PRAYER AND WORSHIP IN OUR ORTHODOX SACRED TRADITION

My beloved brothers and sisters in Our Lord, God, and Savior JESUS CHRIST,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

PRAYER AND WORSHIP IN OUR ORTHODOX SACRED TRADITION

"The woman said to Him, ‘Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers
worshipped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the
place where one ought to worship. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me,
the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem,
worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we
worship, for salvation is of the Jews. BUT THE HOUR IS COMING, AND NOW
IS, WHEN THE TRUE WORSHIPPERS WILL WORSHIP THE FATHER IN
SPIRIT AND TRUTH FOR THE FATHER IS SEEKING SUCH TO WORSHIP HIM.
GOD IS SPIRIT; AND THOSE WHO WORSHIP HIM MUST WORSHIP IN SPIRIT
AND TRUTH" (John 4:19-24).

Our Lord’s life was one of unceasing prayer and worship and therefore He is the example par excellence to emulate and imitate in our personal life. If we need guidance on how to pray and worship we ought to seek His help and say to Him: "Lord, teach me how to pray? And He will say: "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, is say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father Who is in the secret place; and your Father Who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, DO NOT USE VAIN REPETITIONS AS THE HEATHEN DO. FOR THEY THINK THAT THEY WILL BE HEARD FOR THEIR MANY WORDS. Therefore, do NOT be like them. For your Father KNOWS THE THINGS YOU HAVE NEED OF BEFORE YOU ASK HIM. In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father…" (Matthew 6:5-13).

When a true Christian prays, he or she prays not to an abstract deity but God the Father, our Creator. Understanding always Who God is and who we are, our prayer to Him should be offered with humility, a sense of unworthiness, contrition, and without demands or arrogance. Almighty and All-Knowing God has no need for our "babble." Our prayer must come from "broken and contrite heart" (Psalm 51:17). Not only are we a finite creature but, worse than that, we are a sinful creature. Admitting to Him: "For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight" (Psalm 51:3-4). This psalm also teaches us the need for repentance, seeking God’s mercy and it teaches us to worship in spirit. Psalm 51 [50] is the most used in our Holy Orthodox Church. It is said three times daily–Orthros (Matins), Third Hour, and Apotheipnon (Compline)–as well as in every Divine Liturgy, where is recited by the priest as a sign of repentance while he censes before the Great Entrance.

During the Divine Liturgy, at the moment when all the faithful are kneeling with profound reverence, because it is at this time, that the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist is consecrated by God the Holy Spirit, the faithful offer together the following prayer: "We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we give thanks to Thee, O Lord, and we pray to Thee, O our God." Our personal prayer must always contain the same elements: PRAISING, BLESSING, AND GIVING THANKS to our God. It may be brief but it contains everything that should be said in prayer. Prayer must not be marginalized and should not be reduced to a grocery list of items that God must supply us with or to approach God and attempt to negotiate with Him the outcome of our demands. That kind of attitude not only is offensive to Him but ceases to be a prayer. To foolishly try to deceive God would be an exercise in futility if not an outright blasphemy. We ought to know by now. that no person is a mystery to the All-Knowing Creator. We are reminded of this in Jeremiah 1:5, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, and before you were born, I sanctified you."

Prayer is a privilege that is bestowed to all Christians due to our incorporation through the Mysteries of Baptism and Chrismation, into the Body of Jesus Christ which is the Ecclesia (Church). Every Orthodox Christian is saved as a faithful member of the Church, as a member of the Body of Christ, together with the other faithful members. A genuine Christian cannot pray as a private individual for himself alone but as a child of the Heavenly Father Who is the Father of all. The personal prayer and the corporate liturgical prayer of worship must remain inseparable and both should strengthen our spiritual life. Worshipping God (Λατρεύω τόν Θεόν) is an intuitive human response to God’s love. Man from time immemorial feels the need to worship his Creator, Fashioner, Provider, and Benefactor. However, mankind cannot worship a false god. The Lord our God is the True Son of the True Father; thus we do not worship any false god, false gods do not exist in themselves. An idol, or image, depicts some god as having a form or shape, but the True God has NO FORM OR SHAPE. Therefore, let us love and be obedient to the True God with intensity, for this is very pleasing to Him.

The life of Desert Fathers and all the Saints and ascetics of the Church was one of unceasing prayer. For them, prayer was the only path to God. They were so absorbed in prayer that they would not think of anything else including water, food, or even sleep. Their only nourishment was prayer through which they were in constant communication with God. Praying for them was natural and not done out of tradition or part of a regiment or discipline. Saint John Chrysostom writes: "As Christians we are obligated to honor and appreciate the Saints of God for two reasons. The first reason is because all the Saints had placed the hope of their spiritual salvation upon the sacred prayers. The second reason is because the prayers which they offered to God with joy and fear have been preserved in their sacred writings."

Let us pray to the Lord

Kyrie eleison

Lord Jesus Christ my God, today grant me a good day without sin and vain distractions. Lord, do not abandon me. Lord,
do not turn away from me. Lord, extend to me a hand of assistance. Lord, support me in the fear of You. Let this fear of You
but also Your love be implanted deeply into my heart. Lord, grant compunction and humility to my heart. Lord, grant me
constant tears and contrition and the remembrance of death. Lord, deliver me from every temptation of the spirit and of the
body. Lord, uproot from me negligence, laziness, sorrow, forgetfulness, insensitivity, callousness, and the surrender to
captivity of my mind. Lord, as You know and as You want, have mercy on me and forgive all of my transgressions. Lord, having
attained peace through a good repentance and a ready and full confession. I hope that You will permit my lamentable soul,
in due time, to make its exodus from this body in pure and perfect faith. Amen. [Saint Paisios the Great]

__________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God

+ Father George