How to read the prayer rule at home. Orthodox faith - prayer rule-alf
A detailed description from several sources: "what time is the prayer" - in our non-profit weekly religious magazine.
In everything that concerns prayer and a pious life, the Lord Jesus Christ, the apostles and saints can serve as an example for us. It is written in the Gospel that Christ prayed in solitude for several hours and even during the whole night. The Apostle Paul urged to pray without ceasing, that is, all the time. Is there a limit to the length of the prayer?
Where can you pray to God?
You can turn to God in prayer almost everywhere:
At home, they read home prayers (morning, evening, before or after eating food). With the blessing of the priest, morning prayers can be read on the way to work. In the office, you can pray before the start and at the end of the working day.
During worship services in the temple, believers together perform a public (otherwise - church) prayer.
To pray alone in the temple, you need to come outside of worship, purchase and light candles. It is not necessary to light them: the ministers will light them before the start of the service. Then you need to venerate the icon of the day or holiday - it lies on a lectern (a special inclined table) in the middle of the temple - as well as to the shrines that may be in the temple: revered icons, relics of saints. After that, you can find a place to read to yourself (in a whisper) any prayer that you know by heart, or pray in your own words.
How many times a day should the Orthodox pray?
Prayer is a time dedicated to God. This time should be every day.
- in the morning,
- in the evening,
- before meals and after
- before and after the completion of any business (for example, work or study)
- in order to first ask God for blessings, and in the end to thank Him.
In addition, it is important to attend the Liturgy in the church weekly to perform church prayer and receive Holy Communion. If necessary, in case of special needs or life circumstances, you can turn to private prayer (at home in front of icons or in church between services) to saints or heavenly powers so that they intercede for the one who is praying before the Lord.
Time for reading Orthodox prayers in church and at home
In ancient monasteries, nine long services were performed per day, and between them the monks alone read psalms or said the Jesus Prayer. Night was considered a particularly fertile time for solitary prayer.
Modern laity in the morning at home perform the morning prayer rule, in the evening, upon returning home, the evening rule. If a person is weak or has little time, then instead of the morning and evening rules, he can read a short rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov during the day.
It is advisable to discuss the duration of morning and evening prayers with the priest, with whom the parishioner confesses constantly.
On Saturday evening and on the eve of church holidays, you should attend the all-night vigil in the church, and on Sunday mornings and on holidays - the Liturgy.
During Great Lent they go to church more often to pray: in the first four days they try not to miss evening services- they serve Great Compline with the Canon of Andrew of Crete. You should also try to attend as many services as possible during the Holy Week preceding the Easter holiday. During Holy Week Liturgy is served daily, and believers strive to visit it in order to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ not only on Sunday, but also on a weekday.
Morning prayer time
Morning prayers are read at home, immediately upon awakening. Waking up, you need to stand in front of the icons and start reading prayers by heart or according to the prayer book.
Evening Prayer Time
Evening prayers are read at home at the end of the day or before bed. The evening rule is not recommended to be postponed until later, because the later, the stronger the fatigue and the more difficult it is to concentrate.
Just before going to bed, already lying in bed, they say: “In Your hands, Lord my God, I betray my spirit, You save me, You have mercy on me and grant me eternal life.”
Prayer all day long
The Orthodox Church does not set a strict time for prayers. We must strive to pray constantly. First of all, this means constantly remembering God and from time to time, if possible, turning to Him during the day with short prayers (for example, the Jesus Prayer “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner” or a short thanksgiving prayer “Glory to To Thee, our God, glory to Thee!”).
Continuous prayer
You can read short prayers continuously throughout the day, repeating the same prayer many times in a row and counting the number of repetitions with a rosary. This is usually how the Jesus Prayer is read. However, for such a prayer it is necessary to take the blessing of the priest, and the number of repetitions is strictly regulated.
There are many restrictions on continuous prayer, it cannot be read uncontrollably.
St. Ambrose of Optina ordered his spiritual children to read the Jesus Prayer only aloud, because reading to oneself can cause strong emotional sensations and lead to delusion. Charm means self-deception, up to mental insanity.
How long should a prayer be?
Duration prayers are not governed by rules.
- The most important thing is the focus on prayer, not its duration or number of prayers.
- You need to pray slowly, thinking about every word.
- The number of prayers should correspond to the time that we can devote to them.
The Lord said, “I want mercy, not sacrifice” (Mt. 9:13), therefore, with a lack of time or severe fatigue, it is permissible to shorten the prayer rule in order to read it with concentration.
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Prayer rule.
What is a prayer rule? These are prayers that a person reads regularly, daily. Everyone's prayer rule is different. For some, the morning or evening rule takes several hours, for others it takes several minutes. Everything depends on a person's spiritual disposition, on the degree of his rootedness in prayer, and on what time he has at his disposal.
It is very important that a person fulfill the prayer rule, even the shortest one, so that there is regularity and constancy in prayer. But the rule should not turn into a formality. The experience of many believers shows that with constant reading of the same prayers, their words become discolored, lose their freshness, and a person, getting used to them, stops focusing on them. This danger must be avoided by all means.
I remember when I took monastic vows (I was twenty years old then), I turned to an experienced confessor for advice and asked him what my prayer rule should be. He said: “You must read the morning and evening prayers daily, three canons and one akathist. Whatever happens, even if you are very tired, you must read them. And even if you subtract them hastily and inattentively, it doesn’t matter, the main thing is that the rule be subtracted.” I tried. Things didn't work out. Daily reading of the same prayers led to the fact that these texts quickly got bored. In addition, every day I spent many hours in the temple at services that spiritually nourished me, nourished me, inspired me. And the reading of three canons and an akathist turned into some kind of unnecessary “appendage”. I started looking for other advice, more suitable for me. And I found it in the works of St. Theophan the Recluse, a remarkable ascetic of the 19th century. He advised the prayer rule to be calculated not by the number of prayers, but by the time that we are ready to devote to God. For example, we can make it a rule to pray in the morning and in the evening for half an hour, but this half hour must be completely given to God. And it is not so important whether we read all the prayers during these minutes or only one, or maybe we will devote one evening entirely to reading the Psalter, the Gospel or prayer in our own words. The main thing is that we should be focused on God, so that our attention does not slip away and that every word reaches our hearts. This advice worked for me. However, I do not rule out that for others the advice of the confessor I received will be more suitable. Much here depends on the personality of the person.
It seems to me that for a person living in the world, not only fifteen, but even five minutes of morning and evening prayer, if, of course, it is pronounced with attention and with feeling, is enough to be a real Christian. It is only important that the thought always correspond to the words, the heart responds to the words of the prayer, and the whole life corresponds to the prayer.
