Chapter
23

Why Do We Pray?

In This Chapter

Understanding what prayer is

Models of prayer through the ages

Mary’s role in Christian prayer

Essential forms of prayer

Now let’s turn to the subject of prayer, which can mean different things to different people. For some it is the quiet plea whispered in the darkness in the midst of a crisis or struggle. For others it is a daily, perhaps even ongoing, conversation with God. And for still others it is a ritual that precedes or follows specific devotions or traditions in an effort to reach the divine. The Catechism says that prayer is God’s gift to us. Whether we pray through words or gestures, prayer is centered in our hearts. (2563) Regardless of what words we use or whether we sit, kneel, or walk when we do it, prayer is about a relationship with God. When we pray to God, whether we are praising him, petitioning him, thanking him, or asking his forgiveness, we are lifting our hearts toward heaven and opening ourselves up to the gracious love God wants us to receive from him.

In this chapter, we will look at prayer in the Old Covenant and then look at prayer as expressed by Jesus. We will also address the role of the Virgin Mary in Christian prayer, and talk about specific kinds of prayer.

The Old Masters of Prayer

The Catechism declares that all human beings are searching for God, as evidenced by the presence of so many religions throughout the world and its history. (2566) As significant as the human search for God may be, it is God, the Catechism states, who is the first to call out to humans. God is tireless in his call, even when we humans are running away with our hands over our ears. We may forget God or replace God with other things or accuse God of abandoning us, but God continues to call us back into relationship with him through the conversation, the drama of prayer. (2567)

There are several people in the Old Covenant who demonstrate for us the strength and meaning of prayer. Let’s look at a few of them to see how prayer worked in their hearts, drawing them closer to God.

Abraham

Abraham, one of the heroes of the Book of Genesis, was an early model of prayer for us. He had an attentive heart and a willingness to submit to God’s will no matter what—up to and including the requested sacrifice of the son God had given him. And while the sacrifice of his only son, Isaac, didn’t come to pass in the end, Abraham proved that he was willing to do whatever God asked of him. (2572)

Abraham, a “man of silence,” goes wherever God calls him. First Abraham expressed his prayer through actions: building an altar to the Lord at every stage of his journey. Later he puts words to his prayer, which turns out to be more of a complaint that God has not kept up his end of the bargain. But Abraham continued to believe. For his unwavering belief he was rewarded with a special relationship with God, which culminated in the “purification of his faith” when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac. (2570–2572)

At first blush it may be hard to view Abraham as a model for modern-day prayers, but what we need to focus on is not his willingness to sacrifice his son but his willingness to go where God called him and to keep faith with God no matter what.

Moses

Moses served as “the most striking example of intercessory prayer.” (2574) God, first of all, spoke to Moses and asked him to be his messenger. In the conversation God had with him, Moses learned how to pray: “He balks, makes excuses, above all, questions.” It is in response to Moses’ question that God reveals his name. (2575)

Moses, accepting his call, continued to converse with God, and he interceded for his people, prefiguring the intercession of Jesus Christ who came to earth as the mediator between God and humanity.

Church Speak

Intercession is a prayer of petition said on behalf of someone else. Sunday liturgies always include a series of intercessions offered by the congregation for the needs of the Church and of the world, and for both the living and the dead.

The Catechism also talks about how Moses’ prayer was a form of “contemplative prayer,” which can seem a little confusing to those of us familiar with the wordless contemplative prayer that is the norm today. Moses’ prayer is “contemplative” in that it is a complete surrendering to God. Moses experienced God in a deeper way than anyone ever had before him. (2576–2577)

David

David, king of Israel from whose lineage Jesus descended, was also a model of prayer. He faithfully followed what God told him to do and trusted in God’s promises. (2579) Let’s start with what we know about David. Born in Bethlehem, he was a shepherd. He defeated Goliath. He was a king. He is credited with writing the majority of the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament, making him the “first prophet” of Jewish and Christian prayer. (2579)

“His submission to the will of God, his praise, his repentance, will be a model for the prayer of the people,” the Catechism states. (2579) David is anointed by God, chosen by God, and he goes where God leads. When he sinned—and he did—he repented with such sincerity and accepted his punishment with such graciousness that he became a model for all penitents.

