WAYS OF PRAYING
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WAYS OF PRAYING Fr Stephen Wang
All books are published thanks to the generosity of the supporters of the Catholic Truth Society
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This book is part of the CTS Sycamore Series. Other titles include: Sycamore: The Catholic Faith Explained, How to Discover Your Vocation, and Parenting and Family Life. The text of Sacred Scripture in this book is from the English Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition (ESV–CE), published by Asian Trading Corporation, copyright 2017 by Crossway. All rights are reserved. The English Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition is published in the United Kingdom by SPCK Publishing. The Psalms and Canticles are from Abbey Psalms and Canticles © 2018 USCCB, confirmed by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Protocols 76/16 & 475/16 on 3 May 2018. All rights reserved. First published 2026 by The Incorporated Catholic Truth Society Cabrini Community Campus, Forest Hill Road, Honor Oak SE23 3LE Tel: 020 7640 0042 Copyright © 2026 Fr Stephen Wang Design © 2026 The Incorporated Catholic Truth Society. www.ctsbooks.org ISBN 978 1 78469 918 5 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Bell & Bain Ltd, Glasgow.
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Contents Introduction..................................................................................................... 6 1. Prayer for beginners..................................................................................9 2. Seven rules of prayer............................................................................. 21 3. Prayer of adoration, praise, and worship.......................................... 33 4. Prayer of sorrow, contrition, and confession....................................45 5. Prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude................................................. 57 6. Prayer of asking, petition, and intercession.......................................69 7. Praying with the Bible............................................................................ 81 8. Silent prayer and the presence of God.............................................. 93 9. How to pray the Mass.......................................................................... 105 10. How to offer up your sufferings to God....................................... 117 11. Praying to the saints..........................................................................129 12. Praying to Mary and praying the Rosary...................................... 143 13. Well-known prayers to pray and remember................................ 155 Appendix: How to use this book with groups or run a course about prayer..................................................................164
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Introduction
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any Christians want to pray but are not sure where to start. They know the prayers of their childhood but they want to go deeper and have a closer relationship with God. This book will help you understand the meaning of Christian prayer, and give you many practical tips about how to pray. Prayer is one of the deepest instincts of the human heart. In prayer we lift our hearts and minds to God. We praise and thank him. We ask for his forgiveness and help, for ourselves and for others. As St Augustine wrote: ‘Lord, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you’. All Christian prayer is made ‘in the name of Jesus’. This reminds us that we can only reach the Father’s heart through our Saviour Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Through faith and baptism, he has lifted us up into a new relationship with God. Prayer is not just a whisper in the dark or a shout into the silence. It’s knowing God as our loving Father and standing before him as his beloved children. It’s sharing in the prayer of Jesus Christ himself, and praying with his Body – the Church. And it’s allowing the Holy Spirit to pray within us, so we can be holy, and our prayer can become purer and more powerful. 6
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INTRODUCTION
Prayer is help from heaven when we need it most; food for the hungry soul; friendship with the Lord who made us and never deserts us. But prayer is not for experts. It’s for ordinary people who know their need of God and long to be closer to him. I hope this book will encourage you and give you some ideas about how to pray. You might want to take some time and read it through from start to finish. Or you might want to dip in and choose a chapter that interests you. Each chapter contains a selection of bible quotations, references to the Catechism and YouCat, and Questions for reflection. You can use these in your own times of prayer, or in a group setting if you are reading the book with others. (You can order a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church or YouCat from the Catholic Truth Society website: ctsbooks.org). Each chapter has been made into a film that is available on the Sycamore website for SycamorePlus subscribers. See the information at the back of the book for further details. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you”. One of the first things we can ask for is the gift of prayer, that Jesus will teach us to pray and lead us deeper into prayer each day. Prayer is the greatest adventure. Fr Stephen Wang
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You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord… JEREMIAH 29:13
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1 Prayer for beginners What is prayer?
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or some people, prayer is the most natural thing in the world: talking to God, asking for His help. For others, it is a bit of a mystery; they are not sure where to start, or they are nervous about spending time with God, or they feel guilty because they haven’t prayed for a long time. I think that for many people, there is a desire to pray, to reach out to God, even if their faith is very weak. There is an instinct that we are not alone. And for a Christian, this instinct is confirmed by what we know about God from the Bible and from Christian tradition, above all by the example of Jesus. He teaches us how to pray, and shows us what a life of prayer looks like. What is prayer? The simplest definition is that prayer is a conversation with God. It doesn’t mean we are talking to Him all the time, but we spend time with Him, we are aware of His presence, and we are trying to open our minds and hearts to Him, to share our life with Him. When we pray, we press the pause button. It’s very easy to get trapped in ourselves, in our busyness, and in our worries. But when I pray, I have to remember that there is more to life than me and my concerns. There is a world above me, and a world 9
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within me, a spiritual reality that can so often be forgotten. Prayer helps me to see that my life is in God’s hands. It puts things in perspective. I am part of God’s creation, my life has a meaning, and God has a plan for me. Prayer reminds us that God is a God of love. This is absolutely central to the Christian faith: that God is love, and that He has shown His love for us by sending His Son Jesus Christ, and by giving each one of us the gift of the Holy Spirit. When I pray, I remember that God knows me and loves me and cares for me personally, and I realise that He loves everyone with the same deep, tender love. We are children of God, and no-one is excluded from this love. This can bring such peace and reassurance, especially if we are struggling with things. I am loved by God, my life is in His hands, and nothing can take that away. Prayer is not complicated, but it is very rich. You will often hear about four types of prayer, four different aspects of our relationship with God. There is an easy way to remember them, using the acronym ACTA, which stands for: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Asking. (The traditional acronym is ACTS – Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, Supplication – but I have chosen words that are slightly more familiar today.)
Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Asking “A” is for Adoration: we worship God for who He is, and not just for what He gives us. We praise Him for His goodness and beauty and love. We adore Him through Jesus Christ, and with the whole Church, inspired by the Holy Spirit. Prayer is not just about us, it’s about God. And when we put Him at the centre, we come to know who we are as His children. The Psalms are full of praise and adoration. And when we sing, it’s as if we are praying twice over: once with the words and once with the music. 10
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“C” is for Confession: not just the Sacrament of Confession, but all the different moments we say sorry to God and confess our sins to Him. Every day, we need to admit our sins and weaknesses, and ask for God’s mercy and help. And we ask for God’s forgiveness for all sinners, especially those most in need of His mercy. These prayers of sorrow, repentance and contrition can bring us joy and peace, because by turning to God in weakness, we allow His power and love to work in our lives at every moment. “T” is for Thanksgiving, for gratitude: we thank God for who He is, and for what He has done for us; for the gift of creation, the gift of life, and the gift of salvation. It’s easy to take things for granted. We can thank Him in very particular ways for the blessings He has given us, even if things are difficult. To ‘count our blessings’ is an act of thanksgiving. Grateful hearts are full of joy.
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“A” is for Asking: sometimes called the prayer of petition, supplication or intercession – whenever we ask God for His help for ourselves and for others. In the Gospels Jesus says to us, ‘Ask!’ We need to ask God the Father to help us in all our needs: big things, small things, everyday things, spiritual things. We are His children, and we should come to Him with childlike simplicity, asking Him to give us what we need and what we desire, as long as it is according to His will. We should put these requests into words, not because He is unaware of them, but because He wants us to express our needs and show Him how much we trust Him. The answer may come much later than we want, or in an unexpected way, but it will always come in some way. So this is prayer: a conversation with God, opening our minds and hearts to His loving presence, which usually involves adoration, confession, thanksgiving and asking. This is true for our personal prayer, and it’s even more true for our prayer as a community, especially when we come together to worship God at Sunday Mass, when we are united with the prayer of Jesus and of the whole Church. 12
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PRAYER FOR BEGINNERS
First steps in prayer That’s fine in theory. But how do we pray? What do we actually do? There are so many ways of praying, and you are free to choose what works best for you. I’m going to give one really simple way of getting started. Then I’ll give you a few methods of prayer that are often used. If you are unsure how to start, try this. If possible, find somewhere quiet and comfortable. Sit quietly for a few seconds and simply remember that God is with you, and that He is looking at you with love. Then pray the Lord’s Prayer, sometimes called the Our Father. (You can find this prayer at the back of the book). Say it slowly, out loud, and try to really mean each phrase as you pray it. And then talk to Jesus in your own words, simply telling Him whatever is on your mind, maybe thanking Him for something good that has happened recently, saying sorry for anything you have done wrong, and asking for His help if you have any difficulties. And finish by saying ‘Amen’. It’s that simple: remember God’s presence; say the Our Father; talk to Jesus in your own words. This might take just two or three minutes. It can make such a difference, and the rest of your prayer can grow out of this.
Questions for reflection Did someone teach you to pray as you were growing up? What did you learn from them? What does prayer mean for you personally? How would you define it? Do you find it easy to talk to God in prayer? What makes it hard?
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f you have a bit more time, and want to try some different methods of praying, here are five suggestions.
Traditional prayers There are many prayers in the Bible and in Christian tradition that we can use in our own personal prayer. These are often called “vocal prayers”. For example: the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be, the Creeds, the Morning Offering, an act of contrition, the Psalms, the many prayers composed by the saints. It’s good to have a book with different prayers to use. It’s good to memorise the most important ones. These traditional prayers help us put into words what we are thinking and feeling. They take us beyond our own immediate worries, or help us to express concerns we didn’t know we had. The important thing is to pray them with sincerity, with attention, to really mean them – and not just to rush through them mindlessly.
