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After last weeks talk
I got thinking on what we should talk about this week and felt there was a
great need to explain what prayer is. I got the impression that many
people today do not understand the power of prayer and the need for prayer
as a whole. Most people only remember that there is a God when they are in
need of something, and usually resort to prayer when they suffer from some
sort of ailment, when someone close to them is ill, when they are in
trouble, when they need financial help, when they apply for a new
position, in general when they have need of something worldly. At all
other times they rarely think of God and live their lives without God and
prayer. Others again have got into the habit of praying in the morning or
before going to bed but don’t feel the need to pray throughout the day. On
those rare occasions when they resort to prayer they expect God to respond
by answering their prayers. If he doesn’t then that affects their belief
in him and often people lose faith and say God didn’t help me when I
needed him. Prayer from this point of view is not prayer at all. The
meaning of prayer has been grossly distorted from its main purpose which
is communion with God. So how should we pray and for what things should we
pray for? Christ Himself, in his Sermon on the Mount, taught us how to
pray and told us the things we should pray for. He said:
“when thou
prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to
thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall
reward thee openly.” (Matt. 6:6)
This does not mean that we should enter into our room to be alone.
The closet has always been interpreted as meaning our heart. We should
look into our heart which no man can see but only God who sees the secret
parts of man. He told us that
“our Father in heaven knows what
things we have need of even before we ask him.”
(Matt. 6:8) “Take no thought
for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for
your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the
body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither
do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not much better than they? And why take you thought for raiment?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do
they spin: And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was
not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of
the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he
not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore take no
thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or,
Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the
Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of all
these things. But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take
therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for
the things of itself.”
(Matt: 6: 25-34)
So we should not worry about everything that has to do with our worldly
existence, but only seek the kingdom of God, and his righteousness. That
is all that we should strive and pray for, everything else will be
provided for if we believe in Christ’s words. True prayer then is to seek
for God’s love, because the kingdom of God is love. Prayer is the means by
which we ask God to help us love him and this is what we mean when we ask
for God’s mercy. It goes without saying that God is love and his love is
there for us to experience thus we don’t ask God to love us, we take it
for granted that his love for us is total and unconditional. It is we who
need to heal ourselves so that we may be able to experience God’s love. It
is we who have a problem in our relationship with God. When we ask for
God’s mercy we are in fact asking him to heal our existence in such a way
as to allow him to find rest within our own hearts and bring about a union
with his love. This is what we must first and foremost ask of God. When
this happens then God offers us whatever else we might have need of. If
fact, when this primary need has been satisfied then all other needs seem
to fade away, they are not important to us anymore. We see things in a
different light and even our infirmities are not seen as a burden but as a
blessing. We can see an example of this from St. Paul’s life: After
describing how he was caught up to the third heaven and heard unspeakable
words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter, he was in danger of
glorifying himself for his holiness if he didn’t remember that he had a
bodily ailment of the flesh which constantly reminded him that he was only
human. In his own words he says: “I will not boast,
except in my infirmities. For though I might desire to boast, I will not
be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should
think of me above what he sees me to be, or hears from me. And lest I
should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, there
was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me,
lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the
Lord three times, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My
grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Most gladly therefore I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the
power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses
for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor 12: 5-10)
Thus we should look upon our infirmities and difficulties as a blessing
from God for they are often a source for us to grow stronger in faith. We
should remember that nothing in our lives happens without a reason. This
doesn’t mean that illnesses and troubles come from God. They are the
result and consequences of the fall, but by accepting them as blessings we
use them for spiritual growth. When health problems arise People often say
within their hearts: why me O God, why have you allowed this to happen to
me, me of all people who believes in you, who goes to Church every Sunday,
why have you kept in good health that person who doesn’t believe in you,
but have dealt with me in this way. This attitude reveals that we only
have love of ourselves; our main concern is ourselves and definitely
reveals our lack of faith in God. On the other hand, if we accept
everything as God’s plan, then our troubles, our weaknesses become
instruments that help us come closer to God’s love. That is why holy
people never pray for their own afflictions, but only for God’s mercy.