Elijah

Finally we have Elijah, the “father of the prophets.” Elijah was a prophet during the reign of the Israelite king Ahab. Ahab “did evil in the sight of the Lord more than any of his predecessors” (1 Kings 16:30), his most grievous sin being that he converted, under the influence of his wife, Jezebel, to the worship of Baal. Elijah became the conscience of Israel during this time, most famously challenging 450 prophets of Baal to a contest on Mount Carmel: Elijah and the prophets would both set up an altar and sacrifice a bull and see which altar the Lord would set on fire. Nothing happens to the altar of Baal’s prophets, but Elijah’s sacrifice catches on fire and becomes a holocaust pleasing to the Lord. During this sacrifice, Elijah prays, “Answer me, O Lord, answer me” (1 Kings 18:37), asking the Lord to set his sacrifice on fire and to demonstrate that he is the true prophet of the Lord (18:37).

Elijah models hope and trust in the Lord that his prayer will be fulfilled, even when he is a lone voice, when the odds seemed stacked against him. In the prophets, we see how it is possible to draw strength from God through prayer, even when things are difficult. The Cate-chism reminds us that the prophets argued with or complained to God in their prayers at times, but their prayers were always intercessions offered in anticipation of the coming of the Savior. (2582–2584)

Teachable Moment

The Psalms are considered the “masterwork” of prayer in the Old Testament. This is where the word of God becomes humanity’s own prayer. The Catechism explains that the Psalms are both personal and communal. Even when a particular Psalm reflects an event of the past, it still possesses a direct simplicity that allows it to be prayed in truth by people of all times and conditions. (2585–2589)

Jesus Teaches Us

Jesus, as we discussed at the beginning of this book, is both fully human and fully divine. So what did this mean for his prayer life? Did he have to learn to pray like the rest of us, or did he know how to pray from the get-go because he is the Son of God? The Catechism states that Jesus, in order to pray from his human heart, learned the formula and words of prayer from his mother and the traditions of the Jewish faith. However, Jesus also had a “secret source,” which was first revealed when he, at age 12, remained at the temple in Jerusalem after his parents had gone. The “secret source” is his God-ness and his intimate connection to the Father. In the fullness of time, the prayer of Jesus is revealed as the prayer of a child to his Father, a prayer that the Father awaits from all his children, a prayer which, in the end, is going to be lived out by the only Son in his humanity, with and for all people. (2599)

Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus praying before the decisive moments of his life, including his baptism and Passion, and before the important moments in his apostles’ lives and mission. In Jesus we recognize the importance of prayer in our own lives, watching as he withdrew in solitude to pray in secret. In his prayer, Jesus included all people, for he took on humanity and offered all of us to the Father when he offered himself. (2600–2602)

Through Jesus we learn not only the words of prayer—such as the Our Father, which we will discuss at length in Chapter 25—but also the attitude of prayer. It is not just what we say but how we say it. (2607)

Jesus first expects a “conversion of heart” on the part of his disciples, which means we must forgive, love, and seek God above all else. That conversion then leads us to pray in such a way that we go to the Father fully expecting he will hear us. That doesn’t mean we’ll always get the outcome we desire, however. (2608–2610) It means that when we pray, even if we pray for something specific, we understand that God will answer it the way he sees fit, and we open ourselves up in prayer to cooperating with God’s plan for us. (2611)

Jesus disclosed to his early disciples and to us that, once he had returned to his Father, we are to pray, asking “in his name.” Faith in the Son results in the certainty that our prayer will be heard because it is founded on the prayer of Jesus. (2614)

Mary: The New Eve

Mary has a distinct role in teaching us the meaning of prayer, which is fully open to the will of the Father. Remember her fiat, which we discussed earlier in this book? That is when, during the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel told her that she would bear Jesus, son of David and Son of God, and she said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) So in Mary, we see true cooperation with the Father, being wholly God’s because he is wholly ours. (2618)

