Vocal Prayer
The vocal
prayer that every Christian knows is the “Our Father,” also called the “Lord’s
Prayer,” from Mt. 6:9-13. It is the prayer that Jesus gave us, and it is a
model for all prayer. The Didache (written somewhere around 100 AD) gave the
addition, “For Yours are the power and the glory forever,” and the Apostolic
Constitutions (date uncertain) added “the kingdom” at the beginning before
"power." (CCC, 2760.) This addition (from the Church’s Tradition) is
typically always prayed by Protestants, is prayed by Catholics at Mass after
the Our Father following an intervening prayer by the priest celebrant, but
normally not added otherwise by Catholics unless in an ecumenical setting. Tertullian
(c. 155-160 to 225 or c. 240-250) said that the Lord’s Prayer “is truly the
summary of the whole gospel” (CCC 2761), and St. Augustine (354-430) said that
all the words of the prayers of Scripture are contained in the Lord’s Prayer
(CCC 2762). So it is Christian’s #1 vocal prayer and teacher of prayer. It is
well worth reading the CCC sections 2759 (online for free) on the Lord’s
Prayer.
There are
multiple ways to describe prayer, and one way is by considering the activity of
the person praying, i.e., the action, expression, or experience as one prays.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (“CCC”) speaks of three major expressions
of prayer (vocal, meditative, and contemplative) with the one basic trait of
composure of heart (CCC 2699).
The
Catechism notes that God’s Word to us took on human flesh (Jesus), and by our
words our prayer takes on flesh (ours) where we also present our hearts to God
(CCC 2700). It is precisely because we humans have a nature that is both body
and soul that we need to translate our feelings and desires externally in
words, which is the first expression of prayer: vocal prayer.
In vocal
prayer we “speak” (out loud, mentally, or by writing) to God in words. If we
are in a crisis we might just pray, “God, help me!” This is real prayer. It does
not have to be long and flowery, just from the heart.
But what is
not prayer is the popular exclamation, “O my God!” or text, “OMG.” That is not
prayer. That is breaking the commandment not to take the name of the Lord in
vain, a sin.
With vocal
prayer we can spontaneously speak, or we can take more time to thoughtfully
compose the words. We also can use prayers composed by others and make them our
own, like when we pray the Psalms or other prayers of Scripture, the Rosary,
Litanies, or other beloved prayers of Christian tradition or contemporary
authorship. The Liturgy of Mass and Liturgy of the Hours are vocal prayers.
Songs, hymns, choruses, traditional chants, and poetry addressed to God can all
be vocal prayer when we use them intending to pray. A huge benefit to using
well composed vocal prayers is that they not only give expression to thoughts
and desires we might not otherwise have words for, but they also teach us how
to pray well. This is very important. Prayers written by the holy saints who have
gone before us can be outstanding examples of how to pray. So there is a place
for both the informal prayers expressed in our own words, and for the formal,
reverential traditional or Scriptural prayers that approaches the holiness and
majesty of God with humility, teaching us how to pray and how to give our
hearts.
Now there can be times when many words are very helpful,
keep us grounded, teach us truth, and connect us to the Lord, especially when
prayed in community as the Body of Christ. And there are times when very few
simple words are sufficient (like Ps. 131), or no words are better. Just like
being in love. Vocal prayer is not the only way to pray, but it is a form of prayer
we all start with and one we will use throughout our lives and into eternity.
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church is located in California City, CA. Visit our website at ollcalcity.org.
Dibby Green
Originally published in the print edition of the Mojave Desert News on November 21, 2019.Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church is located in California City, CA. Visit our website at ollcalcity.org.