You can turn to God in any situation and using any words - this, in any case, will be considered prayer. If the prayer is sincere and ascends from a pure heart, the Lord will hear it, and will provide help exactly when it is best for you. Often a person is offended by God because what he asks is not given right away. The Creator may have a special plan that does not correspond to the requester’s own will. How to pray correctly?
Return to what you missed
It is very important to learn to concentrate your mind on the words of prayer. The mind never becomes more distracted than when an inexperienced person tries to read addresses to God already created by other people. How to read prayers correctly? With maximum concentration, if you are distracted, remember the last conscious phrase - and return your thoughts to prayer again. Even if you are distracted from the process of thinking about God by seemingly good thoughts, still try to return to the place in the prayer book where you were distracted.
Why do you need a prayer book?
Why is it necessary to read ready-made appeals to God? The fact is that in the Orthodox Church there is a whole layer of knowledge - Holy Tradition. These are the writings of the Church Fathers, who created our modern collections of prayers. We respect their experience and trust their knowledge human soul, so we pray in their words to God. Of course, you can additionally turn to the Almighty at your own discretion. How to pray correctly in your own words? Imagine yourself before God and speak to him out loud or silently.
Carefully!
The Holy Fathers strongly discourage imagining images during prayer, even images of icons. The maximum you can do is look at the icon before your eyes while reading prayers. By the way, it is much easier to concentrate if you memorize prayers. Then you will hardly be distracted when reading your rule in front of the icons. Why can't you imagine images? Because you become vulnerable to dark forces that can instill in you the idea that you are special, which often happens when a person has a good imagination.
In a difficult moment
How to pray correctly in difficult situations? In general, in such cases it is good to drive away demons and call on the Holy Spirit. The prayer to the Holy Cross and also Psalm 90 protects from the servants of Satan, and the Holy Spirit is invoked with the help of the prayer “Heavenly King...”. If you are in a situation where it is difficult to concentrate, read a short version of the prayer to the Holy Cross. These scriptures work miracles if you trust God.
Cathedral prayer
How to pray in church correctly? You need to learn to listen to what you read and understand Church Slavonic speech. You can buy a book about divine services and study it in order to understand what is happening during the service, then it will be easier for you. When the priest prays out loud for people, calling names, you can mentally say your name and the names of people close to you. Church prayer is much stronger than private prayer, so it is not enough to simply turn to God at home on your own; you also need to attend church.
Conclusion
It is not difficult to learn to pray, but it is much more difficult to continue reading speeches when the first state of delight from regular sacred rites has passed. These first bright feelings are called “inviting grace” and do not last long. Find the strength to stay with God even when it’s difficult for you.
What is a prayer rule? These are prayers that a person reads regularly, daily. Everyone's prayer rules are different. For some, the morning or evening rule takes several hours, for others - a few minutes. Everything depends on a person’s spiritual make-up, the degree to which he is rooted in prayer and the time he has at his disposal.
It is very important that a person follows 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 when constantly reading 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 at all costs.
I remember when I took monastic vows (I was twenty years old at the time), I turned to an experienced confessor for advice and asked him what prayer rule I should have. He said: “You must read the morning and evening prayers, three canons and one akathist every day. No matter what happens, even if you are very tired, you must read them. And even if you read them hastily and inattentively, it doesn’t matter, the main thing is so that the rule is read." I tried. Things didn't work out. Daily reading of the same prayers led to the fact that these texts quickly became boring. In addition, every day I spent many hours in church at services that spiritually nourished me, nourished me, and inspired me. And reading the three canons and the akathist turned into some kind of unnecessary “appendage”. I started looking for other advice that was 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 evening for half an hour, but this half hour must be completely given to God. And it is not so important whether during these minutes we read all the prayers or just one, or perhaps we devote one evening entirely to reading the Psalter, the Gospel or prayer in our own words. The main thing is that we are focused on God, so that our attention does not slip away and that every word reaches our heart. This advice worked for me. However, I do not rule out that the advice I received from my confessor would be more suitable for others. Here a lot depends on the individual 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 said with attention and feeling, is enough to be a real Christian. It is only important that the thought always corresponds to the words, the heart responds to the words of prayer, and the whole life corresponds to the prayer.
Try, following the advice of St. Theophan the Recluse, to set aside some time for prayer during the day and for 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 a conversation between the soul and God.” And just as in a conversation it is impossible to listen to one side all the time, so in prayer it is useful to sometimes stop and listen to the Lord’s answer to our prayer.
The Church, praying daily “for everyone and everything,” established a personal, individual prayer rule for everyone. The composition of this rule depends on the spiritual age, living conditions, and capabilities of the person. The prayer book offers us morning and evening prayers that are accessible 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 environment, then it is better to read them on the way rather than skip them altogether. In any case, you should not have breakfast before the Lord’s Prayer is read.
If a person is sick or very tired, then the evening rule can be done not before bedtime, but shortly before. And before going to bed, you should only read the prayer of St. John of Damascus, “O Lord, Lover of Mankind, will this tomb really be my bed...” and those following it.
A very important component of morning prayers is the recitation of remembrance. You should definitely 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 it is not his fault, he is obliged to remember the “hater” and sincerely wish him well.
The personal (“cell”) rule of many Orthodox Christians includes reading the Gospel and Psalms. Thus, the Optina monks blessed many to read one chapter from the Gospel during the day, in order, and two chapters from the Apostolic Epistles. Moreover, the last seven chapters of the Apocalypse were read one per day. Then the reading of the Gospel and the Apostle ended simultaneously, and a new round of readings began.
The prayer rule for a person is established by his spiritual father, and it is up to him to change it - to reduce or increase it. Once a rule has been established, it 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.
The main content of the prayer rule is to attune the soul of a Christian to private communication with God, to awaken repentant thoughts in him, and to cleanse his heart of sinful filth. Therefore, carefully fulfilling what is required, we learn, in the words of the Apostle, “to pray at all times in the Spirit... with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18).
When to Pray
When and for how long should you pray? The Apostle Paul says: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). Saint Gregory the Theologian writes: “You need to remember God more often than you breathe.” Ideally, the entire life of a Christian should be permeated with prayer.
Many troubles, 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 not able to pray throughout the day, so we need to find some time, no matter how short, to remember God.
In the morning you wake up thinking about what you have to do that day. Before you start working and plunge into the inevitable hustle and bustle, devote at least a few minutes to God. Stand before God and say: “Lord, You gave me this day, help me spend an era without sin, without vice, save me from all evil and misfortune.” And call on God’s blessing for the beginning of the day.
