How to pray correctly, cross yourself, church rules and basic prayers. How to pray at home in front of an icon so that God hears

Not only the temple of God can be a place for our prayer, and it is not through the mediation of the priest alone that God’s blessing can be brought down on our deeds; every home, every family can still become home church, when the head of the family, by his example, guides his children and household members in prayer, when family members, all together, or each separately, offer their prayers of petition and gratitude to the Lord.

Not content with the general prayers offered for us in churches, and knowing that we will not all rush there, the Church offers each of us, like a mother to a child, special ready-made food home, - offers prayers designated for our home use.

Prayers read daily:

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen .

Prayer of the publican mentioned in the Gospel parable of the Savior:

God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

Prayer to the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the sake of Your Most Pure Mother and all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity:

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, who is everywhere and fulfills everything, treasure of good things, and giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O blessed One, our souls.

Three prayers to the Holy Trinity:
Trisagion. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us(three times).
Doxology. Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer. Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Master, forgive our iniquities; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name's sake.
Lord have mercy(three times).

The prayer called the Lord's, because the Lord Himself pronounced it for our use.

Our Father, who art in heaven; Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors: and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

When you wake up from sleep in the morning, think that God is giving you a day that you could not give to yourself, and set aside the first hour, or at least the first quarter of an hour, of the day given to you, and sacrifice it to God in grateful and benevolent prayer. The more diligently you do this, the more firmly you will protect yourself from the temptations that you encounter every day (words of Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow).

A prayer read in the morning, after sleep.

To You, Master who loves mankind, having risen from sleep, I come running, and I strive for Your works with Your mercy, and I pray to You: help me at all times in every thing, and deliver me from all worldly evil things and the devil’s haste, and save me, and bring us into Your eternal kingdom. For You are my creator, and the provider and giver of every good thing, in You are all my hope, and I send up glory to You now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Prayer to Our Lady.
Angelic greeting . Theotokos, Virgin, rejoice, full of grace Mary, the Lord is with you: blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you have given birth to the Savior of our souls.
The Greatness of the Mother of God. It is worthy to eat as you truly bless Thee, the ever-blessed and immaculate Mother of God and the Mother of our God. The most honorable cherub, and the most glorious seraphim without comparison, who gave birth to the word of God without corruption, the real Mother of God, we magnify Thee.
In addition to the Mother of God, the intercessor of Christians before the Lord, everyone has two intercessors for us before God, prayer books and guardians of our life. This is, firstly, angel ours from the realm of disembodied spirits, to whom the Lord entrusts us from the day of our baptism, and, secondly, the saint of God from among God’s holy men, also called angel, whose name we bear from the day of our birth. It is a sin to forget your heavenly benefactors and not offer prayers to them.

Prayer to the angel, the disembodied guardian of human life.

Angel of God, my holy guardian, given to me from God from heaven for my protection! I diligently pray to you: enlighten me today, save me from all evil, guide me to good deeds and direct me on the path of salvation. Amen.

Prayer to the holy saint of God, by whose name we are called from birth.

Pray to God for me, holy servant of God(say name) or holy saint of God(say name) as I diligently resort to you, a quick helper and prayer book for my soul, or first aid and prayer book for my soul.

It is the duty of every believer to pray for the fatherland, i.e. The country in which our fathers were born and lived. The Apostle Paul speaks in his letter to Bishop Timothy, ch. 2, Art. 1, 2, 3: I beg you, first of all, to make prayers, supplications, petitions, thanksgivings for all people, for the Tsar and for everyone who is in power... This is good and pleasant before our Savior God.

Prayer for the Fatherland.

Save, Lord, your people, and bless your inheritance: granting victories to Orthodox Christians against resistance, and preserving your life through your cross.

Prayer for living relatives.

Save, Lord, and have mercy(then briefly offer a prayer for the health and salvation of the entire priesthood, your spiritual father, your parents, relatives, leaders, benefactors, all Christians and all servants of God, and then add): And remember, visit, strengthen, comfort, and with your power grant them health and salvation, for you are good and a lover of mankind. Amen.

Prayer for the dead.

Remember, Lord, the souls of your departed servants(their names), and all my relatives, and all my departed brethren, and forgive them all their sins, voluntary and involuntary, giving them the kingdom of heaven and the communion of your eternal good things and your endless and blissful life of pleasure, and create for them eternal memory.

A short prayer said before the honest and life-giving cross of the Lord:

Protect me, Lord, by the power of your honorable and life-giving cross, and save me from all evil.

Here are the prayers that every Orthodox Christian needs to know. It will take a little time to slowly read them, standing in front of the holy icon: May God’s blessing on all our good deeds be a reward for our zeal for God and our piety...

In the evening, when you go to sleep, think that God gives you rest from your labors, and take away the firstfruits from your time and rest and dedicate it to God with pure and humble prayer. Its fragrance will bring an angel closer to you to protect your peace. (Words by Philar. Metropolitan of Moscow).

During evening prayer the same thing is read, only instead of the morning prayer, St. The Church offers us the following prayer :

Lord our God, who have sinned in these days, in word, deed, and thought, as he is good and a lover of mankind, forgive me; grant me peaceful sleep and serenity; Send Your guardian angel, covering and keeping me from all evil; for You are the guardian of our souls and bodies, and to You we send glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever and ever, Amen.

Prayer before eating.

The eyes of all trust in You, Lord, and You give them writing in good time, You open Your generous hand, and fulfill every animal’s good will.

Prayer after eating.

We thank Thee, Christ our God, for Thou hast filled us with Thy earthly blessings: do not deprive us of Thy heavenly kingdom.

Prayer before teaching.

Most gracious Lord, bestow upon us the grace of Your Holy Spirit, bestowing and strengthening our spiritual strength, so that, by heeding the teaching taught to us, we may grow to You, our Creator, for glory, as our parent for consolation, for the benefit of the Church and the Fatherland.

After the lesson.

We thank You, Creator, for You have made us worthy of Your grace to listen to the teaching. Bless our leaders, parents and teachers, who lead us to the knowledge of good, and give us strength and strength to continue this teaching.

Students of the sciences and arts should turn to the Lord with special zeal, for He gives wisdom, and from His presence knowledge and understanding(proverbs 2, 6). Most of all, they must preserve the purity and integrity of their hearts, so that the light of God may enter the soul without being obscured: For wisdom does not enter into the soul of an evil artist; it dwells below in a body guilty of sin (Prem. 1, 4). Blessedness of purity of heart: like this not only the wisdom of God, but they will also see God Himself(Matt. 5:8).

An integral part of a Christian's life is daily prayer at home. At home, the morning and evening rules, prayers before meals, prayers to the guardian angel, and following to Holy Communion are read. Akathists and canons can be read at one’s own request or with the blessing of the priest. You can pray in any conditions, but it is better to do it in front of the icon. The icon, being a visible image of the invisible Prototype, helps to pray more concentratedly and promotes the unity of the people standing in front of it during joint prayer.

Icons must be in the home of an Orthodox Christian.

What icons should be in the house?

There are no special rules about what kind of icons should be in the house. Since most Christian prayers are addressed to the Lord Jesus Christ and the Mother of God, a pious tradition has developed to have images at home (for example, the Savior Not Made by Hands, the Lord Pantocrator) and (Vladimir, Kazan, Feodorovskaya, Three-Handed or any other icon of the Mother of God). If there is a married couple, the main icons in the house may be the wedding couple, since it consists of the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God.

Otherwise, the choice of icons for the home depends on individual needs and preferences. Believers usually have an icon at home your heavenly protector, whose name they bear, as well as icons of other saints revered in the family and icons of holidays.

