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Friends,

Yesterday afternoon I read an article written in an orthodox magazine (antiochian) that has given me much food for thought. The author emphasized that the praying of ancient prayers that are centuries old and written by holy people (including saints) are more beneficial than that of one's personal dialogue with Christ. Within the context of personal prayer, the author advocates the use of a prayer book (orthodox of course), and downplayed the intimate dialoge using one's own words commonly taught in the west.

Would anyone be willing to clarify this position for me? Thank you ahead of time. Solanus

Hi Solanus,

I don't know the context from that article, so I can't comment on that.

Instead, I would say that prayer is communication with God. And, as with any communications, different styles or forms are more appropriate or useful at times than at other times.

Personal dialogue / using one's own words for private prayer is very good at times because one is opening one's heart to Christ. So too sometimes is silence.

At other times, the traditional prayers that were written by saints are more useful for private prayer because they sometimes better express and guide the soul's ascent to God. For example, the Jesus Prayer.

Finally, there is public prayer. For example, there is the Divine Liturgy. The Church as a whole maintains public prayer. The Church uses it to express the beliefs that Christ gave to the Apostles and which the Holy Spirit has enlightened the Church to understand as a whole.

-- John

Solanus,

The old prayers are beautiful. What were some of the reasons he gave in favoring the prayer book?

I could understand why it would be commonly better to lean on those prayers rather than our own words. I wonder if he stated anything on private intentions, and how one would ask for intercession on particular matters.

Terry

Solanus:

I'm just taking on the re-reading of two Orthodox books written about prayer: Living Prayer by Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) and On Prayer by Archimandrite Sophrony. Both make similar points.

The recommendation on using a prayerbook does two things. First it places the believer into the common prayer of the whole Church, the Body of Christ. Generations of believers have drawn their spiritual nourishment from the common prayers used by the whole Church--clergy, monks, and laity--over many centuries. And by doing so you become part of that wonderful "censer" that is the Church--sending the incense of prayer to the Father as one prayer. Remember that in eternity the whole of our life is as one glance by the Father, so when we pray with the Church in all generations we become one with the Body of Christ in all ages. And by Baptism we all are that way in the first place. Additionally when we pray in this fashion, we are never alone. If I pray as I walk along early in the morning doing my exercise to work out my sciatica, I am immediately surrounded by all the believers who use the same prayers as they are praying anywhere in the world at that moment and also with those who have gone before me and who have used these prayers centuries ago--not to mention those who will follow me.

Then there is the element of discipline. When we begin to pray, we need to have regular periods of prayer and the prayerbook is structured to call us to do this: morning and evening prayers, as well as mid-day prayers. We may not get to all these, but it's good to know that there is something there if we can do it. The element of needing something when we hit a 'dry period" in our prayer is also something the prayerbook helps us with. You may never have had such a period, but there will come times when the initial enthusiasm of the person new to prayer wears off and it is almost a trial to pray at all. The discipline of the prayerbook's use can carry one throught this time even when it feels like nothing is happening and that the recitation of the prayers is lifeless and has no use to God or to others or to you. Finally there is the fact that the phrases found in the prayers of the saints are those that the Holy Spirit has generated in the lives of those who are open to Him and to His direct inspiration. The Church has wisely collected these prayers in which she finds the Spirit's ifnluence and recommends them to the rest of us as true nourishment. The danger of trying to "re-invent the wheel" in prayer is that we constantly excuse ourselves from regular periods of prayer in favor of "when the spirit moves us." But the Enemy is constantly there to derail us. Remember that the Fathers tell us that of all the works we will do in the spiritual life thta of prayer is the greatest struggle until our last breath.

Other than that, one can move off into phrases and ideas when one tries to compose one's own prayers that might lead one to opinions and positions at odds with the Church and the Gospel. We can become deluded by our own "progress" in the spiritual life and come to positions that are heresy even when we don't know it. The prayerbook reflects the Church's theology in that we pray the correct theology when we use the Church's prayers found in the prayerbook. Metropolitan Anthony recommends and praises those who have used the prayers faithfully for long periods of time. In fact, he says that he wishes more people would be able to sya that they'd used the prayers for 30+ years.

In my own experience--and this isn't meant to be a yardstick by any means--I've used the Romanian Orthodox prayerbook since I bought it in the spring of 1970. The gift that others seem to recognize of composing new prayers did not come until I'd used this book for almost 25 years. Before that, I'd go back to the prayerbook to find prayers for different occasions and different intentions and commit them to memory. Many of the phrases that come up in my own prayer compositions contain phrases that come from those prayers. So, for me, this prayerbook has been a source of building my spiritual life, for deepening my theological reading, for allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to me and lead me on, for comfort when I felt that I was alone in the world and praying without any answer, and for so much more. I would rather humbly collect prayers that the Holy Spirit has inspired in others and allow them to become part of me than to think I can navigate the spiritual life by myself.

That having been said, one can learn to throw out little prayers at any time fo the day. For example, when I remember someone from my earlier life, I often ask for the Lord's blessing on that person and continue on with what I was doing. Then there is the pious custom of asking the Lord's blessing on any activity that we are about to undertake by saying, "Lord, grant Your blessing."

But I'd recommend establishing the discipline of the prayerbook to anyone who really wants to progress in the spiritual life.

In Christ,

BOB