Orthros Prayer at the Bowing of our Heads

Today’s Daily Lenten Journey will wrap up our series on the silent prayers of Orthros. Toward the end of Orthros, the priest makes a bold request from God. Over the past twelve days, we have prayed for mercy, peace and even praised God. Today we ask for His hand to come to us.

O holy Lord, dwelling on high and watching over the humble, looking upon all creation with Your all-encompassing eye: we have bowed the neck of our soul and body to You and we beseech You. O Holy of Holies, extend Your invisible hand from Your holy dwelling place, and bless us all; and whether we have sinned knowingly or unknowingly, forgive us as the good God Who loves mankind, granting us Your earthly and heavenly benefits. For it is Yours to show mercy and to save us, O our God, and to You we send up the glory: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages.

It isn’t every day that we pray for God to physically come and affect our day. We ask for His will all the time. We ask Him to forgive us. Today we ask Him to extend His “invisible hand” from heaven. The image in my mind is the image of God as Creator.

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Genesis 2.7

All living things on earth, except for humans, were created by God speaking. It was only His creation on human beings that He used His hands. It reveals the special relationship we have with God. Our relationship with God is physical and intimate, more than just words.

I also want to point out that this prayer is offered as we bow our heads to God. That is to say, IF we are bowing our heads. The clergy call on us, “Let us bow our heads to the Lord.” Then the prayer includes, “We have bowed the neck of our soul.” So, if you want God’s hand, then bow.

We are all coworkers with God. Whether it be allowing our actions to be an expression of His grace in our service to others, or when we ask Him to bless us. We never ‘just stand there’ and pray. We engage with God, and He engages with us.

We offer Him incense. We offer Him oil. We offer Him bread and wine. We offer Him our time. We ultimately offer Him our bodies when we bow in front of His Holy Altar. It is the least we can do after having asked Him for so many blessings and mercy.

Tomorrow we will begin our study of the silent prayers of Vespers. I hope our 2025 Daily Lenten Journey has been a blessing for you. Until tomorrow….happy praying.