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David’s Secret

David’s Secret

by Marcus Mikhail

What was your secret, David? Where did you find peace?
What gave you comfort in distress, so your joy would only increase?
I long to have peace, just as you did
I long for the darkest times of my life to be over, and have what my Saviour bid

What was your secret, David? How did you become a man after God’s own heart?
What an honour, what a privilege to know nothing could tear you apart
You began venting, letting all your emotions out
And it turned into praises where you did shout

I long for your strength and God’s gentle voice
I feel as if He isn’t there or perhaps it’s my choice
I long for His love and embrace
I long for His compassion; His grace

I walk in this life going from strife to strife
Every corner I turn almost costs me my life
I feel so empty, so cold, so dark
Where are You, Lord? Don’t you know your son, Mark?

I’ve asked this question many a time and I still don’t have the full answer
Is it because I don’t trust Him enough, or maybe a cancer?
A cancer that destroys the body, not physical in nature
It wreaks havoc in the soul and causes me to think I’m a failure

Lord hear my prayer, this is my plea
I want my life to be whole and to live free
My life is not perfect but that was never the aim
Help me imitate Your son, David, and the great man he became

Moving the Heart of God Like Saint Mary

Moving the Heart of God Like Saint Mary

by Shery Abdelmalak

If you were to ask your typical Coptic Christian what Saint Mary meant to them, they’re likely to have a story for you. When I was younger I was always told that Saint Mary roams the earth, collecting prayers, making intercessions for her children all around the world. Her work on earth is endless. Her compassion is second to none and moves the Hand of God to action on our behalf.

As a child, hearing stories about Saint Mary didn’t make me want to ask for her help. It just showed me that she was really busy, and if I wanted help then maybe I should ask a different saint that wasn’t so busy. It all seemed logical; they’re all saints after all, aren’t they? There is something very special about Saint Mary that I still don’t fully understand. Saint Mary isn’t waiting for us to ask for her help. She is roaming the earth looking for the broken, the lonely, those in despair, those in sorrow – and praying for those that don’t even know where to start. Lucky are the ones that go straight to her, but for those that don’t, Saint Mary fights for you too, I want to say she fights for you even more.

It was for her sake that Jesus’ first miracle took place during the wedding of Cana of Galilee. When the wine ran out at the wedding, Saint Mary immediately went to Jesus, with faith that He could fix all. He responded saying, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come” (John 2:4).

Jesus’ time was yet to come because those in need did not request His help but rather, His mother approached Him on their behalf. Saint John Chrysostom says, “When a person is needy, he becomes thankful upon receiving help, whereas someone who does not feel needy will not have any clear feelings towards a benefit he receives.”

Jesus preached this to us and the church enforces it endlessly – come to Him when you are in need and He will be sufficient for all your needs. He promised us, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”(Matthew 11:28). Rest is freely given to the one that that comes to God, but we have to come to Him first. The beauty of Saint Mary and her immense love is that her intercessions start at your moment of need, even before you ask.

The Wedding of Cana was the perfect example of this. Saint Mary was the one that came to Jesu, not those in need. This miracle was likely to be witnessed by a small group; Jesus, Saint Mary and the servants that brought the pots of water to Him. Jesus acted knowing that the master of the feast and the bridegroom would have been unaware of the miracle that had occurred for their sakes. Had they have known, they would have felt great humiliation knowing that at their wedding feast, the wine had run out.

We know that humiliation, when given to God, breeds humility. But who is to say that the next time I see humiliation, I will immediately run to God instead of first trying to cover it up? Tribulations can have polar affects depending on how they are approached. Saint Mary had compassion on them so that they would learn their human weaknesses elsewhere, and not from their humiliation.

Like the bridegroom, we don’t always know. We don’t always see our human states. We may recognise our faults and attempt to overcome them on our own merits, rather than seeing that true healing comes when we empty ourselves of all pride and humiliation alike. We can be so afraid of the shame of our human weaknesses that we don’t look up to Him and beg for His mercy.

