In delivering the homily, the preacher should be ever conscious of preaching, not a personal or private word, but the word of God. In this case, the preacher is, like the Old Testament and early Christian prophets, speaking on behalf of God. Hence truth must not be compromised, no matter what. The audience should be able to perceive in themselves that the preacher is speaking the truth, and that the preaching is being inspired by God. Thus every effort should be made by the preacher to resist the temptation of putting himself or herself at the centre stage of the preaching, and not Jesus Christ. When a preacher is personally convinced of, and thrilled about the truth and importance of the message he or she is preaching, there is less likelihood that the preaching will be boring and dull. This is because the preacher, in his or her delivery, will seek to convince or persuade the hearers to also believe like him or her. To accomplish this, the preacher needs to be trusting, compassionate and loving towards the hearers, with the sole intention of changing the lives of the listeners for the better, through the word of God. The preacher can also use illustrations such as appropriate and relevant stories, proverbs, songs, citations, gestures and humour to drive home the message. It is through the inner zeal to persuade that the power in preaching comes out, leading to personal responsiveness to the word of God, and the resolve to act accordingly.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1
i. Identify the different forms of ministering through the word.
ii. What was the content of the kerygma?
iii. Why is it important for a preacher to preach on one theme?
prayer, teaches about prayer, actively prays for others in their needs, and relates prayer to the events of daily life. In this way, the minister makes it possible for each and every individual member of the Christian community to develop an intimacy with God, experience the presence of God, learn how to pray, and seek to pray with and for others.
Prayer should be based on the example of Jesus. The daily activity of Jesus was closely bound up with personal prayer. He often withdrew to pray in a lonely place (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16), on the hills (Luke 6:12), early in the morning (Mark 1:35), or all through the night (Luke 6:12).
He prayed when he was under agony, yet he asked that the will of the Father be done (Luke 22:42; also Jon 6:38; Heb 10:9). He taught his disciples how to pray, by acknowledging God’s fatherly authority and transcendence through praise, asking for the coming of the kingdom of God and the will of God, making a petition for daily needs, asking for forgiveness of sins and pledging to forgive others, and praying for deliverance from temptation and evil (Matt 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4). Jesus offered to the Father, praise and thanksgiving (Matt 11:25-27; John 11:41). In his prayer to the Father, he addressed him with the Aramaic expression of familiarity and intimacy, abba (Mark 14:36; see also Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6). He prayed to the Father for his disciples and those who would come to believe in him through the disciples (John 17:1-26). His greatest and final prayer and act of thanksgiving to the Father was offered during the last supper before his passion, death and resurrection, when he took bread and wine, gave thanks (Greek: eucharistein) to God, and commanded his disciples to do the same in his memory (Luke 22:14-20; see also 1 Cor 11:23-30).
In his many teaching on prayer, Jesus emphasized that prayer should be in secret (Matt 6:5-6), meaning by that, even if prayer is communal, the individual should make it of the heart, without any attempt to impress anyone. It should be in his name (John 14:13; 16:23). Prayer does not need many words (Matt 6:7), rather, one should pray always, and not give up (Luke 18:1; see also 1 Thess 5:17). One should pray with persistence (Luke 11:5-8) and expectant faith (Mark 11:24), having kept God’s words or commandments (John 15:7; See also Col 3:16). One should also pray not to enter into trial and temptation (Matt 26:41; Luke 22:40).
Ministry through prayer can take different forms. It can be a blessing, whereby one pronounces a blessing on a person (Gen 9:26-27; Luke 6:28; Rom 12:14), people (1 Kings 8:14, 55; Luke 24:50), a household (2 Sam 6:20) an object such as food (Matt 14:19; 26:26; Mark 6:41; 8:7;
14:22; Luke 9:16), or the name of God (1 Pet 1:3-9), and acknowledges God’s blessing (Eph 1:3-14; 2 Cor 1:3-7). It can take the form of adoration, accompanied by a gesture such as prostrating of oneself (Rev
4:9-11; 5:11-14; 7:11-12). Prayer can also take the form of supplication.
A prayer of supplication asks God for something. If what is being asked for is for the personal needs of the one praying, it is called “prayer of petition” (Matt 6:9-13; 7:7-11; Rom 15:30; Phil 4:19; Col 4:12), but if the prayer is for the needs of someone else, the prayer is called “prayer of intercession” (Rom 8:34; 1 John 2:1; 1 Tim 2:5-8). In his ministry, Jesus interceded often for others (Luke 22:31-32; John 17:20-21; Luke 23:24). Indeed, he continues to intercede on our behalf (1 John 2:1; Heb 7:7; Rom 8:24), just as the Holy Spirit intercedes (Rom 8:26-27).
Meanwhile, the individual Christian can also intercede for others (Eph 6:18; 1 Tim 2:1; 1 John 5:16). Classified as prayer of intercession is prayer of deliverance from the powers of evil (Matt 6:13), and prayer for miracles and healing (Mark 16:17-18) on behalf of those in special need. Prayer takes the form of thanksgiving when it focuses on thanking God for favours received (1 Thess 5:17-18; Col 3:17; 4:2; Eph 5:20; Rev 19:5-7). It becomes prayer of praise when the prayer of thanksgiving becomes a hymn in praise of God (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16). Fasting is also a form of prayer (Matt 9:29), especially when it is not done in order to attract the attention of people (Matt 6:16-18). One can also pray with the scriptures by using the book of psalms which was the Israelite book of prayer, by repeating the words of any of the other prayer found in the scriptures (Gen 24:12-14; 32:10-13; 1 Kings 3:6-9; Matt 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4), or doing meditation or prayerful reflection on a biblical passage of one’s choice.
One who ministers through prayer should be attentive to the tradition of prayer in the particular ecclesial community in which one is exercising ministry. This is because there are some ecclesial communities that sometimes pray through approved prayer books, or make use of specific prayer texts for certain liturgical celebrations, while others do not.
Depending on ecclesial communities, the mode of prayer can be formal or informal (spontaneous), public or private, vocal or mental (including meditation and contemplation), liturgical (official) or devotional (facultative), according to occasions. Prayer posture also differ, whether sitting, standing (Mark 11:25), or kneeling (Acts 21:5).
During worship or liturgical activities, there may be certain formal, liturgical prayers which are said vocally only by authorized persons. The members of the congregation may also have their part of formal prayers within the liturgy. Some ecclesial communities lay guidelines for public, vocal prayer of intercessions, especially by groups, so that there may be order (1 Cor 14:26-33). Generally, however, private prayer is to be encouraged, whether individually or in small groups such as a family.
An individual or group may freely choose a desired form and mode of prayer which is relevant to their particular spiritual needs.
The content of prayer, especially of prayer of intercession, is varied. In the scriptures, individuals and groups prayed for various needs or intentions such as: a safe journey (Rom 1:10), deliverance from enemies (Rom 15:31), spiritual strength (Eph 3:14-17), spiritual benefits (Eph 6:18-20; Phil 1:4, 9-12), peace (1 Tim 2:1-4), and the sick (James 5:14-16). One who prays should be ready to accept God’s will in faith and obedience to God, when this becomes clear (Luke 22:42; 2 Cor 12:7-9).
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 2
i. Why is prayer the substance of all worship?
ii. Why should one who ministers through prayer be attentive to the tradition of prayer in an ecclesial community?