“Our Good Lord went up a mountain to communicate in prayer with His Heavenly Father. As true God, He was always united with His Father, but as the perfect man that He was, He felt the need to withdraw privately and spend many hours in conversation with His beloved Father.  This example of our Lord, who went up a mountain privately to pray undistracted unfolds for us the subject of individual prayer. Without God we feel an endless loneliness. Nothing on Earth can fill and comfort us who are created in the image of God. Only an encounter and meeting with God can refresh and calm us. and grant us rest. .And that encounter takes place when we go up to the mountain privately to pray…

An indispensable need for private individual prayer is silence. We need to turn off all the distractions in our home: TV, internet, everything that creates noise and is a distraction. We need to be quiet. That is why many Fathers of our Church advise us that it is best to pray privately at night when noise is less likely. And we need to turn off our worldly thoughts and concerns. There has to be a place in our heart and mind for God alone. Wind down first before you pray. Predispose your inner being for an encounter with the Living God. Within this quiet and holy quest, with burning love for God, we can talk with our Lord. We can unfold our total being. We can confess our sins. We can pour out our problems, our pain, our worries and anxieties. We can also express our heart-felt gratitude for the many blessings we have received. “He went up to the mountain to pray privately.” Private and personal prayer— that communication, communion and conversation with God—is entirely mandatory for us. It is the life-giving breath of our heart, which, through meeting with its Creator, feels and is convinced that beyond biological life there exists the inward life of the soul and spirit.”

–  From All Saints Greek Orthodox Monastery newsletter 2020

**We are pleased to include writings from modern American Monasteries from time to time as well as our traditional Elders**