Personal Prayer

In order to pray a man must struggle to has last breath. If we do not find prayer difficult, perhaps it is because we have not really

started to pray. (Abba Agathon)

What is Prayer?

Intimacy with God.

Prayer that is spiritual and genuine is both a call and a response: a divine call and a human response. (Fr. Matthew the Poor)

Prayer is the lifting up of the mind to God. (St. John of Damascus)

Prayer is by nature a dialog between man and God. It unites the soul with its Creator and reconciles the two. It’s effect is to hold the world together (St. John Climacus, Ladder of Divine Ascent)

What is Prayer?

According to St. Gregory of Nyssa, prayer is a heart-to-heart talk, forever active on God’s part, forever slow on ours. In fact, both parties call, and both respond. However, the initiative is always God’s: “I spread out my hands all day long” (Isaiah 65:2)

In prayer, we open ourselves to Him and he offers Himself to us.

The Greatness of Prayer

Prayer could not have an end or aim higher than itself. It is the highest aim of the highest work.

Isaac the Syrian says that “Prayer is the kingdom of God!” For this reason Christ urges us to pray: “You

ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1)

Types of Prayer

Are there different types of prayer?

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. (1 Tim 2:1-2)

...praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints (Eph 6:18)

Types of Prayer

What then, is prayer? Prayer is the raising of the mind and heart to God in praise and thanksgiving to Him and in supplication for the good things that we need, both spiritual and physical. Prayers are spiritual because they are originally born in the (human) spirit and ripen there by the Grace of the Holy Spirit. In their origin they (i.e. prayers, psalms, hymns, etc.) were purely spiritual and only afterwards came to be clothed in words and so assumed an oral form (Theophan the Recluse)

Types of Prayer

Personal Prayer – Prayer with God one on One. But you, when you pray, enter into your room. And shutting

your door, pray to your Father in secret; and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly. (Mat 6:6)

Corporate Prayer – A group of persons united in prayer. A major example of this would be praying the Divine Liturgy. So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with

one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them. (Acts 4:24)

Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. (Acts 12:5)

When Should We Pray?

In times of temptation (Luke 22:40)

In trials (Psalm 50:15)

To worship Him (John 4:23)

When doing anything (John 15:5) So we should be praying at all times

Personal Prayer

But you, when you pray, enter into your room. And shutting your door, pray to your Father in secret; and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly. (Mat 6:6)

Three forms of personal prayer:

Vocal

Meditation

Contemplation

Personal Prayer - ACTS

Adoration

Confession

Thanksgiving

Supplication

The Jesus Prayer

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thes 5:16-18)

The Jesus Prayer: My Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Also called the _________ prayer. Prayer has been on the lips of Christians since

the time of the desert fathers.

The Jesus Prayer

Breaking it down: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God… – It is said that the

whole message of the gospel can be summed up in this prayer. This first half expresses our faith in the Lord. At the center is the name “Jesus.” The name before

whom every knee shall bow (Is 45:3) …have mercy on me, a sinner – These words put

ourselves in the right state of mind. Have mercy doesn’t just mean what it literally

translates into. The Greek word for “have mercy” is Eleison, which

has the same root as elaion, which means olive tree and the oil from it.

The Jesus Prayer

Olive oil – what is the significance of this? In the story of Noah, the dove brings back a twig of olive. It

signifies that the wrath of God has ceased and God is offering a fresh opportunity.

Olive oil is used to anoint priests and kings in the OT, giving them power to fulfill beyond their human capabilities.

Olive oil is used to soothe and heal in the story of the Good Samaritan.

So we are not just asking God to save us, but also for His love.

So the first half of the Jesus Prayer is a statement of faith and the second half expresses the complex, rich relationship we have with Him.

Often said in repetition, it is best to consult with your spiritual father when attempting this prayer. It is a beautiful prayer! A source of peace and purity of the soul.

The Effectiveness of Prayer

“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13) God is able and eager to answer our prayers.

Whatever you ask in prayer you will receive if you have faith (Matthew 21:22)

Conclusion

Let him who does not pray expect nothing whatsoever from God-neither salvation not renewal nor direction nor grace. Rather, he is consigned to the whims and fancy of his own mind, the will of his own ego, and the direction of his own thinking. He is like one who has rejected the intervention of the Lord Jesus in his life, like the one who hides himself from the Spirit of God. A man who does not pray is one who is content with his own condition. He wishes to remain as he is and not be changed, renewed or saved. His life unconsciously changes from bad to worse. He recedes spiritually day after day. The ties that bind him to the earth and the flesh increase without his awareness. His ego remains the source of all his desires and ambitions.

As for his relationship with Christ, it remains only superficial and outward. It has no power to change or amend anything. The possibility to even deny Christ at times of danger, temptation, illness, or poverty becomes imminent.

So if man does not pray, he can never be changed or renewed, and he who is not changed or renewed can have no genuine or effective relationship with Christ. His worship, however active, is nothing but an outward protrusion or a superficial growth. In the end it breaks off, bearing no fruit. (Fr. Matthew the Poor)