How to Pray

According to
St. Basil the Great Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty
 How to Pray
According to St. Basil the Great

St. Basil the Great was born in the year c. 329, and was one
of ten children. Some prominent figures in the history of the
Cappadocian Fathers were his brother, St. Gregory Bishop of
Nyssa, St. Peter Bishop of Sebaste, and his sister St. Macrina, a
model for ascetic life. In the year 370 A.D., St. Basil became the
successor of Eusebius, the Archbishop of Caesarea, and today we
attribute a liturgy to him – the most commonly used liturgy year
round in the Coptic Church.
The writings of St. Basil are distinguished by his spiritual and
practical approach. St. Basil never looked to prayer as a routine,
but rather he looked at it as the instrument to use in working
towards our goal of salvation. He was interested in presenting
practical exercises of prayer that are effective. In discussing how
to approach prayer in the text below, he introduces the concept of
building up our prayer life through exercises and training in prayer
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Just as an athlete trains for
a marathon, we as Christians must train our minds and bodies for
prayer.
In this pamphlet, the approach to prayer will be presented in
the hopes that you, the reader, gain an enhanced understanding of
the life of prayer.
1. It is of the utmost importance that we begin all our prayers
with thanksgiving and praise as the Epistle to the Colossians
states in chapter 4:2 “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in
it with thanksgiving.” Even in the case where one has a spiritual
request to make of God, he or she should not ignore His grace
and gifts that have brought him/her thus far in life. We should
thank Him for every condition, and in any condition, even before
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 we ask Him for His forgiveness of our sins. This theological QUOTATIONS FROM THE WORDS OF ST.
concept is evident in the Agpeya (The Canonical Hours), where BASIL
we start every hour with the Prayer of Thanksgiving, before we
proceed with the Prayer of Repentance (Psalm 50). 1. It is important that we begin our prayers by glorifying our
God, and singing hymns. After glorifying the Lord, one may offer
2. In moments of prayer, we should consider ourselves as up his requests, but ask for what is according to His pleasure.
if we are on a journey to Heaven, where we isolate ourselves When you pray, do not start by presenting your requests first, so
from the world, and are not preoccupied with worldly matters that it does not appear that you resort to prayer solely for making
and concerns. We should focus our minds, hearts and bodies on requests, but rather that you desire to worship Him.
Heaven, so our feelings, thoughts and emotions are enflamed
towards Heaven and the Heavenly. Jesus is the joy in our depths, 2. When you begin to pray, leave behind your earthly concerns,
even when we offer repentance. and lift up your mind to Heaven. Forsake all the creation, visible
and invisible, and begin to glorify the Creator of all things, and
3. After we shift our focus from the earthly to the Heavenly, St. begin your dialogue with Him.
Basil motivates us to offer our prayers with the spirit of the Holy
Bible. This means that we should use the Bible as the map to 3. Put in your mind the words of the Scripture and say:
guide us through prayer. We look to the Psalms when offering “I bless You O Lord, O Merciful, and Longsuffering, for You are
up our requests to the Lord. The Psalms remind us of the work of are patient with me, though I commit sin daily. You granted all of
the Holy Trinity in us throughout the hours of each day, which is us the power to repent.
the heart of the Gospel of our salvation.
For You have patience with us, O Lord, so that we may bless
4. Now that we know that we must first give thanks when we You, glorify You, and praise You, for You oversee the salvation of
pray, we cannot forget to repent, and remind ourselves that all mankind.
we are sinners. When we confess and remember our sins in front
For our salvation, You sometimes permit grief and tribulations;
of the Lord, it is important to remember that we are standing in
sometimes You teach us with Your living doctrines, and sometimes
front of the Forgiver of all sins. Therefore, we should not justify
You rebuke us through the prophets. Lastly, You visited us by the
ourselves in our sins, but rather seek the Lord’s forgiveness and
advent of Your Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
guidance towards a repentant path of newness and purity.
You are He who created us, and You are our God and our
Father.”
4. If you glorified Him with hymns from the Scriptures, then
you have to start saying in humility: “I am unworthy, O Lord, to
open my mouth before You, for I am truly very sinful.” Say this even
if you are not repentant, and do not think thus you have sinned,
for there is no one without sin except God. It is clear that every
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 human being on earth commits many sins, and even if we cannot A PRAYER FOR REPENTANCE
recall them, we must still admit that we are sinners. Like St. Paul
the apostle said: “For what I am doing, I do not understand” (Rom BY ST. BASIL THE GREAT
7:15).  O Master, God of all, the righteous Father who is without
You commit a sin when you proclaim that you are sinless, boundaries!
for we are all sinners in this life. It is said, “In lowliness of mind O ever-present and remaining forever. O eternal One who
let each esteem others better than himself ” (Phil 2:3), and also exists before all ages, more than without a beginning.