Try, following the advice of St. Theophan the Recluse, to allocate some time for prayer during the day and for the daily fulfillment of the prayer rule. And you will see that it will bear fruit very soon.
The basis of the life of an Orthodox Christian is fasting and prayer. Prayer is the conversation of the soul with God. And just as in a conversation it is impossible to listen to one side all the time, so in prayer it is useful sometimes to stop and listen to the Lord's answer to our prayer.
The Church, praying daily "for everyone and everything", has established a personal, individual prayer rule for everyone. The composition of this rule depends on the spiritual age, living conditions, human capabilities. The Prayer Book offers us morning and evening prayers available to everyone. They are addressed to the Lord, the Mother of God, the Guardian Angel. With the blessing of the confessor, prayers to selected saints can be included in the cell rule. If it is not possible to read the morning prayers in front of the icons in a calm atmosphere, then it is better to read them on the way than to omit them altogether. In any case, you should not have breakfast before the prayer "Our Father" is read.
If a person is sick or very tired, then the evening rule can be performed not before going to bed, but shortly before that. And before going to bed, one should only read the prayer of St. John of Damascus: “Vladyka Lover of mankind, will this coffin be for me. ' and those following it.
A very important component of morning prayers is the recitation of remembrance. It is imperative to pray for the peace and health of His Holiness the Patriarch, the ruling bishop, spiritual father, parents, relatives, godparents and godchildren, and all people who are connected with us in one way or another. If someone cannot make peace with others, even if not through his own fault, he is obliged to remember the “hating” and sincerely wish him well.
The personal ("cell") rule of many Orthodox includes the reading of the Gospel and the Psalter. Thus, the Optina monks blessed many to read during the day one chapter from the Gospel, in order, and two chapters from the Apostolic Epistles. At the same time, the last seven chapters of the Apocalypse were read one a day. Then the reading of the Gospel and the Apostle ended simultaneously, and a new circle of readings began.
The prayer rule for a person is established by his spiritual father, it is up to him to change it - to reduce or increase it. Once established, the rule should become the law of life, and each violation should be considered as an exceptional case, tell the confessor about it and accept admonition from him.
When and how long should you pray? The apostle Paul says, "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). St. Gregory the Theologian writes: “It is necessary to remember God more often than to breathe.” Ideally, the whole life of a Christian should be permeated with prayer.
Many misfortunes, sorrows and misfortunes occur precisely because people forget about God. After all, there are believers among criminals, but at the moment of committing a crime they do not think about God. It is difficult to imagine a person who would commit murder or theft with the thought of an all-seeing God, from Whom no evil can be hidden. And every sin is committed by a person precisely when he does not remember God.
Most people are unable to pray throughout the day, so you need to find some time, even a short one, to remember God.
You wake up in the morning with the thought of what you have to do that day. Before you get to work and plunge into the inevitable bustle, dedicate at least a few minutes to God. Stand before God and say: “Lord, You gave me this day, help me to spend the era without sin, without vice, save me from all evil and misfortune.” And call on the blessing of God on the day that begins.
Throughout the day, try to remember God more often. If you feel bad, turn to Him with a prayer: "Lord, I feel bad, help me." If you feel good, say to God: "Lord, glory to You, I thank You for this joy." If you're worried about someone, tell God, "Lord, I'm worried about him, I'm hurting for him, help him." And so throughout the day - whatever happens to you, turn it into a prayer.
When the day comes to an end and you are getting ready for bed, remember the past day, thank God for all the good things that happened, and repent for all those unworthy deeds and sins that you committed that day. Ask God for help and blessings for the coming night. If you learn to pray this way every day, you will soon notice how much more fulfilling your whole life will be.
Often people justify their unwillingness to pray by saying that they are too busy, overloaded with things. Yes, many of us live in a rhythm in which people of antiquity did not live. Sometimes we have to do a lot of things during the day. But there are always pauses in life. For example, we stand at the bus stop and wait for the tram - three to five minutes. We go to the subway - twenty to thirty minutes, dial a phone number and hear beeps - "busy" - a few more minutes. Let us at least use these pauses for prayer, let them not be wasted time.
How to pray when you're short on time
Many of the elder's visitors blamed him for not praying enough, not even reading the prescribed morning and evening prayers. St. Seraphim established the following rule for such people:
“Rising from sleep, every Christian, standing before the holy icons, let him read the prayer “Our Father” three times, in honor of the Most Holy Trinity. Then the song to the Mother of God "Virgin Mary, rejoice" also three times. In conclusion, the Creed "I believe in one God" - once. Having made such a rule, every Orthodox is engaged in his own business, to which he was appointed or called. While working at home or on the way somewhere, he quietly reads “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner (or a sinner)”, and if others surround him, then, minding his own business, let him only say with his mind “Lord, have mercy” - and so until noon. Just before dinner, let him repeat the morning rule.
After dinner, while doing his work, let every Christian read just as quietly: “Most Holy Theotokos, save me a sinner.” Going to bed, let every Christian read the morning rule again, that is, “Our Father” three times, “Theotokos” three times, and the “Symbol of Faith” once.
St. Seraphim explained that by adhering to that small “rule”, one can achieve a measure of Christian perfection, for these three prayers are the foundation of Christianity. The first, as a prayer given by the Lord Himself, is the model of all prayers. The second was brought from heaven by the Archangel in greeting to the Mother of God. The Creed, however, contains all the saving dogmas of the Christian faith.
1. The Lord's Prayer "Our Father" (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4).
2. Basic commandments of the Old Testament (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18).
3. Basic gospel commandments (Matthew 5:3-12; Matt. 5:21-48; Matt. 6:1; Matt. 6:3; Matt. 6:6; Matt. 6:14-21; Matt. 6:24-25; Matthew 7:1-5; Matthew 23:8-12; John 13:34).
5. Morning and evening prayers for a short prayer book.
6. The number and meaning of the sacraments.
The fear of our times has not passed over even the Orthodox. How to protect yourself and loved ones? - believers often ask. Our main defense is the Lord Himself, without His Holy Will, as it is said in the Scripture, no hair will fall from our head (Luke 21:18). This does not mean that we, in a reckless hope in God, can behave defiantly towards the underworld. The words “do not tempt the Lord your God” (Matt. 4:7) we need to remember firmly.
God has given us the greatest shrines to protect us from visible enemies. This is, first of all, a Christian shield - a pectoral cross that cannot be removed under any circumstances. Secondly, holy water and arthos, eaten every morning.
We also keep the Christian in prayer. Many churches sell belts on which the text of the 90th psalm “Alive in the help of the Most High. ” and a prayer to the Holy Cross “Let God rise again.” It is worn on the body, under clothing.
