THE FOCUS OF

THE AGPEYA:

 If we grasp the focus and the overall theme of the AGPEYA we will pray with further understanding, putting each piece of the puzzle into its allocated place, rather than praying haphazardly.

In the full guidance of the Holy Spirit the Church has a clear theme behind the prayer of the AGPEYA . Much like the Scripture the AGPEYA revolves around the person of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Each Hourly prayer focuses on and commemorates an event concerning Christ. After all, prayer is real communication with a real person to form and nourish a real relationship.

Morning Prayer:

This prayer focuses on the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, and its application in our life. As soon as we wake up, we recall the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, which is the foundation of our faith. St. Paul instructs the Church of Corinth “if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain and your faith is also vain” (I Cor 15:14). By the resurrection of the Lord Jesus we are enabled to live in the newness of life, that is to live differently from the rest of the world, and from our own past carnal life (I Pet 4:2-4). “As Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:4) As we pray this Hour we are encouraged to “enjoy a fresh start” (AGPEYA pg. 6)

 The Third Hour Prayer:

This prayer commemorates the hour of the pouring of the Holy Spirit on the first Church as of tongues of fire. In the gospel we read the “Paraklete’s chapter”, a part of the gospel of John that speaks about the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The prayers to follow are all focused on the Holy Spirit  “O’ Heavenly King, the Spirit of truth, the comforter.. graciously come and dwell within us, purify us from iniquity and save our souls” (AGPEYA pg. 44). As we pray this service we are imploring the Lord Jesus to have His pure life manifested in us through the effectiveness of the Holy Spirit (II Cor 3:18) The Lord promised to supply the Spirit to those who sincerely ask Him. “How much more will your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him” (Lk 11:13)?

The Sixth Hour Prayer:

In this prayer we live with the crucified Christ as He is hanged on the cross to take away the sins of the world. (Jn 1:29) Often we treat the cross as past history, we have learnt and memorized the story and all its possible meanings, but remain indifferent to the Crucified. The Holy Church appoints us to be joined with Christ at the time of His crucifixion daily as to realize the effectiveness of the cross and appreciate the value of the demonstrated love of God through it. We get to embrace the cross of Jesus our good Lord as the unshakable proof of His unconditional love to us (Rom 5:8) “For God demonstrated His own love towards us in this while we were still sinners Christ died for us”. This hourly prayer ignites our emotions to love the Lord more than all our daily endeavours as we see His intense love for us. (I Jn 4:19)

 The Ninth Hour Prayer:

In this hour we accompany the Lord Jesus in His death in the flesh; we admire His submission as He commits His spirit to the Father. We also commemorate the right hand thief and his accepted repentance. As we recall to mind that the Lord tasted death in the flesh for our sake, we acknowledge the privilege of being freed from the eternal punishment through His substituted death. St. Paul tells us “if one died for all, then all died” (I cor 5:14). This means in Christ we received the due punishment of death and we no longer need to pay it again (Rom 8:1). We therefore declare with the right thief “accept us who deserve the judgment of death because of our sins”. Further, we re-vow daily to live for the Lord and die for self: “and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (II Cor 5:15) This practically means we no longer try to lead life our way but continue the life of the Lord through our body.

 The Eleventh Hour Prayer:

This hour commemorates the taking down of the body of the Lord Jesus from the cross. Weak, helpless and in need of care, the Lord Jesus did not even have a place that awaited Him for burial. Truly a ‘feel -sorry -for -me’ type of person! However, as we pray this hour we look onto the Lord and wholeheartedly glorify Him, the world may still see Him as weak and helpless but we know His mighty power and acknowledge Him. The gospel of this hour brings us to the other side of the story; this Jesus is the one who heals those who are weak and helpless. The link between His fleshly weakness and His divine power to heal those who are weak, gives us further grounds to glorify the Lord. True, He willingly took our weakness in order to give us His healing; “by whose wounds you were healed” (I Pet 2:24). As we recall our own weakness, in this prayer, we seek His spiritual healing: “because of my human weakness I can not bear the burden and the heat of the day.. Lord forgive my sin and have mercy upon me”

  The Twelfth Hour prayer:

This prayer commemorates the burial of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ in the tomb. This hour also signifies the end of our own life, being the last hour of the day. As we remind ourselves of our death and burial, we recall the judgment to come, “Behold, I am about to stand before the just Judge in fear because of my numerous sins, for life spent in pleasures deserves condemnation” (AGPEYA pg. 99) “as it is appointed for men to die once but after this the judgment” (Heb 9:27). The Church reminds us that as long as we are on earth we have a chance to contribute to our eternity, after death it is obviously too late; “for the dust (my body) in the grave offers no praise” (AGPEYA pg. 99). In this prayer we are encouraged to repent as long as we are alive.  We are also given the sure hope that Christ buried our sin in His tomb so that they are remembered no more. In the Gregorian liturgy we pray “You manifested your great care for me, you killed my sin with your burial”.

 The Mid Night Prayer:

This prayer commemorates the three times the Lord Jesus went to pray in Gethsemane, on the night of His crucifixion. We see the disciples sleeping while Jesus prayed. The Lord tells the disciples “what, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray lest you enter into temptation.” (Matt 26:40-41). The gospels of the three services speak of the attitude of watchfulness. The wise virgins, (expectation) the repentance of the sinful woman (the preparation), the faithful steward (the active involvement). The Church wants us to cultivate an attitude of living according to the second coming, we must be prepared in a life of repentance, and working in the Lord’s field doing business until He comes.

What a life we have in our blessed Church. Orthodoxy is not a part time job! Through the AGPEYA we are equipped to pray without ceasing, being in the company of the Lord and having Him before us at all times, that we may not be shaken.