“When you have done all those things which you are commanded, You are always present, and never-changing; You have no
say, “We are unprofitable servants” (Luke 17:10) 1. beginning to Your existence, and You have no end.
 When you take food to nourish your body, you can scarcely be O You who are imperceptible in essence and unlimited in
induced to leave the table before you are fully satisfied, except greatness, absolute in goodness, and flowing in nature.
in an urgent situation, where you will not readily do so. How Your depth, strength and wisdom cannot be described for
much more eagerly ought you to dwell on your spiritual they are unfathomable.
nourishment and strengthen your soul with prayer; for the I bless You O God, as You look onto my wretchedness in
soul is as far superior to the body, as heaven above earth, and kindness and mercy, for You save me from the filth of the
the Heavenly above the earthly. world that is worthless and malicious, made of brick.
 I bless You O Lord for showing me, a sinner, Your wonderful
The soul is the icon of Heaven, because the Lord dwells within love and mercy.
it; but the flesh is of the earth, wherein live mortal men and You became my Beloved One to the end in all things.
irrational beasts. You are the Nurturer and the Overseer of all, the Guard and
Regulate the needs of your body, in conformity with the hours the Helper, the Refuge and the Redeemer, the Fortress for
of prayer, and be prepared to dismiss arguments that draw you every soul and body.
away from the observance of the rules of prayer.  I bless You O Lord, for You show me, the unworthy, Your
overabundant and infinite love.
It is the way of the devils to urge us to be absent during the
Although I daily subject myself to Satan because of my laziness,
time of prayer on the pretext of a seemingly worthy reason, so
You guard me and deliver me from his traps.
that they may plausibly draw us from saving prayer2.
I bless You O God, for You grant me the strength to repent for
 It behooves us to make suitable requests in prayer, even if we
my sins, and You grant me countless opportunities to return
are at the very point of death3.
from my malevolence.
 No man ought to pray or prophesy with his head covered;
 I bless You O Lord, for although I have no power, You
and no woman, with her head uncovered4.
strengthen my weakness, and You do not allow me to fall
St. Basil the Great
1 53-52 ‫ ص‬،2003 ،‫ القديس باسيليوس‬:‫راجع دير السريان‬
completely, but You stretch Your helping hand from above and
2 On Renunciation of the World, (Frs. Of the Church, volume 9, p. 28-29). You bring me back to You again.
3 Morals, Rule 65:1.
4 Morals, Rule 56:7.
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  What can I say to You O Master, O most Good, for all the
goodness you bestow on me? You never cease pursuing me,
and laboring for me, I the sinner.
 What thanksgivings can I offer You? This is why I cry out
to You from dawn till evening like a swallow, and I will sing
joyfully to You like a nightingale.
I will not stop blessing You all the days of my life, O my Creator,
who is Benevolent to me, my Protector.
 I am unworthy to talk to You O God, for I am very sinful.
However, I thank You O God, for You are patient with my
many transgressions, and You did not punish me until this
moment.
 I thank You O God, for You do not desire the death of the
sinner, but rather he returns and lives (Ez 18:23).
I deserve to be greatly punished, and be casted out from Your
presence, but, Your love that sustained me extended Your
mercy on me.
 I thank You O God even when I am powerless to thank You in
the proper way that befits Your patience for me.
 Have mercy on me O God, and make my life in harmony with
Your will.
Lead me, for Your kindness knows what is best for me.
According to Your great mercies make me perfect in every good
deed that pleases You, and free my despondent body.
For Your work is mercy and our salvation O God.
We glorify You, thank You, and worship You with Your Only- Queen Mary & Prince Tadros
Begotten Son, and Your Holy Spirit who is All-holy, All-Good, the Coptic Orthodox Church
Life-Giver, now and forever and ever, Amen. Pope Shenouda III Center
St. Basil the Great 283 DAVIDSONS MILL ROAD
SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ 08831
Prepared by: Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty.
Translated by: Hala Saad. Free Publication | ‫نسخة مجانية‬
Edited by: Monica Azer and Dr. Merrit Habib. 2E
Printed by: American Pack
Cairo - Egypt +202 22801119
8
ISBN: 2012-13565