As human beings we all depend on each other.

The beauty of what connects human beings is the love we have for each other. One way this love is expressed is through prayer. Our entire lives is formed and made possible through prayer. Within the Coptic Church we all have been brought up to pray. Even when we talk to each other we always say, Keep me in your prayers. The question then becomes why do we pray for each other? What is the benefit for praying for each other? If we can digest this I believe it will show us what pure prayer really looks like. Prayer firstly is an encounter with God. We pray in order that we can be united to God. God created human beings in his image and likeness and in doing so our nature became one of prayer. It is important to have the correct image of God when we pray. The issue is that many separate prayer from their normal lives. People see prayer as an act either done only within the church or behind closed doors. This is a narrow way of looking at prayer. Metropolitan Anthony Bloom sums it up nicely when he says: "The God we encounter must be as true as we who seek Him. But is not God always true? Is He not always Himself, unchanging? Of course. But it is not only God as He is in Himself who is involved in our prayers. It is also the image we have of Him, for our attitude depends not only on what He is in Himself but also on what we believe Him to be. If we have a false image of God, our attitude towards Him and our prayer will alter accordingly. It is important that throughout our life, from day to day, we learn to know God as He is." We have to be careful then about how we think about God. Many people see God as a person who steps into ones life when things are going in a bad direction and they begin to pray. But when things are good, prayer is held off for some time. Now praying when things are going wrong is not a bad thing. However, we must understand prayer as an action that is constantly in motion. Prayer is lived out in everything that we do. When we speak to others we are in prayer, when we eat with others we are in prayer and when we gather for worship we are in prayer. Our entire life is formed on prayer. Why then is prayer important? Prayer is important because it forms our faith that was taught to us by the Church. Fr. Alexander Schmemann says something very beautiful along the lines of prayer forming our faith: Lex orandi est lex credendi (latin pharse). The rule of prayer is the rule of faith. And only insofar as we return to this rule, can we recover the true foundations of Orthodox Christian education. When prayer ceases so does our faith and when the faith ceases we are dead. Prayer is our nourishment and strength to preserve. This is why it is important that our prayer is ground in not only understanding who God is in his nature but tuning our prayers in the correct faith is important for our union with God. Prayer is understood within community because all our actions are done communally. When we eat, when we gather for events and when we come together in the church it is done within the gathering of the entire community. All our hardships

and good actions unite us in the body of Christ as we express our love for each other in prayer. Father Matthew the Poor said it simply: Whenever physical hunger turned cruel against me, I found my gratification in prayer. Whenever the biting cold of winter was unkind to me, I found my warmth in prayer. Whenever people were harsh to me (and their harshness was severe indeed) I found my comfort in prayer. In short, prayer became my food and my drink, my outfit and my armor, whether by night or by day. Father Matthew sums it up beautifully because all his actions took him to prayer. His entire life became a form prayer which prayer became not only food and drink for him but it became his guide to his entire life. When we speak the language of prayer this is when unconditional love is lived for the life of the world. When we are engaged in a life of prayer people will see not only Christ present but the human being who gives his own livelihood for others. Prayer then is not something to be regarded as a sacred act but rather an act that is constantly being lived out. If we can agree that there is no separation of the church and world, the sacred and profane, then prayer will become not only our everlasting meal but our expression of love with all of creation. The following is a short clip entitled: Beginning to Pray. It touches on the points already discussed in this entry. Enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GteN7deTkj0