The ninetieth psalm has great power. Spiritually experienced people recommend reading it before each exit to the street, no matter how many times we leave the house. Saint Ignatius Bryanchaninov gives advice when leaving the house to make the sign of the cross and read the prayer: “I deny you, Satan, your pride and service to you, and combine with you, Christ, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen".
Orthodox parents must certainly baptize their child if he goes out into the street alone.
Once in a dangerous situation, one must pray: “May God rise again,” or “Victorious Chosen Governor” (the first kontakion from the Akathist to the Theotokos), or simply “Lord, have mercy,” repeatedly. It is necessary to resort to prayer even when another person is being threatened before our eyes, but we do not have enough strength and courage to rush to help him.
The prayer is very strong to the saints of God, who became famous for the art of war during their lifetime: Saints George the Victorious, Theodore Stratilates, Demetrius of the Don. Let's not forget about the Archangel Michael, about our guardian angel. All of them have a special power with God to give strength to the weak to overcome their enemies.
“If the Lord does not guard the city, the watchman watches in vain” (Ps. 126:1). The house of a Christian must certainly be consecrated. Grace will keep the dwelling from all evil. If it is not possible to invite a priest to the house, you yourself need to sprinkle all the walls, windows and doors with holy water, reading “Let God rise again” or “Save, Lord, Thy people” (troparion to the Cross). From the danger of arson, a fire, it is customary to pray to the Mother of God in front of the icon of Her "Burning Bush".
Of course, no means will help if we lead a sinful life and do not repent for a long time. Often the Lord allows extraordinary circumstances to admonish unrepentant sinners.
You can pray in different ways, for example, in your own words. Such a prayer should constantly accompany a person. In the morning and evening, day and night, a person can turn to God with the simplest words coming from the depths of the heart.
But there are also prayer books that were composed by saints in ancient times, they need to be read in order to learn how to pray. These prayers are contained in the "Orthodox Prayer Book". There you will find morning, evening, penitential, thanksgiving prayers, you will find various canons, akathists and much more. Having bought the "Orthodox Prayer Book", do not be afraid that there are so many prayers in it. You don't have to read all of them.
If the morning prayers are read quickly, it will take about twenty minutes. But if you read them thoughtfully, attentively, responding with your heart to every word, then reading can take up to an hour. Therefore, if you do not have time, do not try to read all the morning prayers, it is better to read one or two, but so that each of their words reaches your heart.
Before the Morning Prayers section, it says: “Before you begin to pray, stand a little while until your feelings subside, and then say with attention and reverence; “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen". Stay a little longer and only then start praying.” This pause, the “minute of silence” before the beginning of the prayer, is very important. Prayer must grow out of the silence of our heart. People who “read” morning and evening prayers daily are constantly tempted to read the “rule” as soon as possible in order to get down to daily business. Often, with such a reading, the main thing slips away - the content of the prayer.
In the prayer book there are many petitions addressed to God, which are repeated several times. For example, you may come across a recommendation to read “Lord have mercy” twelve or forty times. Some perceive this as some kind of formality and proofread this prayer at high speed. By the way, in Greek “Lord, have mercy” sounds like “Kyrie, eleison”. In Russian there is a verb “to play tricks”, which came precisely from the fact that the psalm-readers on the kliros very quickly repeated many times: “Kyrie, eleison”, that is, they did not pray, but “played tricks”. So, there is no need to play tricks in prayer. No matter how many times you read this prayer, it must be said with attention, reverence and love, with full dedication.
No need to try to subtract all the prayers. It is better to devote twenty minutes to one prayer “Our Father”, repeating it several times, pondering each word. It is not so easy for a person who is not accustomed to praying for a long time to read a large number of prayers at once, but one should not strive for this. It is important to be imbued with the spirit that the prayers of the Fathers of the Church breathe. This is the main benefit that can be derived from the prayers contained in the "Orthodox Prayer Book".
The rule of a pious layman usually includes morning and evening prayers, a chapter from the Gospel and two chapters from the Apostles. It is good to read at least one kathisma from the Psalter a day, putting a bookmark. There is also an abbreviated rule for the sick, women with small children, and other people who are severely pressed for time. This abbreviated rule can be found in any Prayer Book.“Do not impose any vows and rules on yourself without the approval of your spiritual father, with whose advice one bow will bring you more benefit than a thousand self-made bows.”
Saint Anthony also wrote:
“The Pharisee prayed and fasted more than ours, but without humility all his work was nothing, and therefore be jealous of the most publican humility, which is usually born from obedience, and dominates you.”
Elder Joseph (Litovkin) warned that fulfilling a rule with a blessing is more difficult than one that one took without permission. You can perform a huge number of prostrations out of vanity, but when we do something with blessing, with humility, it is much more difficult. But it is good for the soul:
“The imposed rule is always difficult, and doing with humility is even more difficult. What is acquired with labor is useful.”
Failure to comply with the rule
In the world, there are various circumstances beyond our control: business trips, protracted meetings, emergency work at work, as well as illnesses of our own and loved ones. In general, it may happen that even the most pious layman will somehow be unable to fulfill the daily rule. At the same time, Elder Nikon advised not to be embarrassed in any way, but simply humbly reproach yourself for weakness:
“Try not to miss the prayer rule either in the morning or in the evening, but if for any reason you lower it, especially due to circumstances beyond your control, then do not be embarrassed, but humbly reproach yourself for weakness, for self-reproach is an invisible ascent, and embarrassment, according to Father Ambrose, it is not listed anywhere among the virtues.
Permanent prayer memory
The elders reminded us that, in addition to the rule, we need to have a constant prayer memory, constantly remember God and repeat more often during the day: “Lord, have mercy!”, “Lord, bless”, “Lord, protect!” These short prayers will sanctify our daily life.
“Every deed must begin with an invocation of the name of God to help,” Elder Hilarion (Ponomarev) taught.
Saint Nikon reminded:
“At any time, no matter what you do: whether you are sitting, walking, working, read with your heart: “Lord, have mercy!””;
“When you are sorrowful and despondent and a heavy temptation comes upon you, you only repeat one thing: “Lord, have mercy, save and have mercy on Your servant!” And sorrow will be lightened.
To the question about a short prayer that can be repeated often, Saint Nikon answered:
“Pray simply: “Lord, grant me Thy grace!” And the Lord will carry a storm past you.”
Asking for Prayer for Others
So that people do not remain careless and do not place their hope only on extraneous prayerful help, the Monk Ambrose instructed:
“Remember, the twelve apostles asked the Savior for a Canaanite wife, but He did not hear them; but she herself began to ask - she begged.
