About Prayer
Morning Prayers At Camp Nazareth
One of the first requests made by the disciples to Jesus
was, "Lord, teach us to pray..." (Luke 11:1). The Jewish people of Jerusalem were above all
a praying people, and this tradition of prayer was continued by the earliest
Christians.
What is prayer? Bishop Theophan, a famous Orthodox spiritual writer of the
last century, tells us:" In prayer man converses with God, he enters
through grace into communion with Him, and lives in God...Prayer is the raising
of the mind and heart to God in praise and thanksgiving to Him and in
supplication for the good things we need, both spiritual and physical."
Prayer is the key and cornerstone of our relationship with our Lord. Without
prayer, there is no relationship with God. The "Good News" of the
Gospel is that the unknowable and faceless God of the Old Testament has
revealed Himself to the world; through the Incarnation of Jesus, God now has a
"face"; through the Person of Jesus Christ we can enter a personal
relationship with God. (John 14:6). Through prayer we can enter into this
relationship with God; through prayer He reveals His will to us.
In Orthodox prayer books, you will find many written prayers for different
needs. These are the prayers of the righteous men and women of times past,
people who were teachers and guides in the spiritual life. They are valuable to
teach us how to pray, to give us words to speak because we often don't know
what to say in the presence of God. Jesus Himself used such prayers in His
life. Among His last words from the Cross is the well-known prayer, "My
God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" - the first verse of Psalm 22.
There is no magic formula that will make us spiritual people who are filled
with the Holy Spirit. We must make the effort to cooperate with the Holy
Spirit, Who was given to each of us at our Baptism and Chrismation. At times we
will find it difficult to pray, but if we persevere, the Lord will reward our
efforts with the joy of His presence through the Holy Spirit.
The Church Fathers advise us to have a person to help us in our prayer-life.
The person who can best help us is our parish priest. Speak with him about
having a better and richer relationship with the Lord. Always remember that it
is not enough to simply repeat the words of a prayer. Rather, all of our
prayers must come from both our mind and our heart. Anything less is simply not
prayer.
Through prayer that is sincere and heartfelt, through frequent and worthy
reception of the Sacraments, through reading the words of the Lord and Apostles
inscribed by the Holy Spirit on the pages of the Scriptures, "the peace of
God, which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7) - (Adapted from the introduction to the
Come to Me Prayer Book published by the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox
Diocese of Johnstown, PA, 1986)
The prayers provided here are for your spiritual
edification, to assist you in your quest for spiritual growth and communion
with God. They represent excerpts from the Come to Me Prayer Book of the
American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese.
You may purchase a Come to Me Prayer Book at Orthodox Goods.Com - the complete source for Orthodox books, gifts, incense and supplies.
