ISBN 9781851681433.
- Kempis, Thomas A. (1908).. London: Kegan Paul.
- Moran, Rev. Patrick (1883). . Dublin: Browne & Nolan.
- . The catechism of the Council of Trent. Translated by James Donovan. Lucas Brothers. 1829.
External links
- Agpeya: Coptic Book of Hours (used for Daily Prayer in Oriental Orthodox Christianity)
- Daily Prayer (used in the Church of England, mother church of the Anglican Communion)
- St. Thomas Aquinas. "Prayers of St. Thomas Aquinas". liturgies.net. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013.
- St. Augustine of Hippo. "Prayers of St. Augustine of Hippo". villanova.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-10-01. Retrieved Oct 1, 2018.
- Matthew Henry. "A Method for Prayer (1710); the Protestant Book of Hours". mrmatthewhenry.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2013-11-12. (Free eBooks and audio books)
- "How to Pray for Your Church Using a Prayer Walk and Posted Prayer Notes". prayerideas.org. Sep 26, 2015. Archived from the original on February 27, 2017. Retrieved Oct 1, 2018.