And sometimes he repeated the folk saying:
"God, help me - and the man himself does not lie down."
prayer mood
The Optina elders advised us to stop verbosity and idle talk during prayer, as this disrupts the prayer mood and drives away grace. Saint Nikon wrote:
“Especially during prayer, leave all thoughts about worldly things. After prayer, home or church, in order to maintain a prayerful tender mood, silence is necessary. Sometimes even a simple, insignificant word can break and frighten away tenderness from our soul.
Silence prepares the soul for prayer. Silence, how it has a beneficial effect on the soul!
This, of course, is not about the necessary business conversations or communication with relatives, raising children - I mean the empty talk that we so often fall into.
Elder Ambrose advised:
“Smart silence is the most precious thing. If we put all the rules of prudence on one weight bowl, and put prudent silence on the other bowl, then silence alone will outweigh ";
“When you feel that you want to say something out of passion, be silent. Hold on, don't speak. After all, this is abuse, you need to win, then only you will fall behind.
You need to pray even to learn how to pray correctly. Saint Nikon wrote:
“We are on our own, without Divine help, and we are not able to pray: we cannot pray properly and do not know how and for what to pray.”
About prayer gifts
Prayer feat is accompanied by gifts to zealous prayer books. The Optina elders warned that one should not arbitrarily seek these gifts, such as tears in prayer or purity and dispassion. This can be dangerous for an inexperienced prayer book.
He wrote about tears in prayer:
“Not everyone can cry, but to whom God will give tears. And God seldom gives tears to the beginners. And then they will become proud and will be worse than those who do not cry.
He also instructed those who wish to achieve purity and dispassion:
“Let us humble ourselves, and the Lord will cover, and we will be holy. In the meantime, we don’t humble ourselves and propitiate God - even if we break our foreheads on the floor with bows, passions will not decrease.
How do we know if we are praying correctly?
Prayer is a spiritual activity that brings spiritual fruit. Fruits of the Spirit: love, meekness, patience, peace of mind. Of course, for the fruits to ripen, time must pass. But one should strive for them, spiritual growth should take place. Man must struggle with his passions, infirmities, bad habits.
“Believe yourself every day ... If the real day was badly spent, so that you didn’t offer a decent prayer to God, didn’t break your heart even once, didn’t humble yourself in thought, didn’t show mercy or gave alms to anyone, didn’t forgive the guilty, didn’t endure the insult On the contrary, he did not refrain from anger, did not refrain from words, food, drink, or immersed his mind in impure thoughts, having considered all this according to conscience, condemn yourself and set the next day to be more attentive to good and more careful to evil.
Saint Macarius warned:
“But prayer rules alone cannot be of any use to us… I advise you to try as much as possible to pay your attention to deeds of love for your neighbors; in relation to your mother, wife and children - take care of educating them in the Orthodox faith and good morals for people subordinate to you and for all your neighbors.
The one who strives correctly follows the middle, “royal” path. Irritability decreases and, on the contrary, complacency grows, thoughts of anger, condemnation, grumbling come less often. A peaceful dispensation, a patient attitude towards the infirmities and shortcomings of others, is experienced more and more often and gradually becomes permanent.
What are morning and evening prayers and why are they so important in the life of every Orthodox Christian? Many holy fathers call these daily prayers spiritual hygiene, a necessary minimum for a novice believer. With the help of these prayers, and especially due to their regular and conscientious reading, the laity become closer to the Lord, cleanse themselves spiritually, learn humility, repentance and gratitude. It is difficult to overestimate their importance, especially in the modern world.
What are the prayers and features of their reading
In Orthodoxy there is such a term - a prayer rule. This is the name of the collection of prayer texts intended for morning and evening readings. These obligatory prayers can be found in every prayer book. Among them are “Our Father”, “Virgin Mother of God, Rejoice”, “King of Heaven”, “Symbol of Faith” and others. The prayer rule was formed several centuries ago, and since then has become a guideline for Orthodox believers.
The prayer rule is divided into complete, that is, common to everyone, and short, individual (it is discussed with the confessor and appointed with his blessing, in cases, for example, of illness, lack of strength, high workload, etc.). There is also a version of a short prayer rule from St. Seraphim of Sarov. According to him, if a believer is in an extremely weak state or is severely limited in time, then only the following prayers can be read: “Our Father” three times, “Our Mother of God, rejoice” three times, and once the “Symbol of Faith”.
Prayer "Our Father"
Our Father, Who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Prayer "Virgin Mary, rejoice"
Virgin Mother of God, rejoice, Blessed Mary, the Lord is with you: blessed are you in women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, as if the Savior gave birth to our souls.
Prayer "Symbol of Faith"
I believe in one God the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten, who was born of the Father before all ages; Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, Whom all was.For us for the sake of man and for our sake of salvation, he descended from heaven and became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and Mary the Virgin, and became human.
Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried.
And resurrected on the third day according to the Scriptures.
And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father.
And the packs of the future with glory to judge the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who spoke the prophets.
Into one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
I confess one baptism for the remission of sins.
Tea of the resurrection of the dead.
And the life of the next century. Amen.
How to read morning and evening prayers
In the morning it is supposed to pray immediately after waking up, before the meal and the beginning of the working day, and in the evening you can choose any time, the main thing is that all work in the current day be completed.
Prayer should be performed in a secluded place, in front of the icon, with a lit lamp or candle. First you need to cross yourself and make a few bows. Then tune in, concentrate and start reading prayers in the order indicated in the prayer book. You can read both aloud and silently. Prayers for loved ones, appeals to the Lord, spoken in your own words - all this is also an obligatory part of prayer.
It is important to thank the Lord and ask for His blessings before the upcoming trials of life.
It is very important to understand the meaning of every word that is spoken in prayers. For this purpose, there are translations of prayers from Church Slavonic into Russian in explanatory prayer books, they should be studied so that the reading is conscious.
It is important to pray with a pure heart, in which there is no bitterness, evil, resentment, irritation. If a believer feels these emotions, they need to get rid of. One way would be to pray for the health of the one who offended. This will cleanse the soul, pacify the ardor and set you in a blessed mood.
As a rule, with a certain practice, reading morning and evening prayers takes an average of 20 minutes. But at the present time, the laity is facing a problem. In our modern world, when the pace of life is so high that time pressure is felt at every step, it can be difficult for Orthodox believers who begin to practice daily readings to find time for prayers in their busy schedule. As a rule, in the morning people rush to work, and in the evening they fall down from fatigue. And there is no time left for reading prayers with a thoughtful, concentrated approach. And it is important to read prayers sincerely, with zeal.
To pronounce the text in a tongue twister, formally - this is not necessary for anyone and even harmful in a conversation with God.
