Lesson 4

The Surprising Power of Vocal Prayer

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Introduction to Real Prayer is based on Prayer Works: Getting a Grip on Catholic Spirituality by Matthew Leonard.

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Lesson Four

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1.  What are the different forms of prayer listed in the Catechism?

Answer: Because the way we pray changes depending upon the situation we’re in, there are several different types of prayer. The Catechism teaches that the different forms of prayer are: blessing and adoration, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, and praise. They’re important to learn because understanding each form will help us communicate appropriately with God.

2. Why are there so many different forms of prayer?

Answer: There are different forms because the way we pray changes depending upon the situation we’re in. For example, if we’ve lost a child at the beach, we’re not going to be praying for a promotion at work. Rather, we’re going to ask God to help find the child. And when the child is found, our prayer will change to praise and thanksgiving.

3. What does it mean to “bless” God?

Answer: He blesses us and because of that, we bless him. An example would be the Divine Praises that we often recite during Eucharistic Adoration:

Blessed be God.

Blessed be his holy Name.

Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man and so on. 

To help understand this, think of a situation where someone has given something of great value to another person. Oftentimes the other person says something like —“Oh bless you!” That’s what we’re talking about here. We bless God for how he has blessed us. As the Catechism says, “The prayer of blessing is man’s response to God’s gifts: because God blesses, the human heart can in return bless the One who is the source of every blessing” (CCC 2626). So we’re not adding anything to God. We’re receiving what he gives to us and giving it back.

4. Does anyone besides God deserve adoration and worship?

Answer: No. The Catholic Church is crystal clear that adoration is due to God alone because only he is our Creator and Redeemer. We even have special words set up to distinguish this. We give what’s called latria or adoration to God alone. (The opposite of latria is idolatria, or idolatry, which is a sin against the first commandment.) Secondly, we give a special kind of veneration to Mary called hyper-dulia, and we give dulia to the rest of the saints. We honor and venerate them, but we don’t worship or adore them.

5. What kind of prayer asks God for things and why is it necessary?

Answer: Petitionary prayer asks God for sustenance and help. While it is true that we have likely asked for things that aren’t good for us or gone too far in our requests, prayers of petition are necessary. We have to ask God for things. After all, he’s the source of everything. If man hadn’t fallen into sin back in the Garden, says Fr. Edward Leen, “our utterances would mainly consist of words of praise and adoration and worship.” But as it is, “all our dealings with God must have a background of pleading in them.” Why? Because only God can give us what we need.

6. What is intercessory prayer?

Answer: Intercession is prayer on behalf of another person. Intercessory prayer is really powerful because it “leads us to pray as Jesus did,” says the Catechism (CCC 2634). In fact, it helps on multiple fronts. It helps the other person for whom we’re praying and helps us because by interceding, we’re acting like Christ. Intercession is so important that “the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words” (Romans 8:26).

7. While all of them play a role, what form of prayer is most central to the Mass?

Answer: Thanksgiving. The Catechism says that every Eucharistic liturgy is a “sacrifice of thanksgiving to the Father” (CCC 1360). Eucharistia, the Greek word from which we get “Eucharist”, literally means “thanksgiving. 

8. Why is vocal prayer so important and powerful?

Answer: Vocal prayer is important because human beings are not pure spirits. We are a union of body and soul. As “embodied persons”, we have a need to express interior experiences exteriorly through our body, which is what vocal prayer allows us to do. It’s also powerful because words themselves are incredibly powerful. God’s words are so powerful that he created the entire universe through speech. Our words have power, as well, and can be used in both good and bad ways. Our vocal prayers are most powerful when we join with the rest of the family of God in prayer, particularly in the liturgy.