Throughout the day, try to remember God more often. If you feel bad, turn to Him with prayer: “Lord, I feel bad, help me.” If you feel good, tell God: “Lord, glory to You, I thank You for this joy.” If you are worried about someone, tell God: “Lord, I am worried about him, I hurt for him, help him.” And so throughout the day - no matter what happens to you, turn it into 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 the unworthy acts and sins that you committed that day. Ask God for help and blessings for the coming night. If you learn to pray like this every day, you will soon notice how much more fulfilling your whole life will be.
People often justify their reluctance to pray by saying that they are too busy and overloaded with things to do. Yes, many of us live in a rhythm that ancient people did not live in. Sometimes we have to do many things during the day. But there are always some pauses in life. For example, we stand at a stop and wait for a tram - three to five minutes. We go on the subway for twenty to thirty minutes, dial a phone number and hear busy beeps for a few more minutes. Let us at least use these pauses for prayer, let them not be wasted time.
How to pray when you don't have time
What words to pray? What should one do who either has no memory, or who, due to illiteracy, has not studied many prayers, who, finally - and there are such life situations - simply does not have time to stand in front of the images and read the morning and evening prayers in a row? This issue was resolved by the instructions of the great elder Seraphim of Sarov.
Many of the elder’s visitors accused him of not praying enough and not even reading the prescribed morning and evening prayers. St. Seraphim established the following easily followed 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 hymn to the Mother of God “Virgin Mother of God, rejoice” also three times. In conclusion, the Creed “I believe in one God” - once. Having completed this rule, every Orthodox Christian goes about his business, to which he has been assigned or called. While working at home or on the way somewhere, he quietly reads “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner (or sinner),” and if others surround him, then, going about his business, let him say with his mind only “Lord, have mercy” - and so until lunch. Just before lunch, let him do the morning rule again.
After dinner, while doing his work, let every Christian read just as quietly: “ Holy Mother of God"Save me, a sinner." When going to bed, let every Christian read the morning rule again, that is, the “Our Father” three times, the “Virgin Mary” three times and the “Creed” 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 a model for all prayers. The second was brought from heaven by the Archangel in greeting to the Mother of God. The Symbol of Faith contains all the saving dogmas of the Christian faith.
The elder also advised reading the Jesus Prayer during classes, while walking, even in bed, and at the same time cited words from the Epistle to the Romans: “whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
For those who have time, the elder advised reading from the Gospel, canons, akathists, psalms.
What a Christian Should Remember
There are words of Holy Scripture and prayers that it is advisable for every Orthodox Christian to know by heart.
1. The Lord’s Prayer “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9–13; Luke 11:2–4).
2. The main commandments of the Old Testament (Deut. 6:5; Lev. 19:18).
3. The main gospel commandments (Matt. 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).
4. Symbol of Faith.
5. Morning and evening prayers according to a short prayer book.
6. The number and meaning of the sacraments.
The sacraments must not be mixed with rituals. A ritual is any outward sign of reverence that expresses our faith. A sacrament is a sacred act during which the Church calls on the Holy Spirit, and His grace descends on the believers. There are seven such sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Communion (Eucharist), Repentance (Confession), Marriage (Wedding), Blessing of Anointing (Unction), Priesthood (Ordination).
“Do not be afraid of nightly fear...”
Human life is worth less and less... It has become scary to live - there is danger on all sides. Any of us can be robbed, humiliated, killed. Realizing this, people try to defend themselves; someone gets a dog, someone buys a weapon, someone turns their home into a fortress.
The fear of our time has not escaped the Orthodox. How to protect yourself and your loved ones? - believers often ask. Our main defense is the Lord Himself, without His Holy Will, as the Scripture says, not a hair will fall from our head (Luke 21:18). This does not mean that we, in our reckless trust in God, can behave defiantly towards the criminal world. We need to remember firmly the words “do not tempt the Lord your God” (Matthew 4:7).
God has given us the greatest shrines to protect us from visible enemies. This is, first of all, a Christian shield - pectoral cross, which must not be removed under any circumstances. Secondly, holy water and artos, eaten every morning.
We also protect Christians with prayer. Many churches sell belts on which the text of the 90th Psalm “Alive in the help of the Most High...” and the prayer to the Holy Cross “May God rise again” are written. It is worn on the body, under clothes.
The ninetieth psalm has great power. Spiritually experienced people recommend reading it before every time we go outside, no matter how many times we leave the house. Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov gives advice when leaving the house to make the sign of the cross and read the prayer: “I renounce to you, Satan, your pride and service to you, and I unite with you, Christ, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen".
Orthodox parents must certainly cross their child if he goes out alone.
Finding yourself in a dangerous situation, you need to pray: “May God rise again,” or “To the chosen victorious Voivode” (the first kontakion from the akathist to the Mother of God), or simply “Lord, have mercy,” repeatedly. We must resort to prayer even when another person is being threatened before our eyes, but we lack the strength and courage to rush to his aid.
A very strong prayer to the saints of God, who became famous for their military skills during their lifetime: Saints George the Victorious, Theodore Stratelates, Demetrius Donskoy. Let us not forget about Archangel Michael, our Guardian Angel. All of them have God’s special power to give the weak strength to overcome their enemies.
“Unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman watches in vain” (Ps. 126:1). A Christian's home must certainly be consecrated. Grace will preserve the home from all evil. If it is not possible to invite a priest to the house, you need to sprinkle all the walls, windows and doors with holy water yourself, reading “May God rise again” or “Save, O Lord, Thy people” (troparion to the Cross). To avoid the danger of arson or fire, it is customary to pray to the Mother of God in front of Her “Burning Bush” icon.
Of course, no means will help if we lead a sinful life, for a long time do not repent. Often the Lord allows extraordinary circumstances to admonish unrepentant sinners.
Orthodox prayer book
You can pray in different ways, for example, in your own words. Such prayer should constantly accompany a person. Morning and evening, day and night, a person can turn to God with the simplest words coming from the depths of his heart.
But there are also prayer books that were compiled by saints in ancient times; they need to be read in order to learn prayer. These prayers are contained in the "Orthodox Prayer Book". There you will find morning, evening, repentance, thanksgiving prayers, you will find various canons, akathists and much more. Having bought the "Orthodox Prayer Book", do not be alarmed that there are so many prayers in it. You don't have to read them all.
If you read the morning prayers quickly, it will take about twenty minutes. But if you read them thoughtfully, carefully, responding with your heart to every word, then reading can take a whole 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 every word of them reaches your heart.
