Prayer
The concept of prayer, as I conceive, is probably different from a Christian Orthodox point of view, because of cultural and historical differences between us. Nonetheless, I am writing here what I think regarding prayer; after that, you will tell me what you think prayer is.
I have always considered prayer necessary for a Christian life - as oxygen is for the lungs, for without it one dies. I use the metaphor of oxygen and lungs, because I cannot envisage a better paradigm than the lungs’ need of oxygen in order to function and survive. Likewise, a Christian cannot live and function well without prayer.
God created our body perfect. Apart from other parts, of course, our body is a complex of sets of twos: 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 arms, 2 legs and 2 feet; 2 kidneys and 2 lungs etc.
I see these two lungs within the body as the two “wings” of the spirit in us, rather than without the body since the spirit is the divine living entity within us.
And he that keepeth his commandments, abideth in him, and he in him. And in this we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
1 John 3:24
In this we know that we abide in him, and he in us: because he hath given us of his spirit.
1 John 4:13
By all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the spirit; and in the same watching with all instance and supplication for all the saints:
Ephesians 6:18
That said, a question might arise: Yes, prayer is necessary, but to whom we pray? For a Christian, the obvious reply is to God. But then again, one may ask, how to pray?
This is a good question and a tricky one, I might say.
I think I have not the expected answer for Orthodox readers. However, I will try to do my best. I will say what I discovered about prayer and then how I pray.
Personally, I consider prayer as a way to relate, to communicate my thoughts, my feelings, my doubts, my pains etc., with God in a intimate way and not mere repetition of babbling formulas, mostly taught from childhood.
Prayer is the key to a personal relationship between God the Father of Jesus Christ and me. There is no other way of spiritual communication with God - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit than with prayer.
Yet, how do I pray? is another matter altogether. Of course, I pray the Rosary and the Bible; I say the divine office; I talk to the Lord in my heart and so on. Nevertheless, more often than not, I have to remind myself that I am not praying too well… I should be less distracted and more passionate in my prayer and not be lead merely by old and bad habits. Thus, I beg the Lord for His pardon and forgiveness of my distractions and for my sins… I tell Him that I wish to be His child, but the old man living in me, most of the time prevails and I so fail miserably.
How to pray
It sounds like a leitmotif. But I never get tired of pondering on how to pray, because it is very important. The use of the computer as metaphor for how to pray, might help to describe what I want to say here.
I presume that most of my readers are well versed about computers. If you use your PC only for word-processing that is fine. However, if you require the use of Internet as well then you need a provider. Here are the basic items for a computer & Internet you must have before you start operating your PC.
1) Power/Contact:
We know that a computer works only if the lead of your PC is plugged into a power point. Likewise, prayer works only if you communicate with the Almighty God.
2) Program – formulas & psalms
Your computer, which is your hardware, must also have installed into it the appropriate software, i.e., a program in order to operate. Likewise, initially prayer, to have effect in a Christian mode, has to follow some guidelines – as an example, according the doctrine of the Catholic Church and so on.
Regularity/maintenance
If you use the computer sporadically, you will not be able to do what is required from you because of lack of exercise; you forget the things that have to be fulfilled. As well as that, regularly you require to clean your hard drive from cookies and old files in order to speedup operations.
The same, with prayer; if you pray merely now and then, your prayer will not do you much good, for your spiritual Christian life will be pretty poor and not worthy of its name.
Wherefore also we pray always for you; that our God would make you worthy of his vocation, and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith in power;
2 Thessalonians 1:11
And he spoke also a parable to them, that we ought always to pray, and not to faint.
Luke 18:1
Internet provider/Church/jurisdiction
If you want the use of the Internet for your computer, you need a provider. Similarly for Christian prayer - and how to pray rightly - you need to belong to the right Church, which will guide and instruct you in the right direction.
Save/Blessing
Finally, when you use the computer, say, for word processing, reading documents from the Internet or whatever, and you want to store them for future use, you MUST save them in appropriate folders, lest everything be lost. Likewise, with prayer, at the end of the day, you thank God - the Holy Trinity and Mary, Jesus’ Mother - for everything, ask the Lord for His final blessing before going to bed, and thus sleep peacefully. Amen
