Forms of Prayer
In the Christian tradition, essential forms of prayer, including prayers of petition and intercession, nurture the spiritual life of believers.
What is prayer? Why do people pray? What are the different ways that people pray?
In this unit you will learn about different types of prayers used in the Catholic Church. You will understand the differences between different forms of prayer and their different purposes.
What is prayer? Why do people pray? What are the different ways that people pray?
In this unit you will learn about different types of prayers used in the Catholic Church. You will understand the differences between different forms of prayer and their different purposes.
Read about Prayer in the Catholic Church.
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Some "Prayer" Words
WALT - Meanings of different words used to describe forms of prayer including prayer, petition, intercession and litany.
WILF - I can define the terms used to describe forms of prayer and explain the meaning of one word to my classmates.
In small groups, look at one of the "prayer words". Complete a Frayer's Concept model in your scrapbook about the term. You will share what you have discovered with others in our class.
WILF - I can define the terms used to describe forms of prayer and explain the meaning of one word to my classmates.
In small groups, look at one of the "prayer words". Complete a Frayer's Concept model in your scrapbook about the term. You will share what you have discovered with others in our class.
Looking at Litanies
With a partner, write a prayer of intercession following this pattern:
For _______________
That _______________
In faith we pray
We pray to you, O God
Create a Google Slide to show your prayer. Include a picture in the background. Make sure your font is visible, especially the response.
For _______________
That _______________
In faith we pray
We pray to you, O God
Create a Google Slide to show your prayer. Include a picture in the background. Make sure your font is visible, especially the response.
Blessing Prayers
A blessing prayer is one that calls on God’s power to care for a person, place, thing or undertaking.
In praying a prayer of blessing, we ask for God’s presence, goodness and protection to be seen in the lives of those the prayer is intended for or those who will enter the place that is being blessed e.g. a school, church, classrooms, library.
Think of times you might or could use blessing prayers.
Add your ideas to the Answer Garden.
In praying a prayer of blessing, we ask for God’s presence, goodness and protection to be seen in the lives of those the prayer is intended for or those who will enter the place that is being blessed e.g. a school, church, classrooms, library.
Think of times you might or could use blessing prayers.
Add your ideas to the Answer Garden.
Blessing prayers were common in biblical times. Many psalms are blessing prayers and Jewish families pray a blessing prayer for their children at the Sabbath meal.
Look at these examples of blessings from Scripture:
Look at these examples of blessings from Scripture:
- Leaders often blessed people, especially when getting ready to leave them e.g. Moses in Deuteronomy 33; Joshua in Joshua 22:6-7 and Jesus in Luke:24:50.
- Psalms may include blessings: Psalm 115:15, Psalm 67:1
- The First Letter from Peter 1:3-9 has several elements of a blessing prayer beginning with giving thanks and praise to God.
WHO - You - Do - Through
Who - You - Do - Through is a simple prayer structure that is used within the Church to construct blessing prayers.
This structure is also used in some prayers within the Mass, such as the Collect.
Read these blessing prayers. What do you notice about them? What language features do they have in common? Can you find the Who - You - Do - Through pattern in these prayers?
Fold a piece of paper into four sections. In each section, copy the part of one of the blessing prayers to show the Who - You - Do - Through structure.
This structure is also used in some prayers within the Mass, such as the Collect.
Read these blessing prayers. What do you notice about them? What language features do they have in common? Can you find the Who - You - Do - Through pattern in these prayers?
Fold a piece of paper into four sections. In each section, copy the part of one of the blessing prayers to show the Who - You - Do - Through structure.
Irish Blessings
Write A Blessing Prayer
Review the Answer Garden to recall some times and situations in our lives that we might say blessing prayers.
Use the Who - You - Do - Through to construct a special blessing prayer for a situation of your choosing. Type up your prayer in Word or PowerPoint. Consider the fonts, images and formatting you could use to make this prayer look special.
Use the Who - You - Do - Through to construct a special blessing prayer for a situation of your choosing. Type up your prayer in Word or PowerPoint. Consider the fonts, images and formatting you could use to make this prayer look special.
Praying with Colours and ManDalas
Read these webpages to find out about the history of the use of Mandalas in prayer. What is a mandala? How do they help people to pray?
Create your own Mandala using PowerPoint.
Create your own Mandala using PowerPoint.