TYPES OF PRAYERS:

A. CHRISTIANITY
For Christian, prayer is simply communicating with God- listening and talking to
Him.

Believers can either pray from the heart, freely, spontaneously, and in their own
words.

In the Bible, the first mention of prayer is found in Genesis, chapter 4.

Genesis 4:26 and as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him
Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the LORD.

There is no correct or certain posture for prayer. In the Bible people prayed on
their knees (1 Kings 8:54), bowing (Exodus 4:31), on their faces before God (2
Chronicles 20:18; Matthew 26:39), and standing (1 Kings 8:22). You may pray
with your eyes opened or closed, quietly or out loudhowever you are most
comfortable and least distracted.

Prayer develops our relationship with God. Prayer is communicating with God
and it helps us grow closer and more intimately connected with God.

The Bible or Holy Bible is where Christians refer to for pramyers.

B. ISLAM

Every day millions of Muslims turn toward Mecca to pray

They are required to pray five times a day, once at daybreak, noon, midafternoon, sunset and evening. The five prayers are Fajr, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib and
Isha.

The prayers are said in Arabic, no matter what the persons native tongue is.

Prayer in Islam is ritualized. Although some people say that the ritual takes away
the spiritual aspect of praying, but the Muslims dont see it that way.

The five prayers, together with the movements involved in them, are designed to
combine meditation, devotion, moral elevation and physical exercise.

The prayers can be said together at a mosque or alone.

The prayer is begun by saying Allahu akbar which translated to God is most
great. Then, the Muslims recite the first 7 verses of Chapter 1 of the Quran.

The prayer usually takes about 10 minutes.

Prior to starting the prayer, Muslims make sure that their body and place of
prayer are clean. They perform ablutions, like drinking water or washing of hands

when necessary. If a Muslim is unsure of the cleanliness of the area a mat or

cloth on the floor may be placed.

Second step is the Allahu Akbar statement. A Muslim does this by standing up,
with hands raised.

Standing with hands folded over the chest, recite the first chapter of the Quran in
Arabic. Then recite other verses if you like

Raise hands up, saying Allahu Akbar. Bow, reciting three times Subhana
rabbiyal adheem" (Glory be to my Lord Almighty).

Rise to standing while reciting "Sam'i Allahu liman hamidah, Rabbana wa lakal
hamd" (God hears those who call upon Him; Our Lord, praise be to You).

Raise hands up, saying "Allahu Akbar." Prostrate on the ground, reciting three
times "Subhana Rabbiyal A'ala" (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High).

Rise to a sitting position, saying "Allahu Akbar." Prostrate again in the same
manner.

Rise to a standing position, saying "Allahu Akbar."

This concludes one rak'a (cycle or unit of prayer). Begin again from Step 3 for the
second rak'a.

After the 2 rak'as, one remains sitting after the prostrations and recites the first
part of the Tashahhud in Arabic. Which is "Atta - hiyyatul - Muba - rakaatush shola - waa - tuth thaa - yi - batu - lillaah, Assa - laamu - alaika - ayyuhan nabiyyu warah - matullaahi - wabaa - rakaatuh, Assaa - laamu - alaina - wa alaa ibaadil - laahish - sho - le - heen. Asyhadu - allaa - ilaaha - illallaah, Wa asyhadu - anna - Muhammadan rasuul - lullaah. Allah - humma - sholli - alaa Muhammad - wa - ala - aali - Muhammad. In every second rakas

If the prayer is to be longer than these two rak'as, one now stands up and begins
again to complete the prayer, sitting again after all rak'as have been completed.

Recite the second part of the Tashahhud in Arabic.

Turn to the right and say "Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah" (Peace be upon
you and God's blessings). The angel who records your good deeds is to this side.

Turn to the left and repeat the greeting. The angel who records your wrongful
deeds is to this side. This concludes the formal prayer.

C. JUDAISM

The Hebrew word for prayer is tefilah.

The most important part of any Jewish prayer, whether it be a prayer of petition, of
thanksgiving, of praise of God, or of confession, is the introspection it provides, the
moment that we spend looking inside ourselves, seeing our role in the universe and our
relationship to God.

The Yiddish word meaning "pray" is "daven," which ultimately comes from the same
Latin root as the English word "divine" and emphasizes the One to whom prayer is
directed

For an observant Jew, prayer is not simply something that happens in synagogue once
a week (or even three times a day). Prayer an integral part of everyday life. In fact, one
of the most important prayers in Judaism, the Birkat Ha-Mazon, is never recited in
synagogue.

One purpose of prayer is to increase your awareness of God in your life and the role
that G-d plays in your life.

The mindset for prayer is referred to as kavanah, which is generally translated as

"concentration" or "intent." The minimum level of kavanah is an awareness that one is
speaking to God and an intention to fulfill the obligation to pray. If you do not have this
minimal level of kavanah, then you are not praying; you are merely reading. In addition,
it is preferred that you have a mind free from other thoughts, that you know and
understand what you are praying about and that you think about the meaning of the
prayer.

Liturgical melodies are often used as an aid to forming the proper mindset. Many
prayers and prayer services have traditional melodies associated with them. These can
increase your focus on what you are doing and block out extraneous thoughts.

Most Jewish prayers are expressed in the first person plural, "us" instead of "me," and
are recited on behalf of all of the Jewish people. This form of prayer emphasizes our
responsibility for one another and our interlinked fates.

A complete formal prayer service cannot be conducted without a quorum of at least 10

adult Jewish men; that is, at least 10 people who are obligated to fulfill the
commandment to recite the prayers. This prayer quorum is referred to as a minyan

(from a Hebrew root meaning to count or to number). Certain prayers and religious
activities cannot be performed without a minyan. This need for a minyan has often
helped to keep the Jewish community together in isolated areas.

A berakhah (blessing) is a special kind of prayer that is very common in Judaism.

Berakhot are recited either as part of the synagogue services and as a response or
prerequisite to a wide variety of daily occurrences.

One of the most important prayers in Judaism, one of the very few that the Bible
commands us to recite, is never recited during synagogue services. That prayer is
birkat ha-mazon, grace after meals.

In Deuteronomy 8:10, we are commanded that when we eat and are satisfied, we must
bless the L-rd, our G-d. This commandment is fulfilled by reciting the birkat ha-mazon
(blessing of the food) after each meal. Reciting birkat ha-mazon is commonly referred to
as bentsching, from the Yiddish word meaning "to bless."

Birkat ha-mazon actually consists of four blessings,

i. Birkat Hazan (the blessing for providing food), which thanks G-d for giving food
to the world,
ii. Birkat Ha-Aretz (the blessing for the land), which thanks G-d for bringing us forth
from the land of Egypt, for making His covenant with us, and for giving us the

land of Israel as an inheritance,

iii. Birkat Yerushalayim (the blessing for Jerusalem), which prays for the rebuilding
of Jerusalem and the coming of the mashiach; and
iv. Birkat Ha-Tov v'Ha-Maytiv (the blessing for being good and doing good). It
emphasizes the goodness of G-d's work, that G-d is good and does good