Orthros Prayer Six

No matter what we may think, God is never the source of bad things in our lives. Questions like, “Why is God punishing me?” only reveal our temptation instead of God’s actions. Everything God does for us and to us is for our benefit. If we think otherwise, we need to change our minds.

We thank You, O Lord, God of our salvation, for You do everything to benefit our lives, that we may always look up to You, the Savior and Benefactor of our souls; for You refreshed us in that part of the night that is past, and You have raised us up from our beds, and You have stood us to venerate Your honorable name. Therefore we beseech You, O Lord: give us grace and strength, so that we may be made worthy to sing praise to You prudently, and to pray without ceasing, working out our salvation in fear and trembling through the aid of Your Christ. Also remember, O Lord, those who cry out to You in the night: hear them, and have mercy, and crush under their feet the invisible and warring enemies. For You are the King of Peace, and the Savior of our souls, and to You we send up glory: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

We open the Sixth Prayer of Orthros reminding ourselves that God does everything to benefit us. God is good and incapable of doing bad. That doesn’t mean bad things don’t happen. It means that bad things are not from God. Most often bad things are a result of our choices.

The Church knows that we suffer. The Church knows that we get confused about why we suffer. The Church also knows that we tend to blame God for our suffering. As a good loving mother, the Church helps us see that God is the source of good instead of evil.

If all we think about God has to do with punishment, we will spend our life afraid of Him instead of loving Him. It may be ‘enough’ to scare us into good behavior, but fear only lasts so long. Eventually we revolt against fear. If we fear God, that will mean revolting against God.

If we consider where fear leads, then we have a better chance to recognize the temptation by the devil. The devil has been revolting against God long before we were born, and he will continue long after we are gone. Along the way, he will try to convince us to join the revolution.

When we refuse to be fear God, and choose to love Him and follow Him, then we are less likely to join the revolution against Him. The Orthodox way of life is all about learning to choose God instead of joining the revolution. Christ invites us, “Follow Me,” but it is our choice.

Let’s take a moment and consider our choices. We can’t deny that we often choose to go against God’s desires. We choose to skip our prayers. We choose to stay home from divine services in the Church. Even now during Great Lent, we choose to not fast.

Skipping prayers, skipping church services, and even skipping fasting aren’t sins per se. Without taking advantage of these spiritual tools, we won’t be as strong as we could be against temptation. That is why today’s prayer includes, “Give us grace and strength.”

We need strength not only to fight temptation, but to build up our spiritual strength. The struggles of the world often turn our minds against God. By His grace we can change our minds and choices.

Our Great Lenten journey is a time for us to refocus and reset our minds to align with God. Since prayer ‘resides’ in our minds, the best way to change our minds is through prayer. Happy praying.