04.+Prayer

=PEOPLE OF PRAYER =

Prayer: A spiritual communion with God or an object of worship, as in supplication, thanksgiving,adoration, or confession - [|www.dictionary.com]

=Purpose of prayer =

It is not to get what we want, but what God wants. It is not to convince God to change his mind, but for him to change our minds. It is not to have our will done in heaven, but for God to have his will done on earth. Prayer is the means by which we praise God for who he is, ask him for forgiveness, and thank him for everything he’s given us. We are to bring all of our concerns to him, but we know that what we want is not always best for us or for anyone else. That’s why Jesus said, “Not my will, but yours,” when he was praying to the Father. God is not a genie in a bottle. He doesn’t operate by our commands. He has a long-term plan for the earth and all its inhabitants. When we pray, we’re not trying to change his plans. He is changing ours.

=Reasons to pray = **1. Praying keeps your soul alive:** Prayer is real contact with God, and God is the life of the soul as the soul is the life of the body. If you do not pray, your soul will wither and die, just as, if you do not eat, your body will wither and die.


 * 2. Because God commands it:** Three reasons he commands us to pray correspond to our three deepest needs, the fundamental needs of the three powers of our soul: prayer gives truth to our mind, goodness to our will, and beauty to our heart. "The true, the good, and the beautiful" are the three things we need and love the most, because they are three attributes of God.


 * 3. Prayer changes us:** We pray, not to change God's mind, but to change our own; not to command God, but to let God command us. Prayer is our obedience to God even when it asks God for things, for God commanded us to ask.


 * 4. Learning to pray is dress rehearsal for eternal life:** What you do when you rehearse a play is actually to practice it, to do it; and what we do when we pray is actually to practice what we will be doing in Heaven.

**5. Prayer is delightful:** Brother Lawrence says, in The Practice of the Presence of God, "There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God. Those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it."


 * 6. Prayer is the way to know God:** One moment of prayer, of weak worship, confused contrition, tepid thanksgiving, or pitiful petition will bring us closer to God than all the books of theology in the world.


 * 7. Prayer is necessary because without it we cannot attain the meaning of life, the end and purpose of our existence:** Becoming saints is the meaning of life. It is why we exist. It is why God created us. Prayer is our first step in becoming saints. The second step is charity, a life of love, the ecstasy of giving ourselves away over and over again forever, as each Persons of the Trinity do. But this is prayer, too, or an extension of prayer. This is practicing the presence of God in action.

PRAYERS

Father in Heaven,

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">ever-living source of all that is good,

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">keep me faithful in serving You.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Help me to drink of Christ's Truth,

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">and fill my heart with His Love

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">so that I may serve You in faith

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">and love and reach eternal life.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">In the Sacrament of the Eucharist

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">You give me the joy of sharing Your Life.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Keep me in Your presence.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Let me never be separated from You

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">and help me to do Your Will.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Amen

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">To the Guardian Angel

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Angel of God, my guardian dear,

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">To whom His love commits me here,

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">ever this day be at my side, to light and guard,

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">to rule and guide.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Amen.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">CHILDREN'S PRAYERS

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Bedtime Prayers

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Now I lay me down to sleep, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> I pray the Lord my soul to keep: <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> May God guard me through the night <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> And wake me with the morning light. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Amen.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Traditional Prayer

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">God Hear My Prayer

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">God in heaven hear my prayer, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> keep me in thy loving care. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Be my guide in all I do, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Bless all those who love me too. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Amen.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Children's Mealtime Blessing

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Thank you for the world so sweet, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Thank you for the food we eat. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Thank you for the birds that sing, <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Thank you God for everything.