Planning. Contriving. Scheming. This is what we do. Going before God in silence will break us of these habits. He will help us to know ourselves as sinners. He will help us to know His saving grace. He will fill us with a love that radiates before others as hope. #God #Sin #Sinner #Repentance #JesusChrist #HolySpirit #continualprayer #luminousdarkness

Jesus found places to pray alone. This is what He taught the Apostles and disciples to do too. This is an integral part of the process of prayer. It is the beginning of our own transfiguration. "Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray" (Luke 9:28). #StLuketheEvangelist #JesusChrist #Apostles #Disciples #transfiguration #prayer #continualprayer #StPeter #StJames #StJohntheEvangelist #silence

There is no way to spend eternity with God without first desiring to be close to Him now. Ask for forgiveness. Desire in your inner heart to commune with Him. Embrace silence. It is the only true path. #silence #Repentance #Sin #Sinner #God #Heart

On bended knee, With bowed head, and Drenched with tears, I cry out O Lord For your forgiveness. Remove from me All that is not you. In love, With faith, and Filled with hope, I reach out O Lord For your embrace. Fill me With your Spirit. #Lord #HolySpirit #JesusChrist #Faith #Hope #Love #Suffering #Sin #Sinner #Repentance

Forgive me, O Lord, for wanting to hear you. Forgive me, O Lord, for desiring to see you. Forgive me, O Lord, for yearning to feel you. Though I know 'I am not worthy to untie your sandal' (cf. John 1:27), how can I stop? My ears give heed to Your whisper. My eyes squint for Your glimmer. My heart casts about for Your warmth. #StJohntheEvangelist #Lord #luminousdarkness #MeditativePrayer #secretmeditation #Forgiveness #Sin #Love #Loneliness

The Jesus Prayer is the simplest and most profound vocal prayer. It goes like this: "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner." These words come to us through Sacred Scripture, specifically Luke 18:10-14: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.' But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’ Another version of this prayer comes to us in Matthew 14:30: "But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ These passages and this prayer help us face more starkly fear and sin and how they effect others. They also stoke more deeply the fires that burn within us, causing us to yearn for greater union with the God who created us. If we allow this prayer to settle into the core of our being, it will automatically transform into a contemplative prayer that will reveal more clearly what St. Paul meant when he called us to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). As a matter of form, Eastern Christians commonly use the traditional Orthodox prayer rope made of woolen knots to maintain focus while praying this prayer. #JesusPrayer #JesusChrist #God #Mercy #Lord #StLuketheEvangelist #StMatthew #StPaul #SacredScripture #Sin #Sinner #Repentance #Healing #Confession #VocalPrayer #MeditativePrayer #PrayerRope

Do not lose heart dear ones, we are all weak! If we seek comfort and courage in the Lord and in each other, we can work through the frailties of the human mind, body, and spirit. This might help you get started. The following reflection explains how and why we drift from God. It also talks of the strength we need to move beyond the difficult times. If you read this slowly and clearly, and give yourself some quiet time to think, it can lead you into a better understanding of yourself; and with God's grace, into a still and quiet reflection that will offer you hope. "Take courage! When the warmth of the spirit grows weak, we should strive in every way to restore it, cleaving to the Lord with fear and trembling. Everything comes from Him. Despondency, boredom, heaviness of spirit and body may occasionally oppress us and remain for a long time. You should not lose heart, but should stand firm, zealously working according to the rules you have undertaken. And do not expect the soul to be freed quickly from its attraction towards the wrong state; do not expect it always to preserve an equal warmth and sweetness. This never happens. On the contrary, always expect sudden changes. When dullness and heaviness come, realize that this is you, the true you, as you are; as to spiritual sweetness, accept it as an undeserved bonus." - St. Theophan the Recluse as found in The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology, Timothy Ware, ed., Faber and Faber, 1966, p. 260. #StTheophantheRecluse #Courage #Sin #Sinner #Healing #Spirituality #SpiritualReading #HolySpirit #soul #Heart #Lord

