The Gospel commandments are nothing more, dear brothers, than divine instructions, grounds for the edification of hope, supports for the strengthening of faith, food for strengthening the heart, a helm for directing the path, an aid for obtaining salvation: by instructing the restless minds of believers on earth, they lead to the Kingdom of Heaven. God was pleased to announce and offer many things through His servants – the prophets: how much more important is what the Son says, that He testifies with His own voice – the Word of God, who was in the prophets – not commanding to prepare the way for the future, but Himself coming to open and show us the way, so that we, who wandered in the darkness, previously imprudent and blind, being illuminated by the light of grace, would adhere to the path of life under the guidance and control of the Lord! It was He, among His other saving instructions and divine commandments that help people to salvation, He Himself gave a model of prayer, He Himself instructed and taught what we should ask for. He who gave life, by the goodness by which he was pleased to bestow upon us other gifts, taught us to pray, so that, turning to the Father with that petitionary prayer that the Son taught us, we would be heard all the more easily. He foretold the coming of the time when true worshipers would worship the Father in spirit and truth, and He fulfilled this in such a way that we, who have received the Spirit and truth from His sanctification, worship truly and spiritually, holding to His tradition. For what prayer could be more spiritual than that which was bequeathed to us by Christ, who sent down to us the Holy Spirit? What prayer can be more true from the Father, if not the prayer that came from the mouth of the Son, Who is the Truth? Consequently, to pray differently from the way He taught is not only ignorance, but also a crime, especially since He himself once remarked: “destroy the commandment of God for your tradition” (Matthew 15.6).

Let us, beloved brothers, pray as the Teacher God taught us. To pray to God according to His instructions, to reach His ears with the prayer of Christ – this is a pleasant and accessible prayer to Him! When we pray, may the Father know the words of his Son. He who dwells within us, in the heart, may also be in speech. Since He is the Father’s intercessor for our sins, then, when we pray for our sins, we sinners will also use the words of our Intercessor. He says that whatever we ask the Father in His name, He will give it to us (John 16.23); therefore, will we not receive what we ask in the name of Christ all the more surely if we ask through Christ’s prayer? During prayer, let our speech and supplication be combined with decorum, calmness and modesty, let us think that we stand before the face of God and that we must please the eyes of God with the position of the body and the sound of the voice. Making noise by shouting is a sign of a shameless person: on the contrary, it is proper for a modest person to pray a humble prayer. Finally, the Lord gave us the commandment to pray secretly, in hidden and solitary places, even in our beds, which is especially characteristic of faith – so that we know that God is present everywhere, hears and sees everyone, and with the fullness of His greatness penetrates into the most secret and hidden places, as the Scripture says: “God draw near, I am… and not God from afar. What if someone hides himself in the hidden, and I will not see him? …Do I not fill heaven and earth with food?” (Jer. 23:23–24). And again: “in every place the eyes of the Lord look on evil and good” (Prov. 15:3). And when we come together with the brothers to solemnly offer divine sacrifices with the priest of God, we must also remember modesty and decorum: not throw away our petitions in discordant voices and not express with noisy talkativeness a prayer that must be offered to God humbly, since God listens not to the voice, but to the heart. It is not by shouting that the One who sees the thoughts of men should remind himself of himself, according to the assurance of the Lord, who said: “You think evil things in your hearts.”
yours?” (Matthew 9:4) And in another place: “and all the churches will know that I am the one who tests the hearts and the bellies” (Rev. 2:23). This, as we read in the First Book of Kings, was understood and observed by Anna, who prefigured the Church: she did not offer a loud prayer to the Lord, but asked Him quietly and modestly in the recesses of her heart; she offered secret prayer, but with obvious faith; she prayed not with her lips, but with her heart, in the confidence that God would hear it anyway, and she really received what she asked, because she asked with faith. The Scripture speaks about this this way: “And she spoke in her heart, only her mouth moved, and her voice was not heard” (1 Samuel 1:13), but God heard her. We also read in the psalms: “Speak in your hearts, be moved on your beds” (Ps 4.5). The Holy Spirit inspires the same thing through Jeremiah, teaching: “Cry out in your mind: It is fitting to bow down to You, Master!” (Post. 1:5).

The worshiper must also know, beloved brothers, how the publican prayed in the temple with the Pharisee: not with his eyes brazenly raised to heaven, not with his arms raised proudly, but striking himself on the chest and internally recognizing his sin, he asked for help from the mercy of God. And while the Pharisee enjoyed himself, the tax collector who prayed like this, who did not rely on the hope of salvation in the confidence of his own integrity, since no one is without sin, but prayed humbly, confessing his sins, was awarded greater sanctification: he who has mercy on the humble heard his prayer.