Talking to God You can talk to God, in your own words, as you would to a close friend or a loving parent. You can turn to God the Father, or to His Son Jesus, or to the Holy Spirit. The Most Holy Trinity came to dwell within your soul when you were baptised, and if you are not baptised that doesn’t stop you praying with faith in the name of Jesus. When you pray, be completely honest and natural. Tell the Lord what you are thinking and feeling. Tell Him your hopes, your fears and your worries. Ask Him to help you and to help those you care for. Entrust your intentions to Him. Pray for the needs of the Church and of the world. God always listens to us. And He always answers us in some way, even if that answer may be difficult to hear or to understand. This kind of prayer isn’t limited to our fixed times of prayer. We can talk to the Lord (quietly, in our minds) wherever we are, 14
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whatever we are doing. Just be careful if you start praying out loud that someone is not listening in!
Reading the Bible God can speak to us through words of the Bible, which we call ‘Sacred Scripture’. His Son Jesus is present with us as we read and meditate on His Holy Word. There are many ways of using the Bible in personal prayer. We can read through one of the books of the Bible or turn to our favourite passages. We can choose a certain story or a parable or a psalm, or follow the readings that are used in the Mass each day. Here is one method, which is called bible meditation or lectio divina (which means ‘holy reading’): Choose a short passage. Read it slowly, then have some time to think and pray about it. What strikes you? What interests you? What seems relevant to your life? Then read the passage again slowly. Have some more time to think and reflect. And finally, talk to God about what you are thinking and feeling, and ask for His help in your life. If this method is useful, you could work through one of the Gospels, taking a new passage each day. It is also useful to use a Catholic study Bible or Bible commentary to help understand the passages.
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The Rosary Praying the Rosary keeps us close to Jesus and to His mother Mary, and keeps us rooted in the central truths of our Christian faith. When we say the individual prayers, we lift our hearts and minds to God. As we meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary, we remember the life of Christ and of His Blessed Mother. Mary herself, when she has appeared to people in recent centuries, has asked us to pray the Rosary and promised that we will receive great graces if we do. Praying the Rosary has kept the faith of many individuals alive and helped many families to remain faithful to God and to each other. One decade of the Rosary consists of these prayers: one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, and one Glory Be, with each decade representing a particular theme (called a ‘mystery’) in the life of Jesus or Mary. The prayers are counted on a set of beads on a circular string. It’s traditional to try and pray five decades each day, with some introductory and concluding prayers (you can look them up online). If this is too much for you, you could pray one decade each day, and make this a part of your daily prayer. It can make such a difference to your life and faith. (There is more detailed information about the Rosary in Chapter 12.)
Silence We can end up ‘doing’ and ‘saying’ a lot in our prayer time, but we also need some times of silence – to listen to our own hearts, to become aware of God’s presence. St Teresa of Avila said, ‘Prayer is an act of love; words are not needed.’ We can let go of our own activity, be still, and rest with Him, looking at Him with the eyes of faith. And yes, this means we have to switch off our mobile phones for a few minutes! Silence is hard, because we can fidget, and our minds and hearts get easily distracted. That’s natural, and it doesn’t 16
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matter too much. What matters is that we are making space for the Lord, and trying to let go of our busyness and noise. If we make a little time for silent prayer each day, then the Lord will help us become more sensitive to His presence, and our prayer will become deeper and more intimate. At the same time, beautiful music can often be an aid to prayer, to help us relax, or because of Christian lyrics. It might be traditional sacred music or contemporary worship music. We must make sure that the music is leading us deeper into prayer rather than distracting us away from prayer, and it mustn’t become a substitute for the other ways of praying outlined here. So these are five common methods of prayer: traditional prayers; talking to God in your own words; reading the Bible; praying the Rosary; and giving some time to silence. You can enjoy trying them. Don’t feel pressured to pray in any one way. What matters is simply that you are praying. Try to set aside some time for prayer each day, to put it in the diary, even if it is just five minutes. See what works. Trust that God loves you and wants to help you grow closer to Him.
Questions for reflection What is your favourite way of praying? Why do you find this helpful? What tips would you give someone who is just starting to pray? Why is it sometimes hard to pray? What gets in the way? How can we overcome these obstacles?
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WISDOM FROM THE BIBLE Jeremiah 29:13-14a
‘You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord.’ Matthew 6:9-13
‘Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”’. 1 Chronicles 16:28-30a
‘Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; bring an offering and come before Him! Worship the Lord in the splendour of holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth’. Psalm 51[50]:3-5
‘Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your merciful love; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. Wash me completely from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. My transgressions, truly I know them; my sin is always before me’. Psalm 103[102]:2-5
‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all His benefits. It is the Lord who forgives all your sins, who heals every one of your ills, who redeems your life from the grave, who crowns you with mercy and compassion, who fills your life with good things, renewing your youth like an eagle’s’.
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Matthew 6:25-26
‘Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?’.
CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH 2559 to 2565 – Prayer as a gift, covenant, and
communion. 2623 to 2643 – Forms of prayer: adoration, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, and praise.
YOUCAT 469 – What is prayer? 483 to 489 – Types of prayer: adoration, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, and praise. 499 to 510 – How to pray, and difficulties in prayer.
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And this is the confidence that we have towards Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. 1 JOHN 5:14
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