Before the section “Morning Prayers” it says: “Before you begin to pray, wait a little 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." Wait a little longer and only then start praying." This pause, the “minute of silence” before beginning the prayer, is very important. Prayer must grow from the silence of our heart. People who “read” their morning and evening prayers every day are constantly tempted to read the “rule” as soon as possible in order to begin their daily activities. Often, such reading eludes the main thing - the content of the prayer.
The prayer book contains 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 read this prayer on high speed. By the way, in Greek “Lord, have mercy” sounds like “Kyrie, eleison.” In the Russian language there is a verb “playing tricks”, which came precisely from the fact that the psalm-readers on the choir very quickly repeated many times: “Kyrie, eleison”, that is, they did not pray, but “played tricks”. So, in prayer there is no need to fool around. No matter how many times you read this prayer, it must be said with attention, reverence and love, with complete dedication.
There is no need to try to read out all the prayers. It’s better to devote twenty minutes to one prayer, “Our Father,” repeating it several times, thinking about every word. It is not so easy for a person who is not accustomed to praying for a long time to read out a large number of prayers at once, but there is no need to strive for this. It is important to be imbued with the spirit that breathes the prayers of the Fathers of the Church. This is the main benefit that can be derived from the prayers contained in the Orthodox Prayer Book.
HOW TO READ MORNING AND EVENING PRAYERS CORRECTLY The prayer rule is the daily morning and evening prayers that Christians perform. Their texts can be found in the prayer book. The rule can be general - mandatory for everyone, 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 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. Reading prayers connects a person with their creators: the psalmists and ascetics. This helps to gain a spiritual mood akin to their heartfelt burning. Our example in praying in other people’s words is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. His prayerful exclamations during the suffering of the cross are lines from the 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: “Heavenly King”, Trisagion, “Our Father”, “Virgin Mother of God”, “Rising from sleep”, “God have mercy on me”, “I Believe”, “God, cleanse”, “To You, Master”, “Holy Angela", "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”; 3) a short prayer rule St. Seraphim Sarovsky: “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. It is not advisable to 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. The main prayers should be known by heart (with regular reading, they are gradually memorized 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 Church Slavonic into Russian in order to understand the meaning of each word and not pronounce a single word meaninglessly or without precise understanding. It is very important that those who begin to pray should expel resentment, irritation, and bitterness from their hearts. Without efforts aimed at serving people, fighting sin, and establishing control over the body and spiritual sphere, prayer cannot become internal rod 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 the enemy of evening prayer is fatigue. Morning prayers are best read before starting anything (and before breakfast). As a last resort, they are pronounced on the way from home. Late in the evening it is often difficult to concentrate due to fatigue, so we can recommend reading the evening prayer rule in the free minutes before dinner or even earlier. 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 with each family member separately. General prayer is recommended before eating food, on special days, before a holiday meal, and in other similar cases. 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, either from the waist or to the ground, and try to tune in to an internal conversation with God. The difficulty of prayer is often a sign of its true effectiveness. 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. 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. It is good to end the prayer with thanksgiving to God for the gift of communication and contrition for one’s inattention. 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. In the midst of a busy day, you need to say a short prayer (see Jesus prayer), which will help you find the Lord in everyday affairs. The morning and evening rules are just necessary spiritual hygiene. We are commanded to pray unceasingly (see the prayer of Jesus). The Holy Fathers said: if you churn milk, you will get butter, and so in prayer, quantity turns into quality. God bless you!
It is quite difficult for an ignorant person who is just opening the path to the Lord to immediately understand the numerous rules of the Orthodox religion. Two things serve as a very simple shortcut to the Lord - faith in the Almighty and prayers addressed to him and the saints.
But which sacred texts should you start your day with? The answer lies on the surface - from morning calls. Accordingly, in the evening the day ends.
The key morning texts are: the Trisagion, God have mercy on me, Our Father, the Creed and, we strongly recommend Appeals to the Guardian Angel, Jesus Christ, and the Mother of God. They are asked for a blessing, protection for the whole day. In addition, the prayer book presents big number morning texts.
Below is a detailed list with a brief description of the actions during the religious ceremony, and also a note on some of the sacred formulas.
Brief
Waking up in the morning, before doing anything else, cross yourself with reverence, mentally imagining the Almighty right in front of you, say:
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
God, be merciful to me, a sinner. (Gospel of Luke, chapter 28, verse 15)
Having spoken such a short but very significant appeal to the tax collector, bow down as if the Lord were in front of you.
Lord Jesus Christ, 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.
Cross yourself with a bow. This should be done when working with any sacred text.
Next up is the text: To the Holy Spirit
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 Good One, our souls.
Note: From Easter to Ascension, instead of this prayer, the troparion is read: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and giving life to those in the tombs.” (Three times) From Ascension to Trinity, we begin prayers with “Holy God...”, omitting all the preceding ones.
This remark also applies to future bedtime prayers.
There is a note here. Pay attention to them - it's important.
Trisagion:
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Read three times, with the sign of the cross and bow from the waist.)
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Bow from the waist - this is important.
Next text: To the Holy Trinity
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).
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen
Note: When it is written “Glory”, “And now”, it must be read in full: “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”, “And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen"
Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be it your 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, just as we forgive our debtors; and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Trinity Troparions:
Having risen from sleep, we fall down to Thee, the Good One, and cry out to Thee, the Mightier, the angelic song: Holy, Holy, Holy art thou, O God, have mercy on us through the Mother of God.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
From bed and sleep You have raised me up, O Lord, enlighten my mind and heart, and open my lips to sing to You, Holy Trinity: Holy, Holy, Holy, O God, have mercy on us through the Mother of God.
And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Suddenly the Judge will come, and every deed will be exposed, but with fear we call at midnight: Holy, Holy, Holy art thou, O God, have mercy on us by the Mother of God.
Lord have mercy. (12 times)
Long
Holy Trinity:
Having risen from sleep, I thank Thee, Holy Trinity, for for the sake of Thy goodness and long-suffering, Thou hast not been angry with me, lazy and sinful, nor hast Thou destroyed me with my iniquities; but you usually loved mankind and in the despair of the one who lay down, you raised me up to practice and glorify Your power. And now enlighten my mental eyes, open my lips to learn Thy words, and to understand Thy commandments, and to do Thy will, and to sing to Thee in heartfelt confession, and to sing Thy all-holy name, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages. centuries. Amen.
Come, let us bow and fall down to Christ Himself, the King and our God. (Bow).
