I shared, in the last issue, the simple fact that prayer is essential for salvation. Prayer seems to generate further prayer. The Holy Scriptures tell us that “God grants prayer to the one who prays.” Our task is to begin simply, entering into the dialogue with God and renouncing the monologue with our ego and passions.
Why is this true? Because prayer is meant to be a conversation with God. In our Divine Liturgy, we have to dispose ourselves to think about the fact that the priestly prayers are those, in essence, of Christ and we respond to those prayers by giving our assent to them – saying AMEN – and/or responding to them (Priest: Let us lift up our hearts. Response: We have them lifted up to the Lord). In this particular response we are called to actually “Lift up our hearts.” You might ask: How can I do that? Simple. Think about raising you heart and mind to God. Think about speaking with God at that moment.
If we wish to make progress in the area of prayer and be sensitized to spiritual things we must fulfill three basic tasks. First, we must be deeply committed to a certain amount of prayer at a certain time every day, without fail. We must fulfill this task, not just as a rule or an obligation, but out of concern for cultivating our relationship with God. This is our salvation and joy. (Our time of prayer can be in the morning and/or evening as the circumstances of our life permit).
Second, as St. Theophan the Recluse says, we must always pray as if we have never prayed before. This means we approach the mystery of God without expectation or illusion, without letting our past success or failure distract us from our present contact with the Lord. As God can only be found in the present, nostalgia can be harmful to prayer. In addition, imagination should never be used when praying as it can potentially be the conduit for demonic energy.
Third, we must always be willing to start again no matter how long it has been since we prayed or what the outcome, good or bad, has been in the past. This also applies to our repentance so that no matter what we have done, seen, thought, or heard, we approach God for forgiveness, in search of our medicine. We read in Psalm 50 that God never rejects or despises a broken and contrite heart.
Also, when you pray, give God a chance to respond