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 we ask Him for His forgiveness of our sins. This theological concept is evident in the Agpeya (The Canonical Hours), where we start every hour with the Prayer of Thanksgiving, before we proceed with the Prayer of Repentance (Psalm 50).
2. In moments of prayer, we should consider ourselves as if we are on a journey to Heaven, where we isolate ourselves from the world, and are not preoccupied with worldly matters and concerns. We should focus our minds, hearts and bodies on Heaven, so our feelings, thoughts and emotions are enflamed towards Heaven and the Heavenly. Jesus is the joy in our depths, even when we offer repentance.
3. After we shift our focus from the earthly to the Heavenly, St. 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 guide us through prayer. We look to the Psalms when offering up our requests to the Lord. The Psalms remind us of the work of the Holy Trinity in us throughout the hours of each day, which is the heart of the Gospel of our salvation.
4. Now that we know that we must first give thanks when we pray, we cannot forget to repent, and remind ourselves that we are sinners. When we confess and remember our sins in front of the Lord, it is important to remember that we are standing in front of the Forgiver of all sins. Therefore, we should not justify ourselves in our sins, but rather seek the Lord’s forgiveness and guidance towards a repentant path of newness and purity.

QUOTATIONS FROM THE WORDS OF ST. BASIL

• It is important that we begin our prayers by glorifying our God, and singing hymns. After glorifying the Lord, one may offer up his requests, but ask for what is according to His pleasure. When you pray, do not start by presenting your requests first, so that it does not appear that you resort to prayer solely for making requests, but rather that you desire to worship Him.

2. When you begin to pray, leave behind your earthly concerns, and lift up your mind to Heaven. Forsake all the creation, visible and invisible, and begin to glorify the Creator of all things, and begin your dialogue with Him.
3. Put in your mind the words of the Scripture and say:

“I bless You O Lord, O Merciful, and Longsuffering, for You are are patient with me, though I commit sin daily. You granted all of us the power to repent.

For You have patience with us, O Lord, so that we may bless You, glorify You, and praise You, for You oversee the salvation of all mankind.

For our salvation, You sometimes permit grief and tribulations; sometimes You teach us with Your living doctrines, and sometimes You rebuke us through the prophets. Lastly, You visited us by the advent of Your Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

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 human being on earth commits many sins, and even if we cannot 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 7:15).

You commit a sin when you proclaim that you are sinless, for we are all sinners in this life. It is said, “In lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” (Phil 2:3), and also “When you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, “We are unprofitable servants” (Luke 17:10) [1].