The most elementary mode of prayer - of contace between man and God - is no doubt prayer in the most ordinary snese of the word, for this is the direct expression of the individual, of his desieres and fears, his hopes and gratitudes. This prayer is however less perfect than canonical prayer which for its part, has a universal character due to the fact that God is its author and that the subject, in reciting it, does so not as aparticular indivitual, but in his capacity as man, the human species; also this prayer contains nothing which does not concern man - every man and htis is as much as to say it includes "eminently" or in addition, all possible individual prayers; it can even render them superfluous, and in fact, the Revelations permit or recommend individual prayer, but do not impose it. Canonical prayer shows its universality and its timeless value by being very often expressed in the first person plural, and also by its preference for using a sacred or liturgical, and therefore sbmbolically universal, language, so that it is impossible for whoever recites it not to pray for all and in alla. From chapter 5 - Modes of Prayer 157 pages Hard bound Frithjof Schoun
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