Prayer
Some monks once went to Abba Agathon of Thebaid, a disciple of St. Pimen, and asked him the following question; "Amongst all good works, which is the value which requires the greatest effort?"
"Forgive me," he answered, "But I think there is no labor greater than that of prayer to God. For every time man wants to pray, his enemies, the demons, want to prevent him, for they know that it is only by turning him from prayer that they can hinder his journey. Whatever good work a man undertakes, if he perseveres in it, he will attain rest. But prayer is warfare to the last breath."
This story, which appears in my "Old Orthodox Prayer Book" and which was quoted from a book of sayings of the Desert Fathers, I've found from personal experience to be true. It's no effort at all to catch my favorite TV program, or read a book, or do any number of other fun activities. But when comes to prayer, to my morning and evening prayers in particular, it's often a great struggle. My back and calves ache from standing in one spot and from the bowing involved in Orthodox prayer, I'm constantly catching my mind wandering, and I have to fight to keep my mind focused on my God, and honestly when I wake up in the morning I'm still groggy, and at night after a long days work unloading trucks I just want to crask, not spend the next twenty minutes reading the prescribed prayers from out of the Jordanville Prayerbook or the Old Orthodox Prayer Book.
That being said, I've noticed that the more you do it, the more you force yourself against nature to stand before an icon and pray to God and His Saints, the easier it gets. It never becomes easy, it becomes easier. I'm starting to learn that it's a bit like exercise- you have to train yourself to do it. That being said, those rare moments when you're completely focused and you can feel yourself in the Divine Presence, and it's those rare moments that keep me going.
"Forgive me," he answered, "But I think there is no labor greater than that of prayer to God. For every time man wants to pray, his enemies, the demons, want to prevent him, for they know that it is only by turning him from prayer that they can hinder his journey. Whatever good work a man undertakes, if he perseveres in it, he will attain rest. But prayer is warfare to the last breath."
This story, which appears in my "Old Orthodox Prayer Book" and which was quoted from a book of sayings of the Desert Fathers, I've found from personal experience to be true. It's no effort at all to catch my favorite TV program, or read a book, or do any number of other fun activities. But when comes to prayer, to my morning and evening prayers in particular, it's often a great struggle. My back and calves ache from standing in one spot and from the bowing involved in Orthodox prayer, I'm constantly catching my mind wandering, and I have to fight to keep my mind focused on my God, and honestly when I wake up in the morning I'm still groggy, and at night after a long days work unloading trucks I just want to crask, not spend the next twenty minutes reading the prescribed prayers from out of the Jordanville Prayerbook or the Old Orthodox Prayer Book.
That being said, I've noticed that the more you do it, the more you force yourself against nature to stand before an icon and pray to God and His Saints, the easier it gets. It never becomes easy, it becomes easier. I'm starting to learn that it's a bit like exercise- you have to train yourself to do it. That being said, those rare moments when you're completely focused and you can feel yourself in the Divine Presence, and it's those rare moments that keep me going.