Below is a reflection that will help you consider the current state of your spiritual life. All of us drift from God, focusing on our wants and desires instead of on our salvation and what God needs from us in this life. If you read this slowly and reflectively, you may feel the pain from your past and present sins. You may even feel the weight of changing into something new. Please do not worry. We all feel like this. But if we remain constant in our desire to be closer to God, the internal fire and closeness to Him will inflame us once again. "We grow cold within - when our heart is distracted, when it cleaves to something other than God, worrying about different things, getting angry and blaming someone - when we are discontented and pander to the flesh, wallowing in luxury and wandering thoughts. Guard against these things, and the coldness will diminish. As to the heart - where else is life if not in the heart?" - St. Theophan the Recluse as found in The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology, Timothy Ware, ed., Faber and Faber, 1966, p. 259. #MeditativePrayer #Catharsis #Reflection #God #Spirituality #Pleasure #Salvation #Heart #Healing #anger #VocalPrayer #SpiritualReading #StTheophantheRecluse

"As soon as you turn away - however slightly - from God, and no longer place your trust in Him, things go awry; for then the Lord withdraws, as though saying: 'You have put your trust in something else - very well, rely on that instead.' And whatever it may be it proves utterly worthless." - St. Theophan the Recluse as found in The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology, Timothy Ware, ed., Faber and Faber, 1966, p. 259. #God #Lord #Disease #Discernment #Trust #Sin #Sinner #continualprayer #StTheophantheRecluse

"You should devote your moments of solitude exclusively to working for God - to prayer and the thought of God. These practices, if followed even reasonably aright, will not allow you to grow bored. For they bring spiritual consolation such as nothing else on earth can give." - St. Theophan the Recluse as found in The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology, Timothy Ware, ed., Faber and Faber, 1966, p. 252. #Solitude #God #prayer #VocalPrayer #MeditativePrayer #Consolation #StTheophantheRecluse

Look for places to reflect. Make time to breathe. In the silence, you will re-discover the Holy Spirit who loves and protects. In the stillness, you will encounter the Christ who forgives and loves. Ask God in. Carry Him with you. Don't ever let go. #Reflection #silence #Stillness #Spiration #HolySpirit #JesusChrist #Love #Peace #HolyTrinity #God

It seems like we shouldn't need reminders to thank God for all He has given to us, but because we're so often focused on ourselves, it bears repeating from time-to-time. The truth is, more often than not, we have so much more to be thankful for than our daily prayers would seem to indicate. So, take some time today to thank God. Thank Him for life, love, faith, work, nature, and anything else you can think of to show your appreciation for all that He has created. To help you in this endeavor, below, please find a vocal prayer that not only offers gratitude to God, but also recognizes our sinfulness, asks for protection, and desires hope. Then, make up some of your own words. Whatever is in your heart, verbalize it in your mouth and in your mind. God will hear you. Some time later on, perhaps before bed, repeat this line from the prayer over and over: "...you are the Hope of all the ends of the earth..." Then, change it up by saying, "You are my Hope. You are my Hope. You are my Hope." Lie there silent and still. Let God place a meditation in your heart. Fall asleep in His peace. " O Lord my Savior and my Master, I, Your unprofitable servant, with fear and trembling give thanks unto Your loving goodness for all Your benefits which You have poured so abundantly upon me Your servant. I fall down in adoration before You and offer You, O God, my praises; with fervor I cry to You: Oh, deliver me from all adversities and mercifully fulfill in me such of my desires as may be expedient for me. Hear me, I entreat You, and have mercy, for You are the Hope of all the ends of the earth, and unto You, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, be ascribed glory, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen." - Taken from The Divine Liturgy Service Book in English, Church Slavonic, and Serbian, 3rd ed., 2011, based on the existing and church-approved liturgical texts compiled by V. Rev. Bozidar Dragicevich, M.A. with the blessings of His Grace Right Reverend Bishop of New Gracanica and Midwestern America Longin. #God #PrayerofThanks #Lord #Savior #Servant #Fear #Adoration #HolyTrinity #HolySpirit #Father #VocalPrayer #MeditativePrayer #silence #Stillness #Sin #Sinner #Love #Faith #Work #Hope #Life