by Fr. Jonathan H. Cholcher
The Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian (said during weekdays of Lent; translation mine):
O Lord and Master of my life, do not give me the spirit of idleness, curiosity, lust of power, and idle talk. (prostration) But grant, rather, the spirit of whole-mindedness, humility, patience, and love to your servant. (prostration) Yes, O Lord and King, gift me to see my own faults and not to condemn my brother, for blessed are You unto ages of ages. (prostration)
(1) General Characteristics of the Prayer:
(A) Each Christian servant addresses the Lord, Master, and King who gives, grants, and gifts him or her with what is necessary for his or her life. Thus God is to be blessed, or praised, as the absolute Ruler, Provider, and Sustainer of life to be approached in humble fear embodied by prostrations. “Come, let us worship and fall down before Him” (Ps. 94:6; Matt. 2:11 [the Magi]). “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Eph. 3:14).
The Apostle James writes: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (Jam. 1:17). Saint Paul asks rhetorically, “What do you have that you did not receive (from God)?” (1 Cor. 4:7). Finally, our Lord Himself says, “Your Father (in heaven) knows the things you have need of before you ask Him…[H]ow much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matt. 6:8; 7:11).
(B) We pray first and foremost for success in life as a spiritual endeavor. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (i.e., material, bodily needs) shall be added to you” (Matt. 6:33); likewise, the Apostle: “that the Father of glory may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Eph. 1:17). “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts…” (1 Cor. 14:1).
First, we ask God not to give us over to a vicious spirit (e.g., idleness, curiosity, etc.) which in our sin we so often desire, but can only assail people by God’s permission. “The Lord gave a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets…” (3 Kgm. 22:23). “God has given them a spirit of stupor…” (Rom. 11:8 [Isa. 29:10]). See the story of Job tested by the devil (Job 1:6-12), or the “thorn in the flesh” given the Apostle Paul (2 Cor. 12:7-10). We are to “test the spirits, whether they are of God” (1 Jn. 4:1), in order to avoid the evil and choose the good. Our prayer is that we might be proven genuine in the Faith of Jesus Christ, and this Lenten Prayer expresses our desire for true repentance and refinement in virtue.
Second, the granting of virtue hinges especially on the knowledge of one’s own failures and the refusal to judge and condemn anyone other than oneself. Our Lord says, “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you…Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matt. 7:2, 5; 1 Cor. 11:31-32). Conversely, “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses” (Mk. 11:25-26).
Saint James writes: “Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?” (Jam. 4:11-12). Therefore, this Lenten Prayer places us squarely before the Judgment Seat of Christ to whom all must answer for themselves (see Matt. 10:28; 2 Cor. 5:10; Phil. 2:9-13).
(2) Vices and Virtues in the Prayer:
(A) The vicious spirit is seemingly innocuous and common, but precisely because so easily acquired, the doorway to spiritual disaster:
Idleness (Gk., argia; also translated as “sloth”) – “Put [a servant] to work that he may not be idle, for idleness teaches much evil” (WSir. 33:28). “’Why have you been standing here idle all day?’” (Matt. 20:6; the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard). Idleness is doing nothing or frivolous things, that is, wasting and squandering one’s energies and calling in life. From the beginning, human beings are to work at the tasks given them by God tending God’s creation and growing in the grace of God’s kingdom;
Curiosity (Gk., periergia; also translated as “despair, despondency, or faint-heartedness”) – St. Theophan the Recluse defines this vice as interest in and experience of things without godly purpose or meaning (Path to Salvation), which leads to disappointment, dissatisfaction, and hopelessness. Literally, this term refers to being a “busybody, or meddler” in affairs not your business. “Do not meddle in what is none of your business, for things beyond human insight have been shown to you” (WSir. 3:22). “For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies” (2 Thes. 3:11). We need not be curious because we have the truth in Christ;
Lust of power (Gk., philarchia; lit., “love of primacy”) – St. John Chrysostom calls this vice the “mother of heresies” (Homilies on Galatians); a heresy is a faction based on doctrinal or moral error substituting one’s own opinion for the primacy of God Himself and His truth. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning (principle/primacy) of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10). Lust of power seeks to make oneself the ruler of the universe, which is the prideful idolatry of self leading to division from God and anyone not like-minded;
Idle talk (Gk., argologia) – Jesus says, “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt. 12:36-37). “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (Jam. 1:19). “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one” (Col. 4:6). Our talk cannot be without purpose or frivolous, that is, it needs to work toward the salvation of the listener, or we need to remain silent altogether.
(B) The virtuous spirit is comprehensive in scope and only possible through the redemption and restoration of our life in the God-Man Jesus Christ:
Whole-mindedness (Gk., sophrosyne; also translated as “chastity”) – St. John of the Ladder writes that “chastity is the name which is common to all the virtues” (15.3). Saint Paul writes: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly (lit., whole-mindedly), righteously, and godly in the present age…” (Titus 2:11-12). Our mindset should be one of wholeness, that is, what contributes to saving, healing, and preserving our bodies, souls, and spirits in communion with God and His kingdom. “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace…Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…” (Rom. 8:6; Phil. 2:5);
Humility (Gk., tapeinophrosyne; lit., “humble-mindedness”) – “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” (Phil. 2:3). “Yes, all of you be subordinate to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble’” (1 Pet. 5:5; Prov. 3:34). Humility is a basic attitude considering God and the other person worthy of more respect and recognition than oneself, thus always seeking to become better by realizing one’s unworthiness, lack of perfection in virtue, and want of righteousness. This is the spiritual law: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk. 14:11; 18:14);
Patience (Gk., hypomone; lit., “endurance, or perseverance”) – “But he who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt. 24:13). “By your patience possess your souls” (Lk. 21:19). Patience is the ability to remain steadfast in the Faith having believed the promises of God in Christ so as not be swayed or toppled from godliness by the threats, deceptions, false hopes, and instability of the world. Patience depends on one’s constant practice of the Faith in prayer, righteousness, and Communion with God in His holy Church of the elect;
Love (Gk., agape) – The Lord said: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). Also, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23). “And now abide faith, hope, and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13). “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God…In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (atonement) for our sins…No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us…God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 Jn. 4:7, 10, 12, 16).