The Lord puts it this way in His Gospel: “Two men went into the church to pray: one was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. But he became a Pharisee and prayed to himself: “O God, I give you praise, for I am not like other men, predators, unrighteous, adulterers, or like this publican: I fast twice on Saturday, I give tithes of everything, as much as I can earn.” The publican stood from afar, not wanting to raise his eyes to heaven, but beating his heart, saying: God be merciful to me, a sinner. I tell you that this one is justified in his house more than this one: for everyone who exalts himself will humble himself, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 18:10-14).

Having thus learned from divine reading and learned how we should approach prayer, we learn, most beloved brothers, from the instruction of our Lord what we should pray for. “For,” he says, “you pray: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name: your kingdom come, your will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth: give us this day our daily bread: and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors: and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one… Amen.” (Matthew 6:9–13).

The Teacher of the world and the Teacher of unity, first of all, did not want prayer to be performed separately and privately, so that the one praying only for himself. In fact, we do not say: “My Father, who art in heaven, give me my bread this day”; each of us does not ask for the abandonment of only his debt, does not pray for himself alone, so as not to be led into temptation and to get rid of the evil one. We have a nationwide and common prayer, and when we pray, we pray not for one person, but for the whole people, because we – the whole people – are one. God, the Teacher of peace and harmony, who taught unity, wanted one to pray for everyone, just as He alone carried us all. This law of prayer was also observed by the three youths thrown into the fiery furnace: they agreed in prayer and were unanimous in the spirit of agreement. This is confirmed by Divine Scripture, which, showing how they prayed, gives us an example to follow, so that we too can become like them. It is said: “Then these three, with one mouth, will bow down and bless God” (Dan. 3:51). They spoke as if with only their lips, although it was not Christ who taught them to pray like that. And that is why the speech of them – those praying – was convincing and valid: peaceful, simple and spiritual prayer was pleasing to the Lord. After the Ascension of the Lord, we find the apostles and disciples praying in a similar way. “All these,” it is said, “endured with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the Mother of Jesus and with His brethren” (Acts 1:14). They remained in prayer, unanimously, showing both the urgency of their prayer and mutual agreement, because God, who dwells like-minded people in a home, accepts into His divine and eternal home only those whose prayer is unanimous. Oh, what, beloved brothers, are the mysteries of the Lord’s Prayer! How much and how great is contained in a prayer brief in words, but rich in spiritual power! In the list of heavenly teachings, nothing necessary for our petitions and prayers is missing! “Here…,” it is said, “you pray: Our Father, who art in heaven!” A new man, reborn and restored by his God, by His grace, first of all says: “Father,” because he has already become His son. “He came to his own,” it is said, “and did not receive him.” And the little ones received Him, and gave them the realm to become children of God, who believe in His name” (John 1:11-12). So, whoever believed in His name and became the son of God must begin by offering thanksgiving and confessing himself to be the son of God, calling God Father; must, from the very beginning of his rebirth, testify in words that he renounced his earthly and carnal father and began to know and have one Father, who is in heaven, according to the Scripture: “Say to your father and your mother: I have not seen you… and you have not led away your sons: keep Your words and keep Your covenant” (Deut. 33:9). And the Lord in His Gospel commands us not to name our father on earth, because we have one Father in heaven (Matthew 23:9). Also, to the disciple who mentioned his dead father, the Lord said in response: “Let the dead bury their dead” (Matthew 8:22). He said that his father died, while the father of the believers is alive. And not only, beloved brothers, we must notice and understand that we call Him Who is in heaven Father; but also what we say together: “Our Father,” that is, believers, those who, having been sanctified and restored by a grace-filled spiritual birth, have become sons of God.