This doesn’t mean that we should not pray for other’s when they are in
need. Praying for others is an act of love and as God is love and loves
all of mankind, then we should also show love to all mankind. The most
practical way for us to show love for others is by praying for them.
Usually the first stage where someone will seek God’s intervention is as
we have already said when either they themselves or someone close to them
is suffering from a serious illness. It is then that they remember God and
seek for a miracle. If there was no illness then they would not remember
that there is a God, so the illness is in fact a blessing in disguise: it
forces the person to accept that there is a God and for the first time
they reach out to God for his help. A communion with God has begun where
before it was non existent. In these first stages God often responds and
gives the person more opportunity to seek him. If the person responds
positively then God will slowly guide him to what is necessary for his
salvation.
Now there are various forms of prayer. Prayer is doxology, praise,
thanksgiving, confession, supplication and intercession to God. The things
we petition for are also many, we ask God for all sorts of things
especially in the liturgy and other church services. We ask for peace, a
good harvest, protection for those at sea, good rainfall, etc.
The way we pray are also many. Prayer is of course devout words but also
the outward signs of piety as: the sign of the Cross, bowing our head,
kneeling, prostration, etc. But prayer can also be offered without words,
and without other external manifestations. This is the inner or hidden
prayer of a pious soul, which is familiar through experience to many
earnest Christians.
The most widespread form of prayer is petition, offered in acknowledgment
of our weaknesses, infirmities, and lack of experience. Because of sins
and passions, our souls become weak and sick. Therefore, it is essential
in prayer to ask God to forgive us and help us to overcome our faults.
Sometimes requests are made because of an impending danger hanging over
us, a need, etc. Petition in prayer is inevitable in view of our weakness
and is readily accepted by the all-merciful Lord. But if our prayer has
only a predominant character of request, that is, if all we do is
continually demand things without also giving praise and thanksgiving;
this indicates poor development of our spiritual life. It shows that we
are not progressing spiritually: that we have not understood that prayer
is to commune with God, that our aim in life is to be with God.
So we have seen that we should not continually seek things from God only
for our worldly benefit, yet Christ said: “Whatever
you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the
Son; if you ask anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14)
And again he said: “Truly, truly I say to you, if
you ask anything of the Father, He will give it to you in my name. Until
now you have asked nothing in my name; ask, and you will receive, that
your joy may be full.” (John 16:23-24)
Whatever one asks in the name of Jesus will be given. This does not mean
that man can ask God for all and everything. He cannot ask for what is not
needed, or for what is evil. He can ask, however, and must ask for "good
gifts," for whatever can be asked in the name of Christ, for whatever is
holy and sinless and good. If one asks for good things in faith, he will
certainly receive them if God thinks that he should have them for his life
and salvation. This is the promise of the Lord Himself.
“If
you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it
shall be done for you.” (John 15:7)
“And
whatever you ask in prayer, if you have faith, you will receive.”
(Matthew 21:22)
Every prayer directed to God in faith is answered. This does not mean that
what is asked is always given, for God knows better than the person who
prays what is good for him. For this reason the spiritual teachers warn us
against being too long and insistent in our demands of the Lord other than
for his mercy. God knows best what is needed thus it is always best to be
brief in prayer, and not too specifically demanding. It is always best to
pray: “Give what is needed, O Lord.
Thy will be done.”
Regarding how to pray, St. Isaac the Syrian writes:
“Don't be thoughtless in your
petitions, in order not to offend God by your foolishness. But rather be
wise, to become worthy of the greatest gifts. Ask for a treasure from Him
Who is a stranger to stinginess and you will receive a treasure from Him
in accordance with the reasonableness of your request. Solomon asked for
wisdom and together with it he received an earthly kingdom because he made
a wise request before the Great King. Elisseus (Elisha) asked for a
twofold portion of grace of the Holy Spirit and his request was not
refused. To ask for trifles from the King insults his dignity.”
