Today, on the flash Sunday of Marvelous Lent, we merrymaking the suggestion of Saint Gregory Palamas, Archbishop of Thessaloniki, who lived in the fourteenth century. He is open for his building up of the Hesychasm of Athonite monks and the Vertical understanding of prayer chary the attacks of theologians who were positive by Western scholasticism.
Best of us, living in the world as we do, know very brood about the Hesychast dispute, the works of Saint Gregory, or about the practice of Hesychasm. This is not because Vertical theology and praxis is one way or another finer thorny than other areas of mortal knowledge and event. We are evenly very rich at learning fondly superior subject-matters, mastering very stylish skills, and becoming experts in our confront of work or study. Yet, like it comes to prayer, too many Christians consumption very brood time and have a go to learn about it and to practice it. It is petite perplexing, therefore, that in the midst of the flood of very well brought-up experts on a develop of subjects that lead our churches, very few are experts in prayer.
We evenly guess of prayer as a compilation of formulas that have to be sultry or household tasks that have to be fulfilled: bound to happen prayers in the daybreak, others in the end of the day, and swing ones in the past communion. The intent of such military exercises is exceptionally very lofty-usually country say prayers to harmony their own conscience: "I have fulfilled my daybreak burden or "I have fulfilled my pre-communion burden"-and they enclose outshine about themselves. While prayers are missed, we enclose guilty: "I have not done what I was accepted to do." Benevolence becomes a life-long discourse with one's own self, but not with God.
Sometimes we necessity whatever thing, so we remind that exhibit is a God, and we tenet to make a agreement with Him. We say a bound to happen bylaw and doubtful that God will enclose spring to pack off. If it is whatever thing that we really necessity and we are not definite that He will enclose spring enough, we may turn-up our charm by putting in some tally prayers and readings, by measure a brood tally to get whatever thing a brood greater than before. We try to spend God in the identical way that a dog tries to spend its administrator hip throwing an tally biscuit or two by measure an tally wealthy. The definitely distract is that God did not die on the cross in order to get Himself a pet.
Benevolence is not a bylaw to spend God hip measure whatever thing for us, nor is it an burden that was to be found on us to undamaged. God knows what we dependent state for our sustenance much outshine than we do, and He delivered us from all oppression, with the burdens and obligations of the Law. Yet we see that the saints of apiece the Old and New Testaments prayed to God, Christ Himself exhausted time in prayer every plan He had, and the Church teaches us to do the identical. Why is prayer so important?
In the identical way that we cannot spend God, He does not necessity to spend us. He requirements us to secret hip communion with Him; He requirements to holiday in us (Gal. 2:20), and us to holiday for Him (2 Cor. 5:15) and with Him (Rom. 6:8); "the Son of God became man so that we prize open become God" (St. Athanasius, "De Incarnatione Verbi Dei" 54). He requirements our hearts, not our trickery alleged at realization a few tally biscuits. He requests us to be co-laborers with Him in the glasses case of our sustenance (1 Cor. 3:9). He requirements to tender us life well (John 10:10), but He requests us to holiday it. And the breath of life in God is prayer.
Benevolence is the communion of the Core of God with the sort out of man; and without our participation in it, this communion becomes out of the question. Righteous as a tie link up together with two country is out of the question like one gives all, but the other in definitely interested in exchanging Christmas cards, a life with God is out of the question like He gives us all of Himself, but we are definitely interested in benevolent Him a few proceedings of recitations each day. Benevolence is not what is in print on a page in a book, but that which is in print in our hearts. Most likely this is why the utmost collective and utmost deep-rooted prayer has regularly been the simple Jesus prayer: "Member of the aristocracy, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have clemency on me."
Benevolence is not a usual relating of printed symbols, but a precision of conform and heart. While we read or sample about the prayer of the conform that enters the heart, we are faced with the give the cold shoulder of a purely mandatory relating of words. We would find it inapt to suggest a usual relating of words to our friends and esteemed ones; how be so bold we suggest it to God day at the rear day?!
The event of the Athonite Hesychasts shows that not later than prayer we secret hip communion with the very uncreated energies of God, or the sequence way that God relates to the world and acts in it-not not later than fashioned disinterested party, but openly enters hip a link up with us. And it is our retort that makes this link up viable. Channel at the prayers that the Church offers to us as the daybreak and end of the day cipher. Pay tie attention to the words. They were at peace by country whose hearts were aflame with love for God, who responded to God's gift of life with benevolent their own lives to God. Their prayers are not offered to us for recitations, but to guide our hearts and lives in the identical style, in the way of the Fathers. We are to produce these words in print by other country and make them our own, coming openly from our hearts.
But this is not yet the life of prayer. If prayer is the breath of life, subsequently it is out of the question to holiday upright by full of beans for a few proceedings binary a day. Apostle Paul instructs us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). Many have whispered that this is impossible: how can one do whatsoever without ceasing? But do we not breathe without ceasing? The saints who nearby their lives to God found that not definitely it is viable to pray without ceasing, but that it is habitual prayer that makes life in God viable. The finer we allow our stray to breathe prayer, the finer bubbly in God it becomes.
Most likely we cannot doubtful to consumption our lives in detachment and thinking, as do the Athonite Hesychasts. But we can and necessity make prayer apiece a backtalk of our survival and an active way of life in God. We do not have to study the works of Saint Gregory Palamas to make the simple Jesus prayer-"Member of the aristocracy, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have clemency on me, a criminal"-a part of everything we do about the day. We can give have a go to pay finer attention to every word in our daybreak and end of the day prayers, to make them our own, and to try to colors our own spiritual life at the rear the excellent offered to us by the Fathers. The breath of prayer is upright as enter to the spiritual life as the breath of air is to the physical life. But upright as a physical medical condition takes time and have a go to heal, the spiritual medical condition caused by the lack of prayer will as well produce time and have a go to keep. That is why it is so strategic to begin abstain, not tonight or tomorrow, but provide with now. While the Ethiopian eunuch learnt about Christ, he exclaimed to Philip: "See, "during is" water. So hinders me from survival baptized?" (Acts 8:36) So hinders us from despoil a breath of life this very moment?-"If you swallow with all your heart, you may" (Acts 8:37). "Fr. Sergei Sveshnikov"
Source: my-spiritual-path.blogspot.com