This speech serves as a reproach and shame for the Jews, who not only in their unbelief rejected, but also in their cruelty killed Christ, who was proclaimed to them through the prophets and sent to them before: they can no longer call God Father when the Lord shames and exposes them, saying: “You are of [your] father the devil, and you want to do the lusts of your father; he is a murderer from time immemorial and does not stand in the truth, for there is no truth in him” (John 8:44). Also, God indignantly proclaims through the prophet Isaiah: “I begot and raised up sons, but they rejected Me. The ox knew him who acquired it, and the ass knew his master’s manger: but Israel did not know Me, neither did My people understand. Alas, you sinful tongue, you people full of sins, you wicked seed, you unrighteous children, you have abandoned the Lord and angered the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 1:2-4). It is as a reproach to them that we Christians, when we pray, say: “Our Father,” because He became our Father and ceased to be the father of the Jews who left Him. A sinful people cannot be a son; but the name of sons is assigned to those to whom remission of sins is granted and eternity is promised, according to the word of the Lord Himself, who said: “Everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. But a servant does not abide in a house forever: a son abides forever” (John 8:34–35). Oh, what condescension towards us, what an abundance of favor and goodness of the Lord, when He allowed us, when praying before the face of God, to call God Father, and to call ourselves sons of God, just as Christ is the Son of God! None of us would have dared to use this name in prayer if He Himself had not allowed us to pray so. Calling God Father, we must remember and know, beloved brothers, that we must also act as sons of God, so that just as we ourselves rejoice in God the Father, so He rejoices in us. Let us remain as temples of God, so that it can be seen that God dwells in us. May our actions not be unworthy of the spirit: having begun to be heavenly and spiritual, let us think and do only spiritual and heavenly things, bearing in mind what was said by God: “Whoever glorifies Me will glorify, and whoever despises Me will be dishonored” (1 Sam. 2:30) – and what was written by the blessed Apostle in his Epistle: “Carry your own, for you are naturally bought with a price; glorify (and bear) God in all your bodies” (1 Cor 6:19–20).

After this we say: “Hallowed be Thy name” – not in the sense that we wish God that He may be hallowed by our prayers; but we ask Him that His name may be sanctified in us. For from whom will God be sanctified, Who Himself sanctifies? But because He said: “Ye shall be holy, even as I am holy” (Lev. 20:7), we ask and pray that, sanctified in baptism, we may remain as we began to be. And we pray about this daily, because we need daily sanctification, so that our daily sins can be cleansed by constant sanctification. What kind of sanctification is given to us by God according to His goodness, – this is explained by the apostle, saying: “neither harlots, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, [nor defilers,] nor harlots, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor molesters, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And these are not the best; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9-11). He calls us “sanctified… by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God”; and we pray that such sanctification may abide in us. And since Our Lord and Judge commanded the one healed by Him and revived with a threat not to sin again, so that it would not be worse for him (John 5:14), we beg with unceasing prayer, day and night, that the sanctification and revival we have received from God’s grace was preserved in us by divine protection.

Then the prayer follows: “Thy kingdom come.” We ask for the Kingdom of God to come to us in the same sense in which we pray to God to sanctify His name in us. For when does God not reign or when to begin His Kingdom, which has always been with Him and does not cease to be? We ask that our Kingdom come, promised to us by God, acquired by the blood and suffering of Christ; We ask that we, who have served in this age, may then reign with the Lord Christ, as He Himself promises this, saying: “Come, blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). The Kingdom of God, beloved brothers, may be Christ himself – we long for His daily presence, and we ask that He will soon reveal His coming to us. Just as He is our Resurrection, because we are resurrected in Him, so He can be understood as the Kingdom of God, because we will reign in Him. And we rightly ask for the Kingdom of God, that is, the Kingdom of Heaven; for there is also an earthly kingdom. But whoever has already renounced the world is above worldly honors and the kingdom. Thus, he who devotes himself to God and Christ desires not the earthly, but the Heavenly Kingdom. And at the same time, constant prayer and supplication is necessary, so that we do not fall away from the Kingdom of Heaven in the same way as the Jews, to whom it was promised before, fell away. The Lord clearly says: “Many people from the east and the west will come and sit with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be driven out into outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:11-12). He shows that the Jews were formerly sons of the Kingdom until they ceased to be sons of God; Then, with the abolition of the name of the Father, the Kingdom was also abolished. That is why we, Christians, who began to call God Father in prayer, ask that the Kingdom of God come to us.

