Walk with the Word

Tag: Pray

  • What is the Rosary and why pray with it?

    The Rosary consists of 59 beads with each being used to guide prayer, these are broken into decades. 

    Each decade focuses on a moment in the life, death and resurrection of Christ. This provides the space to meditate on the life of Jesus, through repetition a quiet space for reflection is created. 

    The rhythm of the prayer slows down both mind and body. Any form of prayer can bring a sense of peace and calm. The Rosary is no different. 

    The Rosary is a traditional form of devotion and provides a structured form of meditation on scripture. It also provides a means of seeking intercession through prayer.

    It builds spiritual discipline by encouraging consistent prayer time and scripture-focused meditation. It can be done alone or shared with others. The Rosary is used by many as a personal devotion to help them to gain clarity, grow in faith or feel spiritually grounded. 

    It has a range of Biblical foundations. As discussed previously the Lords Prayer comes directly from Jesus. 

    “This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father…” Matthew 6:9–13; Luke 11:2–4

    The Hail Mary is drawn from Scripture:

    “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you.” Luke 1:28

    “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Luke 1:42

    The second half (“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us…”) is a later Christian prayer, but it expresses two biblical truths:

    Mary is the mother of Jesus, who is God Incarnate (Luke 1:43; John 1:1,14)

    Asking fellow believers (including saints) to pray for us is biblically normal (1 Timothy 2:1; Revelation 5:8)

    The Glory Be is a short doxology reflecting many biblical patterns of praise:

    “To the King eternal… be honour and glory for ever and ever.” 1 Timothy 1:17

    “Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit” Matthew 28:19

    Each mystery is a meditation on events explicitly narrated in Scripture.

    Joyful Mysteries:

    1. Annunciation — Luke 1:26–38

    2. Visitation — Luke 1:39–56

    3. Nativity — Luke 2:1–20

    4. Presentation — Luke 2:22–38

    5. Finding in the Temple — Luke 2:41–52

    Sorrowful Mysteries:

    1. Agony in the Garden — Matthew 26:36–46

    2. Scourging at the Pillar — John 19:1

    3. Crowning with Thorns — Matthew 27:27–31

    4. Carrying the Cross — John 19:17

    5. Crucifixion — Luke 23:33–46

    Glorious Mysteries:

    1. Resurrection — Matthew 28:1–10

    2. Ascension — Acts 1:6–11

    3. Descent of the Holy Spirit — Acts 2:1–4

    4. Assumption — implicit (e.g., Revelation 12); taught by Christian tradition

    5. Coronation of Mary — symbolic biblical imagery (Revelation 12:1; Psalm 45)

    Luminous Mysteries:(added by John Paul II)

    1. Baptism of Jesus — Matthew 3:13–17

    2. Wedding at Cana — John 2:1–11

    3. Proclamation of the Kingdom — Mark 1:14–15

    4. Transfiguration — Matthew 17:1–8

    5. Institution of the Eucharist — Luke 22:14–20

    The Rosary is repetition of biblical prayers, with the purpose of meditating on biblical scenes. In order to grow in biblical virtue. The beads simply act as a structure to keep the mind focused. You can use knots in a cord, your fingers, tiles on a wall, anything which can focus you.

  • The Lords Prayer

    Prayer is somethings anyone can do, and you don’t need to use specific words, however many Christians learn the Lords prayer. It is also used in Anglican acts of worship.

    Image of Bible Matthew 6

    “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Matthew 6:7-8

    The prayer follows a common pattern.

    1. We bless God and pray for our world and that we are shaped by God’s will.
    2. We pray for our daily needs to be met.
    3. We ask for forgiveness of what we have done wrong, the strength to resist temptation.

    The lords prayer is adapted from the words in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4.

    Our Father, who art in heaven,
    hallowed be thy name;
    thy kingdom come;
    thy will be done;
    on earth as it is in heaven.
    Give us this day our daily bread.
    And forgive us our trespasses,
    as we forgive those who trespass against us.
    And lead us not into temptation;
    but deliver us from evil.
    For thine is the kingdom,
    the power and the glory,
    for ever and ever.
    Amen.

    The prayer starts with praise, the word hallowed means honoured as holy, so we begin by giving God praise. Jesus directs us to recognise God as our Father in heaven.

    We are invited to pray to “Our Father”, this draws us towards a loving relationship with our creator.

    Then moving on to accepting Gods will over our own, the goal is to align our hearts with God and put His will above our own.

    Moving on to praying for our daily needs, Jesus instructs us to pray for physical & spiritual provision and for sustenance in our world.

    We confess our sins, and we ask for temptation, this is something which is easy to forget when praying. Be humble, be open and be prepared to apologise and seek forgiveness.

    Not only do we need to be forgiven, but we need to forgive others. We are called to love each other.

    “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” John 13:34

    It is this call to love each other, which leads to the need to forgive even those who speak ill against us.

    Asking next for safety & protection, God allows us to be tempted, but does not tempt us. Prayer can keep us from this.

    The first step to learning how to pray, is to pray. Try the Lords prayer, think about the words, and what they mean to you. Consider whilst in conversation with God what He may be trying to say to you.