This is why we plead for the intercessions of Saint Mary. Saint Mary who interceded at the wedding of Cana of Galilee continues to have compassion on the nations of the undeserving, and pleads for us accordingly.

Hence, we remember the assumption of Saint Mary’s precious body that could never remain on our undeserving earth. The fast of Saint Mary was instituted by the people for their love of Saint Mary and complete faith in the power of her intercessions. This love continues till this day as the congregation not only willingly fasts, but desires to extend the period of fasting (with some fasting 3 weeks instead of the set 2 weeks). Her intercessions are also the reason why we call her, “the gate of heaven.” Saint Mary was the gate by which Christ entered the world and in turn, gave us Life. In the same way, her intercession continues to be the gate of salvation and thus, we fast in thanksgiving and in complete admiration of who she is and the blessing of her example.

Saint Mary is the definition of all things beautiful, of all things wise, of all things noble, of all things true. As I try to do the unattainable – writing to do her justice – I can only pray, that you, reading this, be on the lookout for her, for she is never far away from those in need, and thank her for the prayers that she has prayed for you, before you even knew you needed help. Not to mention the multitude of prayers and blessings that she desires for you. May her blessings be with us and glory be to God forever, Amen.

Covenant Thursday

Lead me to the Cross

Covenant Thursday

by Marc Eskander

So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

Genesis 32:27-28

Wrestling. It’s one of the oldest documented sports. It has existed since Creation, maybe not in the same format that UFC takes these days, but nevertheless violence has existed ever since Lucifer was cast out of heaven.

Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Job, Moses, David, Solomon St Paul, St Peter…the list goes on…they all had one thing in common – they all wrestled. They wrestled with their faith in God, with the devil, with their own will and ultimately God Himself.

Jacob, probably the most infamous of these ‘wrestlers,’ tussled with God physically, “face-to-face,” as we are told in Genesis, and subseuently walked away with a permanent limp. A stark reminder of his one-on-one encounter with the Almighty. However, something else changed – his identity. He became Israel, meaning, to struggle or to strive and became a father to the nation of Israel. This nation was one that would wrestle with God.

Fast forward a few thousand years and it’s a chilly Thursday night in Jerusalem. Jesus has just finished the Passover with His twelve disciples and makes His way to the Mount of Olives, specifically the Garden of Gethsemane, to pray… to wrestle?

The Garden

Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”

Matthew 26:38

Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, came face-to-face with God the Father. He was about to realise the task that lay ahead of him and the immense weight about to be laid on his shoulders, but ultimately, His willingness to take it all.

Why was the Garden necessary? Surely Jesus knew what was going to happen? Surely He had accepted it in His heart and was ready to do it…

The Garden represents a very important part of our life in Christ. It is a place where we come face to face with the prospect of pain and suffering in our journey with God. Where we are left alone to work out who we are and where we’re going. It is sometimes cold, dark and unfamiliar. In the garden you will be deserted by those who love you, it will be lonely. However, Christ gives us the strength to endure this.

The last week of Christ’s life on earth was a battle – against public opinion and His closest friends, a battle with the impending suffering, and ultimately a victorious battle with death.

Gethsemane is the place where Our Lord came to count the cost of this battle. He had come to reconcile His dread and fear of the immense suffering He was about to undertake with God’s will for Him and for our salvation. We need to enter our own personal Gethsemane. A place where seeds of prayer, tears, and watchfulness are planted. Where we can discover firstly our own malevolent and fleshly will, and then, learn to crucify that will and align it to God’s.

