How did Jesus pray?

Jesus’ life was one single prayer. At decisive moments (his temptation in the desert, his selection of the apostles, his death on the Cross) his prayer was especially intense. Often he withdrew into solitude to pray, especially at night. Being one with the Father in the Holy Spirit

—that was the guiding principle of his earthly life. [2600-2605]

How did Jesus learn to pray?

Jesus learned to pray in his family and in the synagogue. Yet Jesus broke through the boundaries of traditional prayer. His prayer demonstrates a union with his Father in heaven that is possible only to someone who is the Son of God. [2598-2599]

Jesus, who was God and man at the same time, grew up like other Jewish children of his time amid the rituals and prayer formulas of his people, Israel. Nevertheless, as the story of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple demonstrated (Lk 2:41ff.), there was something in him that could not be learned: an original, profound, and unique union with God, his Father in heaven. 

How are the Psalms important for our prayer?

The Psalms, along with the Our Father, are part of the Church’s great treasury of prayers. In them the praise of God is sung in an ageless way.

There are 150 Psalms in the →OLD TESTAMENT. They are a collection of songs and prayers, some of them several thousand years old, which are still prayed today in the Church community—in the so called Liturgy of the Hours. 

How did Moses pray?

From Moses we learn that “praying” means “speaking with God”. At the burning bush God entered into a real conversation with Moses and gave him an assignment. Moses raised objections and asked questions. Finally God revealed to him his holy name. Just as Moses then came to trust God and enlisted wholeheartedly in his service, so we too should pray and thus go to God’s school. [2574-2577]

The →BIBLE mentions Moses’ name 767 times—so central is he as the liberator and lawgiver of the people of Israel. At the same time Moses was also a great intercessor for his people. In prayer he received his commission; from prayer he drew his strength. Moses had an intimate, personal relationship with God: “The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Ex 33:11a).