Evening Prayer for Forgiveness

I see it all the time. Nobody confesses the ‘small sins’ since we can’t avoid them, but these are the sins the ‘add up’ to a life distant from the love of God. So today our Daily Lenten Journey will focus on an Evening Prayer for Forgiveness, something we all need but rarely ask from…

Read More

Prayers Before Sleep

We’re going to change gears with our Daily Lenten Journey today. We return to ‘personal’ prayer as we prepare for bed. We finish our day the same way we began, with prayer. After we pray the Trisagion Prayer, there are a few ‘extensions’ prayers like we had in the morning. We will spend the remainder…

Read More

Prayer of the Ninth Hour

We are making our way through the day focusing on the Hours of Prayer. If you have been engaging in the prayers, then you are ready for the Prayer of the Ninth Hour, the time when Christ died on the Cross. Our Lord and Savior hung on the Cross for three hours before lifting up…

Read More

Prayer for the Sixth Hour

It’s about the most unamerican idea the Church could suggest. American society is based upon doing your best work in exchange for being honored and promoted. The better you are, the more you are given by others. The Christian life, on the other hand, teaches voluntary suffering. Today’s Daily Lenten Journey continues our series on…

Read More

Prayer of the Third Hour

As Christians we hope to walk in the Light of Christ every day. At least that is the prayer of the First Hour which we discussed yesterday. If we walk in the Light of Christ that also means that we walk in the His shadow, living like He lived. That brings us to the Third…

Read More

Prayer of the First Hour

Our Daily Lenten Journey this year is focused on prayer. Yesterday we finished our series on morning prayers. Did you know the Church has ‘services’ dedicated to the different hours of the day? Now we will turn our attention to communal prayers offered during the day. For centuries the People of God have gathered throughout…

Read More

Morning Prayers Part Three

When we pray, we often wonder if God is listening to us. I know we wonder, because many confess this to me. It isn’t a sin, but we feel as if we don’t ‘have God’s ear’ when we are praying. Maybe it is because of the way we pray. Maybe it is the words we…

Read More

Morning Prayers Part Two

Yesterday’s Daily Lenten Journey touched on the traditional morning prayer you find in every Orthodox Christian prayer book. These prayers are the foundation of a solid prayer life, sometimes called a prayer rule. Today, we will discuss an ‘extension’ to these prayers. Rising from sleep, I thank You, Holy Trinity, for in the multitude of…

Read More

Morning Prayers Part One

As Orthodox Christians we begin every day with prayer. Before anything else takes place, before we wash ourselves, before we feed our bodies, we feed our souls with prayer. Immediately upon waking, we approach our icons and pray. As I mentioned yesterday, the Trisagion Prayer begins every prayer session. The following prayers come immediately after…

Read More

The Trisagion Prayer

At the beginning of every day, we pray. At the end of every day, we pray. Throughout the day, the Church gathers, and we pray. At every prayer ‘service’ we begin the same way. We pray the Trisagion Prayers. Today’s Daily Lenten Journey will look at these important prayers. In the name of the Father…

Read More