(Part 1) The Lenten Prayer of St Ephraim is the ‘Step Stool’ of ‘Ladder of Divine Ascent’ for the Rest of Us

 

Lenten Prayer of St. Ephrem in Contemporary English

O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, [despair], lust of power, and idle talk.   But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant. 

Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions, and not to judge my brother, for blessed art Thou, unto ages of ages. Amen.

Εὐχή τοῦ Ἁγίου Ἐφραίμ  

Prayer of the Holy Ephraim

Κύριε καὶ Δέσποτα τῆς ζωῆς μου,  

    Lord and Master of‑the life of‑me,

πνεῦμα ἀργίας, περιεργίας, φιλαρχίας, καὶ ἀργολογίας  

    spirit of‑sloth, of‑meddling, of‑love‑of‑rule and of‑idle‑talk

μή μοι δῷς.  

    not to‑me give.

Πνεῦμα δὲ σωφροσύνης, ταπεινοφροσύνης, ὑπομονῆς καὶ ἀγάπης  

Spirit however of‑chastity, of‑humble‑mindedness, of‑patience and of‑love

χάρισαί μοι τῷ σῷ δούλῳ.  

grant to‑me the Your servant.

Ναί, Κύριε βασιλεῦ, δώρησαί μοι  

Yeah, O Lord King, grant to‑me

τοῦ ὁρᾶν τὰ ἐμὰ πταίσματα,  

to‑see the my stumblings/faults,

καὶ μὴ κατακρίνειν τὸν ἀδελφόν μου.  

and not to‑judge the brother of‑me.

Ὅτι εὐλογητὸς εἶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.  

For blessed You‑are unto the ages of‑the ages. Amen.

Prologue to the Lesson 

Recently, the Lord gave me a beautiful way to present our lesson on the “Divine Ladder.” He showed me, as a quiet inspiration, that the Lenten Prayer of St Ephrem is the Ladder of Divine Ascent in miniature. Line by line, in Greek, I mapped each petition of the prayer to the corresponding step or theme in St John Climacus. I have never seen it set out quite this way before. 

It places both texts in clear spiritual and practical context: it guards non‑monastics from attempting disciplines beyond their measure and falling into prelest—spiritual delusion—while also bringing the Ladder into our contemporary life as Christ’s “people in the city,” not only as a manual for restraining the passions but as a concrete path toward theosis. As the Lord says to Paul in Corinth, “For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city” (Acts 18:10).