In this case, you need to reorganize your daily schedule, find another time for prayers, some of the prayers can even be read at work or on the road. But all this must be discussed with your confessor or priest, with whom you regularly confess. Sometimes the priest may allow you to read not the full volume of prayers. The main thing in morning and evening prayers is the right attitude, concentration, a message to the Lord from the very heart.
The Importance of Prayer in the Morning and Evening
Why is it so important to perform morning and evening prayers daily? Priests always say that this rite trains the will, makes the believer spiritually stronger and does not allow him to forget about God and the need to keep the commandments. And it is especially important for beginning Orthodox Christians.
HOW TO READ THE MORNING AND EVENING PRAYERS CORRECTLY
Prayer there is a conversation or our conversation with God. It is as essential to us as air and food. We have everything from God and nothing of our own: life, abilities, health, food, and everything is given to us by God. Therefore, in joy, and in sorrow, and when we need something, we must turn to God with prayer.
The main thing in prayer is faith, attention, reverence, contrition of the heart and a promise to God not to sin. Reading technique should not obscure the meaning of what is being read. Prayers are usually read evenly and calmly, without any exaggerated intonation.
St. Theophan the Recluse in the article "How to Pray" wrote: The work of prayer is the first work in the life of a Christian. If in relation to the ordinary course of affairs the proverb is true: "Live for a century, learn for a century," then it applies all the more to prayer, the action of which should not have a break and the degrees of which have no limit.
The ancient holy fathers, greeting each other at a meeting, usually asked not about health or anything else, but about prayer: how, they say, prayer goes or how it works. The effect of prayer was for them a sign of spiritual life, and they called it the breath of the spirit.
There is breath in the body - and the body lives; breath stops, life stops. So it is in the spirit: there is a prayer - the spirit lives; if there is no prayer, there is no life in the spirit.
But not every performance of prayer, or prayerfulness, is prayer. To stand in front of an icon in a church or at home and bow down is not yet prayer, but only an attribute of prayer.
Prayer itself is the emergence in our heart of one after another reverent feelings for God: self-abasement, devotion, thanksgiving, praise, forgiveness, zealous falling, contrition, submission to the will of God and others.
Our whole concern should be that during our prayers these and similar feelings fill our soul so that when the tongue reads prayers or the ear listens and the body makes obeisances, the heart does not remain empty, but that there is some kind of feeling towards God.
When these feelings are present, our prayerfulness is prayer, but when they are absent, then it is not yet prayer.
It seems that what would be simpler and more natural for us, like prayer, or the aspiration of the heart to God? And meanwhile it not at all and not always happens. It must be aroused and then strengthened, or, what is the same, cultivate a prayerful spirit in oneself.
The first way to do this is through reading or listening prayer. Do it properly, and you will certainly arouse and strengthen the ascent in your heart to God, you will enter into the spirit of prayer.
Our prayer books contain the prayers of the holy fathers Ephraim the Syrian, Macarius of Egypt, Basil the Great, John Chrysostom and other great prayer books. Being filled with a spirit of prayer, they set forth what was inspired by this spirit in a word and handed it over to us.
A great prayer power moves in their prayers, and whoever peers (peers. - Ed.) into them with all diligence and attention, he, by virtue of the law of interaction, will certainly taste the power of prayer, as his mood approaches the content of the prayer.
In order for our prayer to become a valid means for us to cultivate prayer in ourselves, we must perform it in such a way that both thought and heart perceive the content of the prayers that make it up. Here are the three easiest ways to do it:
- do not start praying without preliminary, although brief, preparation;
- do not do it somehow, but with attention and feeling;
— not immediately after the end of the prayers, go on to ordinary activities.
Prayer rule - daily morning and evening prayers that Christians do. Their texts can be found in the prayer book.
The rule can be general - obligatory for all or individual, selected for the believer by the confessor, taking into account his spiritual state, strength and employment.
Consists of morning and evening prayers, which are performed daily. This vital rhythm is necessary, because otherwise the soul easily falls out of the life of prayer, as if waking up only from time to time. In prayer, as in any big and difficult task, "inspiration", "mood" and improvisation alone are not enough.
Reading prayers connects a person with their creators: psalmists and ascetics. This helps to find a spiritual mood akin to their burning heart. In praying in other people's words, our example is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. His prayer exclamations during the suffering on the Cross are lines from psalms (Ps. 21:2; 30:6).
There are three basic prayer rules:
1) a complete prayer rule, designed for spiritually experienced laity, which is published in the "Orthodox Prayer Book";
2) a short prayer rule; in the morning: “King of Heaven”, Trisagion, “Our Father”, “Virgin Mother of God”, “Rising from sleep”, “God have mercy on me”, “I believe”, “God, cleanse”, “To You, Master”, “Holy Angela”, “Most Holy Lady”, invocation of the saints, prayer for the living and the dead; in the evening: “King of Heaven”, Trisagion, “Our Father”, “Have mercy on us, Lord”, “Eternal God”, “Good King”, “Angel of Christ”, from “Choose Governor” to “It is worthy to eat”;
3) a short prayer rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov: three times “Our Father”, three times “Virgin Mother of God” and once “I believe” - for those days and circumstances when a person is extremely tired or very limited in time.
It is undesirable to completely omit the prayer rule. Even if the prayer rule is read without due attention, the words of the prayers, penetrating into the soul, have their cleansing effect.
The main prayers should be known by heart (with regular reading, they are gradually remembered by a person even with a very poor memory), so that they penetrate deeper into the heart and so that they can be repeated in any circumstances.
It is advisable to study the text of the translation of prayers from the Church Slavonic language into Russian (see "Explanatory Prayer Book") in order to understand the meaning of each word and not pronounce a single word meaninglessly or without accurate understanding.
It is very important that the person approaching prayer banish resentment, irritation, and bitterness from the heart. Without efforts aimed at serving people, at fighting sin, at establishing control over the body and the spiritual sphere, prayer cannot become the inner core of life..
In the conditions of modern life, given the workload and accelerated pace, it is not easy for the laity to set aside a certain time for prayer. The enemy of morning prayer is haste, and evening prayer is fatigue.
morning prayers it is best to read before starting any business (and before breakfast). In extreme cases, they are pronounced on the way from home. Late in the evening it is often difficult to concentrate due to fatigue, so it can be recommended to read the evening prayer rule in free minutes before dinner or even earlier.
During prayer, it is recommended to retire, light a lamp or a candle and stand in front of the icon. Depending on the nature of intra-family relationships, one can recommend reading the prayer rule together, with the whole family, or for each family member separately.
Common prayer is recommended before eating food, on solemn days, before a festive meal, and on other similar occasions. Family prayer is a kind of church, public prayer (the family is a kind of “home church”) and therefore does not replace individual prayer, but only complements it.
