a) What are the different expressions of prayer?
The first expression is vocal prayer, in which we use words, mentally or aloud, to express our conversation with God. This may be done through common prayers, such as the “Our Father,” the “Hail Mary,” the “Glory Be,” the Mass, etc.; through prayers that we compose by ourselves; or by talking to God spontaneously.
The second is meditation, in which we reflect on our Christian life, to know God’s will and respond to it. We may read passages from the Bible (especially the Gospels), books on spirituality or liturgical texts of the day; sacred images may also help us to meditate.
The third expression of prayer is contemplation, in which we search for God, our beloved, and enter into an intimate friendship with him. It is the highest stage of prayer, a gift from God, which we cannot achieve through our own efforts alone; we listen to him in silence, without the use of words, as he unites us to himself.
b) How should an Altar Server pray?
The best way to begin our prayer is to turn our thoughts to God, and ask him to enlighten us. When we find it difficult to pray, we ask Jesus to teach us how to pray, as his disciples did. What is important is not that we feel good while praying, but that we are faithful to our prayer life, whether we feel like praying or not. We also need to struggle against distractions by looking for a suitable place and time for prayer, and meanwhile try to forget our other activities.
God is always with us, even outside our time of prayer. But the moments we spend in prayer are special because they allow us to focus all our attention on God, to express what we have in our hearts, and to look for concrete ways to apply his teachings. Hence, our prayers should be the most important activities of our day.