Power Prayers

 December 17, 2020

I’ve always found it a bit daunting that St. Paul urged us to “pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Taken at face value, it seems an impossible command; how can one pray continually when it is necessary to sleep, study, work, and eat? Is it possible to pray in one’s sleep, or when working out a mathematical problem? Some have attempted to solve the problem by suggesting that what is really meant is “keep in an attitude of prayer,” whatever that is. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I did take a step in the right direction today.

I subscribe to a Facebook feed called “Trust the Fathers,” in which the sponsor posts short sayings by various Orthodox priests. This morning, it was a word from St. Joseph the Hesychast. I have no idea who he is, but what he said is worth repeating:

“Don't be afraid of [the demons]. You don't see how many of them fall and turn their backs with every prayer you say. You only see how much you are wounded. But they are also thrashed; they also suffer. Every time we are patient, they flee with leaps and bounds, and every time we say the prayer (the Jesus prayer), they are seriously injured. So at the time of battle, when you are firing shots and bullets, don't expect them to throw marshmallows and chocolates.”

My struggle to pray often feels fruitless and failing. If I pray in the early morning, I fall asleep. If I pray at night, I fall asleep. In between, my mind wanders; I rarely seem to get through my prayer list, and when I do, it feels more like a laundry list of things I want God to do for me than actually connecting with the Almighty God. St. Joseph’s observation that “you only see how much you are wounded” pretty well sums up my prayer life. 

He didn’t stop there. He reminds us that “[the demons] are also thrashed; they also suffer.” St. Joseph made a connection I too often miss: my prayers are not merely my musings, my spiritual wish list; they are spiritual battles against unseen beings whose main tactic is lies. They parade around convincing us that our prayers are feeble and foolish, that they have no effect...and in our weakness, we believe those lies. In fact, the demonic powers are taking a horrible beating when we pray. Their resistance is mere posturing. They parade with forced smiles and gesture with bruised and bloodied limbs.

My “spiritual” activities of the day consisted of prayer with the men of Park church at 6:00 am. I went home and got to work installing the rest of the drywall in the new laundry room, then cleaned up the mess. It was an all-day project, and I was pretty tired and sore by the end of it. But periodically through the day, I remembered St. Joseph’s words and uttered a few of my own. I couldn’t see it with these earthy eyes, but in my spirit, I watched demons writhing and squirming as I whacked a few of them in prayer. Instead of the marshmallows and chocolates that so often have been the sum and substance of my prayers, I was firing a spiritual AR-15, making those devils scatter and dance.