COVENANT ORIENTATION WEEKEND

SESSION 2:
PRAYER, SCRIPTURE, AND
SACRAMENTS
 INTRODUCTION
A. Prayer, scripture and sacraments are crucial tools to growth in the Christian
life.
B. We grow in our relationship with God by communicating directly with Him
(through Prayer), by studying His word (through regular reading of the
Scriptures) and by encountering Him (through the sacraments).
C. Prayer, scripture, and sacraments draw us closer to God and help us to
understand His will for us.
D. In SFC, we commit to a daily personal prayer time, to a daily reading of the
Bible and to regular participation in the sacraments. These are an integral and
essential part of our being a single FOR Christ.
 PRAYER
 Prayeris a form of communication, a means of talking to God.
As SFCs, we need to have a daily personal prayer time.
 A. Why should we have a personal prayer time?
1. To develop an intimate relationship with God a. Just as our
relationships with those we love are nurtured and deepened by
regular communication and time spent together, so God desires that
we spend time alone just to be with Him.
b. Attending mass daily, praying the Rosary, reciting novenas
are important in helping us grow in our prayer life but we also
need to nurture a personal prayer time, a time set aside to
dialogue with God and just be in His presence.
c. Prayer is more than knowing and reciting prayers, more
than asking God to answer our heart’s desires. It is about
communicating with Him and getting to know His heart and
mind, and falling more deeply in love with God.
 To grow in humility
 a. Bowing before the Lord in prayer is acknowledging our
littleness before Him and expressing to Him our gratitude for
His mercy and love despite our unfaithfulness. This allows us to
humble ourselves before Him and recognize His greatness. b.
Every day, we need to go before the Lord with our sins and
failures, and restore our relationship with Him. We are
unworthy but we are forgiven through Jesus’ blood
c. God desires us to pray, most especially in our feelings of
unworthiness, because He seeks a contrite and humble heart.
d. When we increase in our humility, we are more able to
resist the devil who seeks to feed on our pride. e. The more
time we spend in prayer with God, we grow in humility, and
we are able to hear God’s voice. For one who is proud and
who is so full of himself will certainly find it difficult to hear
the voice of Someone greater than himself. 3. To strengthen
ourse
3. To strengthen ourselves in fighting
temptation