Guidelines for Prayer

FR. MATTHEW THE POOR, also known as Abouna Matta El Meskeen (1919-2006), focused lots of his writings on prayer
The late Coptic Orthodox monk, spiritual father and abbot of the Monastery of St. Macarius, author of his worldwide known book "Orthodox Prayer Life", added other books to guide Christians in praying.
This volume contains two essential books, the first, "Guideline for Prayer", and "When you pray; Say Our Father".
Abouna Matta started to pave the way for beginners of prayer, raising the love of God above man's sins, which is the biggest obstacle to prayer. Christ waits for us and when He meets us in prayer, we come to know His will. That is why He declares in the Gospel the vital importance of prayer, urging us to pray all times tirelessly and ceaselessly.
We, through prayer have received a great gift through the mediation of Jesus Christ: the gift is to be in the presence of God the Father.
Then he taught us to begin the prayer with "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" for He alone worthy of worship. Then follows the doxology (glory) as a praising of the Holy Trinity and a testimony of His entire divine presence.
Abouna Matta warns us that frequent sinning, or doubts resulting from tribulations of illnesses, make us insensitive to the presence of God, as they cause dread or despondency of Him. He explained that despite this, the love of God is not put off by the sins of the penitent sinner, or his impurity or doubts. For God's love has infinite power to forgive and purify.
Abouna Matta then guides us in how to overcome excuses for evading prayers, and the difference between the Pharisaic prayers and the prayers which lead us to the presence of the Holy Trinity, when Christ will be our partner in prayer and the Holy Spirit cries out in our hearts. Our prayers then will be a divine call and a return of an exiled creation.
The author also explained how to submit our earthy affairs in prayer, an issue which requires understanding as it is always a question for us.
The frequency of our prayer works in our inner being, changing us into the same image of God.
In these texts, we learn that prayer is communion and union with God, more powerful than sin as a declaration of regret and repentance. Our prayer is an act of obedience of God, and reaction of the divine love.
The last chapter of the first book about prayer for others, how it is essential for the whole church and for us as individuals.
The second book "When you pray, say: our Father in Heaven" (Luke 11:2-4), addresses the Lord's Prayer, which many have memorized and use daily.
This book is essential to our understanding of prayer, because it is Jesus's direct answer to the disciples' question of how to pray. If we pray it, we must understand it well. The Lord's Prayer provides a guideline for how we must pray, and contains all concepts and ideas that man could ask for, such as the glorification of God, forgiveness, repentance, daily economics, acknowledgement of Heaven and Christ's Kingdom and will, temptation, and the power of God. Abouna Matta addresses the meaning and depth of this prayer that we have known since childhood and recited in our hearts and minds both in private, and in the church.
Our Lord Jesus Christ meant for this prayer to be concise, but full of the essentials of true prayer that contains the relationship between God and man, on heaven and earth. The author focuses the light on every word to discover its spiritual depth and application to our daily lives as Christ followers.