Psalm 50:
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your mercies, cleanse my iniquity. Above all, wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin; for I know my iniquity, and I will take away my sin before me. I have sinned against You alone and have done evil before You, so that You may be justified in Your words and triumph over the judgment of You. Behold, I was conceived in iniquity, and my mother gave birth to me in sins. Behold, you have loved the truth; You have revealed to me the unknown and secret wisdom of Yours. Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be cleansed; Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
My hearing brings joy and joy; humble bones will rejoice. Turn Your face away from my sins and cleanse all my iniquities. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit away from me. Reward me with the joy of Your salvation and strengthen me with the Lord’s Spirit. I will teach the wicked Your way, and the wicked will turn to You. Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, God of my salvation; My tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness. Lord, open my mouth, and my mouth will declare Your praise. As if you had desired sacrifices, you would have given them: you do not favor burnt offerings. The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God will not despise a broken and humble heart. Bless Zion, O Lord, with Your favor, and may the walls of Jerusalem be built. Then favor the sacrifice of righteousness, the offering and the burnt offering; Then they will place the bullock on Your altar.
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, born, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, to Whom all things were. For our sake, man and our salvation came down from heaven and became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became human. She was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried. And he rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father. And again the coming one will be judged with glory by the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-Giving One, 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. I hope for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the next century. Amen.
№ 1
God, cleanse me, a sinner, for I have done nothing good before You; but deliver me from the evil one, and may Thy will be done in me, may I open my unworthy lips without condemnation and praise Thy holy name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages Amen.
Rising from sleep, I bring the midnight hymn to Ti, Savior, and falling down crying to Ti: do not let me fall asleep in a sinful death, but be gracious to me, crucified by will, and hasten me lying in laziness, and save me in standing and in prayer, and in sleep Rise up nightly for me a sinless day, O Christ God, and save me.
To You, Lord, Lover of 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, and all my hope is in You, and I send up glory to You, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Lord, Who through Your many goodness and Your great bounty has given me, Your servant, the passing time of this night without misfortune to pass away from all evil that is contrary to me; You Yourself, Master, the Creator of all things, grant me with Your true light and an enlightened heart to do Your will, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Then they read prayers to Saint Basil:
№ 5
Lord Almighty, God of hosts and all flesh, living in the highest and looking down on the humble, testing the hearts and wombs and innermost parts of men, the fore-foreseen One, the Beginningless and Ever-Everlasting Light, with Him there is no change or overshadowing; Himself, Immortal King, accept our prayers, even now, boldly for the multitude of Your bounties, from the bad lips we create towards You, and forgive us our sins, whether in deed, word, and thought, knowledge, or ignorance, we have sinned; and cleanse us from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. And grant us with a cheerful heart and a sober thought to pass through the whole night of this present life, awaiting the coming of the bright and revealed day of Your Only Begotten Son, the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ, in which the Judge of all will come with glory, to whom he will give to each according to his deeds; May we not fall and become lazy, but be watchful and raised up for the work that is to come, and prepare for the joy and Divine palace of His glory, where those who celebrate the unceasing voice and the ineffable sweetness of those who behold Your face, the ineffable kindness. For You are the true Light, you enlighten and sanctify all things, and all creation sings to You forever and ever. Amen.
We bless you, O highest God and Lord of mercy, who always does great and unexplored, glorious and terrible things to us, countless in number, giving us sleep for the repose of our weakness, and the weakening of the labors of the arduous flesh. We thank Thee, for Thou didst not destroy us with our iniquities, but Thou didst usually love mankind, and in desperation, Thou didst raise us up to glorify Thy power. In the same way, we pray for Your immeasurable goodness, enlighten our thoughts, our eyes, and raise our minds from the heavy sleep of laziness: open our lips, and fulfill Your praise, so that we can unwaveringly sing and confess to You, in all, and from all, to the glorified God, To the Beginningless Father, with Your Only Begotten Son, and Your All-Holy and Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
No. 7 to the Blessed Virgin Mary 
I sing Thy grace, O Lady, I pray to Thee, my mind is filled with grace. Go right and teach me the path of Christ’s commandments. Strengthen your children to songs, driving away despondency and sleep. Bound by the captivity of the Falls, allow me through Your prayers, Bride of God. Preserve me in the night and in the day, delivering me to those who fight against the enemy. She who gave birth to God, the life-giver, was killed by my passions and revived. Who gave birth to the non-evening Light, enlighten my blind soul. O wondrous Lady of the Palace, create for me the house of the Divine Spirit. You who gave birth to a doctor, heal my soul of many years of passion. Worried by the storm of life, guide me towards the path of repentance. Deliver me from eternal fire, and from evil worms, and from tartar. Do not show me joy as a demon, who is guilty of many sins. Create me again, having promised to be insensible, Immaculate, without sin. Show me the strangeness of all kinds of torment, and implore the Lord to all. Heavenly grant me joy with all the saints. Most Holy Virgin, hear the voice of Your indecent servant. Give me a stream of tears, Most Pure One, cleansing the filth of my soul. I bring lamentations from my heart to You continually, be zealous, Lady. Accept my prayer service and bring it to the blessed God. Transcending Angel, create me above the fusion of the world. Light-bearing heavenly Seine, direct spiritual grace in me. I lift up my hand and my lips to praise, defiled by filth, O All-Immaculate One. Deliver me from the dirty tricks that are strangling me, diligently begging Christ; To Him is due honor and worship, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
No. 8 To Jesus Christ our Lord
My most merciful and all-merciful God, Lord Jesus Christ, for the sake of love you came down and became incarnate for many reasons, so that you would save everyone. And again, Savior, save me by grace, I pray to You; Even if you save me from works, there is no grace and no gift, but more than debt. Hey, abundant in generosity and ineffable in mercy! Believe in Me, you say, O my Christ, you will live and will not see death forever. Even if faith in You saves the desperate, behold, I believe, save me, for You are my God and Creator. Let faith instead of works be imputed to me, O my God, for you will not find works to justify me. But may my faith prevail instead of all, may it answer, may it justify me, may it show me to be a partaker of Your eternal glory.
Let Satan not kidnap me, and boast to the Word that he has torn me from Your hand and fence; But either I want, save me, or I don’t want, Christ my Savior, I will soon foresee, I will soon perish: For you are my God from my mother’s womb. Grant me, O Lord, now to love Thee, as sometimes I have loved that same sin; and again work for You without laziness, just as you worked before the flattering Satan. Most of all, I will serve You, my Lord and God Jesus Christ, all the days of my life, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
No. 9 Guardian Angel
Holy Angel, standing before my accursed soul and my passionate life, do not leave me, a sinner, nor depart from me for my intemperance. Do not give room to the evil demon to possess me through the violence of this mortal body; strengthen my poor and thin hand and guide me on the path of salvation. To her, holy Angel of God, guardian and patron of my accursed soul and body, forgive me everything, I have offended you so greatly all the days of my life, and if I sinned this past night, cover me on this day, and save me from every opposite temptation May I not anger God in any sin, and pray for me to the Lord, that He may strengthen me in His passion, and show me worthy as a servant of His goodness. Amen.