Next we add the following words: “Thy will be done as it is in heaven and on earth,” not so that God, as a result of our prayer, will do whatever He wants, but so that we can do what is pleasing to Him. For who will prevent God from doing what is pleasing to Him? But since the devil puts obstacles in our way of showing complete obedience to God in spirit and body, we ask and pray that God’s will be done in us, and for it to be, God’s will is necessary, that is, God’s help and protection; because no one is strong in his own strength, and everyone finds security only in God’s condescension and mercy. And the Lord, showing the human weakness that He carried within Himself, said: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass by from Me,” and then, giving the disciples an example so that they would do not their own will, but God’s, added: “Not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39). And in another place he says: “I came down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of the Father who sent Me” (John 6:38). If the Son obeyed in such a way that he fulfilled the will of the Father, then should not the slave obey and do the will of his Lord much more? John in his Epistle thus exhorts and instructs us to fulfill the will of God: “Do not love the world, nor what is in the world: if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him: for everything that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of desire and the pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from this world. And the world and its lust pass away; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17), just as God abides forever. So, desiring to abide forever, we must do the will of God, Who is eternal. The will of God is indicated to us in the works and teachings of Christ. Humility in behavior, steadfastness in faith, modesty in words, truth in actions; in deeds – mercy, in morals – decorum; inability to cause offense, ability to endure offense caused to us; keep peace with brothers; love God with all your heart, love Him as a Father, fear Him as God; to prefer nothing to Christ, just as He did not prefer anything to us; to stand courageously and faithfully at His cross when they argue about His name and honor, to express in speech the constancy of confession, during interrogation the courage with which we enter into battle, in death the patience with which we are crowned – this means wanting to be a joint heir with Christ! This means – to do the commandment of God, to fulfill the will of the Father!

We ask: “Let the will of God be done both in heaven and on earth,” because both relate to the implementation of our safety and salvation. Having a body from the earth, and a spirit from heaven, being ourselves earth and heaven, we pray that the will of God be done in both, that is, in the body and in the spirit. For the body and the spirit are in a struggle, and with their mutual opposition to each other, they have a daily battle, so that we do not do what we want: while the spirit seeks the heavenly and divine, the body strives with desire for the earthly and worldly. Therefore, we earnestly ask that with the help and assistance of God, agreement will be established between both and that when the will of God is done in the spirit and in the body, the soul, reborn by God, will be saved. The Apostle Paul openly and clearly expresses this struggle. “The flesh…,” he says, “lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; and these resist one another, lest ye do them whatsoever ye will. But the essence of the works of the flesh is revealed, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, adultery, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, zeal, envy, rage, incitement, strife, temptations, heresies, envy, murder, drunkenness, disorderly cries, and the like; which I tell you, just as I also predicted, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. That is why we daily and unceasingly ask in prayer that God’s will be done regarding us both in heaven and on earth; and the will of God is that the earthly should yield to the heavenly and the spiritual and divine should prevail.

However, beloved brothers, this can also be understood in the following way. Since the Lord commands us to love even our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44), then for those who are still earth and have not begun to be heavenly, we ask that God’s will be done regarding them, which Christ did in saving and restoring man. Moreover, He no longer calls the disciples earth, but salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13), – and the Apostle calls the first man from the earth earthly, and the second from heaven (1 Cor. 15:47); Therefore, we, who must be like the Father God, His sun shining on the evil and the good and sending “rain on the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5:45), following Christ’s instructions and praying for the salvation of all, we pray and ask correctly, so that as in heaven, i.e. in us, according to our faith, the will of God was accomplished and we became heavenly, so on earth, that is, in them – unbelievers, may the will of God be done, so that they, earthly by first birth, having been reborn by water and spirit, begin to be heavenly.

Continuing the prayer, we say the following petition: “Give us this day our daily bread.” This can be understood both in a spiritual and in a simple sense, because both, by divine gift, are equally favorable to salvation. Christ is the bread of life, and this bread is not for everyone, but only for us. Just as we say: “Our Father,” because God is the Father of those who know Him and believe, so we call Christ our bread, because He is the bread of those who touch His Body. We ask daily that this bread may be given to us, so that we, who remain in Christ and daily receive the Eucharist as food for salvation, being separated from communion due to some grave sin and deprived of heavenly bread, will not be separated from the Body of Christ, as the Lord says for our instruction: “I am the bread of life that came down from heaven; If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever, and the bread that I will give, which is My flesh, I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51). When He says that whoever eats of His bread will live forever, this shows that those who touch His Body and receive the Eucharist by right of communion live. So, we must fear and pray, so that no one will be separated from the Body of Christ, subjected to prohibition, and will not be removed from salvation, as the Lord threatens, saying: “If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man, you do not drink His blood, you do not have life in you” (John 6:53). That is why we ask daily, that our bread may be given to us, so that we, who abid and live in Christ, may not be removed from sanctification and from His Body.

