Fresh Insight from Ancient Prayers by Chris White

I recently finished a fascinating book on how Christians used to think and worship in North Africa during the early days of Christianity (up to 200 AD).  North Africa has been a largely ignored region of the world until just recently (with the “Arab Spring” in Tunisia and Egypt and the ouster of Khaddafi from Libya) but in the ancient world it was a region of great importance not only for its resources but also its cultural contribution to the Roman Empire.  The influence of Christian leaders from North Africa is also quite pronounced as well with people like Mark (as in the Gospel according to), Athanasius, St. Antony, St. Augustine, St. Cyprian and of course the likes of Tertullian.  With such cultural and spiritual influence, it isn’t too surprising to find that some of its heritage remains with us even today.  One of the more interesting practices of the ancient North Africans was that they prayed facing east.  Unlike the Muslims who pray facing their holy city of Mecca (which could be any direction depending on your locale), the Christian purpose of this is that the sun rises in the east and therefore east is the source of light upon the earth.  They looked upon the sun as symbolic of the person and teaching of Christ  who said of Himself “I am the light of the world” and is called in scripture “the Sun of Righteousness.”  Another practice was prayer in a standing position with arms outstretched to form a cross with one’s body.  They also kneeled in prayer but this was usually saved for prayers of contrition when seeking forgiveness for sin.  Standing prayer was more than taking a cruciform stand, the open hands pointed towards gladly receiving from God His answers and the upright position was a statement of faith that Christ had forgiven their sins and they were coming without guilt and shame as sons of the living God.  Another practice which comes from this ancient group is tracing the sign of the cross on your forehead every time you began something new in your day.  It was to be a reminder that every dimension of your life was to be under the Lordship of Him who died on the cross.  If you think about it, such a habit might dissuade you from a lot of sins, if you stopped for a moment to make the cross.  I met a Bible teacher once who always held a cross in his hand while he taught.  He didn’t do it to affect an air of holiness before the audience, but rather to remind himself that all he says as a representative of Christ must line up with the cross.  Not a bad move.  Can we ever think too much about the cross?  Of course what I’ve shared really has more to do with the form rather than the function or content of prayer which seems paramount.  But sometimes a new idea, even if it is 1800 years old, can enliven our hearts and give the fresh perspective that brings new life to our modern but tired prayers.