Reflections of Father Mykola Buryadnik on the Lenten Prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian

Today we offer you the reflections of Father Mykola Buryadnik on the Lenten prayer of Saint Ephraim the Syrian.

This prayer is one of the most profound prayers of Lent. It is short in words, but contains an entire spiritual program for a person who seeks to change their life and restore their connection with God.

In the spiritual tradition of the Church, this prayer is divided into three parts.

The first part is the fight against sins that destroy the human soul.

The second part is a request to God for virtues that restore a person.

The third part is a request for spiritual insight: to see one's own sins and not judge one's brother.

Today we present the first part of the reflections, which concerns man's struggle with spiritual passions.

God did not create death, but it entered man's existence through sin. After the Fall, Adam and Eve felt the presence of God and were afraid. The Lord says:

"Adam, where are you?"

Adam answers:

"I heard Your voice and hid myself."

The Lord asks:

"Why did you hide?"

"Because I am naked."

And then the Lord says:

"How do you know? Have you not eaten from the tree of knowledge?"

After the fall, man began to fear God. And how many times in life does a person do the same thing - hide from God. Man does not want God's presence to completely encompass his life.

Sin so deeply wounded human thinking that man began to think incorrectly.

That is why Lent is a time when the Lord gives a person the opportunity to look into their life and see what spiritual states they must struggle with.

Saint Ephrem the Syrian very accurately names these spiritual illnesses.

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The first spirit from which a person asks for deliverance is lethargy.

Despondency is spiritual melancholy, inner weariness of the soul, boredom, loss of strength to live a spiritual life. In modern language, we often call it depression. But the Church distinguishes between different states that may outwardly look similar.

There is depression that is physical or psychological in nature. In such cases, a person needs both spiritual support and medical care.

But there is another state—spiritual lethargy, which the Holy Fathers speak of. They called it the “noon demon.”

This state comes when it becomes difficult for a person to pray, when spiritual life begins to seem like a burden, when a person loses the meaning of spiritual struggle.

In the monastic tradition, it was said that this spirit makes the day long and difficult, and it seems to a person that time has stopped.

In the modern world, this condition manifests itself even more complicatedly.

Once upon a time, a person had to work hard to earn a “piece of bread.” A person struggled, lived in constant internal tension.

Today, people often have almost everything.

And this is what creates a new danger.

A person begins to become oversaturated: with information, entertainment, things, opportunities.

And then an inner emptiness arises.

A person has a lot, but his soul becomes empty.

That's when lethargy appears.

A person loses the joy of life, ceases to see the meaning of struggle.

The spirit of sloth says to man:

"This is not for you."

"This is too difficult."

But for God all things are possible.

When the human mind is armed with the Spirit of God, then a different perspective on life opens up.

A person must learn to ask God for what is truly necessary for their life — both material and spiritual.

For the spirit of sloth does not depart of its own accord until the grace of God drives it away.

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Negligence is a state when a person stops caring about the most important things.

Let us recall the story from the Old Testament about Esau and Jacob, the sons of Isaac, from whose lineage Jesus Christ comes.

Esau did not receive the blessing because he was careless. He did not seek his father’s favor.

Jacob, however, sought the blessing and made efforts to obtain the birthright.

And although this story is not simple, it shows an important spiritual truth:

God's blessing comes to those who seek it.

Esau acted carelessly—and lost the blessing.

Man often cares about secondary things, not about growing in God.

There is no time to ask God for blessings.

A person knows how to talk to people, knows how to behave in front of superiors, knows what to say.

But with God, unfortunately, no.

And then the question arises:

How can the grace of God work in a person's life?

The Lord constantly bestows gifts on man and gives grace.

But how does a person use it?

Does her heart rejoice in God?

The enemy deceives even those who come to the temple.

What do we do at the Liturgy?

Do we listen to prayer?

Is our mind in the words of God?

Often a person leaves the temple with only an emotional impression.

But her heart remains the same.

Life becomes like an illusion or a mirage—appearing for a moment and then disappearing.

The enemy does not want a person to be imbued with God.

Because God's blessing gives strength.

Therefore Christ says:

"Seek first the Kingdom of God."

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It is the desire to use and dominate other people.

But Christ shows a different way.

He says:

"I came to serve and to give my life as a ransom for many."

The Son of God comes into the world as a servant.

He serves the people.

And in this way he shows the true path of Christian life.

The mother of Zebedee’s sons asked Jesus:

"Let my sons sit on your right and left."

But Christ answered:

"Whoever wants to be first must be servant of all."

In the Kingdom of God, closeness to God is not determined by power, but by service.

That is why John the Baptist said:

"He needs to grow, and I need to shrink."

When a person does good, he should lead others to God, not tie them to himself.

The Holy Fathers said:

The more a person humbles himself, the closer he becomes to God.

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Verbosity is not just a lot of words.

Man is created in the image of God and is called to be like God even in his words.

The word has enormous power.

Through the word, a person can build.

But it can also destroy.

The Holy Scriptures say that for every word a person will give an answer.

In the modern world, people live in a stream of words.

We are constantly talking, reading, listening.

But among all these words, the most important thing is often missing—the word that brings life.

Bad words are remembered for a long time.

And a kind word is often forgotten.

Therefore, the Holy Fathers said:

A good person has a short memory for evil.

When Jesus Christ spoke, thousands of people came to hear Him.

For His word was filled with truth and life.

The Word of God has the power to change a person.

That is why Christ sends his disciples to preach.

Through the word, people receive faith, hope, and life.

But a person must learn to speak in such a way that his words are inspired by the Spirit of God.

Because people, by grace, become living temples of God.

And our every word can either build this temple or destroy it.

For, as the Scripture says:

"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks."