Orthros Prayer Seven

Something we struggle to embrace is that we don’t inherently know how to pray. The disciples asked Christ, Who taught us the Lord’s Prayer. Still, we stand daily at our home altar struggling how to pray. Lucky for us, the Holy Spirit is on our side.

O God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has raised us up from our beds, and Who has brought us together at the hour of prayer: give us grace as we open our mouths, and accept our thanksgiving which we offer according to our strength; and teach us Your commandments, for we do not know how to pray as we should, unless You, O Lord, guide us by Your Holy Spirit. Thus we beseech You, if we have sinned in this present hour in word or deed or thought, voluntarily or involuntarily, forgive, remit, and pardon: for “if You retain iniquities, Lord, O Lord, who shall stand?” but with You is redemption; You alone are holy, the Helper, and the mighty Defender of our life, and our praise is forever in You. Blessed and glorified is the might of Your kingdom: of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Our 2025 Daily Lenten Journey on Prayer isn’t just a mental exercise. Our focus on prayer each day is to inspire us to pray, guided by the Holy Spirit. Our prayers are ‘tried and tested’ by the holy saints of the Church, who themselves were guided by the Holy Spirit.

This phrase, “We do no know how to pray as we should, unless You, O Lord, guide us by Your Holy Spirit,” might be the most profound prayer of our series. It is the reason for this year’s Daily Lenten Journey. The best thing we can admit is that we don’t know how to pray. We need help.

Nothing can bring us closer to God in our prayers than the admission that we can’t even talk to Him without His help. Where do we start? Where do we end? What do we ask? The Holy Spirit is there to guide us, through the Church, within the services of the Church.

So, how are we supposed to pray? This prayer gives us the starting point. We praise God. We thank God. Then we ask Him to forgive us through the words, “If we have sinned in this present hour.” This prayer acknowledges early in the morning, that we sin from the moment we awake.

We may not like to admit we need God’s help with prayer, but when was the last time you asked God to forgive you for the sins you ‘already’ committed DURING your morning prayers. Our sins don’t even have to be voluntary to be sins. We sin when we don’t even realize we sin.

I have never come across a more humble prayer than asking God to forgive sins we didn’t even know we committed. Admitting our sin is the only way for us to fight temptation. We cannot stop what we don’t acknowledge exists in the first place.

I invite you to spend your day asking God to help you learn how to pray. Ask Him to help you recognize your sins. Ask Him to help you trust His Church’s prayers. Happy praying.