Spiritual Contemplations for those who serve the Lord |
In the Old Testament church, it is observed that spiritual revival was related to praise. Whenever there was not much praise, people would get busy with war and diverge to worshiping idols. Then the Levites would seek their daily living and the outcome would be general spiritual sluggishness. It is also observed that some intermittent consecutive spiritual revivals had occurred. For, we read that during the period of Asaph, the people had entered into a covenant with God and swore to the Lord, the God of Israel with a great voice, shouts and the blowing of pipes and horns and all the kingdom of Judah rejoiced. After that there was resurgence during the reign of Jehoshaphat under the leadership of a man called Jahaziel son of Zachariah from Asaph and there was a great joy on the earth and the Levites and the sons of Kohat praised the Lord of Israel in a very powerful voice. Thus, one can say that every spiritual revitalization took place because of the return to praise. As it is written, Jehoshaphat stood in holy ornament and caused the singers to sing praising and saying “Praise the Lord for His mercy endures forever” (2 Chronicles 20:21). It is worth noting that when they returned to God with praise, they had victory over their enemies as is written, they constructed ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir (2 Chronicles 20:22). Their enemies were defeated and the people returned happily because God gave them victory and they entered Jerusalem "with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the Lord" (2 Chronicles 20:28).
Hezekiah the righteous king who did what was good in the eyes of the Lord just as his father David did was said to have made the Levites stand in the house of the Lord "with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps" (2 Chronicles 29:25) and his days were days of spiritual restoration and joy. The Levites and the priests would praise the Lord and thank him daily and the same would happen during the days of Josiah the righteous king. After that the people passed through a degraded spiritual state of praise till it reached its summit during their exile in Babylon when all praise had stopped completely “how do we praise the Lord in a strange land?” It is difficult for someone exiled to sing the praises of joy. Throughout the exile period no praise would be heard of. However, some prophets prophesied that God would return joy and praise once again. In that respect, Isaiah said about the men of Jerusalem that during the feast Her gates shall lament and mourn (Isaiah 3:26) but he turned around and 2 prophesied about the redemption and the joy for the return of praise saying “the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing” (Isaiah 51:11). We find that Ezra and Nehemiah who in stages brought the people back from exile established choirs of praise. It is said that Ezra counted the people and discovered there were one hundred and twenty-eight singers from Asaph while previously there were four thousand of them. In the book of Ezra, it is written that he made the priests stand in their clothes and their horns and the Levites with their cymbals to praise the Lord for He is good and His mercy endures forever. The people would shout with praises to the Lord and read in the book of the law half the day and during the other half they would worship and praise the Lord their God. At the anointing of the gate Nehemiah said “So I brought the leaders of Judah up on the wall, and appointed two large thanksgiving choirs” (Nehemiah 12:31). This was the first occasion to have two choirs and that is what the church does now “East and West”. To bring back the glory of praise, he exempted the choirs of praise from paying taxes and gave them salaries just as it were in the days of Solomon. “In the days of Zerubbabel and in the days of Nehemiah all Israel gave the portions for the singers and the gatekeepers, a portion for each day” (Nehemiah 12:47). In the days of Nehemiah, people got busy with worshiping and they sang new songs like David and Solomon and distributed the responsibilities among the Levites. There were head singers and lots of songs and praise for the house of the Lord. This order of things continued until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, although everything was in order yet it lacked spirit and understanding. For, there were many types of religious people like the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Levites who were very meticulously keeping the form but lacking the spirit and that is why Jesus Christ would rebuke them. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself practiced the offering of praise as it is written that on the Holy Thursday “they worshiped and then went out to the Mount of Olives”. Also after the Resurrection and the descent of the Holy Spirit, the apostles used to go to the temple not to offer the blood offerings that were annulled by the Cross offering but to present a praise offering with psalms and hymns. When they were cast out of the temple they went out carrying the most precious treasures, the praises and passed them down to the New Testament church. In summary, the glory of the church and her regeneration depends on the revival of praise and worship. The father monks are separated for this work and this preserves to the church her glory and power; and with the monasteries becoming open to the churches, praise has spread wide among the youths and even among children. In the Garden of Eden and before the fall, Adam worshiped; but after the fall praise stopped and Adam’s relation with God would be based on blood offerings. In Moses’ days worshiping through blood and incense was established. In David’s days, blood, incense and praise were to be found. In the New Testament church there is no blood offering except the offering of the Eucharist, Christ, along with incense and praise. However, in heaven there is to be found praise only, “full of incense, which is the prayers of the saints” (Revelation 5:8). That is why those who love praising and practice it are qualified to be called “earthly angels or heavenly humans” because they are practicing the life of heaven on earth. Finally, praises are not just good voices and synchronized tones but are most importantly spirituality and understanding “I pray with my spirit and mind and with emotional understanding of the words and music." Worshiping in church is not mere performing church duty. May the Lord grant us David’s life of joy and worship as well as his mind. Amen! *Adapted from HGBY monthly Clergical letters - January 2013
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In the Jesus prayer there is fulfillment of the most sublime desire a Christian can yearn for, that of being in perpetual abiding in the presence of God; a state recommended often in the Holy Bible. "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart" (Luke 18:1) "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). This prayer appeared first among the Egyptian desert fathers. However, the addition by some non Egyptian external elements of some complicated rituals caused Christians to regard this prayer as specific to monks and consecrates.