This can be understood this way: having renounced this age and, by faith of spiritual grace, renouncing its riches and honors, remembering the instruction of the Lord, Who says: “Whoever does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33), we ask only for food and sustenance. Whoever has become a disciple of Christ, according to the word of the Teacher, renouncing everything, must ask only for daily food and in prayer not extend beyond his desires, bearing in mind the commandment of the Lord, who said: “Do not worry… about the morning, for the morning is anxious for itself: the day is sufficient for his care” (Matthew 6:34). So, the disciple of Christ, who is forbidden to worry about tomorrow, righteously asks for his daily food: it would be a contradiction and inconsistency if we were looking for food for a long time in this century, when we ask for the speedy coming of the Kingdom of God. The blessed apostle, teaching and confirming the strength of our hope and faith, gives us the following reminder: “nothing… brought into this world; Indeed, as if below, we can wear out what we can. Having food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to get rich fall into misfortunes and snares and into many lusts that are senseless and harmful, even plunging people into destruction and destruction; For the love of money is the root of all evil, for which no one desires, having gone astray from the faith and brought himself down with many illnesses” (1 Tim. 6:7-10). This teaches that not only must we despise riches, but that they are also dangerous: they are the root of flattering evils that deceive the blindness of the human mind with hidden deceit. That is why God denounces the crazy rich man who thought about worldly wealth and boasted about the extraordinary abundance of fruits. “You fool,” He says to him, “this night they will take your soul from you: and what you have prepared, to whom will they be?” (Luke 12:20) Mad, he rejoiced over his profit on the night on which he was supposed to die; the one who had little time left to live thought about the abundance of fruits.

On the contrary, the Lord teaches that he is completely perfect who, having sold all his property and distributed it to the poor, prepares for himself treasure in heaven; he, according to the Lord, can follow Him and imitate the glory of the Lord’s suffering, who, in his readiness and desire, is not delayed by any household nets, but, having presented his property to God, detached and free, goes there himself (Matthew 19:21). This is how everyone learns to pray, in order to prepare himself for the same; From the law of prayer, let everyone understand what prayer should be! Meanwhile, for a righteous person there can never be a lack of daily food, according to Scripture: “The Lord will not kill a righteous soul with famine” (Prov. 10:3). And again: “I was the youngest, for I had grown old, and had not seen the righteous, and was left behind, asking his seed for bread” (Ps. 36:25). The Lord also promises the same thing, saying: “Do not worry, saying: what are the pits, or what are we drinking, or what are we wearing? The pagans are looking for all these; For your Father knows that you require them all. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:31-33). He promises that to those who seek the Kingdom and Truth of God all things will be added: after all, everything is God’s; therefore, he who has God will lack nothing, provided he himself does not fall behind God. So, for Daniel, when he was thrown into the lion’s den at the king’s command, a meal was prepared. By the providence of God, the man of God is satisfied among the hungry beasts, but those who spare him (Dan. 14:30–39). Thus, Elijah feeds while fleeing: pursued, he receives food in the desert from the corvids that serve him, from the birds that bring him food. Oh, the hateful cruelty of human malice! Animals are spared, birds are fed, and people build forges and rage.

After this, we pray for our sins, saying: “and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.” By asking for food, forgiveness of sins is asked, so that a person, nourished by God, lives in God, and cares not only about temporary, but also about eternal life, and this can be achieved if sins are forgiven, which the Lord in His Gospel calls debts, saying: “I will forgive you all the debt, for you have prayed for Me” (Matthew 18:32). And how necessary, how insightful and salutary is the reminder by which we sinners are encouraged to pray for our sins, so that, asking for mercy from God, the spirit may come to self-consciousness! To eliminate contentment with ourselves, as if innocent, to avoid the danger of perishing through arrogance, we are commanded to pray daily for sins and thereby are given a reminder and instruction that we sin daily. John points out the same thing in his Epistle, saying: “If we say that there is no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, the Lord is faithful and righteous, and may he forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:8–9). In his Message, he explained both that we must ask for sins and that we will receive forgiveness if we ask. For he called the Lord faithful, that is, faithfully fulfilling his promise; and He who taught us to pray for our sins and debts promised us the Father’s mercy and subsequent forgiveness. To this the Lord clearly added and added a law limiting us with a certain condition and vow, according to which we must ask that our debts be forgiven in the same way as we leave our debtors, knowing that we cannot receive remission of sins if we do not do the same for our debtors. That is why in another place He says: “When you measure with the least measure, it will be measured back to you” (Matthew 7:2). And the slave, who did not want to forgive his comrade when the master forgave him the entire debt, was imprisoned; he lost the leniency shown to him by the Lord because he did not want to show leniency to his comrade (Matthew 18:27-34). The Lord sets forth this even more powerfully and with greater severity of His judgment in His commandments. And whenever, he says, you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will forgive you your sins; if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive you your sins (Matthew 6:14-15). So, there is no excuse left for you on the day of judgment: you will be judged by your own verdict, they will do to you as you yourself will do to others. God commands that only peaceful, concordant and unanimous people should live in His house. He wants those regenerated to remain such as He made them by the second birth; so that those who become sons of God may abide in the peace of God; so that we, who have one spirit, may have one heart and feeling. He does not accept sacrifices from someone who is at enmity, and commands him to return from the altar and first make peace with his brother, so that he can then appease God with peaceful prayers. For God, a great sacrifice is our peace and fraternal harmony, a people united in the unity of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. At the first sacrifices made by Abel and Cain, God did not look at their gifts, but at their hearts, so that those who pleased Him with gifts pleased Him with their hearts. Peaceful and righteous Abel, having made a sacrifice to God in innocence, gave a lesson to others bringing a gift to the altar – to come there with the fear of God, with a simple heart, with the law of truth, with peace of harmony. Having made a sacrifice to God with such a disposition, he then himself became a sacrifice to God: the keeper of the Lord’s truth and peace, he was the first, having endured martyrdom, to begin the Lord’s suffering with the glory of his blood. Such people are finally crowned by the Lord! Such will be judged with the Lord on the day of judgment! On the contrary, whoever is in enmity and disagreement, who does not have peace with his brothers, he, according to the testimony of the blessed Apostle and Holy Scripture, even if he suffered death for the name of Christ, will still remain guilty of fraternal enmity (1 Cor 13.3); and the Scripture says: “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15), but a murderer can neither reach the Kingdom of Heaven nor live with God. One who would rather be an imitator of Judas than of Christ cannot be with Christ. What kind of sin is this that is not washed away by the baptism of blood? What is a crime that cannot be atoned for by martyrdom?

