Apostleship Of Prayer Manual Pdf ((EXCLUSIVE))
The repetition in the Rosary is meant to lead one into restful and contemplative prayer related to each Mystery. The gentle repetition of the words helps us to enter into the silence of our hearts, where Christ's spirit dwells. The Rosary can be said privately or with a group.
Apostleship Of Prayer Manual Pdf
The Rosary begins with the Apostles Creed, followed by one Our Father, three Hail Marys (traditionally offered for an increase in faith, hope, and charity for those praying the Rosary), then the Glory Be. Next come the five decades, each consisting of one Our Father, ten Hail Marys, a Glory Be, and the brief Fatima Prayer. Conclude with the Hail Holy Queen followed by a prayer for the Pope (traditionally, at least one Hail Mary).
It is also okay to meditate on the meaning of the words of the prayers as you pray them. Some people focus on a single word (for example, try contemplating the meaning of the word now in the Hail Mary). It is okay to bring to mind the people for whom you are offering the Rosary and your desire for God to help them.
There are two ways to pray a full Rosary in one day. The most common method is offering three separate "single" five-mystery Rosaries in the morning, midday, and evening. The second method consists of praying all fifteen Mysteries consecutively at one time.With either approach, when you pray a full Rosary it is not necessary to repeat the opening or concluding prayers between the second and third sets of Mysteries. In other words, start with the opening prayers (Apostles Creed, Our Father, three Hail Marys, Glory Be) before the first Joyful Mystery the same way as you would with a "single" Rosary. After the fifteenth and final Glorious mystery, conclude with Hail Holy Queen and a prayer for the pope's intentions.
The Family Rosary is usually prayed out loud after dinner or before going to bed, although it can be prayed at any time of day. Family members can take turns "leading" the decades (with one person praying the beginning of the prayers, and all the others praying the endings).
Some families announce intentions before they begin the Rosary; others take turns announcing special intentions before they begin the Rosary; others take turns announcing special intentions before the beginning of each decade. Many families add favorite prayers at the end of the Rosary, or call upon favorite saints and angels to pray for them at the very end.
Years before the inspiration to write the Beginners Guide came to him, Mr. Macfarlane had become frustrated by well-meaning Rosary booklets that merely presented an unexplained list of something called "mysteries," a drawing of rosary beads highlighted with arrows, and the prayers themselves. These did not attempt to explain obscure or confusing Rosary practices such as novenas, mysteries, meditation, offering intentions, "full" rosaries, indulgences, or even whether using actual rosary beads was required.
Finally, Paul also asks for others to pray for him. Specifically he asked for prayers of safety and the effectiveness of his ministry. Paul was a man driven with passion for the Gospel. Many people responded to his message, but there was also a violent group that hated what he was doing. These two requests are natural extrapolation of what mattered to Paul. You may want prayers for the same things, but you may want prayers for your kids, health, work, or any other passion God has given you.
Gerry I love everything you send my way as it seems to support me and confirm to me all the ways the Lord is leading me in my relationship with Him and in prayer. I also learn new things. Thank you!
IntroductionWhat is a prayerful life?How is Lord, Teach Us to Pray structured?7 Suggestions for Growing in the Life of Prayer
Much has been written on what is usually called "the Lord's Prayer" (which I prefer to term "the Family Prayer") and much upon the high priestly prayer of Christ in John 17, but very little upon the prayers of the apostles. Personally I know of no book devoted to the apostolic prayers, and except for a booklet on the two prayers of Ephesians 1 and 3 have been scarcely any separate exposition of them. It is not easy to explain this omission. One would think that the apostolic prayers are so filled with important doctrine and practical value for believers that they should have attracted the attention of those who write on devotional subjects. While many of us very much deprecate the efforts of those who would have us believe that the prayers of the Old Testament are obsolete and inappropriate for the saints of this Gospel age, it seems to me that even Dispensational teachers should recognize and appreciate. the peculiar suitability to Christians of the prayers recorded in the Epistles and the Book of Revelation. With the exception of the prayers of our Redeemer, only in the Apostolic prayers are praises and petitions specifically addressed to "the Father." Of all the prayers of Scripture, only these are offered in the name of the Mediator. Furthermore, in these apostolic prayers alone do we find the full breathings of the Spirit of adoption.