Here are just a few saints whose icons are especially revered by Russian Orthodox Christians:

Icon Photo: website	Saint Nicholas of Myra (Wonder Worker) a particularly revered Christian saint, they pray to him for help in any life situations, for success in business and for the well-being of the family;
Icon Photo: website	Seraphim of Sarov one of the most revered Russian saints, defender of the Russian land;
Icon Photo: website	Sergius of Radonezh Russian saint, to whom they pray for spiritual development, strengthening faith, and also for helping children in learning;
Icon Photo: website	Matrona of Moscow is especially revered by women: they pray to her for marriage, for love and fidelity in the family, for the gift of children, as well as for help in everyday matters;
Icon healer Photo: website	Healer Panteleimon they pray to him for healing and for the health of themselves and their loved ones;
Icon Photo: website	Saint Spyridon of Trimifuntsky he is asked for help in business activities and material wealth;
Icon Photo: website	Holy Martyr Tatiana patroness of science and education and assistant to teachers and students.

It is also useful to acquire a family icon, that is, an icon that depicts the patron saints of all family members.

If you have to travel a lot, you can carry with you a folding bag with icons of Christ and the Virgin Mary. A folding icon is an icon consisting of two or three parts, with doors that can be closed so that the images are inside.

Red corner: where to hang icons in the house?

Icons in the house need give a special place, visible and spacious, where the whole family can comfortably sit in front of the images for prayer. In the old days, such a place was called the “red corner”.

Orthodox churches are being built, and in prayer it is also customary to face the east, therefore At home, icons are recommended to be placed near the eastern wall. However, if space is limited, you can hang icons on any side of the room - the main thing is that they are in a clean, open place and you can stand in front of them for prayer.

Prayer requires concentration and solitude, so it is wise to hang home icons in the bedroom. This will make it convenient to read morning and evening prayers.

It’s good if there is at least one icon in every room of the apartment, especially in the living room, where the whole family gathers, and in the nursery so that the child sees the image of the Lord to whom he prays.

In the kitchen an icon is also needed (for example, an icon of the Savior) - for and, since all family members spend a lot of time and eat food there.

Above the entrance to the apartment or the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Crucifix, is traditionally hung in the house.

How to place icons in a home iconostasis?

Icons can stand on a shelf or hang on the wall; you need to place or hang a lamp in front of them. If there is no free corner and all the walls are occupied, and it is undesirable to disturb the interior, then the icons can be placed on a bookshelf, chest of drawers or piano. In this case, you should check whether the books on the shelf match the shrine standing above them - sometimes it is better to remove or cover the books.

You should not hang icons as decoration on the wall between paintings and panels.

There should be nothing on top of the icons. Clocks, photographs, and television are inappropriate next to and under icons. There should be no photographs or paintings between the icons, even if they are photographs of respected pious people, and the paintings have a religious plot. However, consecrated objects can be stored next to the icons: prosphora, candles, oil from the relics (that is, from the lamp above the relics), wedding candles, candles from the Holy Sepulcher and other shrines.

When arranging icons the principle of hierarchy should be observed. The image of Christ (on the right) and the Mother of God (on the left) or the wedding couple is always placed in the center; these are the main icons. Above them can only be the Holy Trinity or the Last Supper.

It is customary to place a small beautiful napkin - a shroud - on the shelf under the icon. According to folk tradition, the red corner with icons can be decorated with an embroidered towel or flowers.

How to use a lamp for a home iconostasis

There may be a lamp in the red corner. Depending on the design, it is placed or hung in front of the icons. The lamp should be lit while the whole family is reading prayers together in front of the icons, as well as on Sundays and holidays.

There is a pious custom to have several spare glass cups for lamps of different colors in the house and change them depending on the period of the year: red - from to, blue -, green - the rest of the time.

How to pray in front of an icon?

They read before the icons

morning and evening prayers,
prayers before meals
holiday prayers on the day of the holiday,
prayers to patron saints on name day.

In front of the icon you can pray in your own words.

To pray, you need to dress carefully, approach the icon with reverence, and stand straight, leaning on both legs. Can . During homework, one person can read prayers, and everyone else repeats his words to themselves. On holidays, a candle or lamp is lit in front of the icons.

What to do if the icon has become unusable?

An icon, even if it is a paper reproduction, is a shrine, not a piece of furniture. If the icon is dilapidated or damaged and cannot be restored, it can't be thrown away. Need to take the icon to the temple, where she will be burned in a church oven. If this is not feasible, then You can burn the icon yourself and bury the ashes in a place that will not be desecrated (for example, under a tree in the garden).

It is important to know: if the icon is damaged due to careless handling, this is a sin that must be confessed.

Using holy water and prosphora

Prosphora is a special consecrated church bread that is used during the Divine Liturgy: particles of health and repose are taken from the prosphora, which at the end of the service are immersed in a vessel with the Holy Gifts. The prosphora themselves are distributed to those praying. By submitting a registered note at the candle box before the service begins, you will receive a prosphora at the end of the Liturgy.

Holy water is consecrated in the church either at the Great Blessing of Water (January 18 and 19 - Epiphany Eve and), or at the small consecration, which takes place during some church holidays or, at the request of the worshipers, at a water prayer service. Holy water is taken from a special container in the temple, where it is stored after consecration.

Prosphora and a bottle of holy water are also kept in the red corner along with the icons. Prosphora is consumed in the morning on an empty stomach, holy water can be drunk throughout the day. There is prosphora and holy water.

How to use blessed oil

During a pilgrimage to shrines, a believer can purchase oil consecrated from the relics of one or another saint or near one or another miraculous icon of the Mother of God: for example, oil from Blessed Matrona or from. Sometimes it is sold in church shops. According to the testimony of the saints, blessed oil, like holy water, can have great power if used with sincere faith.

Blessed oil is used to anoint sick parts of the body with a cross.. If a person endures sorrow or temptation, the chest (to sanctify the heart and feelings) or the forehead (to sanctify the mind and thoughts) must be anointed. Before this, you need to read a prayer (troparion or kontakion) to the saint at whose relics the oil was consecrated, or a prayer to the Mother of God if the oil was consecrated in front of a miraculous icon. Blessed oil can also be used to light a lamp.

Not only the temple of God can be a place for our prayer, and it is not through the mediation of the priest alone that God’s blessing can be brought down on our deeds; Every home, every family can still become a home church when the head of the family leads his children and household members in prayer by his example, when family members, all together or individually, offer their prayers of petition and gratitude to the Lord God.

Not content with the general prayers offered for us in churches, and knowing that we will not all rush there, the Church offers each of us, like a mother to a child, special home-cooked food - offers prayers intended for our home use.

Daily Orthodox prayers

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer of the publican mentioned in the Gospel parable of the Savior:
God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Prayer to the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the sake of Your Most Pure Mother and all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen.
Prayer to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity:
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, who is everywhere and fulfills everything, treasure of good things, and giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O blessed One, our souls.
Three prayers to the Holy Trinity:
1. Trisagion. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).
2. Doxology. Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
3. Prayer. Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Master, forgive our iniquities; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name's sake.
Lord have mercy (three times).
The prayer is called the Lord’s Prayer because the Lord Himself said it for our use:
Our Father, who art in heaven; Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors: and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Orthodox prayers read in the morning after sleep

Orthodox prayers to the Mother of God

Angelic greeting. Theotokos, Virgin, rejoice, full of grace Mary, the Lord is with you: blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you have given birth to the Savior of our souls.
The Greatness of the Mother of God. It is worthy to eat as you truly bless Thee, the ever-blessed and immaculate Mother of God and the Mother of our God. The most honorable cherub, and the most glorious seraphim without comparison, who gave birth to the word of God without corruption, the real Mother of God, we magnify Thee.

