The Who, What, Where, When and Why of Prayer
As part of our “Ask Father” series I was asked, “Can we pray
for people who are not of the Christian faith, for example for the healing from
a sickness?” When I was considering this question, it occurred to me that we
should speak about prayer in general since it is a central part of our Orthodox
Christian Life. The simple answer to this question is, “YES, we should pray for
people who are not Christian,” but why might be a better question. For that we
turn to the New Testament witness.
Christ
Himself addressed the topic of prayer several times within the Gospel, mostly
in the context of the act of praying. He was either praying or telling His
followers to pray...
- Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. (Matthew 5.44)
- Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. (Matthew 26.41)
- Pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. (Luke 10.2)
- Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21.36)
- When you pray, say: Our Father.... (Luke 11.2-4 see also Matthew 6.9-13)
Who
should we pray for? EVERYONE
What
should we pray for? SALVATION, MERCY, and PEACE for EVERYONE
Where
should we pray? In the depth of your heart, sometimes alone and sometimes with
others.
When
should we pray? ALWAYS be in a state of prayer
Why
should we pray? Because it brings us closer to God and each other
There
are times for personal private prayer, and there are times for communal public
prayer. We need both to fulfill our spiritual journey to God. If we only pray
in the privacy of our secret place, we run the risk of wounding the unity of
our Christian family. If we pray only when we come to Church, we run the risk
of temptation from the sinful world that surrounds us.
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