Further, the Lord gives us, as a necessary instruction, to say in prayer: “And do not lead us into temptation.” This shows that the enemy has no power over us unless there is first permission from God. That is why all our fear, all reverence and attention must be turned to God, since the evil one cannot tempt us unless he is given power from above. The proof is the words of Divine Scripture: “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and fought, and the Lord gave in his hand” (Dan. 1:1-2). The evil one is given power over us because of our sins, as the Scripture says: “Who gave Jacob and Israel to their captors to be plundered? Is it not God who sinned and did not desire to walk in His ways, nor to listen to His law? And bring upon her the wrath of His fury” (Isa. 42:24–25). Also about Solomon, when he betrayed himself and strayed from the commandments and ways of the Lord, it is said: “And the Lord raised up an adversary against Solomon” (1 Kings 11:23). However, power over us is given for a twofold purpose: either for punishment when we sin, or for glory when we are tested, as was done regarding Job, according to the clear instructions of God, who says: “All that is unto him I give into your hand, but not touching it” (Job 1:12). Also, during His suffering, the Lord says in His Gospel: “Have no power over Me except it be given from above” (John 19:11). Meanwhile, when we ask that we not be subjected to temptation, then by such a request we are brought to the consciousness of our weakness and infirmity so that no one would be arrogant about himself, so that no one would appropriate anything to himself with pride and arrogance and would not ascribe to himself the glory of confession or suffering, as the Lord himself, teaching humility, said: “Watch and pray, so that you will not fall into adversity: the spirit is willing, but the flesh weak” (Mark 14:38). Thus, it is necessary to first have a humble and submissive consciousness and present everything to God, so that what is humbly asked of Him with the fear of God and reverence is granted by His goodness.

After all, at the end of the prayer there comes a conclusion, briefly expressing all our prayers and petitions. At the end we say: “but deliver us from evil,” meaning by this all sorts of troubles that the enemy is plotting against us in this world and against which we will have faithful and strong defense if God delivers us from them, if at our request and prayer He grants us His help. Then, after the words “deliver us from the evil one,” there is nothing more to ask for: we ask for God’s protection against the evil one, and having received such protection, we are already safe and protected from all the snares of the devil and the world. Indeed, why should anyone who has God as their protector in this world be afraid of the world?

It is not surprising, beloved brothers, that such is the prayer taught to us by God, Who in His teaching expressed all our prayer in a short but saving word. This was predicted long ago by the prophet Isaiah; Speaking about the greatness and love of God, he, filled with the Holy Spirit, said: “For the Lord perfects the word and abridges it with righteousness, just as the word is abridged throughout the whole universe” (Is. 10:23). So, when our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, came to everyone, and, gathering learned and unlearned, set out saving commandments for every sex and age, then He concluded His commandments in concise speech, so as not to complicate the memory of students in the study of heavenly things and so that they could quickly learn what is necessary for simple faith. Thus, offering the doctrine of eternal life, He, with brevity befitting His greatness and divinity, expressed the mystery of life in the following words: “This is the eternal life, that they may know Thee the only true God, and whom Thou hast sent Jesus Christ” (John 17:3). Extracting the first and most important commandments from the law and the prophets, He says: “Hear, to Israel, the Lord your God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:29-31). “On this two commandments hang the whole law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40). And again: “Whatever you want, let men do to you, so do you to them. For this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12).