In addition to the Mother of God, the intercessor of Christians before the Lord, everyone has two intercessors for us before God, prayer books and guardians of our life. This is, firstly, our angel from the realm of disembodied spirits, to whom the Lord entrusts us from the day of our baptism, and, secondly, a saint of God from among God’s holy men, also called an angel, whose name we bear from the day of our birth. It is a sin to forget your heavenly benefactors and not offer prayers to them.

Prayer to the angel, the disembodied guardian of human life

Prayer to the holy saint of God, by whose name we are called from birth

Pray to God for me, holy servant of God (name) or holy servant of God (name), as I diligently resort to you, a quick helper and prayer book for my soul, or a quick helper and prayer book for my soul.

The Sovereign Emperor is the father of our fatherland; His service is the most difficult of all the services that people undergo, and therefore it is the duty of every loyal subject to pray for his Sovereign and for the fatherland, i.e. The country in which our fathers were born and lived. The Apostle Paul speaks in his letter to Bishop Timothy, ch. 2, Art. 1, 2, 3: I beg you, first of all, to make prayers, supplications, petitions, thanksgivings for all people, for the Tsar and for everyone who is in power... This is good and pleasing before our Savior God.

Prayer for the Emperor and the Fatherland

Save, Lord, your people, and bless your inheritance: granting victories to our Blessed Emperor Nikolai Alexandrovich in opposition, and preserving your residence through your cross.

Prayer for living relatives

Save, O Lord, and have mercy (therefore briefly bring a prayer for the health and salvation of the entire Royal House, the priesthood, your spiritual father, your parents, relatives, leaders, benefactors, all Christians and all servants of God, and then add): And I remember, visit, strengthen, comfort and with your power grant them health and salvation, for you are good and a lover of mankind. Amen.

Prayer for the dead

Remember, Lord, the souls of your departed servants (their names), and all my relatives, and all my departed brethren, and forgive them all their sins, voluntary and involuntary, granting them the kingdom of heaven and the communion of your eternal good things and the pleasure of your endless and blissful life, and create for them an eternal memory.

A short prayer said before the honest and life-giving cross of the Lord

Protect me, Lord, by the power of your honorable and life-giving cross, and save me from all evil.

During evening prayer the same thing is read, only instead of the morning prayer, St. The Church offers us the following prayer:

Lord our God, who have sinned in these days, in word, deed, and thought, as he is good and a lover of mankind, forgive me; grant me peaceful sleep and serenity; Send Your guardian angel, covering and keeping me from all evil; for You are the guardian of our souls and bodies, and to You we send glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever and ever, Amen.

Orthodox prayer before eating

The eyes of all trust in You, Lord, and You give them writing in good time, You open Your generous hand, and fulfill every animal’s good will.

Orthodox prayers after eating:

We thank Thee, Christ our God, for Thou hast filled us with Thy earthly blessings: do not deprive us of Thy heavenly kingdom.

Orthodox prayers before teaching

Orthodox prayers after teaching

Students of the sciences and arts should turn to the Lord with special diligence, for He gives wisdom, and from His presence knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 2:6). Most of all, they must preserve the purity and integrity of their hearts, so that, without being obscured, the light of God may enter the soul: For wisdom does not enter into an evil soul, but instead dwells in a body guilty of sin (Wisdom 1:4). Blessed are those who are pure in heart: for they will see not only the wisdom of God, but also God Himself (Matthew 5:8).

(51 votes: 4.6 out of 5)

with the blessing of His Grace Simon, Bishop of Murmansk and Monchegorsk

Trifonov Pechenga Monastery
"Ark"
Moscow
2004

What is prayer

In the Christian catechism, that is, in the instruction on the Christian faith, it is said about prayer this way: “Prayer is the offering of the mind and heart to God and is a person’s reverent word to God.” Prayer is the thread of the living fabric of the church body, going in all directions; The prayer connection permeates the entire body of the Church.

Prayer connects each member of the Church with the Heavenly Father, members of the earthly Church with each other, and members of the earth with those in heaven.
The content of prayer is: praise, or glory; thanksgiving; repentance; a request for God's mercy, for the forgiveness of sins, for the granting of mental and physical blessings, heavenly and earthly. Prayer happens for oneself and for others. Praying for one another expresses the mutual love of Church members.

Spiritual worship is necessarily accompanied by physical worship due to the close connection between soul and body. Prayer is expressed in a variety of external forms. This includes genuflection, the sign of the cross, raising of hands, the use of various liturgical objects and all external actions of public Christian worship.
Prayer has extraordinary power. “Prayer not only defeats the laws of nature, not only is it an insurmountable shield against visible and invisible enemies, but it even holds back the hand of the Almighty God Himself, raised to defeat sinners,” writes the saint.

But reading the words of a prayer from memory or from a prayer book, standing in front of an icon at home or in a temple, making bows is not yet prayer. “Reading prayers, standing in prayer and bowing constitute only prayerful standing,” writes the saint, “and prayer, in fact, comes from the heart. When this one is not there, there is none. Prayer without feelings is the same as a dead miscarriage.” Prayer itself, as St. Theophan the Recluse writes, “is the emergence in our heart of one after another reverent feelings for God - feelings of self-abasement, devotion, thanksgiving, glorification, forgiveness, diligent prostration, contrition, submission to the will of God, and so on.”

Most of all, during prayer, we must take care that these and similar feelings fill our soul, so that when we read prayers out loud or internally, during bows, our heart is not empty, so that it rushes to God. When we have these feelings, then our prayer, our bows are prayer...

Why you need to pray according to the prayer book

The Fathers of the Church were very careful about those prayers that were composed by the believers themselves.

“Do not dare to bring to God verbose and eloquent prayers composed by you... they are the product of a fallen mind and... cannot be accepted on the spiritual altar of God,” wrote. Our example in praying in other people's words is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. His prayerful exclamations during the sufferings of the cross are lines from the psalms ().

Books for home prayers contain many prayers written by the Holy Fathers of the Church.
These prayers were written many centuries ago by the monks and Macarius of Egypt, Roman the Sweet Singer, the saints, and other great prayer books. Filled with a prayerful spirit, they put into words what this spirit inspired and conveyed these words to us. Great prayerful power moves in their prayers, and whoever attends to them with attention and diligence will certainly experience a feeling of prayer. Reading prayers connects a person with their creators - the psalmists and ascetics. This helps to gain a spiritual mood akin to their heartfelt burning.

What prayers are included in the prayer book

Books for home prayers, most often called, have many similarities with each other, because they contain the same prayers. The prayer books contain prayers for those coming to bed and morning prayers, an akathist to the Sweetest Jesus, an akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos, an akathist to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, a canon of repentance to our Lord Jesus Christ, a canon of prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos, sung in every spiritual sorrow and situation, a canon to the Guardian Angel , following before Holy Communion and prayers for Holy Communion.

The word akathist comes from the Greek akathistos gymnos - “non-seated hymn”, a hymn that is sung while standing. An akathist is a contemplation of a miracle; it is, as it were, a verbal icon of a sacred person or a blessed event, which explains its static nature. The Akathist consists of 12 double songs - sequentially alternating ikos and kontakia. Kontakion is a short Orthodox chant, which sets out the dogmatic or historical significance of the celebrated event or person; in the kontakion, any moment of the Church’s teaching about one of the mysteries of God is revealed. Each kontakion ends with the exclamation “Alleluia.” The kontakion is followed by an ikos, which reveals the content of the kontakion and concludes a more extensive development of the theme contained in the kontakion.

A canon is one of the forms of the Orthodox hymn. The canon consists of nine songs arranged in thanksgiving and praise to God. The song of the canon is divided into irmos (from the Greek verb “I bind”, “I unite”) and several troparia (a song depicting the lifestyle of a saint or the celebration of a holiday). The Canon of the Guardian Angel contains a prayer service to the Guardian Angel, a prayer canon to the Most Holy Theotokos - a prayer for the aversion of internal mental and physical illnesses and, in particular, for the healing of sinful ulcers that affect the soul, as the very content of the songs and verses of the canon shows.

