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Published by
Come Receive the Light
Orthodox Christian Radio Program,
June 3, 2005
TIME TO PRAY! |
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By Father Christopher
Metropulos
When a little boy was asked “What is Prayer?” he
answered, “It’s when I try to talk God into doing
something!” Kids say the cutest things. But is
that what prayer is all about?
Too many times I get the impression that this is
what we adults think prayer is as well. Or worse,
we reduce prayer to nothing more than a religious
chore. Yet prayer is nothing less than the very
means whereby we become the companions of God
Himself. Without continued, consistent prayer, we
will never enter into the very purpose of our
existence.
St. Paul said that Christians should “pray without
ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) But how do we
pray unceasingly? Why is praying so important
anyway?
First, prayer is important because you can’t
love Someone you don’t know. And you won’t get
to know God without praying. Knowing God in a
personal and intimate way requires me to speak to
Him and let Him speak to me. Prayer isn’t a
laundry list of your requests directed to the
Divine. It is the natural communication of a child
to the Father. So, talking and listening to God
(praying) should become as natural and matter of
fact to your life as breathing.
Second, prayer combats our great enemy,
forgetfulness. One of the quickest ways for my
life to slide into sloppy living is when I allow
my thoughts to wander from God. When I practice a
daily rule of prayer, I am constantly and
consistently confronted by God and His presence in
my life. God never really is distant from me. He
only seems to be absent when I’ve forgotten that
He is as close as my knees are to the floor.
Prayer keeps me aware of God and that directs my
life.
Thirdly, prayer destroys pride. When I
learn to pray, I learn to focus on my dependence
on God and His mercy. God is not in heaven just
waiting for you to mess up so He can punish you,
as the Evil One constantly alleges in his attempts
to impugn the character of our loving Father. The
danger lies in my own foolish notion of
self-sufficiency, not God’s wrath. It’s when I
believe I can do this living thing all by myself
that I get myself into trouble. No, prayer is my
constant reminder that I need God every moment of
every day.
So, how do I pray without ceasing? Well, one
answer is to allow your very life to become a
prayer. In other words, your actions and your
words and your thoughts all reflect your devotion
to Christ. Your life, by God’s grace and the work
of the Holy Spirit in your heart, imitates the
life of Jesus. When this is true of you, your
every action reflects your intimate relationship
with Christ and your love for God.
It is as we allow the love of Christ to shape our
lives, as we submit in humble obedience to His
work in our hearts, that our life is transfigured
into a prayer of praise to God.
I want to leave you with the words of an Arab
Christian from many centuries ago:
How lovely is prayer and how radiant are its
works. Prayer is acceptable to God when it is
accompanied
by good deeds, and it is heard when it rises out
of a spirit of forgiveness. Prayer is always
answered when it is pure and sincere. Prayer is
powerful when it is suffused with God's vigor.
— Aphrahat the Persian
This week we have the honor of once again speaking
to Fr. Roman Braga. Fr. Braga suffered for many
years under the Communist government in Romania ,
and survived precisely because of his consistent
commitment to prayer. Let’s gather this week and
learn from this precious servant of God about the
value of prayer.
Yours for the spread of Orthodoxy,
Fr. Chris Metropulos
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