About #Prayer
"Pray unto him that thy way may be made straight" Tobi 4:9
Dear and respected members who follow Orthodox education and spiritual service conveyed on John's Repentance website, today we share an important lesson on the topic of prayer. We urge you to read and learn from it.
The meaning of prayer is broad and deep:-
Prayer is a spiritual bridge through which man can connect with God.
Prayer is a tool of communication between man and God. (Matthew 6:6)
Prayer is a spiritual tool to defeat our enemy Satan.
Prayer is a special application that we ask for strength from the living God.
Prayer is a thanksgiving to God.
Prayer is a way we promise to God secretly that we will do legacy work once our prayer is answered.
Prayer is a way for a person to communicate with the Creator through his religion, thanking the Creator and begging for the forgiveness of sins. There is no wall that can prevent Him from hearing our prayers as long as we repent, do His will, and call upon Him with faith and a broken heart. The main skill to have in prayer is a broken heart, which includes: a broken heart, a broken spirit, tears, being humble and refraining from revenge.
Prayer is a special tool through which we communicate with God. For this, we only need a broken heart, and we are not required to have a special speech style like we do when talking to a person. Nor do we have to explain the matter from beginning to end as He knows what we need more than we do. (Romans 1:27) If we speak to him with a pure heart, at any moment, God will listen to our prayers. God doesn't say, "I can't talk to you now, come back another time." He is always near to hear us the moment we come to talk to him.
In fact, the basis of prayer is the word of God: "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7) Prayer is one of the rituals commanded by God. It includes worship, supplication, repentance, intercession, worship, love, vows and forgiveness.
As written in Genesis 2:7, God created man and breathed into him the breath of life through his mouth, and he became a living soul. This living soul thirsts for God. The means for this is prayer. In the prayer, there is religion or believing and trusting. As St. John the Baptist taught us the art of prayer, a person who knows how to communicate with God and communicates with God in the right way will become like an angel from that moment on. No matter how noble or slave or ordinary or lowly or even a king a person is, this is how the soul is freed from the shackles of the flesh, this is how the conscience is elevated, this is how our abode crosses to heaven, this is how a person despises worldly conduct, this is how one stands before the throne. Through a proper way of Prayer. For God does not look at the beauty of speech or the eloquence of words, but the purity of the spirit. Even if we come with a broken and pure heart and faith, and say what comes to our mind, we will get reply. It is said that "Your heavenly Father knows what you need without asking."
After all, the main purpose of prayer is communion with God, so there is no ritual without prayer. In every liturgy there is prayer. It can be said that all the good deeds that people do are prayers. Fathers and scholars say that prostration, almsgiving, repentance, pursuing spiritual education, etc. are classified as prayer. Therefore, when we say that a person prayed, we understand that he begged, thanked, sang, promised, repented, and talked with God. It is inevitable that human beings will offer thanks and praise to the God whom they worship: saying feed me, protect me from evil and suffering.
About the #Mount_of_Olives; the Fourth week of the #Great #Lent
In the quiet sanctity of the Lenten season, as the world draws closer to the solemnity of Holy Week, the Church turns its contemplation toward the Mount of Olives, a site of immense spiritual significance, not only for its historical ties to the final days of our Lord Jesus Christ on Earth but as a beacon that illumines the profound mysteries of His second coming. In this hallowed week, termed "Mount of Olives" in the liturgical calendar, we are invited to meditate on the eschatological events that shall precede and encompass the return of Christ, the Judge of all, in glory and majesty.
As the sun sets over the ancient city of Jerusalem, casting elongated shadows from the olive trees, our minds are transported back to that pivotal moment when Christ, seated on this very mount, imparted to His disciples the knowledge of the end times, intertwining warnings with promises, terror with hope. It is a scene charged with the gravity of impending judgment, yet radiant with the promise of ultimate redemption for the faithful.
The imagery employed to depict the second coming is both vivid and veiled, a tapestry woven from the threads of divine revelation and human apprehension. Christ's return will be heralded by signs that eclipse the splendors and terrors of nature: a day when the celestial bodies falter in their courses, when the very elements seem to unravel, heralding the advent of the King of kings. The dead, both great and small, shall rise from their graves in a resurrection that knows no distinction of status or wealth, for in that moment, all humanity stands equal before the throne of God. The books shall be opened, those tomes of divine justice, wherein every deed, word, and thought are inscribed, awaiting the unfailing judgment of the Almighty.
This scene of judgment, as revealed through sacred scripture and tradition, transcends mere metaphor. It is a divine mystery that penetrates the core of our being, urging us to a life of holiness and vigilance. The Mount of Olives discourse serves not merely as a prophetic forecast but as a moral compass, guiding the faithful through the tempests of temporal life toward the harbor of eternal salvation.
The parable of the sheep and the goats, as recounted by Christ, encapsulates the essence of divine judgment. It is a delineation of destiny based not on the capriciousness of fate but on the concrete realities of moral choices and actions. The righteous, likened to sheep, are those who have embodied the virtues of the Gospel, extending love, compassion, and mercy to the least of their brethren. Their reward is a share in the eternal kingdom, a realm where suffering, sorrow, and death no longer hold sway. Conversely, the wicked, represented by goats, are those who turned away from the light of divine love, ensnared by the illusions of sin and selfishness. Their lot is separation from the source of all goodness, an exile as profound as it is self-imposed.
Yet, amidst these reflections on judgment and destiny, the Church, following the example of Christ, calls not for despair but for hope and transformation. The Lenten journey, especially as it converges upon the week of the Mount of Olives, is an invitation to introspection, repentance, and renewal. It is a time to shed the garments of sin that shroud the soul, to embrace the light of Christ that seeks to illumine every heart.
In this sacred season, let us then ascend in spirit to the Mount of Olives, there to keep watch with Christ in the garden of our hearts. May we be found vigilant in faith, steadfast in hope, and abounding in love when the Son of Man comes in His glory, accompanied by all His angels. Let us pray that, by His grace, we may be counted among the righteous, who will inherit the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world, where tears are wiped away, and joy is everlasting.