A place where we can sit down, and really think about what it’s going to take for us to follow Him. We cannot embark on this path with uncertainty or inner conflict. Our pursuit of Christ and His will must be done with all our “heart, soul, strength and mind” (Mark 12:30-31)and be fully united in this journey. The bible is explicit about that from beginning to end,“…every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” (Matt 12:25) While this verse can be applied to many situations and virtues, I think the most poignant is our own house. Our house must be fully and wholeheartedly united in its resolve to follow Christ. Otherwise “the rains [will] descend, the floods [will] come, and the winds [will] blow and beat on that house; and it [will] fall.” (Matt 7:24-27)

Throughout His ministry, Christ showed us the importance of regular prayer, exemplified in Gethsemane. Those remarkable words that Christ offered in His pain, “nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). Christ’s request was to remove this cup of suffering, however, He didn’t have a Plan B. He didn’t ask for the suffering to be removed and then proceed to do His own thing. His request was immediately followed by His desire to align His will to God’s. That is how we should be. We cannot pray “thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” if our heart desires the will of our flesh. This is a double minded prayer, lacking integrity.

He also taught us the importance of solitude and watchfulness. These two go hand in hand in our journey with God. Finding time for solitude allows us to shut out the invading thoughts of this world and of ourselves and the many distractions that we constantly encounter. Through this process, we can learn to be watchful. To be watchful so that the door of our heart is tightly shut to the enemy, and we can concentrate on the task at hand. This task is coming face to face with our sinfulness, with our repentance, and with God.

The Enemy

“The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Matthew 26:40

This fight is one that we must learn to apply in our lives. The verse above embodies this battle well. God breathed His own breath into us to give us life so that we constantly yearn to be united with Him, our Creator and Giver of all good things. While our spirit yearns for Him, the flesh remains to seek its own. We constantly question the direction we’re going and what God’s plan for our life is. Instead, we should question whether our determination to finding out what God’s Will is, may be actually sabotaged by following our own will.

A life with Christ certainly isn’t a sweet pill. It is not a life with no problems and no worries, a life with no negative emotions or unhappiness. It is a constant struggle. A “daily death” as St Paul said in 1 Corinthians. A daily death of our desires, will, passions, lusts, and anything else that draws us away from that narrow way.

It is difficult, no doubt about it. However it is this daily death of ourselves, that allows a new creation to grow in its place. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:14, “narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Facing up to God’s Will is hard, and countless times in the Bible people have tried to escape. It can be terrifying, illogical, painful and filled with doubt. Yet one thing is certain and that is the fact that God isn’t unsure about His Will.

We sometimes try and negotiate with God: “why can’t it be done this way? Shouldn’t we consider the other options? I don’t think I can do this.”

Our unwillingness to accept only prolongs our pain, and instead of struggling with God to come closer to and love Him, we are resisting and running away from Him. The next question that we logically ask, what is God’s will for your life? I don’t know. No one does but God. However…

Abraham learnt about it in his pain of being childless.

Job found it in his suffering and extreme loss.

St Paul discovered it in his blindness.

Moses uncovered it in his 40 years leading the disobedient tribe of Israel.

And Christ accepted it in the Garden, sweating blood and bearing the weight of infinite iniquity.

I think we can see here clearly that our submission to Him, the suffering and pain in our lives, our constant struggle within ourselves to reconcile our will to His, to know him further and to become closer to him- are victories in themselves. However, they are the keys to discovering where God wants us to go.

Jesus and Jacob both struggled with God, and both were wounded. Both asked requests of our Father. Jacob received his blessing while Christ was asked to yield to God’s plan for our salvation.

Both ‘wrestles’ brought forth new identities. Jacob, in his name change to Israel, and Christ through the transformation of our identity from lost to found, and from dead to alive. Christ improved on the example of Jacob in that His struggle and suffering redeemed us, and gave us the blessings that are rightfully His. He took on the wounds that we deserved as “ He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities”. (Isaiah 53:5)

In Christ, our struggles become our defining moments. They shape our Christ-like identity, they allow us to know ourselves and therefore to know our Creator.

True Prayer

True Prayer

A reflection of Metropolitan Anthony Bloom’s “Living Prayer” by St Athanasius’ Book Fellowship

Who are you praying to?

