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Pain and Prayer: Faith, the Name of Jesus, and the Fathers' Counsel in Affliction
25:22
What the video says
Prayer has a direct relation to faith: faith is a prerequisite for prayer, and prayer is the result of faith, shaping it as personal conversation with God. The holy fathers call prayer consolation and a guard against sorrow, and the psalmist repeatedly cries to God in the day of trouble, from the depths, with his whole heart. Christ himself prays in agony before his passion, teaching the filial prayer 'Abba, Father' and 'not what I will, but what thou wilt,' and the Father answers by sending the strengthening angel.
The Apostle Paul urges constant prayer in tribulation, and the prayer made in the name of Jesus carries sacramental power, easing pain and bringing the soul toward the kingdom.
Fathers including John Chrysostom, Isaac the Syrian, Gregory Palamas, John Climacus, Isaiah the Hermit, Mark the Ascetic, and Nicodemus the Hagiorite teach that prayer in pain must be spontaneous, constant, and unceasing, since the name of Jesus scourges the demons and is the greatest weapon in heaven or on earth. Isaac the Syrian writes that this life was given for unceasing prayer, and Gregory Palamas calls prayer a God-making virtue.
The church prays incessantly in the liturgy for the sick and suffering, and only fervent prayer to the crucified and resurrected Jesus can console and sweeten our pain.
Key moments
- Faith is a prerequisite for prayer and prayer the result of faith, which it shapes as personal conversation with God.
- The psalmist cries to God in affliction: 'In the day of my trouble, I call on thee' and 'Out of the depths I cry unto thee, O Lord.'
- Ecclesiasticus 51 describes calling on the Lord in trouble, near death, with no man to help, and praying for deliverance and wisdom.
- For those who accept the crucible of pain with prayer and patience, it gushes out wisdom, prudence, sapience, and good sense.
- Christ's prayer before his passion is filial ('Abba, Father'), obedient ('yet not what I will, but what thou wilt'), and answered by the angel who strengthens him.
- Prayer made in the name of Jesus wants what he wants and introduces the suffering person into the presence of God; frequent invocation makes the supplicating cry a sacrament.
- St. John Chrysostom counsels that when storms, sicknesses, and afflictions arise, we should remain thanking, praising, beseeching, and supplicating God.
- St. Isaac the Syrian says prayer becomes a haven of assistance, a source of salvation, a treasury of confidence, and a harbor that saves from storms.
This is the second section of Chapter 1, 'Confronting Pain,' from Part 2, 'The Benefits of Pain,' of a book on pain, read aloud on pages 154 to 166. The section treats the relation between pain and prayer. It begins with the link between faith and prayer: faith is a prerequisite for prayer, and prayer is the result of faith, shaping it as personal conversation with God.
The holy fathers call prayer a consolation and a guard against sorrow. The psalmist cries to God in the day of trouble and from the depths, with his whole heart, and Ecclesiasticus 51 describes calling on the Lord near death, with no man to help, praying for deliverance and wisdom. Christ himself prays in agony before his passion, teaching the filial prayer 'Abba, Father' and the obedient 'not what I will, but what thou wilt,' and the Father answers by sending the strengthening angel.
The Apostle Paul urges constant prayer in tribulation. Prayer made in the name of Jesus wants what he wants, carries sacramental power, eases pain, and brings the soul toward the kingdom; frequent invocation makes the supplicating cry a sacrament. Fathers cited include John Chrysostom, Isaac the Syrian, Gregory Palamas, John Climacus, Isaiah the Hermit, Mark the Ascetic, and Nicodemus the Hagiorite.
They teach that prayer in pain must be spontaneous, constant, and unceasing, since the name of Jesus scourges the demons and is the greatest weapon in heaven or on earth. Isaac the Syrian writes that this life was given for unceasing prayer and calls prayer a haven of assistance, a source of salvation, a treasury of confidence, and a harbor that saves from storms.
Gregory Palamas calls prayer a God-making virtue. The church prays incessantly in the liturgy for the sick and suffering, and only fervent prayer to the crucified and resurrected Jesus can console and sweeten our pain.
Main points
- Faith is a prerequisite for prayer, and prayer is the result of faith, shaping it as personal conversation with God.
- Christ prays in agony before his passion: 'Abba, Father' and 'not what I will, but what thou wilt,' and the Father sends the strengthening angel.
- Prayer in the name of Jesus carries sacramental power, eases pain, and brings the soul toward the kingdom; the name of Jesus scourges the demons.
- St. John Chrysostom counsels that in storms, sicknesses, and afflictions we should remain thanking, praising, beseeching, and supplicating God.
- St. Isaac the Syrian says this life was given for unceasing prayer, which becomes a haven of assistance and a harbor that saves from storms.