No. 10 Mother of God
My Most Holy Lady Theotokos, with Your saints and all-powerful prayers, take away from me, Your humble and cursed servant, despondency, oblivion, unreason, negligence, and all the nasty, evil and blasphemous thoughts from my cursed heart and from my darkened mind; and extinguish the flame of my passions, for I am poor and damned. And deliver me from many and cruel memories and enterprises, and free me from all evil actions. For Thou art blessed from all generations, and glorified is Thy most honorable name forever and ever. Amen.
Next comes an appeal to the saint whose name you were named. 
Pray to God for me, holy servant of God (name), as I diligently resort to you, a quick helper and prayer book for my soul.
Then a song of praise is raised to the Mother of God
Virgin Mary, Rejoice, O Blessed 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.
For the Fatherland, Troparion to the Cross
Save, Lord, Your people, and bless Your inheritance, victories Orthodox Christian bestowing on the resistance, and preserving Your residence through Your Cross.
Interchangeable
Save, Lord, and have mercy on my spiritual father (name), my parents (names), relatives (names), bosses, mentors, benefactors (their names) and all Orthodox Christians.
About the Deceased
Rest, O Lord, the souls of Your departed servants: my parents, relatives, benefactors (their names), and all Orthodox Christians, and forgive them all sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.
If instead of two short prayers“for the living” and “for the dead” given above, two long memorial sacred texts are read:
Funeral service: For health
Remember, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, Thy mercy and generosity from all eternity, for whose sake Thou didst become man, and Thou didst deign to endure crucifixion and death, for the sake of the salvation of those who believe in Thee; and rose from the dead, you ascended into heaven and sit at the right hand of God the Father, and look upon the humble prayers of those who call upon You with all their hearts: incline Your ear, and hear the humble prayer of me, Your indecent servant, in the stench of the spiritual fragrance, brought to You for all Your people .
And in the first place, remember Your Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, which You have provided with Your venerable Blood, and establish, and strengthen, and expand, multiply, pacify, and preserve the insurmountable gates of hell forever; Calm the tearing of the Churches, quench the pagan vacillations, and quickly destroy and eradicate the heresies of rebellion, and convert them into nothingness by the power of Your Holy Spirit. (Bow)
Save, Lord, and have mercy on our God-protected country, its authorities and army, protect their power with peace, and subdue every enemy and adversary under the nose of the Orthodox, and speak peaceful and good words in their hearts about Your Holy Church, and about all Your people: let us live a quiet and silent life in orthodoxy, and in all piety and purity. (Bow)
Save, Lord, and have mercy on our Great Lord and Father, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, Your Eminence metropolitans, archbishops and Orthodox bishops, priests and deacons, and the entire church clergy, who You have appointed to shepherd Your verbal flock, and with their prayers have mercy and save me, a sinner. (Bow)
Save, Lord, and have mercy on my spiritual father (his name), and with his holy prayers forgive my sins. (Bow)
Save, O Lord, and have mercy on my parents (their names), brothers and sisters, and my relatives according to the flesh, and all the neighbors of my family, and others, and grant them Your peaceful and most peaceful goodness. (Bow)
Save, O Lord, and have mercy according to the multitude of Your bounties, all the sacred monks, monks and nuns, and all those living in virginity and reverence and fasting in monasteries, in deserts, in caves, mountains, pillars, gates, rock crevices, and sea islands, and in every place of Thy dominion those who live faithfully, and piously serve Thee, and pray to Thee: ease their burden, and comfort their sorrow, and grant them strength and strength to strive for Thee, and through their prayers grant me remission of sins. (Bow)
Save, O Lord, and have mercy on the old and the young, the poor and the orphans and the widows, and those who are in sickness and sorrow, troubles and sorrows, conditions and captivity, prisons and imprisonments, and even more so in persecution, for You for the sake of the Orthodox faith, from the tongue of the godless, from the apostate and from the heretics, Thy present servants, and remember, visit, strengthen, comfort, and soon by Thy power I will weaken, grant them freedom and deliver. (Bow)Save, O Lord, and have mercy on those who do good to us, who are merciful and nourishing to us, who gave us alms, and who commanded us to the unworthy to pray for them, and who give us rest, and do Thy mercy to them, granting them all, even petitions for salvation, and the perception of eternal blessings . (Bow)
Save, Lord, and have mercy on those sent to the service, those traveling, our fathers and brethren, and all Orthodox Christians. (Bow)
Save, Lord, and have mercy on them who I tempted with my madness, and turned away from the path of salvation, and led me to evil and inappropriate deeds; By Your Divine Providence, return again to the path of salvation. (Bow)
Save, Lord, and have mercy on those who hate and offend me, and those who create misfortunes against me, and do not leave them to perish for my sake, a sinner. (Bow)
Those who have departed from the Orthodox faith and are blinded by destructive heresies, enlighten with the light of Your knowledge and bring Your Holy Apostles to the Catholic Church. (Bow).
Funeral: For the departed
Remember, Lord, the Orthodox kings and queens, the noble princes and princesses, the most holy patriarchs, the most reverend metropolitans, archbishops and bishops who departed from this life, who served You in the priesthood and in the clergy, and in the monastic rank, and in Your eternal settlements with the saints rest in peace (Bow.)
Remember, Lord, the souls of Your departed servants, my parents (their names), and all relatives in the flesh; and forgive them all their sins, voluntary and involuntary, giving them the Kingdom and the communion of Thy eternal good things and Thy endless and blissful life of pleasure. (Bow)
Remember, O Lord, and all in the hope of resurrection and eternal life, those who have fallen asleep, our fathers and brothers and sisters, and those who lie here and everywhere, Orthodox Christians, and with Thy saints, where the light of Thy face shines, and have mercy on us, for He is Good and Lover of Humanity. Amen. (Bow)
Grant, O Lord, remission of sins to all who have previously departed in the faith and hope of the resurrection, our fathers, brothers and sisters, and grant them eternal memory. (Thrice)
Final 
It is worthy to eat as truly to bless Thee, Theotokos, Ever-Blessed and Most Immaculate and Mother of our God. We magnify You, the most honorable Cherub and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim, who gave birth to God the Word without corruption.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Lord have mercy. (Thrice)
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the sake of Thy Most Pure Mother, our reverend and God-bearing fathers and all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen.