What prayers should a layperson’s prayer rule consist of?

The prayer rule of a layman consists of morning and evening prayers, which are performed daily. This rhythm is necessary, because otherwise the soul easily falls out of the prayer life, as if waking up only from time to time. In prayer, as in any big and difficult matter, inspiration, mood and improvisation are not enough.
There are three basic prayer rules:

1) a complete prayer rule, designed for monks and spiritually experienced laity, which is printed in the Orthodox Prayer Book;

2) a short prayer rule designed for all believers; in the morning: “Heavenly King”, Trisagion, “Our Father”, “Virgin Mother of God”, “Rising from sleep”, “Have mercy on me, O God”, “I Believe”, “God, cleanse”, “To You, Master”, “ Holy Angel”, “Most Holy Lady”, invocation of saints, prayer for the living and the dead; in the evening: “Heavenly King”, Trisagion, “Our Father”, “Have mercy on us, Lord”, “Eternal God”, “Good King”, “Angel of Christ”, from “The Chosen Governor” to “It is worthy to eat”; these prayers are contained in any prayer book;

3) the saint’s short prayer rule: “Our Father” three times, “Virgin Mother of God” three times and “I Believe” once - for those days and circumstances when a person is extremely tired or very limited in time.

The duration of prayers and their number are determined by spiritual fathers and priests, taking into account everyone’s lifestyle and spiritual experience.

You cannot completely omit the prayer rule. Even if the prayer rule is read without due attention, the words of the prayers, penetrating the soul, have a cleansing effect.
Saint Theophan writes to one family person: “In case of emergency, one must be able to shorten the rule. You never know how many coincidences there are in family life. When things do not allow you to complete a complete prayer rule, then perform it abbreviated.

But one should never rush... The rule is not an essential part of prayer, but is only its external side. The main thing is the prayer of the mind and heart to God, offered with praise, thanksgiving and petition... and finally with complete devotion to the Lord. When there are such movements in the heart, there is prayer there, and when not, there is no prayer, even if you stood on the rule for whole days.”

A special prayer rule is performed during preparation for the Sacraments of Confession and Communion. On these days (they are called fasting and last for at least three days), it is customary to fulfill your prayer rule more diligently: whoever usually does not read all morning and evening prayers, let him read everything in full; whoever does not read the canons, let him read at least on these days. one canon. On the eve of communion, you must be at the evening service and read at home, in addition to the usual prayers for going to bed, the canon of repentance, the canon to the Mother of God and the canon to the Guardian Angel. The canon for communion is also read and, for those who wish, an akathist to the Sweetest Jesus. In the morning, morning prayers are read and all the prayers for holy communion are read.

During the fast, the prayers are especially long, so that, as the righteous saint writes, “so that through the duration of fervent prayer we can disperse our cold hearts, hardened by prolonged vanity. For it is strange to think, much less to demand, that a heart matured in the vanity of life could soon be imbued with the warmth of faith and love for God during prayer. No, this requires work and time. The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force delight it (). The Kingdom of God does not come to the heart soon when people run so hard from it. The Lord God Himself expressed His will that we pray not briefly when He presents as an example a widow who went to the judge for a long time and bothered him for a long time (for a long time) with her requests ().”

When to make your prayer rule

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. We must develop strict rules of prayer discipline and strictly adhere to our prayer rules.

Morning prayers are best read before starting any task. As a last resort, they are pronounced on the way from home. The evening prayer rule is recommended by prayer teachers to be read in free minutes before dinner or even earlier - late in the evening it is often difficult to concentrate due to fatigue.

How to Prepare for Prayer

The basic prayers that make up the morning and evening rules should be known by heart so that they penetrate deeper into the heart and so that they can be repeated in any circumstances. First of all, in your free time, it is advisable to read the prayers included in your rule, translate the text of the prayers for yourself from Church Slavonic into Russian in order to understand the meaning of each word and not pronounce a single word meaninglessly or without precise understanding. This is what the Church Fathers advise. “Take the trouble,” writes the monk, “not during the hour of prayer, but at another, free time, to think about and feel the prescribed prayers. Having done this, even during prayer you will not encounter any difficulty in reproducing the content of the prayer being read.”

It is very important that those who begin to pray should expel resentment, irritation, and bitterness from their hearts. The saint teaches: “Before prayers, you need to not be angry with anyone, not to be angry, but to leave behind any offense, so that God yourself will forgive your sins.”

“When approaching the Benefactor, be beneficent yourself; when approaching the Good, be good yourself; approaching the Righteous One, be righteous yourself; when approaching the Patient One, be patient yourself; when approaching the Humane, be humane; and also be everything else, approaching the Kind-hearted, the Benevolent, the Sociable in good things, the Merciful to everyone, and, if anything else is seen of the Divine, becoming like in all this by will, thereby acquire for yourself the boldness to pray,” writes the saint.

How to make your own prayer rule at home

During prayer, it is recommended to retire, light a lamp or candle and stand in front of the icon. Depending on the nature of family relationships, we can recommend reading the prayer rule together, with the whole family, or for each family member separately. General prayer is recommended primarily on solemn days, before a festive meal and on other similar occasions. Family prayer is a type of church, public prayer (the family is a kind of home church) and therefore does not replace individual prayer, but only complements it.

Before starting prayer, you should sign yourself with the sign of the cross and make several bows, from the waist or to the ground, and try to tune in to an internal conversation with God. “Stay silently until your feelings calm down, place yourself in the presence of God to the consciousness and feeling of Him with reverent Fear and restore in your heart a living faith that God hears and sees you,” says the beginning of the prayer book. Saying prayers out loud or in a low voice helps many people focus.

“When starting to pray,” the saint advises, “in the morning or evening, stand a little, or sit, or walk, and try at this time to sober up your thoughts, distracting it from all earthly affairs and objects. Then think about who is the One to whom you will turn in prayer, and who you are, who now has to begin this prayerful appeal to Him - and arouse in your soul the corresponding mood of self-abasement and reverent fear of standing before God in your heart. This is all the preparation - to stand reverently before God - small, but not insignificant. This is where prayer begins, and a good beginning is half the battle.
Having thus established yourself internally, then stand before the icon and, having made several bows, begin the usual prayer: “Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee,” “To the Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Soul of Truth,” and so on. Read slowly, delve into every word, and bring the thought of every word to your heart, accompanying it with bows. This is the whole point of reading a prayer that is pleasing and fruitful to God. Delve into every word and bring the thought of the word to your heart, otherwise, understand what you read and feel what you understand. No other rules are required. These two - understand and feel - when performed properly, adorn every prayer with full dignity and impart to it all its fruitful effect. You read: “cleanse us from all defilement” - feel your defilement, desire purity and seek it with hope from the Lord. You read: “forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors” - and in your soul forgive everyone, and in your heart, which has forgiven everyone, ask the Lord for forgiveness. You read: “Thy will be done” - and in your heart completely commit your fate to the Lord and express an unquestioning readiness to graciously meet everything that the Lord wants to send you.
If you act like this with every verse of your prayer, then you will have a proper prayer book.”