Do you pray to God, or do you pray for your will to be done through God? While we’d all love to say that we pray to God and for His will to be done, there is a more accurate answer. Your life and the person you are becoming reflects your prayer life more truly. You are an image of the one whom you worship.

We know that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. If we are worshipping God in false humility then we know that He is far from us. If we are proud then we make God the object of our own will. We make Him the means to an end, and not the end that we should be striving for. There is a fine line between heaven and hell and that line is drawn in the hearts of each of us.

How then, do we discover this purifying judgement?

When we stand in the presence of God, He reveals Himself to us personally. Jesus teaches us in the final days, the hearts of man will be opened when He says:

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.” (Matt. 25:31-33).

An early Church Father once contemplated on this parable regarding church worship. The church is adorned on feast days. The congregation comes dressed in their finest apparel, but only God can distinguish the sheep from the goats. Our hearts are exposed before God. The goats are those subject to pride – that is, the god of their own will. The sheep are the ones that come to God in the confidence of humility. We could be doing all the right things – going to church, praying the Agbia, reading the Bible – yet infinitely far from God.

To worship God in truth is to recognise that my only security is in You, the Creator of heaven and earth. My confidence is in the One who cannot be shaken.

When thousands came to see Jesus in the Flesh, He took notice of one woman. Not because of any grand entrances, but through the greatness of her faith. The woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years touched His garments and believed she would be healed. At this touch, He says, “somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.”

There is power in prayer, every time we come before the throne of grace. The woman’s response is the same response we should have toward prayer, for in her response lies the humility of prayers heard.

“Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately”(Matt 8:47).

The revelation of true prayer

There can sometimes be an overemphasis of our true human states – “I am dirt.” This was never meant to demoralise. It is truth, and it is a truth that switches our sense of security from our imperfect self to the perfect Creator of the universe.

If we stand in front of anything great, what reaction do you expect? If we compare ourselves to the size of the earth, to the size of the galaxy, to the size of universe, the realisation that follows is how small we really are in comparison. The earth becomes likes a drop in the ocean. There is no comparison. The reality of our lives is that despite how small we are compared to our Creator, it is His love that makes us aware of His presence and our shortcomings at the same time.

In prayer, we don’t start with our sinfulness, we start with who God is, followed by our weaknesses. If you are standing in a dark room and you stumble, the first thing you do is turn on the light to prevent yourself from falling again. When the lights are on, you see that damage you caused and how to avoid it. It is a common misconception that we should come to God when we are good, when we have overcome sin. God is the light of our lives. Through Him, we overcome our sins. Our sins are not revealed on their own. God is first revealed, followed by our sins so that we are supported and guided toward life with Him. When God’s glory was revealed to Isaiah, his first reaction was, “I am a man of unclean lips.” This isn’t even necessarily the result of a sin he committed, it was simply the realisation of the Almighty.

Practically speaking, there are three measures to the efficacy of true prayer;

A sense of security and reliance on God
Recognition of my sins
The way I perceive and deal with my neighbours

The true question we need to be asking ourselves to achieve these, is when I fall, how do I react?

If you have thoughts of disappointments – “I don’t do this anymore, I’m better than that. I can’t believe I’ve fallen again.” This is reliance on self. The biggest danger is the nagging voice that says you can make yourself better independent of God. “You’re better than that.” When those self-reliant thoughts are exhausted, turn to God.

The old Adam hides, blames others and ‘clothes’ himself in an attempt to cover up his insecurities. God is like a parachute that we hope we don’t need to use. We don’t want to pull the parachute to keep us alive. God is a nice add on to how you want to appear, an image that will not last. We need to shift Him from our last resort to our One and only hope that we run to at all times.

Another question we ask is, do I pray more fervently in church than I do when I am alone?

We may appear good before others but what about God? I want to be recognised for doing good before God. While there is nothing wrong with praying among others, make sure that after every day, it is in the hidden place that you complete your search for the Almighty.

