On Prayer by Saint Paisios the Athonite

Book Review On Prayer by Saint Paisios the Athonite Published by the Holy Hesychasterion “Evangelist John the Theologian” On Prayer is the most recent book published in St Paisios’ Spiritual Counsels series. It is a masterpiece and is highly recommended for all Orthodox Christians who have the longing to understand and experience prayer as conversation with God. Similar to the rest of the series, the book consists of advice given by the contemporary St Paisios to his spiritual daughters – the sisters at the Holy Monastery of St John the Theologian in Souroti of Greece. The underlying theme throughout the book is that prayer is not a series of words read from a prayer book, nor is it simply requests made to God when we are in need. Instead, St Paisios beautifully articulates in simple language that prayer is a sacred union with our Heavenly Father, it is a conversation with our Lord, and it is a natural response to a life that follows the commandments and loves God such that it cannot cease to repeat the sweetest name of Jesus Christ. This is how the book opens, with a chapter describing how prayer is communion with God.

What follows is a section describing how, for an Orthodox Christian, prayer can be a struggle. Here, St Paisios explains that the devil becomes very jealous of a Christian who wants to unite with God in prayer and comments on the strategies used by the enemy to distract and destroy our prayer. But St Paisios offers many practical strategies to renew our prayer life and to overcome these obstacles. In fact, this is a most edifying feature of this book – it is not limited to a theoretical or theological analysis of prayer, but rather practical tools that can be adopted by any Christian to cultivate their prayer life. St Paisios then discusses the immense benefit we receive when we pray to our most-loving Mother Panagia, as well as our guardian angel and the saints. St Paisios decorates his teachings with inspiring stories – some from his own holy life and others from the lives of saints and other holy people he experienced. He also shares strategies on how to effectively pray for others and for those who have fallen asleep. In a unique and inspirational manner, St Paisios explains that prayer for others doesn’t only involve recalling their names in time of prayer, but rather a heart filled with φιλότιμο (honour-loving) that feels the pain of those suffering and expresses this love to God. Given that prayer is central in the life of a Christian, this book is a must read. It is easy to read, filled with inspirational stories and practical advice, and relevant for all; old and young, those who are veterans in prayer, and those who are only beginning to pursue the Christian life. ORTHODOX MISSION BOOKSTORE orthodoxbookstore.org.au 217 Bexley Rd, Kingsgrove, Sydney NSW | (02) 9787 9779 Monday – Saturday 10am–2pm