In another of his instructions, Saint Theophan so briefly systematizes advice on reading the prayer rule:

“a) never read hastily, but read as if in a chant... In ancient times, all the prayers read were taken from the psalms... But nowhere do I see the word “read”, but everywhere “sing”...

b) delve into every word and not only reproduce the thought of what you read in your mind, but also arouse the corresponding feeling...

c) in order to trigger the urge to hastily read, make sure not to read this and that, but to stand for a reading prayer for a quarter of an hour, half an hour, an hour... how long you usually stand... and then don’t worry... how many prayers you read, and how the time has come if not If you want to stand any further, stop reading...

d) having put this down, however, do not look at the clock, but stand in such a way that you can stand endlessly: your thoughts will not run ahead...

e) to promote the movement of prayerful feelings in your free time, re-read and rethink all the prayers that are included in your rule - and re-feel them, so that when you begin to read them according to the rule, you know in advance what feeling should be aroused in the heart...

f) never read prayers without interruption, but always break them up with personal prayer, with bows, whether in the middle of prayers or at the end. As soon as something comes to your heart, immediately stop reading and bow. This last rule is the most necessary and most necessary for cultivating the spirit of prayer... If any other feeling is very consuming, you should be with it and bow down, and leave reading... so until the very end of the allotted time.”

What to do when distracted during prayer

Praying is very difficult. Prayer is primarily a spiritual work, therefore one should not expect immediate spiritual pleasure from it. “Do not look for pleasures in prayer,” he writes, “they are by no means characteristic of a sinner. The desire of a sinner to feel pleasure is already self-delusion... Do not prematurely seek high spiritual states and prayerful delights.”

As a rule, it is possible to maintain attention on the words of the prayer for several minutes, and then thoughts begin to wander, the eye glides over the words of the prayer - and our heart and mind are far away.
If someone prays to the Lord, but thinks about something else, then the Lord will not listen to such a prayer,” writes the reverend.

At these moments, the Fathers of the Church advise to be especially attentive. Saint Theophan the Recluse writes that we must prepare in advance for the fact that when reading prayers we are distracted, often mechanically reading the words of the prayer. “When a thought runs away during prayer, return it. If he runs away again, come back again. It's like that every time. Every time you read something while your thoughts are running away and, therefore, without attention or feeling, do not forget to re-read. And even if your thought wanders off in one place several times, read it several times until you read it with concept and feeling. Once you overcome this difficulty, another time, perhaps, it will not happen again, or it will not happen again with such force.

If, while reading the rule, a prayer breaks through in your own words, then, as St. Nicodemus says, “do not let this opportunity pass by, but dwell on it.”
We find the same thought in St. Theophan: “Another word will have such a strong effect on the soul that the soul will not want to extend further in prayer, and although the tongue reads prayers, the thought keeps running back to the place that had such an effect on her. In this case, stop, do not read further, but stand with attention and feeling in that place, nourish your soul with them, or with the thoughts that it will produce. And don’t rush to tear yourself away from this state, so if time is pressing, it’s better to leave the unfinished rule, and don’t ruin this state. It will overshadow you, perhaps all day, like a Guardian Angel! This kind of beneficial influence on the soul during prayer means that the spirit of prayer begins to take root and that, therefore, maintaining this state is the most reliable means of nurturing and strengthening the spirit of prayer in us.”

How to end your prayer rule

It is good to end the prayer with thanksgiving to God for the gift of communication and contrition for one’s inattention.

“When you finish your prayer, do not immediately move on to any of your other activities, but also, at least for a little while, wait and think that you have accomplished this and what it obliges you to, trying, if you are given something to feel during prayer, to preserve it after prayers,” writes St. Theophan the Recluse. “Do not immediately rush into everyday affairs,” teaches St. Nicodemus, “and never think that, having completed your prayer rule, you have finished everything in relation to God.”

When 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.

How to learn to spend your day in prayer

Having finished our morning prayers, we should not think that everything is complete in relation to God, and only in the evening, during the evening rule, should we return to prayer again.
The good feelings that arise during morning prayers will be drowned out in the bustle and busyness of the day. Because of this, there is no desire to attend evening prayer.

We must try to make sure that the soul turns to God not only when we stand in prayer, but throughout the whole day.

Here is how Saint Theophan the Recluse advises learning this:

“First, it is necessary throughout the day to more often cry out to God from the heart in short words, judging by the need of the soul and current affairs. You start by saying, for example: “Bless, Lord!” When you finish the job, say: “Glory to you, Lord!”, and not only with your tongue, but also with the feeling of your heart. Any passion that arises, say: “Save me, Lord, I am perishing!” The darkness of disturbing thoughts finds itself, cry out: “Bring my soul out of prison!” Wrong deeds are coming and sin leads to them, pray: “Guide me, Lord, on the path” or “Do not let my feet become confused.” Sins suppress and lead to despair, cry out in the publican’s voice: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” So anyway. Or simply say often: “Lord, have mercy; Lady Mother of God, have mercy on me. Angel of God, my holy guardian, protect me,” or cry out in some other word. Just make these appeals as often as possible, trying in every possible way so that they come from the heart, as if squeezed out of it. When you do this, we will often make intelligent ascents to God from the heart, frequent appeals to God, frequent prayer, and this frequency will impart the skill of intelligent conversation with God.

But in order for the soul to begin to cry out like this, it must first be forced to turn everything into the glory of God, every one of its deeds, big and small. And this is the second way to teach the soul to turn to God more often during the day. For if we make it a law for ourselves to fulfill this apostolic commandment, so that we do everything for the glory of God, even whether you eat, drink, or whatever you do, you do everything for the glory of God (), then we will certainly remember God in every action, and we will not just remember , but with caution, so as not to act wrongly in any case and not to offend God in any way. This will make you turn to God with fear and prayerfully ask for help and admonition. Just as we almost constantly do something, we will almost constantly turn to God in prayer, and, therefore, almost continuously go through the science of lifting up prayer in our souls to God.

But in order for the soul to perform this, that is, doing everything for the glory of God, as it should, it must be set up for this from early morning - from the very beginning of the day, before a person goes out to do his work and to do his work until the evening. This mood is produced by the thought of God. And this is the third way of training the soul to frequently turn to God. Thought on God is a reverent reflection on the Divine properties and actions and on what knowledge of them and their relationship to us obliges us, this is a reflection on the goodness of God, justice, wisdom, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, on creation and industry, on the dispensation of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, about the goodness and word of God, about the holy sacraments, about the Kingdom of Heaven.
Whichever of these subjects you don’t think about, this reflection will certainly fill your soul with a reverent feeling for God. Start thinking, for example, about the goodness of God, and you will see that you are surrounded by God’s mercies both physically and spiritually, and unless you are a stone, you will not fall before God in the outpouring of humiliated feelings of gratitude. Start thinking about the omnipresence of God, and you will understand that you are everywhere before God and God is before you, and you cannot help but be filled with reverent fear. Begin to reflect on the omniscience of God - you will realize that nothing in you is hidden from the eye of God, and you will certainly decide to be strictly attentive to the movements of your heart and mind, so as not to offend the all-seeing God in any way. Begin to reason about the truth of God, and you will be convinced that not a single bad deed will go unpunished, and you will certainly intend to cleanse all your sins with heartfelt contrition and repentance before God. So, no matter what property and action of God you begin to reason about, every such reflection will fill the soul with reverent feelings and dispositions towards God. It directs the whole being of a person directly to God and is therefore the most direct means to accustom the soul to ascend to God.

The most decent, convenient time for this is the morning, when the soul is not yet burdened with many impressions and business concerns, and precisely after morning prayer. When you finish your prayer, sit down and, with your thoughts sanctified in prayer, begin to reflect today on one thing, tomorrow on another of God’s properties and actions, and create a disposition in your soul according to this. “Go,” said the saint, “go, holy thought of God, and let us immerse ourselves in meditation on the great deeds of God,” and his thoughts passed through either the works of creation and providence, or the miracles of the Lord Savior, or His suffering, or something else, thereby touching his heart and began to pour out his soul in prayer. Anyone can do this. There is little work, all you need is desire and determination; and there is a lot of fruit.

