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A page of Matthew, from Papyrus 1, c. 250. Prayer in the New Testament is presented as a positive command (Colossians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17).The people of God are challenged to include prayer in their everyday life, even in the busy struggles of marriage (1 Corinthians 7:5) as it is thought to bring the faithful closer to God.
Interior life is a life which seeks God in everything, a life of prayer and the practice of living in the presence of God. It connotes intimate, friendly conversation with Him, and a determined focus on internal prayer versus external actions, while these latter are transformed into means of prayer.
The prayer that follows has been repeated word for word billions of times, but some scholars believe that Jesus was here giving a general guideline for what prayers should contain rather than a specific prayer. That the New Testament gives other prayers, including a similar one in Luke, is one indication that different wordings are acceptable.
Jesus himself gives a prayer to be repeated in Matthew 6:9, and Matthew 26:44 is noted to be repeating a prayer himself. This verse is read as a condemnation of rote prayer without understanding of why one is praying. Protestants such as Martin Luther have used this verse to attack Catholic prayer practices such as the use of rosaries. [5]
Prayer and efforts at self-conquest: Ignatius's book The Spiritual Exercises is a fruit of months of prayer. [ 7 ] : 25 Prayer, In Ignatian spirituality, is fundamental since it was at the foundation of Jesus' life, but it does not dispense from "helping oneself", a phrase frequently used by Ignatius.
Prayer may occur privately and individually (sometimes called affective prayer), [12] or collectively, shared by or led on behalf of fellow-believers of either a specific faith tradition or a broader grouping of people. [13] Prayer can be incorporated into a daily "thought life", in which one is in constant communication with a god.