St. Theophan the Recluse: We Pray as We Live

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11.08.2022, 14:52

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Friday, August 12 (July 30), 2022

1Cor. 14:26-40; Mt. 21:12-14,17-20

“My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves” [Mt. 21:13]. We all know that a temple requires reverence, concentration of the mind and deep contemplation on the divine realm in the presence of the Lord ─ but who actually meets these requirements?

People come to church to pray, to stand there with a warm feeling in the heart, ─ but then our thoughts begin to ramble, so that our head resembles a noisy marketplace worse than the one which the Lord once found in the Jerusalem Temple. Why would that happen? Because our prayer in church reflects our whole lifestyle: we pray just as we live.

When we come to the church, at the first instance it would support our prayerful mood, but then our usual mindset takes over. So, if you want your presence in church to be fruitful, get ready for it at every moment of your everyday life ─ that is, strive to maintain a prayerful mindset. This labor will bring reverence into your church prayer, and this reverence, in turn, will give more godliness and piety to your everyday life. So you will be moving on, step by step, to new heights in your divine ascent. Godspeed! Start now.

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