Later, during Jesus’ ministry, we saw Mary at the scene of one of Jesus’ first miracles, the changing of water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana. Scripture gives us this wonderful exchange between mother and son:

When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:3–5)

Now, at first glance this could just seem like a mother telling her son what to do, but it’s so much more than that. It was Mary doing exactly what Jesus told his disciples to do: ask for what you want in prayer and it will be given to you. She didn’t doubt for one minute that Jesus would do what she had asked on behalf of someone else. And what she asked for at the Cana wedding feast looked forward to another feast: the Eucharist, the Wedding of the Lamb of God who gives his body and blood at the request of his Bride, the Church. (2618)

At the foot of the cross, when Jesus looked down on his mother and the beloved disciple, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son,” and to the disciple he said, “Behold your mother.” (John 19:26) In that moment, Jesus ushered Mary in as the “new Eve,” proclaiming her to be mother of all the living. What this is saying is we can go to our mother, Mary, and ask her to intercede on our behalf, as she did at Cana. (2618)

Teachable Moment

The Magnificat, also known as the Canticle of Mary, is the prayer Mary said after greeting her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior …,” Mary said. (Luke 1:46–55) The Catechism explains that the Magnificat is not only the song of Mary but also that of the Church. The full text of the Magnificat is in the appendix on Catholic prayer at the back of this book. (2619)

Prayer Essentials

Before we get into the specific forms of prayer, we need to understand the role of the Holy Spirit in our prayer life. The Spirit, the Catechism explains, not only keeps the teachings of Jesus Christ alive in the Church, but also forms the prayer life of the Church, which is marked by the following characteristics: (a) it is founded on apostolic faith, (b) it is authenticated by charity, and (c) it is nourished in the Eucharist. (2623–2624)

Through Scripture and Tradition, the Church developed several forms of prayer: blessings, adoration, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, and praise.

Blessings and Adoration

The prayer of blessing expresses the basic movement of all Christian prayer—an upward movement and a downward movement. We send up our prayers, in the Holy Spirit through Christ, blessing the Father for blessing us. The prayer of blessing also implores the downward movement of the grace of the Holy Spirit that descends from the Father through Christ, by which the Father blesses us. (2626–2627) When we ask God to bless someone, for instance, it is as if we are dedicating that person to God’s service or putting that person in God’s care. It means we want good things to be with that person.

Adoration “exalts” the Lord, recognizing that he is our creator and savior. Through adoration we humbly pay homage to the Triune God. (2628) The Church offers adoration of the cross on Good Friday, when Catholics commemorate the day that Jesus was crucified and humanity was redeemed through his sacrifice. Many Catholics regularly attend Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, which is when the Eucharist is exposed on the altar so that people may pray before Jesus Christ and adore him.

Petitions and Intercessions

Prayers of petition are just what you’d expect. They are the prayers we send up when we are in need, whether we are begging for something in particular that we would like, or pleading for forgiveness and mercy due to something we regret. In our prayer of petition we pray first for the Kingdom, and then for what is necessary to welcome it and cooperate with its coming. (2629–2632)

Intercessions are prayers of petition on behalf of someone else. We are supposed to offer prayers of intercession not only for our friends but for our enemies as well. Intercessory prayer helps us to pray as Jesus did. (2634–2635)

Thanksgiving and Praise

Prayers of thanksgiving are how we thank God for all that he has given us, either in general or in particular. The celebration of the Eucharist is a prayer of thanksgiving. The Catechism explains that every event and need in the life of a Christian is cause for thanksgiving. (2638)

Prayers of praise are about giving glory to God not for what God does, but simply because God is. When we offer true prayers of praise, we have no ulterior motives or hopes to gain anything for ourselves. We’re just praying because God deserves praise. (2639)

The Least You Need to Know

Prayer is centered in our hearts and is God’s gift to us.

Jesus teaches us to pray not only through his words but by the way he prays, in faith, and with complete confidence in God’s goodness and trust in his will.

Mary gives us examples of prayer in her fiat and the Magnificat, both of which demonstrate her complete abandonment to the will of the Father.

Forms of prayer include blessings and adoration, petition and intercession, thanksgiving and praise.