Ladder of Divine Ascent: Rung 28

 

In my blog so far we have had two different articles on prayer, and will probably have many more as the journey continues on the path of salvation and orthodoxy. While I have not reached the safe harbour of heaven just yet I pray and continue to pray that my efforts will not be in vain. As we are reaching the top of the ladder, we can now look on all the previous rungs that we have overcome to reach this height. There is still more to go, but we are nearly there. In the 28^th chapter of the Ladder, St. John discusses prayer and what it means for us as Christians. It is not a typical answer one might receive here in the West, with its protestant base and Catholic majority. But one that everyone needs to hear. This is the ancient philosophy of prayer, the early church’s purest and most devout practice. With it, we will ascend to even higher heights than anyone can imagine. St. John says, “Prayer by reason of its nature is the converse and union of man with God, and by reason of its action upholds the world and brings about reconciliation with God; it is the mother and also the daughter of tears, the propitiation for sins, a bridge over temptations, a wall against afflictions, a crushing of conflicts, work of angels, food of all the spiritual beings, future gladness, boundless activity, the spring of virtues, the source of graces, invisible progress, food of the soul, the enlightening of the mind, an axe for despair, a demonstration of hope, the annulling of sorrow, the wealth of monks, the treasure of solitaries, the reduction of anger, the mirror of progress, the realization of success, a proof of one’s condition, a revelation of the future, a sign of glory. For him who truly prays, prayer is the court, the judgment hall and the tribunal of the Lord before the judgment to come.”

Let’s take that first part, being a bridge over temptations, as well as elaborating on the food of all spiritual beings, and expand our thought process a little more as we gather the gist of what St. John of the Ladder is trying to say. First, we understand that prayer is our communion with God. Not in the same way that partaking of the Eucharist is, but rather our conversation and our uniting of minds with God. I personally am the world’s worst at prayer, I tend to only get up saying the Jesus Prayer and will find myself more often than not ignoring the hours and praying simply the Jesus Prayer throughout the day. However what I have noticed through the practice of prayer is that by doing so I am not as easily overcome by the temptations of the devil as I would when I neglect prayer entirely. I also have noticed my anxiety has decreased and that God fills me like a cup as I pray. I also have been more cautious in my thoughts and actions after I pray than before I pray, mainly because I know that I have just entered the courts of God and have directly met with him face to face. I find myself more eager to spend time with God the more often I pray. In doing so, my relationship with God and Christ grows and warms my heart. It becomes for me a kindling of the all-consuming fire in my life so that I am able to ward off anything that is impure and destructive for my soul. Secondly, as the food of spiritual beings, meaning us as humans, it feeds my soul and nourishes my mind in that I can think clearer and harder on things than without prayer. Discernment comes through prayer and prayer through discernment. In doing so, the prayer of the heart is cultivated and the cold dark abyss of the soul is lit with the fire of God and brings about the repentance of the person praying.

Prayer is affected by how you pray. In doing so, you cultivate different aspects of prayer that are available through God to those who seek him. St. John says, “The attitude of prayer is one and the same for all, but there are many kinds of prayer and many different prayers. Some converse with God as with a friend and master, interceding with praise and petition not for themselves but for others. Some strive for more (spiritual) riches and glory and for confidence in prayer. Others ask for complete deliverance from their adversary. Some beg to receive some kind of rank; others for complete forgiveness of debts. Some ask to be released from prison; others for remission of accusations” We see that St. John says that the attitude of prayer is the same, that being humility. Without humility we do not have prayer but rather endless babel that the Lord will ignore. However as we pray there are many things that we can ask for from God. Using my own experience from prayer, I see that I pray most often for the mercy of God to come upon me. That is all I want. I do not seek earthly things or wealth, or titles or confidence in prayer. I know that all those things God dishes out to those who need it more than I do, and I only want to be an outcast in the house of God. I would rather sit and receive mercy for everything I have ever committed than to be famous or to have power. I want the love of God to permeate me and to give me the strength to carry on in this world, not just for the sake of my salvation, but also that I might spend some time helping cultivate others. Prayer is our way of exacting our feelings into words or sometimes inaudible words so that we can stand before the Almighty God with a clear conscience and pure heart. I do not seek to win crowns or glory, only that Christ will say I was a faithful servant on the day of judgement.

Once again I am called back to writing on the Jesus Prayer. In the West, many will drone on and on without really saying anything. We hear people pray for this thing and that thing and may try to flatter God with lavish titles and wording. In the Orthodox Church we do not and have not tried to do that. For that would be heresy. Rather, we speak direct and plain without the need for flattery and wordy prayers. St. John hearkens that belief when he writes, “If you constantly train your mind never to wander, then it will be near you during meals too. But if it wanders unrestrained, then it will never stay beside you. A great practiser of high and perfect prayer says: ‘I would rather speak five words with my understanding,’  and so on. But such prayer is foreign to infant souls. Therefore, imperfect as we are, we need not only quality but a considerable time for our prayer, because the latter paves the way for the former. For it is said: ‘Giving pure prayer to him who prays resolutely, even though sordidly and laboriously.” The quality and time that we spend with God is more important than the words we use. As I have said, the Jesus prayer has become my lifeline to God, and I use it as often as I can for the things that I have on my heart. In that entire statement that I repeat over and over again, I say everything that I need for the Lord to hear me. I do not need to tell God a story and explain every aspect to Him in my prayer. He already knows. What he is looking for is the humility and humbleness of my soul that will lead me out of the dark and despair into the future joys that I will have sitting at his footstool in Heaven. By simple prayer the heart becomes united with the divine and the powers of heaven come to our aid.

St. John says, “Soiled prayer is one thing, its disappearance is another, robbery another, and defection another. Prayer is soiled when we stand before God and picture to ourselves irrelevant and inopportune thoughts. Prayer is lost when we are captured by useless cares. Prayer is stolen from us when our thoughts wander before we realize it. Prayer is spoilt by any kind of attack or interruption that comes to us at the time of prayer.” Prayer is something that must be pure, we cannot force ourselves to pray and to do things that we have no intention of meaning. There have been many times in my own personal struggle that I have seen myself throwaway prayer for the sake of vainglorious things. I have wasted my time and effort on the cares of this world. That is why I am adamant that I should not ask things for myself rather I should simply pray that God who knows everything will give it to me in the time in which he believes best. Wandering minds and thoughts do us no good, for we must be resolute in our prayer and steadfast in our intent. Otherwise we become like the pagans babbling on for hours with no clear conviction.

I have spoken at length about this particular portion of the Ladder, one that is difficult and very easy to misuse if not calibrated correctly. In doing so, St. John has given us a wealth of treasure that is his writings on the subject. I do not believe that even this particular article will do it justice. Only rather I have seen what I have written for the benefit of my own soul and pray also for the benefit of your own. May God continue to guide us and protect us as we enter into Holy Week and celebrate the Glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Amen.