Let us stop asking “How are you” but imitate the monks who say to one another, “How is your prayer life?” For there is no life that is separated from prayer.

Bridging the Gap

Bridging the Gap

by Anthony Zaccariotto

When I look back on my own spiritual health, the practice of inventory is one that I cannot emphasize the importance of enough. Through inventory, we examine our lives, our weakness and in turn, our source of strength in Christ becomes pivotal. I write this blog from personal experience in an attempt to help everyone discover the source of their spiritual lax and to bridge the gap that is between us and the Grace of God. If you throw a frog into a basin filled with boiling water, immediately it will jump out. If you put the frog into a basin filled with cold water and heat it up slowly to the point of boiling then it will stay in there until it dies. This is exactly how the devil works – slowly at first, making us comfortable and guilt-free and before we know it, we’re trapped. When I was a personal trainer, I realised that everything I ate and drank was essential to my progress in achieving my goals. When I realised that I could train until I was blue in the face yet ruin it by some cake and chocolate after dinner I knew that in order to progress I had to cut out the sweets altogether. This is exactly the same concept with our spiritual life. C.S Lewis once said that “Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible.” Our phones are one of the biggest problem we face. We may start by checking out our Facebook or looking at a YouTube clip and before we know it, we are on the road to a whole avenue of time wasting. We hop from one thing to another and neglect our spiritual duties. It’s no big deal. Just a few more minutes. A few more minutes then turns into maybe I can just skip prayer for tonight. We forget verses from the Bible that once kept us on track like, “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off & if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out”(Matthew 5:29-30) Have you ever noticed that you can stay up until 2am watching ridiculous TV shows and yet when it comes time to stay up and read your Bible you fall asleep very quickly? What has happened here? Habits are formed very quickly and we can become immune and oblivious to them once they have found a home in our subconscious. We are reminded as Christians that the devil is going to make every attempt to distract us from serving God and worshiping Him. In this day and age, I cannot imagine how many methods he is using to lock each of us into his traps. There are so many habits that have us trapped, just like the frogs in the increasing heat of water. What happened to thanking God when we get home from work? What happened to the time we spent with Him, instead of all kinds of technology? In order to break this terrible cycle we need to form new and better habits. When someone starts a new diet, they are not going to see immediate changes. They need to be consistent for a few weeks and then they see the weight loss and increased strength. The same applies to our spiritual life. When we are feeding on spiritual nourishment and are committed to spending time with the Lord we will yield these moments of Grace. Our Lord emphasised this clearly in the parable of the sower. It’s time to sow the good seed and yield our crop. How do we do this? St Ambrose of Optina gives us the answer, “If you don’t feel like praying, you have to force yourself. The holy fathers say that prayer with force is higher than prayer unforced. The kingdom of heaven is taken by force (Matt 11:12).” We need to make the effort to draw closer to God so that He can draw near to us. He is ever-present, but we don’t realise it when our lives are consumed in this world. While we are living in this world let us prepare for the next and start forcing ourselves into action. Nothing here is going to satisfy us except Him, and it took me a while to figure that out. Our lives are too short and we cannot afford to waste any time. “For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time and vanishes away” (James 4:14)

Living a Purposeful Life

Living a Purposeful Life

by Shery Abdelmalek

“I will not give slumber to my eyelids until I find a dwelling place for the Lord.”

How many days have I wasted because I did not find a dwelling place for the Lord? All I had to do was give Him the smallest of parts of my day, yet I skipped it, as if it were insignificant. The days that turned into weeks and then months taught me one thing.

Every day that does not end in prayer and repentance is a day wasted. Repentance is the cure of all human disease. The very substance that keeps the soul alive. When we were made for the Creator, separation from Him will take its toll soon enough.