The Essence of the Jesus PrayerIn its essence, this prayer is a response to God's calling to live with him in a continuous fellowship of love. St. Theophan the Recluse says, "Continuous, uninterrupted prayer is the continuity of man's solemn presence before God. It is also an internally hidden, perpetual glow caused by constant alertness in throwing wood (prayer words) onto that inflamed furnace (the Holy Spirit) so that it does not die out." The Fathers have succeeded in achieving this state through saying and repeating short prayers expressing their desire to offer thanksgiving, supplications or repentance to God. They have found a lot of spiritual satisfaction that pushed them to practice this prayer incessantly. The amount of spiritual depth in this prayer is inexpressible in words because it is a hidden personal experience arrived at by connecting with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Reality of Perceptual PrayerGod's command to pray always is not impossible "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart" (Luke 18:1), because, when God commands He assists. For example, when a charitable person asks a poor man standing at his doorsteps to enter his house to eat; all it takes the poor man is to step in the house in order to win the prepared dinner. It is the same with God. When He asks us to pray continuously, it is because He wants to bestow His grace upon us as much as we can receive. How can we receive except through perpetual praying. All we have to do is take the first step and call in the name of Jesus. Perpetual praying in the literal sense of the word is not practical. For, throughout the day we perform various duties such as work, study, talk and sleep. All these activities render perpetual praying rather impossible whether vocally or mutely. How can this situation be compromised with God's desire? The early fathers claim that whoever protects his mind with the remembrance of Jesus Christ's name during his free time, all his works will come forth anointed with the spirit of prayer. St. Basil the Great expressed that when he talked about the disciples saying that they thought of God while doing all their works in total reliance upon Him. Consequently such a spiritual life became their perpetual prayer life.
The saints have found a route to perpetual prayers specifically through Jesus prayer because from one side it befits all spiritual levels and from the other side using short utterances allow for easy, continuous uninterrupted praying. Such concentration relieves the mind alleviating the burden of shifting from words to thoughts to meditations as is the case with other forms of prayers. The Secret in the Power of the Jesus PrayerThe power of this prayer is the love of God. After having offered His only begotten Son for us, it would not please God to see us regress once again into Satan's bosom. So, He prepared for us a means by which we can enjoy His company perpetually. This easy means is enjoyable to the soul to walk through its alleys and it befits a beginner as well as an advanced, a learned as well as an unlearned. This is because God's love is for all. Father Isaac says to St. John Casian [Jesus Christ prayed for us saying " that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. (John 17:21) and "And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26). When God's perfect love touches our hearts with the effectiveness of this prayer which Jesus Christ had prayed for us and which was answered right away, then God Himself becomes all our love, desire, aspiration and longing, every thought we think, every word we say, and every breath we take. Then we become in a secret Union with the Father and the Son through this pure love that overshadows the heart and mind. This love and union are the aim of our life that we aspire for and which precedes the joy of the heavenly life. When we recognize this love within us, our life becomes one continuous prayer]. How to Practice the Jesus PrayerJesus prayer has no particular rituals. Because it is a continuous prayer, it can be exercised in any place at any time. It is not restricted to special people because God's call of love is for everyone. Therefore, there is no special bodily posture to be taken while praying the Jesus prayer. It is permissible while sitting or standing, or walking. Father John Kroonstad said, [If you are a scholar, student, officer, researcher or worker, remember that the first and most important thing you should learn in life is to know Christ's salvation, the holy Trinity, daily fellowship through prayers, services in church and repeating the name of Jesus in your heart because it is the power of God for salvation]. With regard to the words used in praying, the early fathers prefer not to hop from one sentence to the other in order to avoid confusing the mind. According to St. Macarius, the Jesus' prayer started out as a one word prayer, mainly repeating the name of Jesus only. Later on it developed to full expressions the most famous of which are "My Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me" and "My Lord Jesus help me". So, it is suggested that one start with one statement and repeat it quietly making a short stop between one repetition and the other. One may choose to articulate the prayer or pray internally in silence according to the direction of the Holy Spirit. For, giving the Holy Spirit the liberty to guide us will prepare us to be taken to the depth of hidden prayers that exist behind the words. As for beginners, they have to assign special times for practicing the Jesus prayer till they become used to it and taste its sweetness. Then they will be able to practice it freely driven to it at convenient and even inconvenient times. How to Overcome Obstacles against the Jesus PrayerIf Satan does not bear to see us pray part of the time, how much more would the evil powers be upset seeing us praying all the time? They would definitely snare powerfully at us. However this should not frighten us at all, because in praying all the time we would be obeying God's order which automatically holds power in its folds. Therefore, let us enter into this holy covenant fortified and strengthened by the Holy Spirit because the season of planting is short, that of reaping is close and the fruit of the Jesus prayer is delicious. * Adapted from HGBY monthly clergical letters - 5/2016
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