Prayer

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What is prayer?

Prayer is a way of communicating with God, usually through words, and having a personal relationship with him. Prayer may offer praise or thanks to God or ask him for forgiveness or other specific things, for example good health. Christians can pray in many different ways - using set or informal prayers, in public or in private, every day or on special occasions.

Set prayers

Most prayers in an Anglican or Catholic church service are set and formal. They are usually read or sung from a text, such as the Book of Common Prayer, and follow a set pattern very familiar to believers. The most famous formal prayer is 'The Lord's Prayer', which Jesus taught to all his followers. It is a special prayer because it covers the needs of all believers.

Informal prayer

Some prayer is much more informal. This type of prayer features in Evangelical and Charismatic churches, where prayers are not often written down. Instead, prayer tends to be much more spontaneous, because believers say that they are led by the Holy Spirit choose words to express how they feel at the time.

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Private prayer

Believers can also pray in private settings, such as their own homes. They might say their prayers aloud or offer them silently to God.

Special purposes of prayer

Christians use different prayers, depending on what they want to say to God. These can be grouped into different types:

Thanksgiving - to thank God for all that they have

Contrition - to tell God what they have done wrong and ask for forgiveness

Supplication - to ask God for something for themselves or others

Intercession - to ask God to help other people

Worship - to give honour and respect to God

Divergent Christian attitudes

Most Christians will use both set and informal prayer to communicate with God. The Lord's prayer is used regularly in most denominations, as Christians like to follow the example set by Jesus. Christians who prefer to pray more using set prayers find comfort in using words that have been said throughout history and have also been authorised by their Church. Reciting these aloud as a community also increases a sense of shared belief and unity. Christians who prefer praying informally might particularly appreciate the personal nature of communicating how they are feeling with God. These Christians also value praying aloud in groups, and those with them will often say 'Amen' after an individual has prayed to show that they agree with the prayer.