Prayer as Invocation.

        Prayer is defined by a variety of forms such as petition, confession, intercession, thanksgiving, and doxology. Like the Psalms, most prayers combine several of these forms. A prayer may begin with the praise of God, then make an entreaty of petitions, and end with additional words of praise to God. Or a prayer may begin with thanksgiving, offer confession of sins, and finish with the praise of God. However, the meaning of prayer is defined not only by the various forms of prayer but also by the very nature of prayer as an act of personal of faith and communication with God. All prayers, whatever their forms, share basic elements or aspects which can be said to define the essence of prayer. Three such elements disclose the essential meaning, or what we may call the theology of prayer: invocation, relationship and communion.

        What is prayer as invocation? To pray is to “invoke” or call upon the name of God. The highest moment of invocation is the epiklesis (“invocation”) at the consecration of the eucharistic gifts in the Divine Liturgy. The bishop or priest prays to God the Father: “We ask, pray, and entreat You: Send down Your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts here presented. And make this bread the precious Body of Your Christ. And that which is in this cup the precious Blood of Your Christ.” All prayers, whether petitionary, confessional, intercessory, or doxological, are defined by this element of invocation. The act of invocation, often underscored by the explicit use of verbs of invocation such as “ask” (aito), “entreat” (iketeuo), “cry” (krazo), and “invoke” or “call upon” (epikaloumai), is significant in itself because it tells something about God, something about those who pray, and something about the nature of prayer itself.

        Concerning God, the act of invocation tells us that the One we turn to and address in prayer is accessible and approachable. God is a personal and loving God who not only makes Himself available but also takes the initiative to seek us out. In a great moment of salvation history, God spoke to Moses from the burning bush and charged him to lead the people out of Egypt. Because Moses expressed grave fears about the immensity of the task, God promised him: “I will be with you” (Ex. 3:12). When Moses asked for God’s name, God revealed His sacred name, YAHWEH, which means “I AM WHO I AM.” He told Moses: “Say to the people of Israel, I AM has sent me to you’” (Ex. 3:14). God’s sacred name intimates the mystery of God’s being and character  — the One who, although a great mystery, eternally exists and is always there for us. We can approach Him in prayer because He is accessible. By His very name God assures us: “I am here. I am with you. I am here for you!”

        Orthodoxy iconography features many icons of Christ painted in various styles. In all of the icons the halo or crown of Christ is inscribed with the letters “OWN,” meaning “HE WHO EXISTS” or “HE WHO IS.” According to the Church Fathers, Christ was the “hidden” Revealer of God in the Old Testament. It was Christ, the eternal Logos of God, who spoke to Moses from the burning bush. What was hidden in the Old Testament became clear in the New. In the New Testament Christ is revealed as Emmanuel — “God-with-us” (Mt. 1:23). During His ministry Christ said to those who listened to Him: “If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink” (Jn 8:37), and again: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt. 18:20). After the resurrection, when He commissioned the disciples to evangelize the world, He promised: “I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt. 28:20). Christ’s words are trustworthy. Because He is accessible and approachable, we can invoke His name in prayer knowing that He is always with us. He has promised His followers: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you” (Mt. 7:7). And again: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt. 11:28).

        The act of invocation also tells something about ourselves. When we pray, we come to God as supplicants. We approach God as those who have been given the privilege and charge to call upon God as Father. As often as we pray, whether alone or together, we seek to affirm and actualize our status as sons and daughters of the Almighty. Moreover, because God deigns to be at our disposal, to call upon God is to activate His immense reservoir of grace and power. Through invocation, we connect with the Lord of the universe and can release His infinite love for forgiveness, healing, renewal and salvation. Saint Paul, who described Christians as “those who call upon the name of Jesus Christ” (oi epikaloumenoi to onoma tou Iesou Christou, 1 Cor. 1:2), equates invocation with the process of salvation. Emphasizing the importance of personal faith and the nearness of the risen Lord, Saint Paul writes: “If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved... For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom. 10:9,13). Our private and corporate prayers are replete with invocations to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. By invoking the name of God we engage the holy and mighty God, Creator and Lord of life. Calling upon God’s name is not the only criterion of salvation. But it is the foundation of the whole process of salvation.

        The act of invocation tells us, as well, something about the nature of prayer itself. To call upon the Lord of the universe is a daring and awesome act. God is holy and burning fire consuming what is unclean. When Moses approached the burning bush, God said to Him: “Take off your shoes, because the place on which you stand is holy ground” (Ex. 3:5). Moses’ shoes were likely made of leather. Some Church Fathers interpret leather as signifying hardness of heart or insensibility of soul which must be put off before approaching God’s holy presence. In a parallel vision, when the Prophet Isaiah saw God enthroned in glory (Is. 6:1-9), the angels covered their faces with their wings as they hovered around God’s throne and sang: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.” The prophet’s spontaneous reaction was to say: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” In a dramatic gesture, one of the angels took a burning coal from the altar of the Temple and touched the prophet’s mouth, saying: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin is forgiven.” The angel’s statement to Isaiah is now recited by the priest in the Liturgy after his reception of Holy Communion. With regard to the Prophet Isaiah, once cleansed and empowered, he eagerly accepted his call (“Here I am! Send me!”) and fulfilled his mission as one of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament.

        The invocation of God is awesome to contemplate. To call upon God means to come before God’s holy presence. The immediate experience of God evokes powerful attraction and equal fear because of God’s majesty and holiness. The fear arises from the sense of human sinfulness in the presence of the holy, the sense of being like dry grass before the divine fire. Many avoid prayer because of the discomfort of being judged by a righteous God who desires reformation of life in alignment with His will and purpose. The attraction comes from the beauty and power of God’s love, from the inward yearning to share in the light and holiness of God. Those who are responsive to God’s beauty and love, and desire to be cleansed and transformed, are drawn to prayer. The saints counsel that we must approach prayer not routinely and formally, but with spiritual awareness and receptivity. In the Divine Liturgy we symbolize the Cherubim in Isaiah’s vision singing the Trisaghion: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord Sabaoth, heaven and earth are filled with Your glory.” When Holy Communion is presented to the faithful, the priest proclaims: “With the fear of God, faith and love, draw near!” When we celebrate the Divine Liturgy or pray privately, we should do so with awesome awareness that we are in the presence of the living God. Prayer as invocation brings us before the throne of God, calling upon Him, seeking to connect with Him, to be judged and cleansed, to receive from Him light and life.