Lamplighting Prayer One

Today we turn our attention to the silent prayers of Vespers. In the Greek tradition, these prayers are offered by the clergy during the reading of Psalm 103. Vespers is the “Twelfth Hour” and therefore celebrated at or near sundown.

Living in a technological world, we often forget there were no ‘lights’ in the Church. Today we simply flip a switch, but in the past even lighting the oil candles in the church was a spiritual experience. As the sun sets, our attention is focused on the end of the day.

As the oil candles are being lit, and Psalm 103 is being offered by the Reader, the celebrant stands in front of the Holy Altar of God and prayers for the people. We don’t hear them in the Greek tradition, but they are offered nonetheless on our behalf, so we will reflect upon them.

O Lord, compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and plenteous in mercy: hear our prayer, and attend to the voice of our supplication. Work among us a sign for good; lead us in Your way, that we may walk in Your truth; gladden our hearts, that we may fear Your holy name: for You are great, and You work wonders; You alone are God, and there is no other like You among the gods, O Lord; You are powerful in mercy and You are gracious in strength, to assist, and to comfort, and to save all who place their hope in Your holy name. For to You belong all glory, honor, and worship: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Now that we understand the context of these prayers, the first thing that comes to my mind is the urgency of the prayer. We begin practically begging God to hear our prayer and help us. We enter the dark night understanding that darkness can mean death.

I often write about miracles. We pray for miracles all the time in our friends’ lives or even our own. We rarely pray for miracles to show God’s goodness. In this prayer, we pray for ‘a sign of good’ that will lead us in God’s truth. This sign isn’t for our comfort, but for our salvation.

The urgency of the darkness is palpable, so we don’t mince words. This prayer reminds us that only God can keep us safe through the night. It also means the ‘other gods’ in our lives are powerless to help us. These ‘other gods’ don’t care about our salvation like God cares.

Let me be clear, we do not believe in ‘other gods’. We believe in ONE GOD, so who (or what) are these ‘other gods’ we include in this prayer? One option is demons, which tend to reinforce the danger of darkness. Demons are often associated with night and darkness.

You know I like to keep our Daily Lenten Journey to the themes of helping us pray. Here’s the deal today. We should always pray with urgency, day or night. The ending of one day represents the possibility that we won’t see another. It means we might see God tonight. We might not.

Whether you are in Church tonight or not, I hope you appreciate that you are being prayed for. I pray you find some comfort knowing a priest ‘somewhere’ is asking God to show you a sign for your salvation. It may even be ‘enough’ to convince you to attend vespers more often.

Happy praying.