Library › Constantine Callinicos › Greek Orthodox Catechism
Greek Orthodox Catechism
Constantine Callinicos, London, 1926
Part III. Ceremonial, 35. Private Prayer
What is the simplest form of prayer?
Private prayer, in which a single person prays to God in private.
Is any place defined for private prayer?
No. Man praying by himself can lift up his hands in every place, as Paul said. (1 Tim. ii. 8.) Eliezer prays beside the well; Job in a dung-heap; Jonah in the belly of the whale; Jeremiah in the mire; the Three Men in the fiery furnace; Daniel in the den of lions, or in the upper room with the windows open and looking towards Jerusalem; the robber on the gibbet; Peter on the house-top; the martyrs in the prison or under torture; our Redeemer in the wilderness, on the Mount, under the olive trees, and on the Cross of agony.
Is any special time defined for private prayer?
No; because he, who prays by himself, can pray at any hour and moment, and on any occasion, The Psalmist, to take a single example, prays before going to bed: “In peace will I both lay me down and sleep.” (iv. 8.) He prays in the morning: “O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee.” (lxiii. 1.) He prays on rising from his sleep: “I laid me down and slept; I awaked.” (iii. 5.) He prays in the evening, in the morning and at mid-day: “Evening and morning and at noonday will I complain and moan.” (lv. 17.) He prays at midnight: “At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto Thee.” (cxix. 62.)
Is any special form required for private prayer?
No; neither is there a stereotyped form of private prayer; and he, who is praying by himself, can, if he likes, lift up his hands to Heaven together with the Psalmist (lxiii. 4); or he can “spread abroad his hands” with the palms open, as if ready to receive God’s gifts, with Moses (Exod. ix. 33); or he can bow himself down upon the earth, and put his face to his knees with the prophet Elijah (1 Kings xviii. 42); or he can kneel on the ground, as Peter did, when he prayed alone before the dead body of Dorcas; or he can fall down on his face as Christ did at Gethsemane; or, finally, he can give to his attitude and expression any form, which does not conflict with reverence to God.