Before the beginning of prayer, one should make the sign of the cross and make several bows, half-length or earthly, and try to tune in to an inner conversation with God. The difficulty of prayer is often a sign of its true effectiveness.
Prayer for other people (see commemoration book) is an integral part of prayer. Standing before God does not alienate a person from his neighbors, but binds him to them with even closer ties. We should not be limited only to prayer for those close and dear to us. Praying for those who have caused us grief brings peace to the soul, affects these people and makes our prayer sacrificial.
It is good to end the prayer with thanksgiving to God for the gift of fellowship and contrition for one's inattention. Getting down to business, you must first think about what you have to say, do, see during the day and ask God for blessings and strength to follow His will. In the midst of a busy day, you need to say a short prayer (see the Jesus Prayer), which will help you find the Lord in everyday affairs.
Morning and evening rules– this is just a necessary spiritual hygiene. We are commanded to pray without ceasing (see the Jesus Prayer). The holy fathers said: if you churn milk, you will get butter, and in prayer, it turns from quantity into quality. God bless you!
"Short rule" (mandatory daily prayers) for any layman:
- in the morning:
- "King of Heaven",
- "Trisagion",
- "Our Father",
- “Rising from sleep”,
- "Have mercy on me, God"
- "Symbol of faith",
- "God, cleanse"
- "To you, Lord",
- "Holy Angele"
- "Blessed Lady",
- invocation of saints,
- prayer for the living and the dead; - in the evening:
- "King of Heaven",
- "Trisagion",
- "Our Father",
- "Have mercy on us, Lord"
- "Eternal God"
- "Good for the King"
- Angel of Christ
- from "Vozbranny Voivode" to "It is worthy to eat."
In the morning we pray to thank God for keeping us last night, to ask for His Fatherly blessing and help for the day that has begun.
In the evening, before going to bed, we thank the Lord for the day and ask to keep us during the night.
In order for the work to be done successfully, we must first of all ask God for blessings and help for the work ahead, and at the end, thank God. To express our feelings for God and for His saints, the Church has given various prayers.
Initial prayer
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
It is said before all prayers. In it, we ask God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, that is, the Most Holy Trinity, to invisibly bless us for the upcoming work in His name.
God bless!
We say this prayer at the beginning of each business.
Lord have mercy!
This prayer is the most ancient and common among all Christians. Even a child can easily remember it. We say it when we remember our sins. To the glory of the Holy Trinity - we must say it three times. And also 12 times, asking God for a blessing for every hour of the day and night. And 40 times - for the consecration of our whole life.
Praise to the Lord God
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
In this prayer, we do not ask God for anything, but only praise Him. It can be said in short: "Thank God." It is pronounced at the end of the case as a sign of our gratitude to God for His mercy to us.
Publican's Prayer
God, have mercy on me a sinner.
This is the prayer of the publican (tax collector), who repented of his sins and received forgiveness. It is taken from a parable that the Savior once told people for their admonition.
Here is the parable. Two people entered the temple to pray. One of them was a Pharisee, and the other was a publican. The Pharisee stood in front of everyone and prayed to God like this: I thank You, God, that I am not such a sinner as that publican. I give a tenth of my property to the poor, I fast twice a week. And the publican, realizing himself a sinner, stood at the entrance to the temple and did not dare to raise his eyes to heaven. He hit himself in the chest and said: “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” The prayer of a humble publican was more pleasing and pleasing to God than that of a proud Pharisee.
Prayer to Lord Jesus
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the sake of Your Most Pure Mother and all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God - the second Person of the Holy Trinity. As the Son of God, He is our true God, as are God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. We call Him Jesus, that is savior because He saved us from sin and eternal death. For this, He, being the Son of God, dwelt in the immaculate Virgin Mary and, with the influx of the Holy Spirit, incarnated and made human by Her, that is, he took on a human body and soul - was born from the Blessed Virgin Mary, became the same person as we are, but only he was sinless - became a God-man. And, instead of us suffering and being tormented for our sins, He, out of love for us sinners, suffered for us, died on the cross and rose again on the third day, conquered sin and death and gave us eternal life.
Recognizing our sinfulness and not relying on the power of our prayers, in this prayer we ask to pray for us sinners, before the Savior, all the saints and the Mother of God, who has special grace to save us sinners through His intercession before His Son.
The Savior is called the Anointed One (Christ) because He fully possessed those gifts of the Holy Spirit which, in the Old Testament, kings, prophets, and high priests received through anointing.
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of Truth, Who is everywhere and fills everything, the treasure of the good and the Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Blessed, our souls.
Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of truth, who is everywhere and fills everything, the source of all goodness and the Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all sin, and save our souls, Good One.
In this prayer we pray to the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Holy Trinity.
We call it the Holy Spirit King of Heaven because He, as the true God, equal to God the Father and God the Son, reigns invisibly over us, owns us and the whole world. Call Him Comforter because He comforts us in our sorrows and misfortunes, just as He comforted the apostles on the 10th day after the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven.
Call Him Spirit of truth(as the Savior Himself called Him) because He, as the Holy Spirit, teaches everyone the same truth and serves our salvation.
He is God, and He is everywhere and fills everything with Himself: Izhe, everywhere present and fulfilling everything. He, as the manager of the whole world, sees everything and, where necessary, gives. He is treasure of the good, that is, the Guardian of all good deeds, the Source of all good things that only we need to have.
We call the Holy Spirit life giver because everything in the world lives and moves by the Holy Spirit, that is, everything receives life from Him, and especially people receive from Him spiritual, holy and eternal life after the grave, being cleansed from their sins through Him.
If the Holy Spirit has such marvelous properties: He is everywhere, fills everything with His grace and gives life to everyone, then we turn to Him with the following requests: Come and settle in us, that is, constantly abide in us, as in your temple; cleanse us from all filth that is, from sin, make us holy, worthy of Your presence in us, and save, Kind, our souls from sins and those punishments that are for sins, and through this grant us the Kingdom of Heaven.
Angelic song of the Most Holy Trinity or "Trisagion"
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.
This prayer must be read three times in honor of the three Persons of the Holy Trinity.
Angel song it is called because the holy angels sing it, surrounding the throne of God in heaven.
Believers in Christ began to use it 400 years after the birth of Christ. There was a strong earthquake in Constantinople, from which houses and villages were destroyed. Frightened, Tsar Theodosius II and the people turned to God with a prayer. During this common prayer, one pious youth (boy), in front of everyone, was lifted up to heaven by an invisible force, and then unharmed lowered to earth. He said that he heard in heaven how the holy angels sang: "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal." The moved people, repeating this prayer, added: "Have mercy on us," and the earthquake stopped.
