St Ephraim’s prayer for Lent reads: “O Lord and Master of my life, a spirit of idleness, of discouragement, of lust for power, and of vain speaking (vain thoughts and daydreams) give not unto me!” So the first problem is spiritual and physical idleness which leads to mental dullness, and the power that should be transformed into love is transformed into self-love, anger, self-pity, daydreams and unchaste thoughts and feelings. An old proverb says: “Idleness is the mother of all vices.” In this prayer, we pray for deliverance from idleness and three more spirits, namely: discouragement, lust for power or self-love, and vain speaking. In fact, our vain speaking just proves that our thoughts are vain, worldly and self-centred. Therefore we must strike at the root and change our way of thinking. But this is not a one-time act. Our worldly, futile and selfish thoughts causing us to be idle and discouraged must be changed time and again in the obedience of faith.

Next, we ask in St Ephraim’s prayer for four virtues as well as for the spirit behind them: 1) the spirit of chastity, 2) the spirit of meekness, 3) the spirit of patience and 4) the spirit of love! The opposite of chastity is unchastity, the opposite of meekness is pride, the opposite of patience is impatience and the opposite of love is self-love, egoism, self-centredness! We need to be delivered from the bondage of the spirit of darkness which is hidden behind the vices, and to open ourselves to the opposite spirit – the Holy Spirit who is the Giver of all gifts and the source of chastity, meekness, patience and love. These four virtues are intertwined and, in essence, they all require self-denial, renunciation of our own will, and self-surrender to Christ.

The essential step to deny ourselves, to “pocket our pride”, is to become aware in good time of our sins, of our past. Saint Ephraim prays: “Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see mine own transgressions, and judge not my brother (sister).” How to practise it? Whenever someone wrongs, slanders or humbles us, we automatically feel anger, hatred or self-pity. Facing such temptation, we must immediately call on Jesus: “Jesus, You see my anger and this injustice.” And then we must recall – see – our sins, begin to humble ourselves and enter into the truth. And the spirit of pride, anger and self-pity will flee! It would be a sign of unbelief if we let this spirit of deceit torment us for hours and indulged in self-pity! We must learn to give thanks to God for allowing our neighbour to chastise us. And when we are consumed with self-pity, let us deny ourselves and think of the humiliation, abandonment and suffering of Jesus on the way of the cross and on the cross, and self-pity will flee!

Download: Prayer of St Ephraim