What are the foundation of Christian prayer?

Answer 1

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

"This, then, is how you should pray:

"'Our Father in the heavens,

your name is set-apart,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into testing,

but deliver us from evil.'

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

-Yahushua in Matthew 6

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Catholic AnswerPart four of the Catechism of the Catholic Church covers Christian Prayer. It starts out by defining prayer as God's gift and says specifically that the foundation of prayer is humility:

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from The Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, English translation 19942559 "Prayer is the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God." (St. John Damascene, De fide orth. 3, 24: J.P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Graeca {Paris, 1857-1866} 94, 1089C.) But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or "out of the depths" of a humble and contrite heart? (Ps 130:1) He who humbles himself will be exalted; (Cf. Lk 18:9-14) humility is the foundation of prayer. Only when we humbly acknowledge that "we do not know how to pray as we ought," (Rom 8:26) are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. "Man is a beggar before God." (St. Augustine, Sermo 56, 6, 9: J.P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Latina {Paris: 1841-1855} 38, 381)