Westerners not used to the Orthodox way of praying often accuse us that
our Liturgical prayers are repetitive and. Yes, they are - by design:
“Again and again, in peace, let us pray unto the
Lord.” In this way the Orthodox Church is simply following the
command or Our Lord that we should be persistent in prayer and not
half-hearted. Twice in St. Luke’s Gospel, Our Lord commends people who are
persistant in asking: The first is the friend we go to at midnight to ask
for three loaves of bread because another friend of ours has visited us
and we have nothing at home to offer him. And although the friend doesn’t
want to get out of bed he gets up not because you are his friend, but
because of your persistence and gives you as many loaves as you need.
(Luke.11: 5-8) The second is the parable of
the unjust judge. The Lord spoke this parable to show that men should
always pray and not lose heart, He said: “There was
in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there
was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying: Avenge me of mine
adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within
himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow
troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary
me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God
avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear
long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.”
(Luke18:1-8).
Another repetitive prayer is the “Jesus
prayer”: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of
God, have mercy on me a sinner. People are quick to remind us that the
Lord warned against vain repetition by which he meant hypocritical
babblings. There is nothing vainly repetitious in the use of this prayer.
Any believer who prays it must do so consciously, focusing on each word
and the whole meaning. If it is used mechanically then yes it can become
vain repetition. The Jesus prayer is a simple prayer used throughout the
day to keep our minds on God thus fulfilling what St. Paul said that we
should “Pray without ceasing”. (1 Thess. 5:17).
It is repeated over and over, literally hundreds of times throughout the
day and night, until it becomes unceasingly implanted in the heart as a
“gushing spring,”
a continual presence in the soul calling out to the Lord. It is
often, but not necessarily, connected with one’s
breathing, so much so that it is uttered
“with every breath.”
(St. Gregory the Theologian; St. John Chrysostom) There are various stages
to the Jesus Prayer. It begins by being said vocally, then silently with
the lips, then with the mind and then by joining the mind to the heart,
the last stage is the gift of grace which takes its abode in the heart.
One can continue this “unceasing
prayer” even while engaged in the
normal activities of life, while reading or writing, and even while
sleeping, thus the “body sleeps,”
but the “heart is awake.”
Then, when one awakes from one’s bed,
one finds that the prayer is continuing itself. This is of course in the
advance stage of the prayer.
The choice of this particular verse Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have
mercy on me a sinner has a theological and spiritual meaning.
First of all, it is centred on the name of Jesus because this is the name
of Him whom “God
has highly exalted,”(Acts
5:31) the name given to the Lord by God Himself
(Luke 1:31), the
“name
which is above every name.”
(Philippians 2:9)
“For
there is no other name given among men by which we must be saved.”
(Acts 4:12)
All prayer for Christians must be performed in the name of Jesus:
“if
you ask anything in my name, I will do it.”
(John 14:14)
The fact that the prayer is addressed to Jesus as Lord and Christ and Son
of God is because this is the centre of the entire faith revealed by God
in the Spirit.
That Jesus is the Christ, and that the Christ is Lord is the essence of
the Christian faith and the foundation of the Christian church. To believe
and proclaim this is granted by the Holy Spirit.
“no
one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.”
(I Corinthians 12:3) and
“every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
Father.”(Philippians
2:11)
The second part of the prayer
“Have mercy on me a sinner”
is the publican’s prayer. When uttered
with humble conviction it brings divine justification.
(Luke 18:9-14) Generally speaking, divine
mercy is what man needs most of all. It is for this reason that the
numberless repetitions of the request for the Lord's mercy is found
everywhere in the prayers of the Church.
But to pray without ceasing is easier said than done. How does someone
begin to train oneself to have remembrance of God all the day long and
eventually all night long.
