Episode 42:  

Prayer: Is anyone really listening?

Every Great Lent, iEcclesia features weekly podcasts, covering a variety of topics related to this very important period of the Church year. These programs are designed to help the listener understand why we celebrate Great Lent, the weekly themes, and concluding with the importance of Holy Week and Pascha.

On this third Friday we have reached the half-way point of Great Lent, approaching the apex of Holy Week and Pascha. Our podcast today deals with something that is one of the foundations of Great Lent.

From the beginning of time, prayer is something that most major faith groups engaged in. Christianity is no different, with prayer being a hub of how to communicate with God. From the liturgical acts at Church to the private prayers said at home or work, prayer is something that every faithful person engages in. Today’s discussion will even take us to the questions of “is anyone really listening?”, “what about the people that believe ‘in their own way’ and don’t follow the Church?” or even “does God hear our prayer?”

So, join us for our podcast, “Prayer: Is anyone really listening?”

The program begins with a definition of prayer and to Whom are we praying to. There are many prayers used in the Orthodox Church and our guest give us an examples of these types of prayers and why they are important for the faithful. As well, when Orthodox liturgical prayers mention the Virgin Mary, the Saints and the Angels, other Christian groups often accuse the Orthodox of not praying correctly (that is, we are praying to people and not to God). This is analysed and discussed.  For Orthodox Christians, there is a balance of liturgical prayers and our private prayers (at home, at work, or wherever else) and our guest tackles what balance needs to exist between our private and public prayers. Also, the fundamental difference Orthodox faithful have when we compare our prayer life between those of other Christian (or non-Christian) faith groups. Next, the prayer of St. Theophan the Recluse is discussed in detail. An important, often asked question is: What happens when a person’s prayers are not answered? Our guest tries to sort out whether “we're not praying hard enough” or because it was a “pseudo-prayer”. Many people tend to say, “I go to Church, yet I believe in a certain way” and they have certain opinions about God, the Church and faith in general. our guest answers how can it be that people might have a particular perception of God that is not in line with what the Church teaches. Next, our guest answers the important question of: does God care to hear our prayers? The program concludes with final thoughts from our guest.

Guest Information

(L-R) Tim Prattas (Host) and Very Rev. Archimandrite Christodoulos Papadeas

Tim Prattas, Host

- M.Div., Tyndale Seminary