Note: From Easter to Ascension, instead of this prayer, the chorus and irmos of the 9th song of the Easter canon are read:
“The angel cried out with grace: Pure Virgin, rejoice! And again the river: Rejoice! Your Son is risen three days from the grave and raised up the dead; people, have fun!
Shine, shine, new Jerusalem, for the glory of the Lord is upon you. Rejoice now and be glad, O Zion. You, Pure One, show off, O Mother of God, about the rise of Your Nativity.”
Evening prayers
Read before bed. A man thanks the Lord for a good day, meekly asks for a blessing on coming dream, turns with repentance about expected or accidental sins committed by him throughout the day.
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
It is with such an appeal that it is necessary to begin a prayer service, consisting of reading several prayers for the occasion: in ours - before going to bed.
Jesus Christ
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the sake of Thy Most Pure Mother, our reverend and God-bearing fathers and all others, have mercy on us. Amen.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
To the heavenly king 
Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, Treasurer of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Good One, our souls.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (three times).
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Holy Trinity
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).
Glory... and now...
Note: Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
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 forgive our debtors; and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. [Amen.]
(For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.)
Trinity Troparion
Having risen from sleep, we fall down to Thee, the Good One, and cry out to Thee, the Mightier, in the angelic song: Holy, holy, holy art thou, O God, have mercy on us through the Mother of God.
Glory: From bed and sleep You have raised me up, O Lord: enlighten my mind and heart, and open my lips, to sing to You, Holy Trinity: holy, holy, holy, O God, have mercy on us through the Theotokos.
And now: Suddenly the Judge will come, and every deed will be laid bare, but with fear we call at midnight: Holy, holy, holy art thou, O God, have mercy on us through the Mother of God.
Lord have mercy (12 times).
To the Holy Trinity 
Having risen from sleep, I thank Thee, Holy Trinity, for for the sake of Thy goodness and long-suffering, Thou didst not become angry with me, lazy and sinful, but rather destroyed me with my iniquities: but Thou didst usually love mankind, and in the hopelessness of the one who lay down, Thou didst raise me up, in the hedgehog of the morning. and glorify Your power. And now enlighten my mental eyes, open my lips, to learn Thy words and understand Thy commandments, and to do Thy will, and to sing to Thee in confession of the heart, and to sing Thy all holy name, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. . Amen.
Jesus Christ worship
Come, let us worship our King God.
Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ our King God.
Come, let us bow and fall down to Christ Himself, the King and our God.
(Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your compassions, cleanse my iniquity. Above all, wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my iniquity, and I will take away my sin before me. You I have sinned only and committed evil before You: so that you may be justified in Your words and overcome the eternal judgment of You. For I was conceived in iniquity and in sins I gave birth to my mother. For You loved the truth, You showed me Your unknown and secret wisdom. Sprinkle I will be cleansed with hyssop; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Give joy and gladness to my hearing, and humble bones will rejoice. Turn away Your face from my sins, and cleanse all my iniquities. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of Your salvation, and strengthen me with the Lord’s Spirit. I will teach the wicked in Your way, and wickedness will turn to You. Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, God of my salvation, my tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness. Lord, open my mouth, and my mouth will declare Your praise. As if you had desired sacrifices, you would have given them: you do not favor burnt offerings.
A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit: God will not despise a contrite and humble heart. Bless Zion, O Lord, with Your favor, and may the walls of Jerusalem be built. Then favor the sacrifice of righteousness, the offering and the burnt offering: then they will lay the bullock on Your altar.)
Jesus Christ Lord
(To You, Lord, Lover of 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 lead me into Your eternal Kingdom. For You are my Creator and the Provider and Giver of every good thing, in You is all my hope, and I send up glory to You now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.)
Who at all times and at every hour, in heaven and on earth, is worshiped and glorified, Christ God, long-suffering, abundantly merciful, abundantly gracious, who loves the righteous and has mercy on sinners, who calls everyone to salvation, promises for the sake of future blessings: Himself, Lord, accept and ours at the hour of this prayer and correct our belly to Your commandments, sanctify our souls, cleanse our bodies, correct our thoughts, cleanse our thoughts: and deliver us from all sorrow, evil and disease: protect us with Your saints Angles, and by their militia we observe and instruct Let us reach into the union of faith and into the mind your unapproachable glory: for blessed art thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Mother of God
My Most Holy Lady Theotokos, with Your saints and all-powerful prayers, take away from me, Your humble and damned servant, despondency, oblivion, unreason, negligence, and all the nasty, evil and blasphemous thoughts from my damned heart and from my darkened mind: and extinguish the flame of passions mine, for I am a beggar and a damned one, and deliver me from many and cruel memories and undertakings, and free me from all evil actions: for you are blessed from all generations, and glorified is Your most honorable name forever and ever. Amen.
Saint Joseph (Betrothed of the Virgin Mary) 
Chosen to be the guardian of the Blessed Virgin Mary, nurturer and nourisher of the God-man, righteous Joseph, glorifying your service to the ineffable mystery of the incarnation of God the Word, let us sing praises to you. Now you stand before the throne of Christ our God, and having great boldness towards Him, pray for us who cry: Rejoice, righteous Joseph, quick helper and prayer for our souls. (Kontakion 1 from Akathist).
Guardian Angel
Angel of God, my holy guardian, given to me from God from heaven for my protection! I diligently pray to you, enlighten me today and save me from all evil, guide me to good deeds and direct me on the path of salvation. Amen.
The patron saint after whom the person is named
Pray to God for me, holy servant of God (name), as I diligently resort to you, a quick helper and prayer book for my soul.
Heavenly spirits - angels, archangels
All heavenly powers, Holy Angels and Archangels, pray to God for us sinners.
About everyday sins
I confess to You, my Lord God and Creator, in Holy Trinity To the one glorified and worshiped Father and Son and Holy Spirit, all my sins, which I have committed all the days of my life, and at every hour, and at the present time, in deed, word, thought, sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and all my feelings, both spiritual and physical, have angered You in the image of my God and Creator, and have not been truthful to my neighbor. Regretting these things, I present my guilt to You, my God, and have the will to repent, so You, Lord my God, help me, with tears I humbly pray to You; But having passed over my sins, forgive me by Thy mercy, and forgive me from all these, for I am Good and Lover of Mankind.)
Repentance 
Weaken, forgive, forgive, O God, our sins, voluntary and involuntary, even in word and in deed, even in knowledge and in ignorance, even in days and in nights, even in mind and in thought: forgive us everything, for it is good and a lover of humanity.