In this prayer God we call the first Person of the Holy Trinity - God the Father; strong– God the Son, because He is just as omnipotent as God the Father, although according to humanity He suffered and died; Immortal- The Holy Spirit, because He is not only eternal Himself, like the Father and the Son, but also gives life to all creatures and immortal life to people.
Since in this prayer the word " saint” is repeated three times, then it is called “ Trisagion».
Doxology to the Holy Trinity
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen.
In this prayer, we do not ask God for anything, but only praise Him, Who appeared to people in three Persons: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, to whom now and forever belongs the same honor of glorification.
Prayer to the Holy Trinity
Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Lord, forgive our iniquities; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Your name's sake.
This prayer is pleading. In it, we first turn to all three Persons together, and then to each Person of the Trinity separately: to God the Father, so that He cleanses our sins; to God the Son, that He may forgive our iniquities; to God the Holy Spirit to visit and heal our infirmities.
And the words: for your name refer again to all three Persons of the Holy Trinity together, and since God is One, then His name is one, and therefore we say “Thy name”, and not “Thy names”.
Lord's Prayer
Our Father, Who art in heaven!
1. Hallowed be thy name.
2. Thy kingdom come.
3. Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth.
4. Give us our daily bread today.
5. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
6. And lead us not into temptation.
7. But deliver us from the evil one.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory of the Father and the Son and
Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen.
This prayer is called the Lord's, because the Lord Jesus Christ Himself gave it to His disciples when they asked Him to teach them how to pray. Therefore, this prayer is the most important prayer of all.
In this prayer we turn to God the Father, the first Person of the Holy Trinity.
It is divided into: invocation, seven petitions, or 7 requests, and doxology.
Summoning:
Our Father, Who art in heaven!
With these words, we turn to God and, calling Him the Heavenly Father, we call to listen to our requests or petitions.
When we say that He is in heaven, we must understand spiritual, invisible the sky, not that visible blue dome we call "sky."
Petition 1?e:
Hallowed be thy name,
that is, help us to live righteously, holyly, and glorify Your name with our holy deeds.
2?e:
Let your kingdom come
that is, make us worthy even here on earth of Your kingdom of heaven, which is righteousness, love, and peace; reign in us and rule over us.
3?e:
May Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth
That is, let everything not be as we want, but as You please, and help us to obey this Your will and fulfill it on earth as unquestioningly, without grumbling, as it is fulfilled, with love and joy, by the holy angels in heaven. Because only You know what is useful and necessary for us, and You wish us well more than we ourselves.
4th:
Give us our daily bread today
That is, give us for this day, for today, our daily bread. Bread here means everything necessary for our life on earth: food, clothing, housing, but most importantly - pure body and pure blood in the sacrament of Holy Communion, without which there is no salvation, no eternal life.
The Lord has commanded us to ask for ourselves not wealth, not luxury, but only the bare necessities, and rely on God in everything, remembering that He, as a Father, always takes care of us.
5th:
And leave us our debts, just as we leave our debtors
That is, forgive us our sins just as we ourselves forgive those who offended or offended us.
In this petition, our sins are called “our debts”, because the Lord gave us strength, abilities and everything else in order to do good deeds, and we often turn all this towards sin and evil and become “debtors” before God. And so, if we ourselves do not sincerely forgive our "debtors", that is, people who have sins against us, then God will not forgive us. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself told us about this.
6th:
And lead us not into temptation
Temptation is such a state when something or someone draws us to sin, tempts us to do something lawless and bad. So we ask: do not allow us to temptation, which we cannot endure; help us overcome temptations when they come.
7th:
But deliver us from the evil one
That is, deliver us from all evil in this world and from the culprit (chief) of evil - from the devil (evil spirit), who is always ready to destroy us. Deliver us from this cunning, crafty power and its deceptions, which is nothing before You.
Doxology:
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen.
For to you, our God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, belongs the kingdom and the power and the eternal glory. All this is true, truly so.
Angelic greeting to the Mother of God
Virgin Mary, rejoice, blessed Mary, the Lord is with you, blessed are you in women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, as if the Savior gave birth to our souls.
This prayer is to the Most Holy Theotokos, whom we call grace-filled, that is, full of the grace of the Holy Spirit, and blessed of all women, because our Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was pleased or desired to be born from Her.
This prayer is also called an angelic greeting, since it contains the words of an angel (Archangel Gabriel): rejoice, blessed Mary, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women- which he said to the Virgin Mary when he appeared to Her in the city of Nazareth, to announce to Her great joy that the Savior of the world would be born from Her. Also - Blessed are You among women and blessed is the Fruit of Your womb, said the Virgin Mary, at a meeting with Her, the righteous Elizabeth, the mother of St. John the Baptist.
Mother of God The Virgin Mary is called because Jesus Christ, who was born of Her, is our true God.
Virgin It is called because She was a Virgin before the birth of Christ, and at Christmas and after Christmas she remained the same, since she made a vow (promise) to God not to marry, and remaining forever a Virgin, she gave birth to Her Son from the Holy Spirit in a miraculous way.
Praise to the Mother of God
It is worthy to eat as if truly bless Theotokos, blessed and immaculate and the Mother of our God. The most honest cherubim and the most glorious seraphim without comparison, without the corruption of God the Word, who gave birth to the real Mother of God, we magnify Thee.
It is truly worthy to glorify You, Mother of God, always blessed and completely blameless and the Mother of our God. You are worthy of veneration more than the cherubim and by Your glory incomparably higher than the seraphim, You gave birth to God the Word (Son of God) without illness, and as the true Mother of God we glorify You.
In this prayer, we praise the Mother of God as the Mother of our God, always blessed and completely blameless, and magnify Her, saying that She, with Her honor (most honest) and glory (most glorious), surpasses the highest angels: cherubim and seraphim, that is, the Mother of God in her perfection stands above all - not only people, but also holy angels. Without illness, she miraculously gave birth to Jesus Christ from the Holy Spirit, Who, having become a man from Her, is at the same time the Son of God, descended from heaven, and therefore She is the true Mother of God.
The shortest prayer to the Mother of God
Holy Mother of God, save us!
In this prayer, we ask the Mother of God to save us sinners with her holy prayers before her Son and our God.
Prayer to the Life-Giving Cross
Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thy inheritance; giving victory to the Orthodox Christian against the opposition, and keeping Your residence by Your Cross.
Save, O Lord, your people and bless all that belongs to you. Give victory to the enemies of Orthodox Christians and preserve by the power of Your Cross those among whom You are.
In this prayer, we ask God to save us, His people, and bless the Orthodox country - our fatherland - with great mercies; gave victory to Orthodox Christians over their enemies and, in general, preserved us by the power of His Cross.
