Actually, when I decided to adopt the habit of stopping for prayer at the traditional times of the day, it turned out to be the single most effective thing I ever did to improve my prayer life. It was effective even though I usually didn’t find those prayer times particularly moving. I offered those prayers in a dutiful way, by rote repetition, simply because the time for prayer had rolled around again. The beneficial effect came from the fact that I had to make a stop in the headlong flow of the day, and turn to face the Lord. These interruptions reminded me that God is always present; even when I forgot all about him. he was still here. Sometimes I would check the clock and find it was not yet time to pray, but that moment of checking turned my memory again to God, itself a fleeting prayer.
+ Frederica Matthews-Green, from Welcome to the Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity, chapter 23, "Built His House upon a Rock".
No comments:
Post a Comment