An Orthodox Prayer for Creativity

Why do we create? There can only be two reasons for any serious Orthodox Christian:

  1. To Love God
  2. To Love Our Neighbor

We create, by God’s grace, to Love Him, and those around us.

As Orthodox, we also know that mere good ideas that are lacking in action, are useless. Therefore, If we creatives care about living these commandments, we must pray that God plant them into our deep heart.

As someone who struggles with how my creativity fits with my Orthodoxy, I decided to attempt writing a prayer. This prayer is for me as much as anyone else, and I submit it humbly to the Orthodox Church for her acceptance or rejection of it.

The prayer is based off of three inspirations:

  1. My understanding of Orthodox Theology
  2. A famous letter from the Poet Rainer Maria Rilke, to an artist, which had a tremendous impact on many creatives in the recent age. I derived thematic themes from this letter that relate to being an Artist. https://kathrynhastingsco.com/blogs/news/rainermaria-rilkes-1-letter-to-a-young-poet-1
  3. A Catholic Prayer called “Litany of Humility” which was given to me by my Orthodox Priest. https://www.catholicprayercards.org/traditional_Catholic_prayers/litany-ofhumility-prayer-card.html

I am using this letter because it speaks to our current age. However, since the letter also contains certain lies of that particular age, I chose to correct it with the eternal truths of Orthodoxy. The phraseology of the prayer comes from the Litany of Humility. The aim was to strike a balance of insights from the letter, while baptizing the ideas that aren’t compatible with Orthodox theology.

Here is the end result of that:

In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
That I may create as a sacrifice and offering for thee, Lord Jesus, grant this.
That I may create as an act of love for my neighbor, Lord Jesus, grant this.
That I may come closer to thee through art, Lord Jesus, grant this.
That I may disavow desire for worldly approval in art, Lord Jesus, help me.
That I may recognize the mystery of art, Lord Jesus, help me.
That I may carry the flame of Thy Holy Spirit, as a candle, within thy Holy Tradition, Lord Jesus, grant this.
That I may confess the limits of my own abilities, Lord Jesus, grant this.
That I may be like unto a child, Lord Jesus, grant this.
That my art may speak to the past, present, and future, for Thy Glory, Lord Jesus, grant this.
That I may forget the vanity and passion of worldly artistry, Lord Jesus, grant this.
That I may submit to God’s will in my calling, whatever it may be, Lord grant this.
That I expel creativity as an excuse for my sloth, Lord Jesus, help me.
That I may, whether in silence, or company, be in awe of thy ineffable beauty, Lord Jesus, grant this.
That I may increase the talents the master has given me, without speaking of it to others, Lord Jesus grant this.
That I may see thy incomprehensible creativity through the clear window of thy creation, Lord Jesus, grant this.
That all of these things, may be done to accomplish Thy will, not mine, Lord Jesus, help me.

Consult your Orthodox Priest before doing anything with your prayer life, including the use of this prayer.

Leave a comment