How blessed it is to hear some elderly saint, who has long walked with God and enjoyed intimate communion with Him, pouring out his heart before the Lord in adoration and supplication. But how much more blessed would we have esteemed ourselves had we had the privilege of listening to the Godward praises and appeals of those who had companied with Christ during the days of His tabernacling among men! And if one of the apostles were still here upon earth, what a high privilege we would deem it to hear him engage in prayer! Such a high one, methinks, that most of us would be quite willing to go to considerable inconvenience and to travel a long distance in order to be thus favored. And if our desire were granted, how closely would we listen to his words, how diligently would we seek to treasure them up in our memories. Well, no such inconvenience, no such journey, is required. It has pleased the Holy Spirit to record a number of the apostolic prayers for our instruction and satisfaction. Do we evidence our appreciation of such a blessing? Have we ever made a list of them and meditated upon their import?
The second feature that impressed me while contemplating the subject that is about to engage us, was that the great majority of the recorded prayers of the apostles issued from the heart of Paul. And this, as we have said, was really to be expected. If one should ask why this is so, several reasons might be given in reply. First, Paul was, preeminently, the apostle to the Gentiles. Peter, James, and John ministered principally to Jewish believers (Galatians 2:9), who, even in their unconverted days, had been accustomed to bow the knee before the Lord. But the Gentiles had come out of heathenism, and it was fitting that their spiritual father should also be their devotional exemplar. Furthermore, Paul wrote twice as many God-breathed epistles as all the other apostles added together, and he gave expression to eight times as many prayers in his Epistles as the rest did in all of theirs. But chiefly, we call to mind the first thing our Lord said of Paul after his conversion: "for, behold, he prays" (Acts 9:11, ital. mine). The Lord Christ was, as it were, striking the keynote of Paul's subsequent life, for he was to be eminently distinguished as a man of prayer.
It is not that the other apostles were devoid of this spirit. For God does not employ prayerless ministers, since He has no dumb children. "Crying day and night unto him" is given by Christ as one of the distinguishing marks of God's elect (Luke 18:7, brackets mine). Yet certain of His servants and some of His saints are permitted to enjoy closer and more constant fellowship with the Lord than others, and such was obviously the case (with the exception of John) with the man who on one occasion was even caught up into Paradise (2 Corinthians 12:1-5). An extraordinary measure of "the spirit of grace and of supplications" (Zechariah 12:10) was given him, so that he appears to have been anointed with that spirit of prayer above even his fellow apostles. Such was the fervor of his love for Christ and the members of His mystical Body, such was his intense solicitude for their spiritual well-being and growth, that there continually gushed from his soul a flow of prayer to God for them and of thanksgiving on their behalf.
Before proceeding further it should be pointed out that in this series of studies I do not propose to confine myself to the petitionary prayers of the apostles, but rather to take in a wider range. In Scripture prayer includes much more than merely making known our requests to God. We need to be reminded of this. Moreover, we believers need to be instructed in all aspects of prayer in an age characterized by superficiality and ignorance of God-revealed religion. A key Scripture that presents to us the privilege of spreading our needs before the Lord emphasizes this very thing: "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God" (Philippians 4:6, ital. mine). Unless we express gratitude for mercies already received and give thanks to our Father for His granting us the continued favor of petitioning Him, how can we expect to obtain His ear and thus to receive answers of peace? Yet prayer, in its highest and fullest sense, rises above thanksgiving for gifts given: the heart is drawn out in contemplating the Giver Himself, so that the soul is prostrated before Him in worship and adoration.
Though we ought not to digress from our immediate theme and enter into the subject of prayer in general, yet it should be pointed out that there is still another aspect that ought to take precedence over thanksgiving and petition, namely self-abhorrence and confession of our own unworthiness and sinfulness. The soul must solemnly remind itself of Who it is that is to be approached, even the Most High, before whom the very seraphim veil their faces (Isaiah 6:2). Though Divine grace has made the Christian a son, nevertheless he is still a creature, and as such at an infinite and inconceivable distance below the Creator. It is only fitting that he should deeply feel this distance between himself and his Creator and acknowledge it by taking his place in the dust before God. Moreover, we need to remember what we are by nature: not merely creatures, but sinful creatures. Thus there needs to be both a sense and an owning of this as we bow before the Holy One. Only in this way can we, with any meaning and reality, plead the mediation and merits of Christ as the ground of our approach. 041b061a72