The beginner should take things very slowly in the beginning establishing
in his daily timetable a set time that he will use for his daily prayers.
Each person desiring to live the spiritual life should have his own rule
of prayer. It should be brief and regular, such that it could be kept in
all conditions and circumstances. In this set rule of prayer, the prayers
of the Church should be used, the Lord's Prayer and those from the prayer
book.
The set times of prayer are very important, and should not be put aside
for any reason, even when one prays continuously in his heart. This is the
teaching and practice of the saints. This gives discipline in prayer and
provides instruction and inspiration in prayer which is perfectly
trustworthy and sound, having demonstrated its power in the lives of the
saints. In this set time for prayer one can introduce the Jesus Prayer
saying it aloud with the lips. In the beginning the novice should keep to
a minimum and perhaps limit himself to only one hundred prayers to begin
with. To keep count of the prayer a
“komposkini”
should be used. The normal komposkini is a prayer rope made of a 100
knots. The komposkini is also an aid to help concentrate on the prayer.
When praying, it is important to turn away from our usual cares and
preoccupations, collect our scattered thoughts, as if closing the door of
the soul against all that is worldly, and direct all our attention towards
God. Then without rushing the prayer try to keep focused on the prayer
trying to observe each word as it comes out of the mouth. You will notice
that even after only four or five times of saying the prayer, the mind has
already lost its focus on the prayer and has started to wander and think
of other things that seem important. This is natural and to be expected at
this stage. This is the beginner’s stage. It takes time, practice and
growth to master the skill of praying, we would not expect a child to act
as if he is a university graduate. When we are beginners we are bound to
face difficulties and make mistakes. We will pray in an imperfect way. So
having that in mind one mustn’t lose hope or courage that he cannot focus
and then lose interest in getting into the habit of prayer, but just
redirect the mind back to the prayer. It takes a lot of hard work and
persistence to master any skill. Do not attempt to do more than one
“komposkini”
(100 Jesus prayers) until you have accustomed yourself to the
prayer. For the rest of the day use short prayers asking God to bless
everything that you do. For example on waking praise God for the new day,
thank him for raising you from sleep and ask him to bless your day. If you
have a set rule for the morning, say your prayers and then ask him to
bless your breakfast or your morning drink. As you leave your home to go
to work, ask him to bless your exit and safeguard your return. As you get
into your car ask him to bless your journey, as you begin work ask him to
bless your work and workplace. Ask him to bless and enlighten your work
colleagues that working side by side with them you do not encounter
problems of jealousy and stress related tempers. In fact in everything we
do we should first ask God to bless our actions and in this way we get
into the habit of remembering God throughout the day. This is a form of
unceasing prayer and can easily be adapted into one’s life. When we have
mastered this stage we can then go to the next stage of saying the Jesus
prayer not only at our set time for prayer but at every opportunity that
we don’t have to concentrate on our work. For example during our coffee
and lunch breaks and if our work is not of the mental kind but manual and
doesn’t demand concentration then these are excellent opportunities to
practice saying the prayer. At these times the prayer should be said
silently otherwise people will think that there is something wrong with
you. Gradually you will notice a difference in yourselves. You will be
saying the prayer without even being conscious of praying. The prayer is
becoming part of your life and soon you will wonder how you ever lived
without it.
The Jesus Prayer basically is used in three different ways. First as the
verse used for the “prayer
of the heart” in
silence in the hesychast method of prayer. Second as the continual mental
and unceasing prayer of the faithful outside the hesychast tradition like
the way we have described above, and thirdly as the brief prayer used to
ward off temptations. Of course, in the actual life of a person these
three uses of the prayer are often interrelated and combined.
The second use of the Jesus Prayer (outside the
hesychast method for unceasing prayer) is to repeat the prayer
constantly and continually, whatever one is doing, without the employment
of any particular bodily postures or breathing techniques. This is the way
taught by St. Gregory Palamas in his short discourse about how unceasing
mental prayer is the duty of all Christians. Anyone can do this, whatever
his occupation or position in life. This also is shown in the book “The
Way of the Pilgrim”, which everyone who is serious of the practice of the
Jesus Prayer should read.