So here are three ways, in addition to the prayer rule, to teach the soul to ascend in prayer to God, namely: devote some time in the morning to contemplation of God, turn every matter to the glory of God, and often turn to God with short appeals.

When the thought of God is well accomplished in the morning, it will leave a deep mood for thinking about God. Thinking about God will force the soul to carefully carry out every action, both internal and external, and turn it into the glory of God. And both will put the soul in such a position that prayerful appeals to God will often be expelled from it.
These three - thinking about God, all creation for the glory of God and frequent appeals are the most effective tools of mental and heartfelt prayer. Each of them lifts the soul to God. Whoever sets out to practice them will soon acquire in his heart the skill of ascent to God. This work is like climbing a mountain. The higher someone climbs the mountain, the freer and easier he breathes. So here, the more one gets used to the exercises shown, the higher the soul will rise, and the higher the soul rises, the more freely prayer will act in it. Our soul by nature is an inhabitant of the heavenly world of the Divine. There she should have been undiminished in both thought and heart; but the burden of earthly thoughts and passions drags and weighs her down. The methods shown tear it off the ground little by little, and then completely tear it off. When they are completely torn away, then the soul will enter its own region and will sweetly dwell in grief - here heartily and mentally, and then with its very being it will be honored before the face of God to dwell in the faces of Angels and Saints. May the Lord vouchsafe all of you with His grace. Amen".

How to force yourself to pray

Sometimes prayer doesn’t come to mind at all. In this case, Saint Theophan advises doing this:
“If this is prayer at home, then you can put it off a little, for a few minutes... If it doesn’t happen after that... force yourself to fulfill the prayer rule forcibly, straining, and understand what is being said, and feel... just like when a child does not want to bend over, they take him by the forelock and bend over... Otherwise, this is what can happen... now you don’t feel like it, tomorrow you don’t feel like it, and then the prayer is completely over. Beware of this... and force yourself to willingly pray. The work of self-compulsion overcomes everything.”

What you need for successful prayer

“When you desire and seek success in your prayer work, adapt everything else to this, so as not to destroy with one hand what the other creates.

1. Maintain your body strictly in food, in sleep, and in rest: do not give it anything just because it wants it, as the apostle commands: Do not turn care for the flesh into lust (). Give no rest to the flesh.

2. Reduce your external relations to the most inevitable. This is for the time of teaching yourself to pray. Afterwards, the prayer, acting in you, will indicate that without prejudice to it it can be added. Take special care of your senses, and most of all, your eyes, your ears, and your tongue. Without observing this, you will not take a step forward in the matter of prayer. Just as a candle cannot burn in the wind and rain, so prayer cannot be warmed by the influx of impressions from the outside.

3. Use all your free time after prayer for reading and meditation. For reading, choose primarily books that write about prayer and, in general, about inner spiritual life. Think exclusively about God and Divine things, about the Incarnate Economy of our salvation, and in it especially about the suffering and death of the Lord Savior. By doing this, you will plunge into the sea of Divine light. Add to this going to church as soon as you have the opportunity. One presence in the temple will overshadow you with a prayer cloud. What will you get if you spend the entire service in a truly prayerful mood!

4. Know that you cannot succeed in prayer without succeeding in general in the Christian life. It is necessary that there should not be a single sin on the soul that has not been cleansed by repentance; and if during your prayerful work you do something that troubles your conscience, hasten to be cleansed by repentance, so that you can boldly look to the Lord. Always keep humble contrition in your heart. Do not miss a single upcoming opportunity to do some good or to demonstrate any good disposition, especially humility, obedience and renunciation of your will. But it goes without saying that zeal for salvation should burn unquenchably and, filling the entire soul, in everything, from small to great, should be the main driving force, with the fear of God and unshakable hope.

5. Having thus tuned in, bother yourself in the work of prayer, praying: now with ready-made prayers, now with your own, now with short invocations to the Lord, now with the Jesus Prayer, but without missing out on anything that can help in this work, and you will receive what you are looking for. Let me remind you what Saint Macarius of Egypt says: “God will see your prayer work and that you sincerely desire success in prayer - and will give you prayer. For know that although prayer done and achieved through one’s own efforts is pleasing to God, real prayer is the one that settles in the heart and becomes persistent. She is a gift of God, a work of God's grace. Therefore, when you pray about everything, do not forget to pray about prayer” (Rev.).

How to learn to fall before God in prayer

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt writes:

“In prayer, the main thing that you need to take care of first of all is a living, clairvoyant faith in the Lord: imagine Him vividly before you and in yourself, and then, if you want, ask for Christ Jesus in the Holy Spirit, and you will have it. Ask simply, without hesitation, and then your God will be everything for you, performing great and wonderful deeds in an instant, just as the sign of the cross accomplishes great powers. Ask not for yourself alone, but for all the faithful, for the entire body of the Church, spiritual and material blessings, not separating yourself from other believers, but being in spiritual unity with them, as a member of the one great body of the Church of Christ - and loving everyone, as your children in Christ, the Heavenly Father will fill you with great peace and boldness.
If you want to ask God for some good from God through prayer, then before praying, prepare yourself for undoubted, strong faith and take remedies in advance against doubt and unbelief. It’s bad if, during the prayer itself, your heart becomes weak in faith and does not stand in it, then don’t even think that you will receive what you asked God for in doubt, because you have offended God, and God does not give His gifts to a scolder! Whatever you ask in prayer with faith, you will receive (), and, therefore, if you ask in disbelief or with doubt, you will not accept. If you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but if you also say to this mountain: be taken up and cast into the sea, it will happen (). This means that if you doubt and don’t believe it, you won’t do it. Let (every person) ask with faith, without doubting at all, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, lifted and tossed by the wind. Let such a person not think of receiving anything from the Lord. A person with double thoughts is not firm in all his ways, says the Apostle James ().

A heart that doubts that God can grant what is asked is punished for doubt: it painfully languishes and is embarrassed by doubt. Do not anger the Almighty God with even a shadow of doubt, especially you, who have experienced God’s omnipotence many, many times. Doubt is blasphemy against God, a bold lie of the heart or a spirit of lies nestling in the heart against the Spirit of truth. Fear him like a poisonous snake, or no, what am I saying, neglect him, do not pay the slightest attention to him. Remember that God, at the time of your petition, expects an affirmative answer to the question He internally offers you: Do you believe that I can do this?! Yes, you must answer from the depths of your heart: I believe, Lord! (Wed:). And then it will be according to your faith. May the following reasoning help your doubt or unbelief: I ask God:

1) existing, and not just imaginary, not dreamy, not fantastic good, but everything that exists received existence from God, because Everything began to be through Him, and without Him nothing began to be (), and, therefore, nothing exists without Him, what happens, and everything either received existence from Him, or by His will or permission happens and is done through the means of His powers and abilities given to creatures from Him - and in all that exists and happens, the Lord is the sovereign Ruler. In addition, He calls not existing, but existing (); This means that if I asked for something that does not exist, He could give it to me by creating it;

2) I ask for the possible, and for God our impossible is possible; This means that on this side there is no obstacle, because God can do for me even what, according to my concepts, is impossible. Our misfortune is that our faith is interfered with by myopic reason, this spider that catches the truth in the nets of its judgments, conclusions, and analogies. Faith suddenly embraces, sees, and reason reaches the truth in a roundabout way; faith is a means of communication between spirit and spirit, and reason - the spiritually sensual with the spiritually sensual and simply material; that one is spirit, and this one is flesh.”

