www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Prayer Teach me to pray

I used to know how to pray, but now words are void and my heart is empty.

Dear PT:

Why don't you start with the article posted at the top of the Prayer thread posted by Archimandrite Gregory?

Then use a prayer for awhile that has helped me greatly in this type of situation.
_______________________
Lord, I know not what to ask of Thee. Thou alone knowest what are my true needs. Thou lovest me more than I myself know how to love. Help me to see my real needs which are concealed from me. I dare not ask either a cross or consolation. I can only wait on Thee. My heart is open to Thee. Visit me and help me for Thy Great Mercy's sake. Strike me and heal me. Cast me down and raise me up. I worship in silence Thy Holy Will and Thine inscrutible ways.I offer myself as a sacrifice to Thee. I put all my trust in Thee. I have no other desire than to fulfill Thy Will. Teach me how to pray. Pray Thou thself in me. AMEN.
_______________________

PT:

Use this simple prayer and the Lord's prayer slowly. Let the words sink in like ointment onto sunburned skin. You're bruised spiritually. Try for no other prayers for awhile. Let these words sink into your hurting soul. And when things don't seem to get any better, simply throw out a "help me, Lord." Jesus Christ Himself will pray in you and will, in His time, gift you again with the Holy Spirit in prayer.

Seek out a spiritual father, a priest who can help you. Go to confession and go to receive the Lord in the Eucharist. He is the medicine for all spiritual problems.

The Lord is close to those who feel like you do. Be assured that many of us have had the same experience and sometimes more than once. Write back.

We care here.

In Christ,

BOB

Bob, you always seem to have the perfect prayer for every need. That's truly a gift of the Holy Spirit.

Responding to the post by Theophan:

"Why don't you start with the article posted at the top of the Prayer thread posted by Archimandrite Gregory?"

I guess I miswrote. My head knows all these things, and my heart used to.

I should have asked this community to pray that I may pray.

The prayer you offered is truly beautiful. But I see only words on a page (pixels on a screen). I cannot find my way to praying them.

(From Theophan): "Let the words sink in like ointment onto sunburned skin. You're bruised spiritually."

Indeed I am. (And the sunburn metaphor is apt right now, as well, after too much time weeding the garden last week.)

"Go to confession and go to receive the Lord in the Eucharist. He is the medicine for all spiritual problems."

Again, my head knows this. My body participates in the mysteries, but my heart and spirit do not.

Please, my brothers and sisters, intercede on my behalf, that I may find my way to prayer and healing and new life. This humble vessel has been shattered and cannot hold her own waters.

Quote from above post by Pentha Tria,

"I should have asked this community to pray that I may pray."


I will pray that you may pray.

PT:

This may take awhile. You will again pray in the Lord's good time. In the meantime, the reason we develop a spiritual discipline is to carry us through these types of ordeals. You may walk through these exercises and the ritual of the Mysteries for awhile and feel that nothing has happened. This is normal for a period of testing. The temptation is to stop in despair and lose everything. The Lord allows this to happen and He does it to rid us of one thing or another that He knows has entered your relationship with Him that stands between you. Remember that there is nothing wasted in the Lord's Providence.

It may be that the easy use of prayers has become something of an idol in itself. It is often a change from the initial ease of the newly found relationship to the tough time of growing that relationship. There is always a period of dryness when it seems that God has abandoned us between movements in the relationship with Him. Hold onto His Hand and keep at it.

Keep engaging the body with the spirit even when it seems to mean nothing. Don't give up.

I do commit to pray for you and will continue to do so each day. Don't give up.

If it's any consolation, I have experienced this type of test and have had it last for months on end. Don't give up on Jesus. He won't give up on you.

BOB

I have been of ill health since 1993 and am just now recovering, Praise God. Anyway, in this time my prayer life ceased, I think mostly because of medication and pain was so intense I couldn't pray in the way that I thought I should pray. It is only now that I am healing, that I am leaving a very dry desert.

For me it was struggling to reach the Jesus Prayer inside of me. To use the prayer to the Teotokos...It doesn't seem like much, but it was what I could do. That allowed the prayer in my heart to lead me back into Scripture reading and to think about it more clearly. I am still not anywhere close to where I use to be, it takes time sometimes. But even babies take tiny steps and fall before they walk, and then run.

Alice posted this on another forum, and it really helped..
The prayer rule of Venerable St. Seraphim of Sarov

St. Seraphim of Sarov taught everyone the following rule of prayer:

�Let any Christian, upon arising from sleep stand before the holy icons, and read the Lord�s Prayer �Our Father� thrice, in honor of the Most-holy Trinity, then the hymn to the Theotokos � O Theotokos and Virgin-Rejoice, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, for thou hast borne the Saviour of our souls... �� three times as well, and finally, the Symbol of Our Faith once. Having completed this rule, let each one attend to the tasks to which he was appointed or to which he is called.

�During work at home or while traveling somewhere, let him quietly read �Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.� If there are others in his vicinity while he is working, let him silently repeat �Lord have mercy,� until supper.

�After supper, upon completing his tasks, let him quietly read �Most Holy Theotokos, save me a sinner,� and let him repeat this until falling asleep.

�Going to bed, let any Christian again read the above-mentioned morning rule. Thereafter, let him go to sleep, having protected himself with the sign of the Cross.� Fr. Seraphim said �Keeping this rule, it is possible, to reach Christian perfection, for the three prayers indicated are the foundation of Christianity. The first, as the payer given [to us] by Christ Himself, is the model for all prayers. The second was brought from Heaven by the Archangel to greet the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Our Lord. The Symbol [of our faith] contains in brief all of the salvific dogmas of the Christian Faith.�

To those who for whatever reason could not complete this little rule, Venerable St. Seraphim recommended reading it under whatever circumstance: during lessons, while walking, and even in bed. He based this advise on the words of the Scriptures �whosoever should call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved�"

Try your Guardian Angel:

"Angel of God,
my guardian dear,

To whom God's love
commits me here,

Ever this day,
be at my side,

To light and guard,
Rule and guide.

Amen."

I will join Porter, I will pray so you may pray Pentha Tria, from the heart with sincerity and in the spirit.

james