The purpose and results of this method of prayer are those generally of
all prayer: that men might be continually united with God by unceasing
remembrance of His presence and continual invocation of His name.
The third method of using the Jesus Prayer is to have it always ready for
moments of temptation. In this way, as St. John Climacus has said, you can
“flog your enemies, i.e. the
temptations, with the name of Jesus for there is no stronger weapon in
heaven or on earth.”
(The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 21) When
one practices the continual “prayer
of the heart,” and
when the temptations to sin enter the heart, they are met by the prayer
and are defeated by grace.
But coming back to the first method, the use of the Jesus prayer in the
hesychast method of prayer called “Prayer of the heart” this requires
always and without exception the guidance of a spiritual guide, one must
not use this method unless one is a person of genuine humility and sanity,
filled with all wisdom and peace. To use this method without guidance or
humble wisdom, is to court spiritual disaster, for the temptations that
come with it are many. It is usually used with aids which help
concentration of the prayer. The person sits on a stall in total darkness
or with only the light of a candle or vigil light, with his head bowed and
his eyes directed toward his chest. He continually repeats the prayer with
each breath, placing his “mind
in his heart” by
concentrated attention. Thus as he inhales he says the first part of the
prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God” and as he exhales the second part
“have mercy upon me a sinner.” Breathing in this way helps to concentrate
on the words of the prayer and by keeping one’s mind near the heart area
one soon becomes aware of the rhythm of the heartbeats which again help to
rhythm the prayer with the beating of the heart. Quite soon the person
feels his heart warming as though it is on fire. In this state he may find
an ineffable sweetness welling up in his soul. We should not seek this
sweetness as such consolations are not always of divine origin. We should,
rather, praise God that the prayer is proving to a blessing in our
Christian lives. This is actually a very natural stage of the prayer which
many people misinterpret as the grace of the Holy Spirit. They become
puffed up with pride thinking that they have succeeded in such a short
while what many monks do not achieve in a lifetime of prayer. The grace of
God does not come by using mechanical methods of concentration. That is
why the fathers continually warn us of the dangers of these techniques and
should only be attempted with the guidance of a spiritual father
experienced in prayer of the heart. Bishop Theophan (1815-1894) tells that
the bodily postures and breathing techniques were virtually forbidden in
his time since, instead of gaining the Spirit of God, people succeeded
only “in ruining their lungs.”
(The Art of Prayer, lgumen Chariton) So mechanical aids or mental
techniques are not at all necessary. What is important is to pray with
humility, without expecting reward. In time God will intensify and
strengthen your prayer and at a time that God will allow the prayer will
become automatic. Without effort the prayer will repeat in your heart
whatever you might otherwise be doing and not only while you are awake but
also while you are sleeping For as it says in Holy Scripture:
“I
sleep but by heart waketh”
(Song of Songs 5:2) This stage is accompanied with tears, not the
sentimental tears which we associate with females, but uncontrollable
tears of repentance. And tears are necessary and an integral part of real
prayer. It cleanses the heart of all the defilements that Christ mentions
are hidden in the heart and replaces them with love for God and all
creation. With the heart cleansed, God can now take his abode there. This
is the last stage of the prayer. The grace of Christ lives in the heart.
We become the dwelling place of God, when He lives within us and we become
the temple of God where remembrance of Him is not disturbed by earthly
cares, and the mind is not distracted by unexpected thoughts. This then is
the kingdom of God that Christ said is within us. This stage is connected
with the vision of the uncreated Light that we read about in the lives of
the saints, but it is not reserved only for the saints. We are all called
to be saints and unceasing prayer – the prayer of the heart of the
Orthodox Church has for two thousand years proven that with proper use it
can open the doors of the kingdom to all who seek it.
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