You say, I asked many times and did not receive it. Undoubtedly, this is because you asked poorly - either with unbelief, or with pride, or something that was not useful to you; if you asked often and for something useful, then not with persistence... If you do not ask with effort and great persistence, then you do not receive. First you need to wish, and having wished, ask truly with faith and patience for what is useful to everyone, and so that your conscience does not condemn you in anything as asking carelessly or frivolously - and then you will receive if God wants it. After all, He knows better than you what is good for you, and, perhaps, as a result of this, He postpones the fulfillment of the request, wisely forcing you to be diligent towards Him, so that you know what the gift of God means and guard what is given with fear. After all, they try to preserve everything that is acquired with great effort, so that, having lost what they have received, they do not lose even the great efforts and, having rejected the grace of the Lord, do not find themselves unworthy of Eternal Life...

What to ask God for in your prayers

“Carnal verbosity and floridity in prayer are forbidden to us,” writes Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov, “petitions for earthly blessings and advantages are forbidden, petitions with which only the prayers of pagans and carnal people similar to pagans are filled.”

What should a Christian ask God for in his prayers?

“If we are commanded to abstain from worldly blessings, even when we have them, then how pitiful and unhappy we turn out to be if we ask God for what He commanded us to reject,” writes the saint. - God will hear us if:

First, we are worthy to receive what we ask for;
secondly, if we pray in accordance with the commandments of God;
thirdly, if we pray unceasingly;
fourthly, if we do not ask for anything worldly;
fifthly, if we ask for something useful;
sixthly, if we fulfill our duty on our part and, being mortal by nature, through communication with God we ascend to Immortal Life.”

“In prayer, ask only for truth and the Kingdom, that is, virtue and knowledge, and everything else will be added to you ()...
Pray
firstly, about cleansing from passions;
secondly, about deliverance from ignorance and, thirdly, about salvation from all temptation and abandonment” (Rev.).

“The objects of our prayer should be spiritual and eternal, and not temporary and material. The main and initial prayer should consist of requests for forgiveness of sins... Do not be reckless in your requests, so as not to anger God with your cowardice: he who asks the King of kings for something insignificant humiliates Him... Ask for what you consider necessary and useful for yourself, but fulfillment and Leave your request to the will of God..." writes Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov.

When intending to ask (for something from the Lord), before you resort to the Giver, consider your request, whether it is pure, carefully delve into the reason prompting the request. If the motive for which we ask entails harm, then (the Lord)... may he block the sources of our petitions... If you ask God for something of your own, then ask not in such a way that you will certainly receive from Him, but leaving it to Him and His will . For example, bad thoughts often oppress you, and you are sad about it, and you want to beg God to free you from the abuse. But often it serves you well. For this often happens to you, so that you do not become arrogant, but be humble... Also, if some kind of sorrow or distress has befallen you, do not ask to be sure to get rid of them, because this, my brother, is often useful; I tell you, it often happens that during prayer you neglect your salvation, as was the case with the Israelites... And also, if you ask for something, do not ask in order to receive it without fail. For I say: you, as a person, often consider something useful for yourself that is useless. But if you leave your will and decide to walk according to God’s will, you will be safe. He, who foretells everything before its fulfillment, in His condescension shepherds us, but we do not know whether what we ask is useful to us. Many, having achieved what they wanted, subsequently repented, and often fell into great troubles; without carefully examining whether this was the will of God, but thinking that it was good for them, and under some pretexts that had the appearance of truth, deceived by the devil, they were exposed to extreme dangers. Many such deeds are accompanied by repentance, because we followed our own wishes in them. Listen to what the apostle says: we do not know what to pray for as we should (). For: everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial; everything is permissible for me, but not everything edifies (). So, what is useful and edifying for each of us, God Himself knows, therefore leave it to Him. I say this not to prevent you from turning to God with your petitions; On the contrary, I also beg you to ask Him for everything, from small to great. And this is what I tell you: when you pray, you reveal to Him what is in your heart, tell Him: however, not My will, but Yours be done (); if it is useful, as you yourself know, do it. For it is thus written: Commit your way to the Lord and trust in Him, and He will accomplish (). Look at our Lord Jesus Christ, the Builder, who prays and says: My Father! if possible, let this cup pass from Me; however, not as I want, but as You (). Therefore, if you ask God for something, stand firm in your request, opening up to Him and saying: “If it is Your will, Master, for this to happen, then do it and make it successful. And if it is not Your will for this, do not let this happen, my God! Do not betray me to my own desire, for you know my foolishness... but as You Yourself know, so save me by Your condescension!” If you pray because of sorrow and thoughts, then say: Lord! Do not rebuke me in Your wrath, and do not punish me in Your anger. Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am weak (). Look what the prophet says: To You, O Lord, I cry: my stronghold! do not be silent for me, so that in Your silence I do not become like those who descend into the grave (); but give glory to Your name, you who are unforgettable, do not remember my sins and hear me. And, if possible, may sorrow pass me by, however, not my will, but Yours, be done, only strengthen and preserve my soul, and I will be able to endure this, so that I may find grace before You both in the present age and in the future.” And commend your sorrow to the Lord, and He will do what is good for you. For know that He, as the Good One, wants what is necessary for our salvation. That is why this good Shepherd laid down His soul...

“Do not indignate yourself with prayer, but ask for what is worthy of God. And when you ask for something worthy, do not give up until you receive it... In prayer one should ask not for the fulfillment of one’s own will, but to leave everything to God, who is useful in building the house,” writes the saint.

“If your deeds are not pleasing to God, then do not ask Him for great gifts, lest you end up in the position of a person who tempts God. Your prayer must be consistent with your lifestyle... The desire of each person is shown by his activity. Whatever his efforts are directed towards, he must strive for that in prayer. He who desires great things should not practice the unimportant. Do not ask God for what He Himself gives us without our asking, according to His providence, which gives not only to His own and beloved, but also to strangers the knowledge of Him” (Rev.).

Why are our prayers unheard?

If prayer is so powerful, then why doesn’t everyone get what they ask for? To this the holy Apostle James gives the following answer: You ask, and you do not receive, because you ask for the wrong thing (). He who wants to receive must ask well. If those who ask do not always receive, then it is not prayer that is to blame, but those who do not pray well. Just as someone who does not know how to manage a good ship well does not sail to the intended destination, but is repeatedly broken on the rocks, and it is not the ship that is to blame, but its poor management, so prayer, when the one praying does not receive what he asks for, is not to blame for this, but the one who doesn't pray well.
Only those who do not receive what they ask are those who are either evil themselves and do not want to evade evil in order to do good, or who ask God for an evil thing, or, finally, although they ask for a good thing, they ask not well, not as they should . Prayer is powerful, but not just any prayer, but perfect prayer, the prayer of those who pray well.

What kind of prayer is this? Talking about this requires more than one day, and therefore I will briefly remember at least something.

The prayer of one who obeys the Lord is heard and pleasing to God. Whoever obeys the words of the Lord, as the Lord Himself told us: Not everyone who says to Me: “Lord! Lord!”, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Heavenly Father (), who walks in the law of the Lord () and does His will, the Lord will fulfill his desire and hear the prayer of those who obey Him. Humble prayer, not pharisaical, ascends high, to the Third Heaven, to the very Throne of the Most High, the prayer of the humble will pass through the clouds. This, for example, was the prayer of the humble publican: God! be merciful to me, a sinner! (), and Manasseh, king of Jerusalem. The wings of prayer, on which it flies to the Most High, sitting on the six-winged Seraphim, are all sorts of virtues, especially humility, fasting and alms, as the Archangel Raphael, who flew from Heaven, told Tobias: A good deed is prayer with fasting and almsgiving and justice ... It is better to give alms than to collect gold (). As in any virtue, so especially in prayer, diligence and zeal are necessary: The intense prayer of the righteous can do much (). “It was not in vain that our Savior said: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you (),” writes St. Demetrius of Rostov (103, 361-362).

