Today I’ve come to you with one of the most wonderful stories I’ve ever read, a story that actually happened. Let’s read the story and then ponder it a little bit:

As soon as dark descended on the monastery, and the monks went each one into his cell to recite his psalms and sing his praises, that illiterate monk came out of his cell quietly, sneaked out of the entire cells’ area … and sat there at the graveyard crying and complaining to his Lord about being unable to keep the psalms by heart, or even to recite the Lord’s prayer. At last he just kept reiterating that only phrase … “Our Father who art in Heaven”, contemplating God’s fatherhood and overwhelmed by God’s work of Salvation.

The next day Monk Bakhoum was knocking at the abbot’s door. The abbot opened.

Monk Bakhoum: Peace with you father … I’ve come to have a discourse with you in love

Abbot: What is it my dear

Monk Bakhoum: I guess you know that new monk there …

Abbot: Yes, sure, I think he’s a simple and lovable person indeed …

Bakhoum: No doubt father, but how could he put on a monk’s habit when he can’t even read the Bible, keep the psalms by heart or even recite the Lord’s Prayer

Abbot: Who told you so?

Bakhoum: Forgive me father … but I was drawn very much by his form while he was praying, I felt he was standing as though in heaven … I looked at him and I found his lips moving monotonously. I drew close to him … and, to my amazement, I found him repeating the words “Our Father who art in Heaven” .. alone …

The abbot kept silent for a moment and then said “Let me see to this matter”. Monk Bakhoum went off.

The abbot was much troubled by this discourse and didn’t know what to do. He loved that simple monk and wouldn’t order him out of the monastery, but at the same time he couldn’t break the rules of the monastery so that the other monks wouldn’t falter in meditating in God’s word, praying with the psalms and praising.

So the next day the abbot came upon the simple monk, and after a short talk asked him:

Abbot: Do you know the Psalms by heart father? Please tell me how many Psalms you can recite?

Simple Monk: Forgive me father, for I pray only what I have learned

Abbot: I’ve got to know, because the monastery rule mandates that you recite the Psalms and Praise by heart, as well as portions of the Bible

Simple Monk: I have only learned what I could, father

Abbot: Excuse me father, but If you can’t recite anything I’ll be obliged to ask you to leave the monastery so that no commotion would occur because of you

Simple Monk: Alright father, but will you please allow me to take my cell with me? (The cell is the room in the monastery where a monk lives and prays)

Abbot: Are you joking?

Simple Monk: Not at all father, I just don’t want to part with my cell !

Abbot: (To make an end to what he considered a useless talk) Well, take it if you wish …

The simple monk prostrated himself in humbleness to the abbot, and then to the other monk … then he walked off to the store, brought a rope, bound the cell … and started to pull it gently along, saying “Come on walk … blessed thing” You can imagine the sheer bewiderment of the fathers when they saw that building actually moving on …!!! … They followed it with their amazed eyes until it had moved miles away (!!!) to where it settled finally for the simple hermit, who could not keep anything by heart, to live in !

Now, let’s ponder this story a little bit

Have you read this story carefully? Do you know that this story is not a fancy tale but has actually taken place ?

If you ever visit St. Anthony’s Monastery, by the Red Sea, don’t forget to ask one of the elders there about the cell of monk “Hanna Zammar”, “the monk who pulled his cell along” …!!!Yes, that monk who actually pulled his cell along with him is called Hanna Zammar God always looks to the pure heart and rewards according to it …

Is your heart pure? If it isn’t yet, don’t be sad, but thank God that He is giving you time till now, thank Him that you’ve read this story and that you can – now and not tomorrow – repent truly so that God will give you a pure heart. The present moment is yours indeed, but if you postponed repentance you may not be alive tomorrow … Each one of us might get the feeling that in spite of all what he/she knows by heart, whether Psalms, stories, Bible verses, hymns or prayers, the door of Heaven won’t be opened unto him/her!!

Just think for a minute .. where are you? What’s your position now exactly? We have been used to recite our prayers without comprehending what we say, or feeling God’s presence …But God doesn’t want us to be like parrots, nor does He want us to show Him how much Gospel verses and chapters we know by heart…! What God wants is our hearts, the emotions that come out as we speak and pray … and our deeds by which we should glorify Him

I wish we could learn from that monk how to be simple, humble and obedient as he was to his abbot, to have faith like his great faith through which he was so sure that he could pull along the only thing he desired … his cell ! That’s what it is … If we don’t be as children we won’t get into the Kingdom of God …

God accepts the prayer of a pure heart full of love, mercy, simplicity, purity and sincerity of prayer. It’s not important to utter too many words and prayers without understanding, emotion or sincerity, thus be praying by the tongue only and not the heart. However, and in order that nobody might think that the aim of this story is set aside learning verses, hymns, praise, etc, by heart; we wish to make sure that to learn God’s words, verses, psalms, hymns, praises and spiritual songs should be held in great importance, that we can use them in one’s prayer in sincerity, understanding, faith and a pure and chaste heart.

The goal is to utter prayer in purity of heart, love to everybody, true faith and simplicity

I hope I have presented to you a useful and replenishing story

Pray for the ministry