Not every prayer is a spiritual means that attaches us to God. We read the Elijah the prophet “prayed earnestly” and such a prayer could shut and open heaven (Jas 5:17) It was a prayer that availed much.
How then we could define prayer.
It is a bridge bringing man to God, compared to Jacob’s ladder reaching to heaven (Gen 28:12). Prayer is not mere words, but rather a link between you – your heart and mind, and God.
Prayer is an awareness of being in God’s presence.
Without such a feeling it will not be a prayer. It is the feeling of a heart aware of God’s presence and of being in His presence, as Elijah the Prophet said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand.” (1 kgs 18:15) before God man forgets everything, but God alone remains in the mind. Everything fades, and God becomes all in all.
Prayer is the action of the heart whether expressed by words or not.
It is the raising of the heart to God, perhaps without words, because the heart speaks to God with the emotions, rather than with words.
The rights of the heart are prayers… the yearning of the heart to God is a prayer … the love emotions to God are prayers. Prayer then is a link between God and man, without which words will avail nothing.
If you feel love to God you will pray, and if you pray your love will increase, for prayer is love expressed in words.
Such love and such emotions are very clear in the Psalms of David the Prophet, for he says:
“O God, You are my God; early will I seek you; My soul thirsts for You.” (Ps 63:1) “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?” (Ps 42:1,2)
Many people pray, but feel no comfort. It is because their prayers are void of love; they are mere words!
Such prayers are rejected by God, and He said about them, “These people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me.” (Isa 29:13) And the Lord Christ repeated the same reproach to the Jews (Mt 15:8; MK 7:6).
Therefore mix your prayer with love and speak with the Lord with your emotions, for prayer is the yearning of the soul to be in God’s presence. It is the longing of limited to the Unlimited, of the creation to the Creator, and the spirit to its Giver who fills it.
An acceptable prayer is that which issues from pure heart.
The Scripture says, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.” (Prov 15:8 ; 21:27) God rejected the prayer of the wicked, and said to them, “When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.” (Isa 1:15) On the other hand, “Prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (Jas 5:16)
What then can a sinner, burdened with sin, do?
A sinner ought to pray that God may help him to repent, and to repent that God may accept his prayer. He ought to pray and say, “Restore me, and I will return.” (Jer 31:18) Actually, prayer is the door to the help, through which a sinner enters into repentance, as Mar Ishak said : “Whoever says there is a door to repentance other than prayer, is deceived by the devils.” Therefore do not till you repent that you may pray!! Rather, ask for it in your prayer to Him who said, “Without Me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5)
Prayer is opening the heart to God that He may enter and cleanse it.
We remember her the prayer of the tax-collector who raised his heart in contrition to God asking for mercy (Lk 18:13), so he was justified. Ask then in your prayer to have purity of heart, and say : “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” (Ps 51:7) Did He not say, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you … I will put My spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes.” (Ezek 36:26, 27) Ask Him to fulfill His promise.
Prayer is the consecration of the lips, the mind, and the soul to God, and reconciliation with God.
A person in controversy with God will not talk to Him in prayer, having no familiarity with Him. When he starts to pray, it is to reconcile with Him. Then he will feel ashamed to defile his mind after prayer. This is a good thing spiritually.
Continual prayer removes away evil thoughts and puts a person in a spiritual atmosphere away from the powers of darkness.
Prayer is the terror of the devils and the most powerful weapon against them.
The devil fears that such a person slips away from his hand and receives power with which he can fight him. The devil even envies him for such a relationship with God which he was deprived of. That is why the devil fights prayer with all means to prevent it by making man think that he is too busy to have time for prayer, or that he is tired and heavy! And if a person insists on praying, the devil with try to distract him.
So, as a spiritual person, you should persist in prayer in spite of all wars. Concentrate with all your mind and feelings.
As the apostle says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (Jas 4:7) Do not submit to him when he attempt to present you from praying. This should rather be taken as an implicit admission from him of the power of the weapon of prayer. Therefore, do not cast away your weapon, but fight with it, and continue in prayer even though your mind is distracted. The enemy will certainly lose hope and quit you, and the grace will never forsake you.
In your prayer open the depths of your soul to be filled with God.
Ask for God Himself, not merely for His benefits. Say to Him as David said, “Your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide Your face from me.” (Ps 27:9)
Your soul will remain empty until God fills it. It needs love that is stronger than all the lusts of the world. It is thirsty and the water of the whole world cannot quench its thirst (Jn 4 : 13).
Say to Him; O Lord, there is none but You who can understand me.
Lay your trust in Him; open your heart to Him; disclose your secrets to Him; reveal to Him your weaknesses for He will despise them; pour tears before Him and express your longing. You will feel that you are not alone, for there is a heart that contains you, and a power that supports you … Without You, O Lord, I feel I am in emptiness. I do not really exist. You are Emmanuel, God with us. My spirit longs to Your perfect Spirit, to that which transcends material and the world with all that is in it. Yea, I have within me longing to the Unlimited, which cannot be satisfied except by You !
Such is a payer of love that goes beyond requests.
You may not ask for anything but merely give thanks for what God has given you, for His care for you, for His help and benefits to you and to your friends and beloved ones. Your prayer also may be praises, like that of the Seraphim: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!”
Your prayer may be mere meditation on God’s beautiful attributes, like those of the Liturgy of St. Gregory, most of the Psalms and of the Hours Prayers. Therefore St. Basil the Great said: Do not begin your prayer with requests as if without requests you will not pray.
Consider your prayer merely to enjoy communion with God, or as some fathers call it: “the taste of the kingdom.”
To merely stand in God’s presence is a pleasure, even though you utter no words or have any thoughts in your mind, like a child in His father’s bosom, asking nothing but to remain there.
I wonder what shall we request in the kingdom of heaven?! Of course, nothing. There will be nothing lacking to ask for, but we will taste and see how good the Lord is (Ps 34:8). So, Prayer is the tasting of the kingdom here on earth, the tasting of what we will enjoy in heaven.
Prayer is described as the food of the angels.
It is the food for their spirits as well as for the spirits of the saints, as it was on earth for the father hermits and anchorites. Through prayer they feed on God’s love and communion, as David the prophet said, “It is good for me to draw near to God.” (Ps 73:28).
Blessed is our good God who granted us the grace of prayer. Out of His humbleness He permitted us to speak to Him.
It is His humbleness that makes Him listen to us, the dust and ached, and lets us draw near to Him and talk with Him, and to join the host of angels standing before His throne praising and enjoying being in His presence. It is His humbleness as the Creator to permit us, His creation, such familiarity as to speak and He listens. How shameful then to say : I have no time for prayer!
Dare the servant say he has no time to talk with His master?! How much more the creation to the Creator. We do find time for various trivial and worthless things, while we have no time to talk with God!!
David was prophet, king, leader, and judge, and had a big family, yet he says, “Seven times a day I praise You, because of Your righteous judgments.” (Ps 119:164) In the evening, in the morning, and midday; at midnight, I arise to give thanks to You. My eyes awake before down to reiterate your words.
The problem is not lack of time, but lack of desire to pray. If you do want to pray, you will find time.
Actually, prayer is a blessing to you, for in prayer you receive rather than give! Do you think that you give God time when you pray?! Is God in need of your prayer or of you? Nay. In prayer, you receive power, help, blessing, and spiritual pleasure, and you enjoy communion with God and solutions for your problems.
You should change your view regarding prayer, and to know that without it you are lost. It is your supporter.
If you are aware of all this, you will rely on it as a main spiritual means for your life. But is this all that I can say about prayer?!
Nay, but I leave you to pray, and to remember me in your prayer.