a) What is prayer?
Prayer is the lifting up of our minds and hearts to God. We pray first, to adore God, expressing to him our love and loyalty; second, to thank him for his favors; third, to obtain from him the forgiveness of our sins and the remission of their punishment; and fourth, to ask for graces and blessings for ourselves and others.
We should pray first, with attention, both internally and externally; second, knowing that we are helpless and that we depend completely upon God; third, with a great desire for the graces we beg of him; fourth, with loving trust in his goodness; and fifth, with perseverance.
b) Why is prayer necessary for an Altar Server?
Through prayer, the Altar Server renews his self-offering to God and discovers God’s will. He should make a list of daily prayers (also called the “norms of piety”) to spend time with God regularly and faithfully, including, for example, the morning offering, personal meditation, Angelus, Holy Rosary, spiritual reading, prayers before and after meals, Holy Eucharist, etc.
We do not always obtain what we pray for, perhaps because we have not prayed properly, or because what we ask for is not really good for us, or God might have much better things in store for us. We also have to remember that God’s will is done in his time and in the manner he wants, which is not necessarily when or how we wish things to happen.