Prayer to the Guardian Angel
Angel of God, my holy guardian, given to me from God from heaven, I diligently pray to you: enlighten me today, and save me from all evil, guide me to a good deed and direct me to the path of salvation. Amen.
Angel of God, my holy guardian, given to me from heaven from God for preservation, I earnestly pray to you: now enlighten me, and save me from all evil, guide me to a good deed and direct me to the path of salvation. Amen.
At baptism, God gives every Christian a Guardian Angel who invisibly protects a person from all evil. Therefore, we must ask the angel every day to keep and have mercy on us.
Prayer to a saint
Pray to God for me, holy [holy] (name), as I diligently resort to you, an early helper and prayer book [an emergency helper and prayer book] for my soul.
In addition to praying to the Guardian Angel, we must also pray to the saint whose name we are called, because he also always prays to God for us.
Every Christian, as soon as he is born into the light of God, at holy baptism, is given a saint as helpers and patrons by the holy Church. He takes care of the newborn, like the most loving mother, and saves him from all the troubles and misfortunes that a person encounters on earth.
You need to know the day of memory in the year of your saint (the day of your name day), to know the life (description of life) of this saint. On the day of the name day, we must glorify him with a prayer in the temple and accept St. communion, and if for some reason we cannot be in the church that day, then we should pray fervently at home.
Prayer for the Living
We must think not only about ourselves, but also about other people, love them and pray to God for them, because we are all children of one Heavenly Father. Such prayers are useful not only for those for whom we pray, but also for ourselves, since by this we show love for them. And the Lord told us that without love no one can be children of God.
“Do not renounce prayer for others under the pretext of fear that you cannot plead for yourself - beware that you will not plead for yourself if you do not pray for others” (St. Philaret the Merciful).
Home prayer for relatives and friends is distinguished by special energy, as we see before our inner gaze that dear person to us, for the salvation of the soul and for whose bodily health we pray. Father Men said in one of his sermons: “Daily prayer for each other should not be just a list of names. This is us (priests. -
) in the church we list your names, we don’t know for whom you are praying here. And when you yourself pray for your loved ones, friends, relatives, for those who are in need - pray truly, with perseverance ... Pray for them so that their path is blessed, so that the Lord supports and meets them - and then we all , as if holding hands with this prayer and love, we will rise higher and higher to the Lord. This is the main thing, this is the most essential thing in our life.
We must pray for our Fatherland - Russia, for the country in which we live, for our spiritual father, parents, relatives, benefactors, Orthodox Christians and all people, both for the living and for the dead, because with God everyone is alive (Lk. 20, 38).
Save, Lord, and have mercy on my spiritual father (his name), my parents (their names), relatives, mentors and benefactors, and all Orthodox Christians.
Prayer for the Dead
Rest, Lord, the souls of the departed Thy servants (names) and all the departed relatives and benefactors of mine, and forgive them all sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant them the kingdom of heaven.
This is how we call the dead, because people are not destroyed after death, but their souls are separated from the body and migrate from this life to another, heavenly one. There they remain until the time of the general resurrection, which will be at the second coming of the Son of God, when, according to His word, the souls of the dead will again unite with the body - people will come to life, rise again. And then everyone will receive what they deserve: the righteous - the Kingdom of Heaven, blessed, eternal life, and sinners - eternal punishment.
Prayer before teaching
Good Lord, send us the grace of Your Holy Spirit, giving meaning and strengthening our spiritual strength, so that, listening to the teachings taught to us, we may grow up to You, our Creator, to the glory, our parent for consolation, the Church and the fatherland for the benefit.
This prayer is to God the Father, Whom we call the Creator, that is, the Creator. In it, we ask Him to send the Holy Spirit so that by His grace He will strengthen our spiritual strength (mind, heart and will), and that we, listening with attention to the teaching taught, grow up as devoted sons of the Church and faithful servants of our fatherland and to comfort our parents.
Instead of this prayer before the teaching, you can read the prayer to the Holy Spirit "King of Heaven."
Prayer after teaching
We thank Thee, the Creator, as if Thou hast vouchsafed us Thy grace, in the hedgehog's attention to teaching. Bless our bosses, parents and teachers who lead us to the knowledge of the good, and give us strength and strength to continue this teaching.
This prayer is to God the Father. In it, we first thank God that He has sent help to understand the doctrine being taught. Then we ask Him to send mercy to our parents and teachers, who give us the opportunity to learn all that is good and useful; and in conclusion, we ask you to give us health and the desire to continue our studies with success.
Instead of this prayer, after the teaching, you can read the prayer of the Mother of God "It is worthy to eat."
Prayer before eating
The eyes of all in Thee, O Lord, hope, and You give them food in good time: You open Your generous hand and fulfill every kind of animal goodwill.
(Psalm 144, 15 and 16).
The eyes of all, O Lord, look at You with hope, because You give food to everyone in due time, You open Your generous hand in order to endow all the living with graces.
In this prayer, we express confidence that God will send us food in due time, since He not only gives people, but also all living creatures everything necessary for life.
Instead of this prayer, you can read "Our Father".
Prayer after eating
We thank Thee, Christ our God, for Thou hast satisfied us with Thy earthly blessings; do not deprive us of Your Heavenly Kingdom.
In this prayer, we thank God that He has nourished us with food, and we ask Him not to deprive us of eternal bliss after our death, which we must always remember when receiving earthly blessings.
morning prayer
To Thee, O Lord, loving man, having risen from sleep, I run, and I strive for Thy works by Thy mercy, and I pray to Thee: help me at all times in every thing, and deliver me from every evil worldly thing and the devil's haste, and save me, and enter into your eternal kingdom. Thou art my Creator and Provider and Giver of every good, all my hope is in Thee, and I send glory to Thee, now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen.
To Thee, Lord Lover of mankind, having risen from sleep, I run and, by Thy mercy, hasten to Thy deeds. I pray to You: help me at all times in every matter, and deliver me from every worldly evil deed and devilish temptation, and save me, and lead me into Your eternal kingdom. For You are my Creator and Provider, and Giver of all good. All my hope is in You. And I give you glory, now, and always, and forever and ever. Amen.
Evening prayer
Lord our God, if I have sinned in these days in word, deed and thought, as good and philanthropist, forgive me; peaceful sleep and serene grant me; Send Thy guardian angel covering and keeping me from all evil; as you are the guardian of our souls and our bodies, and we send glory to you to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen.
Lord our God! Everything in which I have sinned this day in word, deed and thought, You, as the Merciful and Humanitarian, forgive me. Grant me a peaceful and restful sleep. Send me Your guardian angel, who would cover and protect me from all evil. For You are the guardian of our souls and bodies, and we give glory to You, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and forever and ever. Amen.