• Homily On Prayer – H.H. Pope Shenouda III

  • Prayer is the flower of gentleness and of freedom from anger. Prayer is the fruit of joy and thankfulness. Prayer is the remedy for gloom and despondency. If you wish to pray as you should, deny yourself all the time, and when any kind of affliction troubles you, meditate on prayer.

    —Evagrios the Solitary

  • “The crown of every good endeavour and the highest of achievements is diligence in prayer. Through it, God guiding us and lending a helping hand, we come to acquire the other virtues. It is in prayer that the saints experience communion in the hidden energy of god’s holiness and inner union with it, and their intellect itself is brought through unutterable love into the presence of the Lord.”

    —St Macarius of Egypt

  • Any child may be worried about the health of his parents,  maybe worried about something about his education—things like that. As for me, I found that I have a resource, which is prayer. If anything is not happening, then it means that I didn’t pray in the proper way or enough or I didn’t make sacrifices to prove that I am genuine in my prayer.

    —Fr. Jacob Magdy

  • “Work comes natural; prayer doesn’t.  Work is tangible; prayer isn’t.  Work “accomplishes” something and makes me feel productive; simply put, prayer doesn’t.”

    —Fr. Anthony Messeh

  • When God sees earnest desire, he takes passions out of us, says one early saint. Repentant prayer is the expression of such earnest desire.

    —Dee Pennock, God’s Path to Sanity

  • The less the natural man succeeds in attaining happiness, the more he finds an outlet for [his longing for it] in prayer.

    —Dee Pennock, God’s Path to Sanity

  • Every day, you tell God, I want nothing but You. I want to serve You, I want to walk with You, I want you to be pleased with me. Every day. That’s the direction of life I’m walking in. I don’t want any goals that are far, I want to encounter the kingdom inside my heart. If you are not enjoying your life today, there’s a big question mark.

    —Fr. Mina Dimitri

  • What happens when we don’t pray for one another? We will not be healed.

    —Fr. Mina Dimitri

  • Hannah
    Day 15 Monday, 10 March

    Be transparent with God. Hannah prayed to Him and ‘wept in anguish’. She
    was transparent by revealing her emotions, thoughts and desires. Her transpar-
    ency highlights the tender heart of God; that feels our emotions and understands
    our thoughts. Like Hannah, every tear our eyes shed is never forgotten; rather
    God will always wipe them away (Isaiah 25:8 & Revelation 21:4). Hannah’s
    transparency with God prepared her to hear His voice. Likewise, when we trans-
    parently empty ourselves before the Bridegroom we prepare to receive Him.

    Believe before you ask. Hannah’s vow is a product of her confidence, belief
    and courage in God. Sometimes we spend significant amounts of time venting to
    God, begging Him, pouring out our complaints and requests. This can become a
    routine undertaken without belief. We need to ask ourselves if we really believe
    that He can and if this is His will. This is the command of our Bridegroom
    ‘Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and
    you will have them’ (Mark 11:24).

    …

    Ultimately, Hannah reminds us that there is no one like our God. No help
    as powerful, or present; no heart as tender, kind or encompassing. God allowed
    her soul to become saturated with bitterness, to cry to Him from the depths of
    her heart

    Women of the Bible
    Daily Contemplations
    Fasting and Prayer Program
    The Holy Great Fast
    2025