Prayer can be separated into two main  categories, communal prayer and personal prayer. Communal prayer is liturgical prayer – prayer that is prayed by and on behalf of the Church. Personal prayer, on the other hand is that in which an individual, or even group of individuals, offer their own personal praise to God.

In the life of a Catholic, both forms of prayer are necessary. There are times when we need to be united with the entirety of the Body of Christ. In such times we band together, united with Jesus Christ as our head, to offer proper worship to God. There are also times when we need to come to the Lord as individuals, worshiping God in ways specific to our own identity as individuals.

By developing habits of participating in both communal and personal prayer, we can develop a life of prayer that is unique to us as individuals, while at the same time is part of something much bigger than our individual selves.

Read more about building better prayer habits here.