The Lord taught us to pray not only in words, but also in deeds: He Himself often sent prayers and petitions to God, showing by His own example what we should do. The Scripture says: “And so he went into the wilderness and prayed” (Luke 5:16). And again: “I went out into the mountain to pray, and continued to pray for God” (Luke 6:12). If He was a sinless one who prayed, then shouldn’t it be all the more true for sinners to pray? If He, being awake all night, sent forth unceasing prayers, then shouldn’t we also be awake at night in frequent prayer? The Lord prayed and asked not for Himself, for why should an innocent person ask for himself? He prayed for our sins, as He Himself explains, saying to Peter: “Behold, Satan asks you, that He may sow you like wheat; I have prayed for you, so that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:31–32). He then prayed to the Father and for everyone, saying: “I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe their words for Me: that they may all be one; as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us” (John 17:20–21). Great is the goodness and love of the Lord in the arrangement of our salvation! Not content with redeeming us with His Blood, He also asked for us! And when asking, look at what desire He had: that we too would remain in that very unity in which the Father and the Son are one. From here one can understand how those who destroy unity and peace sin, destroy what the Lord asked for, who wanted His people to be saved, living in peace, since He knew that enmity does not enter into the Kingdom of God.

Dearest brothers! When we stand in prayer, we must watch and apply ourselves to prayer with all our hearts. Let every carnal and worldly thought be removed from us, and let the spirit think only about what it asks for. And the priest, having prefaced the prayer, prepares the minds of the brothers for this, crying out: woe is our hearts; and the people, in their response: imams to the Lord, receive a reminder that they should not think about anything but the Lord. Let the heart be closed from the enemy; It will be open to God alone and may he not allow the enemy of God to enter into himself during prayer! But he often invades and penetrates and by clever deception distracts our prayers from God, forcing us to have one thing in our hearts and express another with our voice, while we must pray to the Lord with sincere attention and plead not with the sound of our voice, but with our heart and feeling. What kind of negligence is this – while offering prayer to the Lord, alienate yourself and get carried away by absurd and nasty thoughts, as if you have something more important to think about than the fact that you are talking with God? And how do you demand that God hear you when you don’t hear yourself? How do you want God to remember you during your prayer when you don’t remember about yourself? This means not being wary of the enemy at all. This means, when praying to God, to insult the greatness of God by carelessness in prayer. This means being awake with the eyes and sleeping with the heart, while a Christian must be awake with the heart even when he sleeps with the eyes. In Scripture, in the book of the Song of Songs, this is what it says on behalf of the Church: “I sleep, but my heart watches” (Song. 5:2). That is why the apostle exhorts us with such care and prudence, saying: “Be patient in prayer, watchful in it” (Col. 4:2). By this he teaches and shows that only those who receive what they ask from God whom God sees vigilant in prayer.

Moreover, let those who pray not come to God with fruitless and empty prayers. A petition that is expressed in prayer that is not accompanied by action is invalid. If every tree that does not bear fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire, then, of course, a word that does not bear fruit cannot be pleasing to God, since it is devoid of all work. That is why the Holy Scripture says for our instruction: “prayer with fasting and almsgiving is good” (Tob. 12:8). The Lord, who on the day of judgment has to reward for deeds and alms, and now listens favorably to the one who comes with the work. So Cornelius, the centurion, prayed and was worthy to be heard. He gave a lot of alms to the people and always prayed to God. Around the ninth hour, during prayer, an angel appeared to him and, testifying to his work, said: “Cornelius! Your prayers and your alms have been raised up as a memorial before God” (Acts 10:3-4). The angel Raphael gave testimony about Tobiah’s constant prayer and constant work, saying: “It is glorious to reveal the works of God. And now, when you and your daughter-in-law Sarah prayed, you offered the memory of your prayer before the Holy One: and when you buried the dead, and when you were not lazy to get up and leave your dinner, so that when you covered the dead, you went with you. And now God has sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah. I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who stand and enter before the glory of the Holy One” (Tob. 12:11-15). The Lord inspires and commands this through Isaiah. “Loose,” he says, “every bond of unrighteousness, destroy the obligations of violent scriptures, release the contrite into freedom, and tear apart every unrighteous scripture. Break your bread for the hungry and bring the bloodless poor into your house. If you see a naked person, clothe him, and do not despise those belonging to your tribe. Then your light will open early and your healing (clothes) will quickly shine; and your righteousness will go before you and the glory of God will embrace you. Then you shall call, and God will hear you, and while still speaking he will say to you, “Behold, I have come” (Is. 58:6-9). God promises to appear, says that He will listen and protect those who, resolving unrighteousness in their hearts and, according to His commandment, giving alms to the household of God, deserve to be heard by God, since they themselves obey the commands of God. The blessed Apostle Paul, having received help from his brothers in his need, called the good deed they did a sacrifice to God. “The reception from Epaphroditus has been fulfilled,” he says; sent from you is a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, acceptable to God” (Phil. 4:18). He who has mercy on the poor lends to God; whoever gives to the younger brothers brings a gift to God, spiritually sacrifices fragrant incense to God.

