When the Apostle Peter healed a crippled man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, he was questioned by the High Priest: By what power or by what name did you do this?
Acts Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, answered: Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom you crucified, Whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man is standing before you well Acts Hitherto you have asked nothing in My Name; ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full John Later, in the era immediately following the time of the Apostles, St.
Ignatius of Antioch who had known St. John the Evangelist , when he was being led into the arena in Rome to suffer martyrdom by wild beasts, when he was asked by the soldiers guarding him why he kept repeating the name Jesus unceasingly, replied that It was written in his heart. Thus, praying this prayer in the Name of Jesus Christ has been a vital part of the Orthodox spiritual tradition from earliest times and has been especially treasured by monastics since the 4th Century.
However, while especially practiced and popularized by monastics, praying in the Name of Jesus is every bit the privilege of all Christians. In our daily affairs, there are many things that we do out of habit. At the beginning of the day, for example, we wash, we dress, we have breakfast, and so on. As we go on our way to work, there is usually much free time. During the working day, whether at home doing housework, or at the factory, shop or office, there are many idle moments or moments of repetitious work.
Even in such recreational activities as hiking, jogging, or whatever, there are many opportunities to engage in prayer. And what better time to do good, to unceasingly call on the Name of Jesus, can there be than at times such as these? Even the most monotonous task can be transformed into a sweet and joyful experience!
Even if we are in a crowd, at work, at a family gathering, in situations that demand all our thought and attention, it is possible to say the Prayer of Jesus, perhaps not for long, continuous blocks of time, but from time to time. For some, there comes a time when the Jesus Prayer enters into the heart, so to speak, which is why it is also called The Prayer of the Heart.
Then, neither when he sleeps, nor when he is awake, will prayer be cut off from his soul; but when he eats and when he drinks, when he lies down and when he does any work, even when he is immersed in sleep, the perfumes of prayer will breathe in his heart spontaneously [Mystical Treatises]. Thus, both to those who recite this prayer ceaselessly and to those who are only occasional users of it, the Jesus Prayer is found to be a great source of joy and reassurance. The Psalms have become a part of our Christian life, so much so that we the people of the New Testament sometimes tend to forget that the Psalter is also an Old Testament book.
The Apostles mention the use of Psalms during the prayer meetings of the first Christians 1 Cor. They called on believers to edify themselves with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs Eph. Already by the beginning of the 4th Century the use of the Psalter in private homes was widespread. How can we explain this widespread use of the Psalms in Christian times, when the Church already had new prayers inspired by the Gospel teaching and compiled with regard for the fundamentally new relationship between God and man a relationship made possible through the act of salvation accomplished by Jesus Christ?
Did not St. Paul say, the old has passed away, behold, the new has come 2 Cor. Why do so many of the Holy Fathers, themselves authors of outstanding prayers, speak with such feeling about the ancient prayers of the Psalter? It is known that Christ sometimes used the Psalms in prayer and some scholars consider that He and His disciples sang Psalms after the Last Supper.
But even these Gospel references do not fully explain the widespread use of the Psalter. The popularity and widespread use of the Psalter are due, first of all, to its special spiritual inspiration, poetic expressiveness and theological depth.
As St. It prophesies about the future, and recalls the past, and stipulates laws for life and rules for action. The Psalteris sometimes called, rightfully so, The Little Bible, for it speaks in the tongue of prayer about the creation of the world and man, and traces in detail the thousands-year-old paths and fortunes of nations.
It describes the struggle between Good and Evil and the psychology of sin and virtue with unusual depth.
The theme of most of the Psalms is the providential paths of God and in the course of these paths God is revealed to the Psalmist in all His might, holiness, wisdom, love, righteousness and mercy.
The many Messianic prophecies to be found in the Psalter are especially astounding in their historical accuracy. The Psalter is first and foremost, however, a book of prayer. The Psalmist prays, opening his heart to God. The prayer of the Psalmist is often so emotional and spontaneous that he does not pay attention to its outward form and one feels that the Psalms were born in the process of prayer. In the Psalter are many Psalms of a contemplative nature.
When I struck the skull with a palm branch, it spoke to me and I asked it: 'Who are you? When you, taking pity on those who suffer in torment, pray for us, we sense a certain relief. None of us can see another's face, for the face of each of us sees the back of someone else.
But when you pray for us, then each of us sees in part the face of another This is our relief! Non-Orthodox Christians. For many of us a big question. One of the Optina Elders was Leonid who died in The father of one of his disciples, Paul Tambovtsev, had commited suicide. The loving son was deeply grieved by this and poured out his sorrow before the elder. Do not tempt the miracles of the All-high, but strive through humility to strengthen yourself within the bounds of tempered sorrow.
Pray to the All-good Creator, thus fulfilling the duty of the love and obligation of a son. Unfathomable are Thy judgements. Do not account my prayer as sin.
But may Thy holy will be done! Pray simply, without inquiring, entrusting your heart to the right hand of the All-high.
This private prayer for use in one's own room at home, given to this disciple by the Elder Leonid who was experienced in the spiritual life, can serve Orthodox Christians as an example or paradigm of prayer for some non-Orthodox persons close to us. One can pray in the following manner:. Unfathomable are Thy judgments. Do not account this prayer of mine as sin. Suicide: suicide is a sin against God-only God has the right to end a life, and so we cannot pray for the soul of someone who has committed suicide.
But, many people who commit suicide are not of sound mind, and God has compassion on them. Unless there is unambiguous evidence that the person deliberately and purposefully acted in that way, it is better to exercise compassion and pray for a person who committed suicide.
God can and does walk with a person far closer to the edge of death than any of us can, we can only hope that someone, however poor their mental health is, responded to the call of God even at that last moment. Whatever we are like, there we are placed in the spiritual world. And the demons are diligent in attempting to demonstrate that we are tied to them and not to Christ and so any and every unconfessed sin, no matter how seemingly small and insignificant is brought out by them as accusations against us and the angels on the other hand counter this accusation by a description of our righteous deeds which indicate our change of heart and life.
But do not confuse this particular judgment and temporary disposition with the eternal disposition of the soul to be determined at the Great Judgment.
Then, the soul being reunited with the body thanks to the general resurrection, each person will be judged by God Who sees within either the spark of grace or none and those who have that spark will be brought into the Kingdom of God and those who do not will be cast into outer darkness - finally and eternally. So you see that when we pray for the departed, we do so knowing that the final judgment has not yet occurred and while we don't know what the exact needs of the departed are, we can simply lift them up to God calling out for His mercy.
Christ is Risen! David Moser - St Seraphim of Sarov Orthodox Church, Boise, Idaho We confidently recommend our web service provider, Orthodox Internet Services : excellent personal customer service, a fast and reliable server, excellent spam filtering, and an easy to use comprehensive control panel.
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