REALLY GOOD APPROACH TO PRAYER Part one

Here is a quote from Orthodox Archimandrite Zacharias, taken from his book, "Hidden Man of the Heart". "But it often happens that we call upon the Lord, desiring to enter into His presence only to find ourselves unable to do so; it is as if we are beating the air. Then we realize that the fault is our attitude and that we are calling upon His Name in a manner that is unworthy. We must then bow our head, and bowing our mind even lower, let us say, 'Lord, I have sinned against Thee, even as I call upon Thy Name. Do Thou teach me Thy humility! Do Thou, O Lord, give me a perceptive mind that I may worthily call upon Thy Holy Name!' And then we begin to sense that the more we humble our Spirit before the Lord, the greater the power of the prayer that is given us from on High. Thus, the hour of prayer becomes an exercise in how to enter into the Lords presence, how to stand before Him, and we learn that our abiding with Him should be strong, active, and luminous. Let us not fail to humble our spirit. If we acquire this blessed habit, many of our faults will be corrected."