To think that in all that time, I could’ve been learning, I could’ve seen His glory, I could’ve been used to bring His children closer to Him – but I chose sleep. While the objective is not to dwell on the past, looking forward there needs to be a rationale for consistent reflection and repentance in prayer daily.

The key to a successful life is culminated in this very verse. While we get caught up in the day to day cycle of life – this verse is the reason why the days feel wasted. A day that is not started and ended with Christ as the foundation of everything.

Throughout all of King David’s afflictions, he knew that he had to find a dwelling place for the Lord. He wasn’t going to sleep thinking about the wars he was going to fight, he wasn’t going to sleep worrying about his enemies, or even his earthly kingdom. At the end of the day, he found a dwelling place for the Lord.

C.S. Lewis says, “If you live for the next world, you get this one in the deal; but if you live only for this world, you lose them both.” Being trapped in the cycles of life comes down to this – every time we rely solely on our own hard work, we’ve missed the bigger picture. It is hard for one to kick against the goads (Acts 26:14), but that is exactly what we do every time we rely on our own efforts, and not on the sustenance that comes from above. If King David could leave an entire kingdom in the hands of God, we can probably remember Him during our assignments, exams and job proposals, too.

So many monks and nuns were known for their lack of sleep. Tamav Ereeny would pray that her two hours of sleep would feel like eight so that she could spend her nights in prayer. St Bishoy hung a rope around his head that it would be lifted if his dropped in sleep while praying.

It took me a long time to even begin to realise the wisdom in this. In my ignorance, I would think, if they devoted their life to Christ why would it matter if they slept? They were going to wake up and keep praying anyway.

In the wisdom of the church fathers and mothers, we see the value of time. Every day that you do not find a dwelling place for the Lord before you sleep, is a day gone to waste. If the example of the monks and nuns is testament to anything it is that once you get a taste for the Lord, you can’t get enough of Him.

There is a direct correlation between wisdom and making the most of our time. St Paul says, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeemingthe time, because the days are evil.”(Ephesians 5:15-16). We can be fooled into thinking that what we don’t do today, we can do tomorrow. Everything in this world is finite, especially the days. In this present moment, can we see that we are ready to meet with Christ? We don’t know what tomorrow holds, we only know the here and now.

From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, every night that you come before the Lord with a broken and a contrite heart, that is a meaningful day. St Jerome says, “Walk cautiously and prudently. Cast off folly. Take hold of wisdom. In this way, you will be able to avoid changing yourself constantly as you walk through the vicissitudes of the times. Rather you will find a unity within yourself even amid the diversity of the times.”

There is wisdom in spending nights in prayer that separates it from making the most of any other time of day. At the end of a long day, when all you want to do is rest, that is when prayers are heard loudest. We pray hardest when it is hardest to pray. For King David, that verse was written in his distress and afflictions. For the monks and nuns, they would pray to the early hours of the morning, when they were exhausted and the flesh was weak. For it is in those moments, where the flesh is unwilling, that we share in Christ’s suffering.

There should be a level of difficulty to prayer. If the flesh is weak then we can say with St Paul that, “I will boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor. 12:9). That is the value in swapping rest for Christ. Christ matters more and I pray we never lose sight of this.

For every day, let there be a night where we find a dwelling place for God. Glory be to His Name forever, Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer

Inspired from a sermon by Father Elijah

When the disciples stopped Jesus, they asked him: “Lord teach us to pray.” There is one really amazing book by St Cyril of Alexander called “On the Lord’s prayer.” St Cyril talks in detail about the Lord’s prayer. Before we get into it, it is interesting to see that, as Jesus was praying, the disciples came and asked him: “Lord teach us to pray.” This is a very important example for us as teachers or servants. If I want to provoke this question in others, I must be praying. By my prayer, I can provoke that question amongst my family, amongst my servants, amongst my Sunday school class.

Now we will take each clause from the Lord’s prayer and quickly discuss it. The very first word is “Our Father.” In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus says that we should not be like the Pharisees who pray on the corners of the streets so everyone can see. We should go into our room, pray in secret and Our Father who sees in secret will reward openly.

Now, does it make sense to go into your room, by myself, close the door, and then pray “Our Father”? Surely it makes more sense to pray and say “My Father.” St John Chrysostom says here “The Lord knows that in my prayer, I am preoccupied with my needs, my work, my family, my problems and my future. So from the very first moments of prayer, the Lord is telling us, forget “My” and say “Our””. Pray for the needs of others; think outside yourself. Despite the fact that I am by myself in my room, I don’t say “My Father”, I say “Our Father.” The first word directs me away from myself and towards my brother.

Now when we think about “Father,” St Cyril has a very important message. He says that if God is my Father, then I am His child. If I am His child, then I must behave today in a way that is fitting for a child of God. So when I say “Our Father” it reminds me of the behavior that I’m called to have.

As we pray “hallowed be your name,” we need to ask a very important question. What does it mean to say “hallowed be your name” or “holy be your name’? Lord I pray that I remember and realize how holy your name is. Lord do people see me and say, O what a blessed child, how holy is his father; or is it the opposite?

“Your kingdom come.” What does this mean? St Cyril says: It refers to the end of the world. I’m praying for the end of the world. St Cyril says that those who are honest children of God, can’t wait to return to Him on the last day. It reminds us of God’s words: “Come O faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.”

“Give us this day our daily bread.” Surely there is an issue with the translation here. Why do we have to say, “Give us this day, our daily bread.” Why can’t we say “give us our daily bread” or “give us this day, our bread.” Why repeat “day”? St John says that perhaps a better translation is “give us this day our super substantial bread”. Our bread that is not of this world. This refers to the Eucharist or the Word of God.

“Lead us not into temptation”. Am I asking the Lord to stop putting me into temptation? St Cyril says: “Do not allow us to be led into temptation”. He brings up Luke 22:46 which is Jesus’ instruction to his disciples in Gethsemane. “Why do you sleep, rise and pray lest you enter into temptation”? The Lord does not tempt us but WE are led away.

“But deliver us from evil”. Save us from evil. Lord, I’m struggling with a particular sin. I’m struggling and I’m tempted and I fall. Save me from the unrest that is in my home. Save me from anger and violence. Save me from sexual immorality, from whatever my vice is. Too often when we are overcoming sin, we think practical. However, we must couple practicality with spirituality. If I’m struggling with pornography, let’s keep the electronics out of my room, but let me beg the lord with tears to remove it from me. Let the practicality be coupled with spirituality.

In conclusion, the Lord instructs us to pray often. Pray often for others. Pray often that you behave in a manner worthy of your Father. Pray often that His Name is holy in you. Pray often that we experience the power of the Eucharist and the Word of God. Pray often that we forgive others.

Because He is Risen I am Hopeful

Because He is Risen I am Hopeful

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Daniel Fanous

Hope is an optimistic state of mind, that is based on an expectation of a positive outcome in relation to events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large. The prime example of this virtue is Abraham, “who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations.” (Romans 4:18). Thus, hope is assurance, confidence and power… but in what? How do we define a ‘positive outcome’? Is it simply passing an exam when, given the amount of study done, we would expect to fail? What about circumstances outside one’s control; for example, how does someone expect a positive outcome given an illness that interrupts their ability to work towards that outcome? If hope is defined as the expectation of a positive outcome, how do we have hope when the positive outcome is not physically possible?

Hope, in the Christian sense, is in SOMEONE. It is not defined by a change in circumstance (which can be outside our power), but rather is defined by us changing and thereby entering a relationship with Christ, who can make our circumstance, our life and our chaos meaningful. In the Psalms, King David writes “Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You.” (Psalms 33:20-22). There is no mention here to a change in events. Thus, our hope is in Him simply because He is our help, our shield, we trust in Him and His mercy is upon us. That is the positive outcome. And, this is why we can hope against hope, because whatever comes from the caring hands of the Lord must be positive.