About the living and the dead
Forgive those who hate and offend us, Lord and lover of mankind. Do good to those who do good. Grant to all our brethren and relatives, and those who are alone, all the petitions for salvation and eternal life. Visit and heal in existing diseases, in existing freedom in prisons, wake up the ruler of those floating on the sea, hasten those traveling. Lord, remember our captive brethren, fellow believers of the Orthodox faith, and deliver them from every evil situation. Lord, have mercy and forgive those who commanded us, unworthy, to pray for them. Have mercy, O Lord, on those who serve us and have mercy on us, and grant them all the petitions for salvation and eternal life. Remember, Lord, our fathers and brethren who died before us, and all who died in pious faith; and where the light of Thy face shines upon me. Remember, Lord, our badness and wretchedness, and enlighten our minds with the light of reason of Your holy Gospel, and guide us on the path of Your commandments; through the prayers of Thy most pure Matera and all Thy saints. Amen.
Final
[Virgin Mother of God, 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.]
[We take refuge under Your mercy, Virgin Mother of God, do not despise our prayers in sorrow, but deliver us from troubles, O pure and blessed one. ]
(To the chosen Voivode, victorious, as having been delivered from the evil ones, let us write thanks to Thy servants, the Mother of God: but as having an invincible power, free us from all troubles, let us call Thee: Rejoice, Unmarried Bride.)
Glorious Ever-Virgin, Mother of Christ God, bring our prayer to Your Son and our God, may You save our souls.
I place all my trust in You, Mother of God, keep me under Your roof.
Enlighten my eyes, O Christ God, so that not when I fall asleep into death, and not when my enemy says: “Let us be strong against him.”Be the protector of my soul, O God, as I walk in the midst of many snares: deliver me from them and save me, O Blessed One, as a lover of mankind.
My hope is the Father, my refuge is the Son, my protection is the Holy Spirit: Holy Trinity, glory to Thee.
[God, be merciful to me, a sinner.][God, cleanse my sins and have mercy on me.]
[Infinitely sinned, Lord forgive me.]
[† In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.]
(It is worthy that You are truly blessed, the Mother of God, ever-blessed and most immaculate and the Mother of our God. We magnify You, the most honorable Cherub and the most glorious seraphim without comparison, who gave birth to God the Word without corruption, the real Mother of God.)
(Glory... and now...)
(Lord, have mercy (three times).)
(Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the sake of Your Most Pure Mother, our reverend and God-bearing fathers and all saints, have mercy on us. Amen.)
Before bedtime
May God rise again, and may His enemies be scattered, and may those who hate Him flee from His face. As smoke disappears, let them disappear: as wax melts from the face of fire, so let demons perish from the face of those who love God and signify themselves with the sign of the cross and say in joy: Rejoice, most honorable one and life-giving cross Lord, drive away the demons with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, who descended into hell and trampled upon the power of the devil and gave us His honorable cross to trample upon every adversary. O most honorable and life-giving cross of the Lord! Help me with the Holy Virgin Mary and with all the saints forever. Amen.
Or
Protect me, Lord, by the power of your honorable and life-giving cross, and save me from all evil.
Falling asleep 
In Your hands, Lord Jesus Christ, my God, I commend my spirit. You bless me, you have mercy on me and grant me eternal life. Amen.
We tried to simplify the task as much as possible for a person interested in this topic by dividing the above material, arranging it in a logical sequence, without disturbing the sequence of sacred formulas. We hope this helps to some extent.
When studying the article and the prayers, psalms, etc. offered for it, please pay close attention to the notes on each text: how to read, how many times, how to bow, what prayers can be replaced with what.
Of course, not every person has the time and is unable to immediately muster the patience and humility for such long daily rituals. Nevertheless, gradually, step by step, discovering divine revelations for himself, the layman accepts other, albeit strict, rules of the church. With the blessing and assistance of the confessor, canonical formulas are chosen together with the priest. In the meantime, due to the complexity of mastering Christian Science, at first a beginner can read the main sacred texts, gradually adding others to them.
The right time
A special book called a prayer book contains clear instructions on the time to work with certain sacred texts: just getting out of bed - in the morning, and in the evening, shortly before going to bed, that is, after all the everyday worries of a long day. Under no circumstances should you watch TV, listen to the radio or anything else after reading, but go straight to bed.
However, there are times when for some reason a person does not have the opportunity to sleep: a flexible work shift, for example. Then asking for a blessing makes no sense, because you won’t go to rest anyway. It’s better to work with the Gospel or something else at your discretion instead of the usual rule.
Why should you read?
This is not easy, painstaking daily work that requires maximum concentration on words raised to God. Not just a time-consuming activity. And also the discovery in your soul of the inner Light of Truth. Sometimes, when pronouncing a complex formula of sacred words, you do not always understand what lies behind this or that phrase. 
But suddenly, at some point, with the blessing of God, an understanding of something special comes, directed straight into the soul. And then a feeling that cannot be expressed in words - awe, joy - fills every corner of the soul with its light. Therefore, those who wish to obtain it must work diligently and selflessly.
Religious Christian literature
Having worked with established rules, if you feel the need to expand your personal spiritual horizons, be sure to implement your plans, having previously consulted with your confessor about reading religious literature. Thank God, there is quite a lot of it and there is plenty to choose from.
Most often read:
- Holy Scripture;
- Bible: Old and New Testament;
- Lives of the Saints;
- Breviary;
- God's Law;
- Book of Hours;
- Akathists.
The list can be continued for a long time. Reading religious works is not only useful, but it makes you think about many things. Reconsider your views on many things. Sweep away the trash, join the divine light, and finally learn to love - God, people, yourself - simply and with all your heart.
True, this is not everyday reading, but sometimes a difficult task, since what is written requires comprehension, penetration into the very essence readable material, but not only. The difficulty is that many books are written in Old Church Slavonic, which poses quite serious obstacles for a modern reader who is not accustomed to this kind of language.
Therefore, you should not immediately get down to fundamental things, but it is better to consult with the priest, ask for his blessing, and ask him to explain unclear passages.
About how to write and pronounce
Accepted abbreviations in prayer books or other books about worship are often used to save space. 
Of course, this method is convenient for churchgoers (readers, singers, etc.) who are well versed in the system of notes and footnotes. But what should a novice adherent of the faith do? How not to get lost if you haven’t even figured out the basics yet? The following brief dictionary of abbreviations will come to your aid, giving the key to understanding and correctly reading the most frequently encountered religious formulations.