“The Lord never refuses gifts. If he sometimes refuses for a time, he refuses so that the gift becomes more precious for those who accept and so that the recipient is more diligent in prayer... The lips can ask for everything, but God fulfills only what is useful... The Lord is the wise Distributor. He cares about the benefit of the person asking and, if he sees that what is asked is harmful or, at least, useless to him, he does not fulfill the request and refuses the imaginary benefit. He listens to every prayer, and the one whose prayer is not fulfilled receives from the Lord the same saving gift as the one whose prayer is fulfilled... In all possible ways, God shows that He is a merciful Giver, He gives us His love and shows us mercy Yours. And therefore he does not answer any incorrect prayer, the fulfillment of which would bring us death and ruin. However, even in this case, refusing what we ask does not leave us without a very useful gift; by the very fact that He removes what is harmful from us, He already opens for us the door of His bounties. In this Giver there is no place for the foolishness of the one asking: to the unwise, who in his simplicity, contrary to reason, asks for something harmful to himself, God gives wisely. He refuses gifts to those who do not fulfill His commands. Any other course of action would be unreasonable for the omniscience of the Giver. Therefore, be sure that any request that is not fulfilled is undoubtedly harmful, but a request that is heard is beneficial. The Giver is righteous and good and will not leave your requests unfulfilled, because in His goodness there is no malice and in His righteousness there is no envy. If He delays in fulfilling it, it is not because He repents of the promise, on the contrary. He wants to see your patience” (Reverend).

How to Pray for Other People

Prayer for other people 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.

“When praying for the living and the dead and calling them by name,” writes the holy righteous John of Kronstadt, “you must pronounce these names with all your heart, with love, as if carrying in your soul those faces whose names you remember, just as a milkmaid carries and warms her children (), - remembering that they are our members and members (members - Ed.) of the Body of Christ (cf.:). - It is not good in the presence of God to only go over their names with the tongue, without the participation and love of the heart. We must think that God looks at the heart - that the persons for whom we pray also demand from us, out of the duty of Christian love, brotherly sympathy and love. There is a great difference between an insensitive list of names and between a heartfelt remembrance of them: one is separated from the other as heaven is from earth. But the name of the Lord Himself, His Most Pure Mother, the holy Angels and holy men of God must always be invoked from a pure heart, with faith and ardent love; In general, the words of the prayer do not need to be sorted out only with the tongue, as if turning over sheets of paper with a finger in a book or as if counting out a coin; It is necessary that the words come out like a spring of living water from its spring, so that they are the sincere voice of the heart, and not be someone else’s borrowed clothes, someone else’s hands.”

How to pray for offenders and enemies

We should not limit ourselves to just praying for people close and dear to us. Praying for those who have caused us grief brings peace to the soul, has an impact on these people and makes our prayer sacrificial.

“When you see shortcomings and passions in your neighbor,” writes the holy righteous John of Kronstadt, “pray for him; pray for everyone, even your enemy. If you see a proud and obstinate brother speaking proudly to you or others, pray for him, so that God will enlighten his mind and warm his heart with the fire of His grace, say: Lord, teach Your servant, who has fallen into the pride of the devil, meekness and humility, and drive away (drive away - Ed.) from his heart the darkness and burden of satanic pride! If you see an evil one, pray: Lord, do good to Thy servant through Thy grace!

If you are money-loving and greedy, say: Our treasure is incorruptible and our wealth is inexhaustible! grant to this Thy servant, created in Thy image and likeness, to know the flattery of wealth, and how all earthly things are vanity, shadow and sleep. The days of every man are like grass, or like a spider, and as You alone are our wealth, peace and joy!

When you see an envious person, pray: Lord, enlighten the mind and heart of this Thy servant to the knowledge of Thy great, countless and unsearchable gifts, and they will be received from Thy innumerable bounties, for in the blindness of one’s passion one has forgotten Thy rich gifts and impoverished oneself , who is rich in Thy blessings, and for this reason he gazes charmingly at the good of Thy servants, with them, O most unspeakable Blessing, he rewards everyone, in every way against his strength and according to the intention of Thy will. Take away, O all-merciful Master, the veil of the devil from the sight of the heart of Thy servant and grant him heartfelt contrition and tears of repentance and gratitude, so that the enemy does not rejoice over him, captured alive from him into his will, and may he not tear him away from Thy hand.

When you see a drunken person, say with your heart: Lord, look mercifully on Your servant, seduced by the flattery of the belly and carnal joy, grant him to know the sweetness of abstinence and fasting and the fruits of the spirit that flow from it.

When you see someone who is passionate about food and places his bliss in it, say: Lord, our sweetest food, which never perishes, but remains in eternal life! Cleanse this Thy servant from the filth of gluttony, which created all flesh and is alien to Thy Spirit, and grant him to know the sweetness of Thy life-giving spiritual food, which is Thy Flesh and Blood and Thy holy, living and effective word.

Pray in this or a similar way for all who sin and do not dare to despise anyone for his sin or take revenge on him, for this would only increase the ulcers of those who sin; correct with advice, threats and punishments that would serve as a means to stop or keep evil within the boundaries of moderation.”

Unfortunately, the faith of many people is limited to the phrases “Lord, help” and “”. Moreover, the utterance of sayings is not always associated with memories of the Almighty. This is very sad. This situation needs to be corrected. After all, without God’s blessing, no business should be started. First, you should study the basic Orthodox prayers, or at least read them from the prayer book until they are memorized.

Three main prayers of Orthodox believers

There are a lot of prayers, and they all have their own classification, some should be read before starting any task, others at the end, there are morning and evening prayers, thanksgiving and repentance, before eating food and as a follow-up to communion. But there are three main prayers that you cannot do without; they are the most important and necessary. They can be read in any situation, regardless of what events occurred. If you suddenly really need to ask for help from the Almighty, but you couldn’t find the right words, then one of the three prayers will be an excellent help.

1. "Our Father." According to the Holy Gospel, this “Our Father” was given by Jesus to his disciples who asked him to teach them prayer. God himself allowed people to call him father and declared the entire human race to be his sons. In this prayer, a Christian finds salvation and receives the grace of God.

2. "Creed". The prayer combines the fundamental dogmas of the Christian faith. Aspects are accepted by believers without requiring proof and repeat the story of how Jesus Christ was incarnated in human form, appeared to the world, was crucified in the name of delivering people from the burden of original sin, and was resurrected on the third day as a symbol of victory over death.

3. Prayer to the Lord Jesus. Addressing Jesus Christ as the Son of God and proving your faith in him as the true God. With this prayer, believers ask the Lord for help and protection.

No matter what happens, at any time of the day or night, remember the name of the Lord your God. Praise his name for every act of God and for the given opportunity to live another bright and joyful day. And having asked something from our Creator, do not forget to subsequently thank our quick helper and intercessor.

Ten Important Prayers for Religious Believers

It is impossible to imagine a pilgrim's day without the Lord's Prayer or the Creed. But there are, although secondary, still the same basic Orthodox prayers, from which daytime and evening prayers are made up. People find peace in turning to the Creator. One has only to start reading the prayer book, and life will immediately become simpler and easier. For there is no power more philanthropic and all-forgiving than the pure love of the Lord God.

Before starting prayer, you should learn one more prayer, the initial one (Son of God, prayers for the sake of Your Most Pure Mother and all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen. Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee). It is read after the Publican's prayer, but before all the others. In ordinary language, this is a kind of introduction to a dialogue with the Almighty.

Basic Orthodox prayers are the first step on the religious ladder leading along the path to a pious life. Over time, other prayers will be learned. All of them are delightful and beautiful, as they are endowed with great love for God and a great desire to believe, hope, repent, endure, forgive and love.

THE BELL