The opposite of hope is acedia – a word with Greek origins commonly translated as despondency. In the monastic literature, acedia is nick-named ‘the noonday demon’, to the extent that the monks would think of it as a personified power that drains the person of energy and life. Evagrius of Pontus writes that acedia “tears the soul to pieces as a hunting-dog does a fawn”. He also says that “no other thought follows that of despondency, first because it persists, and then also, because it contains in itself nearly all the thoughts”. A person without hope cannot think of anything beyond their despondency, they are unable to overlook it or break it. Evagrius also goes on to write “A despondent person hates precisely what is available” and nothing satisfies them. A person troubled with acedia, looks at their life with irritability and starts chasing other lives. Thus, some of the Desert Fathers say that there is no greater sin and no more deplorable state than that of acedia.

Thankfully, Fr Daniel suggests the following remedy for acedia:

1) Have the Risen Lord always before you. Hope is not that the circumstances will change, but hope is in the Person of the risen Lord, who brings meaning to everything that we do.

2) Live in the present (modern psychology calls this mindfulness). The Jesus prayer is the most effective way of practising mindfulness.

3) Discipline your thoughts (modern psychology calls this cognitive behavioural therapy). Practice thinking simple rather than complex thoughts.

4) Pray regularly. When we place our hand close to a fire, our hand gets warm. Similarly, if we draw near to the only Person who can give meaning to our lives, the only Person who is Hope, we then begin to have hope.

5) Avoid being idle. When St Anthony was beset by acedia in the desert, an angel of the Lord was sent to teach him a routine of work and prayer, and his avoidance of idleness saved him from his despondent thoughts.

Thus, hope is not the expectation that our circumstances would change and be positive in a way we understand. Hope is in a Person who can bring comfort and meaning to our lives because no matter what comes from His hand, it must be good. It is a virtue that needs to be worked at and cultivated, as a life without hope is one of the most difficult lives that anyone can live.

The Missing Prayer (Part ONE of THREE)

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The Missing Prayer

By George Iskander

What component of prayer would you say you lacks most in your prayer life?

What surrounds us in all church services, that perhaps doesn’t make its way to the quiet prayer corner of our rooms?

What’s the common theme that resonates through the psalms?

Lets start by identifying the essential building blocks of a structured personal prayer. If we could summarize prayer into 5 components, what would they be? This is not an exhaustive list but rather 5 umbrella categories. Before you read ahead, try and think of what your personal prayers are comprised of.

Thanksgiving
We are taught from a young age to always give thanks. If you were to ask a child to pray, you will notice that this is how many start their prayers. Thanking God for health, for food, shelter, loved ones, the opportunity to know Him and stand before Him…etc. Thanksgiving is usually what defines the beginning of our prayer and is also illustrated as such in liturgical services and the Agpeya prayer book.

Supplication
Naturally what follows is our human nature to ask and entreat the Lord the requests of our heart. God please help me in this exam, help me to get this job, help me find a partner…

Repentance
Repentance is a very important element that we should include daily in our prayer life and is included in the Lord’s prayer; “Our Father…” Asking God to forgive our trespasses is an essential part of a Christian’s daily routine.

Intercession
Asking for the prayers of the saints, or praying for each other. This is commonly how we are taught to conclude our prayers.

These 4 categories seem to cover it all. Often there is one aspect of prayer that is missing, kind of like the top piece of toast, it’s neglected, a lot of people don’t eat it, but in fact it’s what holds the bread together.

The 5^th component is:

Praise
What is praise? Accurately defined:
Praise: an expression of approval or admiration, of gratitude and devotion for blessings received.
Praise of God: Acknowledging of His perfections, works and benefits.
(M. F. Unger 1988, The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary)

Why is praise so important?

By God’s grace, after reading this, we can all endeavour to make praise a part of our daily prayer.

Tune in for part TWO next week!