Prayer

Pope Cyril (Kirolos) the 6th prayed the divine liturgy everyday of his life.

The life of all Orthodox Christian is one that is based on prayer. This was echoed by Father Matthew the Poor. In the tradition, it is us who truly pray that make us into theologians and God-seers. The purpose of our entire life in all that we do is to be filled with the Holy Spirit and to live our lives in the one body of Christ. In our tradition this is known as theosis or deification.

Our Church makes this life possible through prayer. Prayer is doxology, praise, thanksgiving, confession, supplication and intercession to God. We praise God unceasingly through the different services the church has like the Tasbeha prayers, Liturgy  Vespers and Matins which always begins with the thanksgiving prayer. Prayer is so profound  that an Orthodox theologian wrote, "When I pray I was new, but when I stopped praying I became old." Prayer then is understood as a way to renew the spiritual life, prayer is being alive in God, prayer gives strength and should be the ultimate joy we have in our lives. Prayer then should guide the way we live. Prayer lifts us from our isolation and depressed state to a loving communion with God in which everything we experience in brought forth in the light of God. Prayer then is a personal dialogue with God, which allows us to pour forth our hearts to God. Prayer will be true and faithful in form once we stop saying the same words from our mouth and start speaking the language of God which is pouring out our hearts in constant prayer.

The church has always taught that God does not ask of us to talk to him with words, but rather what we say emanates from a beautiful soul. It is sufficient that we want to pray because out of praying the learning becomes rapid and effortless. From praying which leads to learning living out ones theology becomes something part of our lives, almost second nature. The beauty of the church should express to us how important prayer is through the different lives and services the church gives to us. We have liturgy, daily (Agepya) and personal prayer, icons and prayer, the Jesus prayer and the monastic life. All these different aspect propel us in our prayers.

Christian prayer is not regurgitating a bunch of words, nor is prayer rationalist thoughts or emotional high appealing to something we do not understand. Christian prayer in the larger picture is a participation, an encounter with Christ.

Christian prayer has always been linked to a ancient rule within the church. Lex Orandi Lex Credendi- the law of worship (prayer) determines the law of faith (belief). If prayer then is understood to be a participation that means that the words we pray and how one is to pray them not only shape what we believe but how we live out what we believe. We then become not just a bunch of words from our mouths but rather we become what we pray.

The prayer of the Eucharist worship is meant to make us become more like Christ. If you refer to previous posts I make mention of how the church bringing the community of believers together under the one body of Christ. Prayer holds the same concept. In our Eucharistic celebration and our liturgical life, we join our own sacrifices to His. In the early church the practice was that the congregation would bring in the sacrifices (Bread and Wine) for the Eucharist meal. In doing so this is how they would join in there own sacrifices to His. Prayer then is a self-offering as Christ gave Himself up on the cross. In expressing our union with Christ, we offer ourselves to Him as a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving.  

Perhaps how Christians pray is rooted and based in the ancient authentic prayer that is focused on life which is given and maintained through the divine liturgy. What Christians pray for can be exemplified by the same prayers which are connected to the Liturgy. In doing so our life then becomes liturgical always seeking to live out our liturgy. By living out ones liturgy that is when constant prayer becomes a reality. Living out our liturgy will transform our prayers into constant praying and constant praying will direct us into living out our liturgy.