As for the times for the solemn performance of prayer, we find that Daniel and the three youths, strong in faith and victors in captivity, dedicated to them the third, sixth and ninth hour, thus prefiguring the Trinity, which was to be revealed in the last times. In fact, counting from the first hour to three, we have a completely triple number. Also, from the fourth hour to six, we again have a trinity. From seven to nine is again three hours. Thus, counting three hours expresses the perfect Trinity. These hourly periods have long been observed by worshipers of God, spiritually recognizing them as times established and legalized for prayer. Subsequently, it became clear that such periods, dedicated by the righteous to prayer, contained sacraments. So, at the third hour the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and fulfilled the grace of the Lord’s promise (Acts 2:4–15). At the sixth hour, Peter, having ascended to the upper room, when he doubted the baptism of the pagans, saw a sign and heard the voice of God, instructing him to admit everyone to the grace of salvation (Acts 10:9-16). At the sixth hour the Lord was crucified, and at the ninth He washed away our sins with His blood and accomplished His victory through suffering in order to redeem us and revive us.

But in addition to the hours appointed in ancient times for prayer, for us, beloved brothers, with the increase of the sacraments, the periods have also increased. Thus, one should pray in the morning to glorify the Resurrection of Christ with morning prayer. This was anciently indicated by the Holy Spirit in the psalms, saying: “My King and my God, I will pray to You, O Lord. Tomorrow hear my voice, tomorrow I will appear to You, and you will see me” (Ps. 5:3-4). The Lord also says through the prophet: “They will come to Me in the morning, saying: Let us go and turn to the Lord our God” (Hos. 6:1). Again it is necessary to pray at sunset, at the end of the day. By praying at the end of the day and asking at sunset: “may light come upon us again,” we ask for the coming of Christ, which has the grace of eternal light to give us, because Christ is the true sun and the true day. The Holy Spirit calls Christ Day in the Psalms. “The stone,” he says, “which was built carelessly, this was the head of the corner: this was from the Lord, and is wondrous in our hands. This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad” (Psalm 118:22-24). The prophet Malachi calls it the sun: “and the sun of righteousness will shine upon you who fear My name and healing is in His wings” (Mal. 4:2). If, according to the Holy Scriptures, Christ is the true sun and the true day, then a Christian should not only often, but always, render worship to God so that not a single hour should be an exception for him. Being in Christ, who is the true sun and day, we must be diligent in petitions and prayers all day long. And when, according to the law of the world, night comes, alternating successively, then the darkness of the night cannot be an obstacle for those praying, because for the sons of light there is day at night. In fact, when does one who has light in his heart remain without light? Or when is he deprived of sun and day who has sun and day—Christ?

But let us, who are always in Christ, that is, in the light, remain without prayer even at night. Let us take as an example the widow Anna, who prayed unceasingly and was always awake to please God, as it is written in the Gospel: “not departing from the Church, serving with fasting and prayer day and night” (Luke 2:37). Let the pagans, who are not yet enlightened, and the Jews, who, having left the light, remain in darkness, see this. But we, beloved brothers, who are always in the light of the Lord, who remember and preserve what we have become after receiving grace, will count the night as a day. Believing that we always walk in the light, let us not be consumed by the darkness that we have left behind: and in the hours of the night, let there be no shortage of prayers, and then let prayers not be abandoned through laziness and negligence. By the goodness of God, spiritually recreated and reborn, let us act according to our future destiny. Destined for the Kingdom, where there will always be day, not replaced by night, let us watch at night as if it were day. Destined for constant prayer and thanksgiving to God there, let us not stop praying and giving thanks here.