What is Prayer?
“Prayer is the light of the soul, giving us true knowledge of God. It is a link mediating between God and man. By prayer the soul is borne up to heaven and in a marvellous way embraces the Lord. This meeting is like that of an infant crying on its mother, and seeking the best of milk. The soul longs for its own needs and what it receives is better than anything to be seen in the world. Prayer is a precious way of communicating with God, it gladdens the soul and gives repose to its affections. You should not think of prayer as being a matter of words. It is a desire for God, an indescribable devotion, not of human origin, but the gift of God’s grace. As Saint Paul says ‘we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.” – St John Chrysostom
Prayer is communion with the living God, the experience of the fullness of His presence. It is the foretaste of the Kingdom of Heaven while we still live here on earth.
Introduction to the Book of Hours
The Canonical hours or services assist us in dividing the day for the prescribed time of prayer. As the psalmist prays, “seven times a day I praise You, because of Your righteous judgements.” (Psalm 119:164). Each hour is a meditation on a moment of Christ’s life and the life of the Church. The Canonical hours were developed within the fourth century as an outcome of the Church’s ascetic practices. However, as St Clement of Alexandria tells us, even though we assign hours for prayer, the Christian endeavours to pray without ceasing in order to have true fellowship with God.
Why we use the Book of Hours
The Book of Hours exists as an important tool to teach us how to pray. Often our own ability to pray from our heart is limited, as we are not fully trained in how to converse with God. The Book of Hours exists as a teacher, educating our hearts in the words which we should use in addressing God, in the way in which we should make our supplications known to Him.
Orthodox Christians use the Book of Hours to provide structure to prayer and as a means to help us dwell in the presence of God. Many a time we can run out of things to say in prayer. However, the Book of Hours provides us with countless words of prayer and supplication. It is through these words that it teaches us how to pray, praise and glorify God. The spectrum of prayers within the Book of Hours help us to realise that prayer is not just about making petitions of God. Rather it is about thanksgiving, repentance, glorification, praise, expressing love, and meditating on the attributes of God.
The Book of Hours is a daily reminder to live constantly in the presence of God, by bringing our minds up to contemplation on God at set times throughout the day. Without these physical and tangible reminders, it is very easy to forget God in the busyness of our daily lives.
How to pray with the Book of Hours
The Book of Hours is simply a tool to draw nearer to God and to build our relationship with Him. The Book of Hours should be used to provide structure for our prayer. However, if something read in a psalm or the gospel touches the heart, then we can stop and use that as a stimulus for our own personal dialogue with God. Therefore, the Book of Hours provides the backbone for consistent prayer and should not be considered restrictive.
Think of the Book of Hours as a tool to maximise time in the presence of God, similar to hymns, prostrations, rosaries, prayer ropes etc. If our own personal prayers have dried up, the Book of Hours is there to allow us to continue fervently in prayer, knowing that just being in the presence of God is purification for the soul.
Practically, each prayer begins in the most perfect way, in thanksgiving (Thanksgiving Prayer) and repentance (Psalm 51). The supplicant then continues to the hour which corresponds with the time of prayer (see below), and either reads all the psalms, or chooses certain psalms. This is then followed by the Gospel and Gospel segments, Absolution and Concluding Prayer. It is good to have an established routine in reading the Book of Hours as then we will find that the prayers (especially the psalms) become completely internalised and memorised. Over time, having the physical book may not be necessary. It is important to remember that there is no set formula or quantity of prayers, but each person’s routine is unique and under the supervision of their confession/spiritual father.
Practicalities of Prayer
Every person should create a place in their home which creates a focal point for prayer in their lives. It can be in the bedroom, office or anywhere in the house where there are minimal distractions. This prayer corner can be a small shelf which contains the Orthodox Book of Prayer, a cross, icons, candles, relics etc. This then becomes our sanctified space, and the place which gives us peace and reminds us to pray everytime we pass it by. This is an essential aspect of every person’s individual prayer life.
When we stand before God in prayer, it is important to maintain reverence. Standing with outstretched arms (as able) reminds us that He is our Lord and that we are entreating Him to send us His mercy and His presence. Kneeling before God (either in prostrations or bowing our head to Him) demonstrates that we are worshiping at His Throne and we are not worthy even to lift up our heads in His presence. There are no set rules in prayer, but it is important to maintain reverence and remember that we are standing before the Eternal God.
Time of Prayer
The times set out below are a guide on the times of prayer each day. If just starting out with the Orthodox Book of Hours, simply try to stand up at morning and/or at night praying the Morning Hour Prayer (1st hour) and the Prayer Before Sleeping (12th hour). As we grow in our spiritual lives we can increase the amount of psalms that we are praying and also the amount of prayers that we do throughout the day.
Each hour represents a certain aspect of our Christ’s redemption and its application to our spiritual life.
First Hour (6am or upon waking): The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
Third Hour (9am): The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Disciples
Sixth Hour (12pm): Jesus was placed upon the Cross.
Ninth Hour (3pm): The Death of Jesus Christ on the Cross.
Eleventh Hour (sunset): Jesus placed in the tomb
Twelfth Hour (before sleeping): Christ conquering our death by His death