1.
“Glory, and now: (or: “Glory: And now:”) - Glory to the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
“Glory:” - Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
“and now:” - And now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Attention! In the Psalter, each of the kathismas - the twenty parts into which the Psalter is divided for reading - is divided into three parts, after each of which it is usually written: “Glory:” (these parts are therefore called “Glories”). In this (and only this) case, the designation “Glory:” replaces the following prayers:
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to You, O God. (Thrice)
Lord have mercy. (Thrice)
Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
2.
“Alleluia” (Three times) - Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God. (Thrice)
3.
“The Trisagion according to Our Father” or “The Trisagion. Holy Trinity... Our Father..." - the prayers are read sequentially:
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Thrice)
Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
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. (Thrice)
Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
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, just as we forgive our debtors; and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
4.
The abbreviation “Come, let us worship...” should read:
Come, let us worship our King God. (Bow)
Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King God. (Bow)
Come, let us bow and fall down to Christ Himself, the King and our God. (Bow).
5.
Instead of the Theotokos, we usually say: Most Holy Theotokos, save us, and instead of the Trinity: Most Holy Trinity, our God, glory to Thee, or Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Much more terminology is used in books for serving God, with whom professionals - priests, or people of deep true faith - work. Don't jump into this right away, start small. May the Lord help you!
How to pray and what mistakes to avoid
Prayer Rule
What prayers should a layperson’s prayer rule consist of?
When to make your prayer rule
How to Prepare for Prayer
How to make your own prayer rule at home
What to do when distracted during prayer
How to end your prayer rule
How to learn to spend your day in prayer
How to force yourself to pray
What you need for successful prayer
How to pray and what mistakes to avoid.
To express to God our reverence for Him and our veneration for Him, we stand during prayer and do not sit: only the sick and the very old are allowed to pray while sitting.
Realizing our sinfulness and unworthiness before God, we, as a sign of our humility, accompany our prayer with bows. They are waist, when we bend down to the waist, and earthly, when, bowing and kneeling, we touch the ground with our heads *.
God's law
[*] On Sundays, as well as from St. Day. Easter until the evening of St. Trinity, as well as from the day of the Nativity of Christ to the day of Epiphany, also on the day of the Transfiguration and Exaltation (on this day it is necessary to make only three bows to the ground before the cross), St. the apostles completely forbade bending the knees and making prostrations to the ground... for Sundays and other Lord's holidays contain memories of reconciliation with God, according to the word of the apostle: “Become a servant, but a son” (Gal. 4:7); It is not appropriate for sons to perform slavish worship.
The sign of the cross, according to the teachings of the holy fathers, should be performed like this: folding three fingers right hand, place it on the forehead, on the belly, on the right shoulder and on the left, and then, having placed the sign of the cross on themselves, they bend over. About those who signify themselves with all fives, or bow before finishing the cross, or wave in the air or across their chest, it is said in Chrysostom: “the demons rejoice at that frantic waving.” On the contrary, the sign of the cross, performed earnestly with faith and reverence, frightens demons, calms sinful passions and attracts Divine grace. Orthodox prayer book
The first three fingers folded together (thumb, index and middle) express our faith in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, as the Consubstantial and indivisible Trinity, and two fingers bent to the palm mean that the Son of God upon His descent to earth , being God, became man, that is, His two natures mean – Divine and human.
Making the sign of the cross, we place our folded fingers on our forehead - to sanctify our mind, on our womb (stomach) - to sanctify our inner feelings, then on the right and left shoulders- to sanctify our bodily powers.
You need to sign yourself with the sign of the cross, or be baptized: at the beginning of prayer, during prayer and at the end of prayer, as well as when approaching everything holy: when we enter a temple, when we venerate the cross, to icons, and in all important cases of our life : in danger, in grief, in joy, etc.
God's law
When starting to pray, you must always sober up your thoughts, distract them from earthly affairs and interests, and to do this, calmly stand, sit, or walk around the room. Then think about Whom you intend to stand before and Whom you want to turn to, so that a feeling of humility and self-abasement appears. After this, you should make several bows and begin prayers, slowly, delving into the meaning of each word and bringing them to the heart. When you read, the holy fathers teach: cleanse us from all defilement - feel your defilement; you read: forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors - forgive everyone in your soul, and in your heart ask the Lord for forgiveness, etc. The ability to pray is, first of all, necessary for cultivating a prayerful spirit in oneself, and it consists of a certain order of thoughts in prayer. This order was once revealed by an angel to a holy monk (Lev. 28:7). The beginning of prayer should consist of praise to God, thanksgiving for His countless benefits; then we must bring to God a sincere confession of our sins in contrition of heart and, in conclusion, we can express with great humility our petitions for mental and physical needs, reverently leaving the fulfillment and non-fulfillment of these petitions to His will. Each such prayer will leave a trace of prayer in the soul; daily continuation of it will instill prayer, and patience, without which nothing can be achieved in life, will undoubtedly instill a prayerful spirit. Sschmch. Metropolitan Seraphim Chichagov
Man sees on the face, but God sees on the heart (1 Sam. 16:7); but in a person the location of the heart is most consistent with the position of his face, his appearance. And therefore, when praying, give the most reverent position to the body. Stand like a condemned man, with your head bowed, not daring to look at the sky, with your hands hanging down... Let the sound of your voice be the pitiful sound of crying, the groan of someone wounded by a deadly weapon or tormented by a cruel disease. St. Ignatiy Brianchaninov
When praying, do everything wisely. When you add oil to the lamp, then imagine that the Giver of Life every day and hour, every minute of your life, supports your life with His Spirit, and, as if daily through sleep in the physical sense, and through prayer and the word of God in the spiritual sense, pours the oil of life into you , with which your soul and body burn. When you place a candle in front of an icon, remember that your life is like a burning candle: it will burn out and go out; or that others make her burn faster than she should through passions, overeating, wine and other pleasures. St. rights John of Kronstadt
Standing before the icon of the Savior, stand as if before the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, omnipresent in Divinity, and present with His icon in the place where it is located. Standing before the icon of the Mother of God, stand as if before Herself Holy Virgin; but keep your mind formless: the greatest difference is to be in the presence of the Lord and stand before the Lord, or imagine the Lord.
The elders said: do not wish to see Christ or an angel sensually, lest you go completely mad by accepting a wolf instead of a shepherd and worshiping your enemies, the demons.
Only holy saints of God, renewed by the Holy Spirit, ascend to a supernatural state. A person, until he is renewed by the Holy Spirit, is incapable of communicating with holy spirits. He, as still in the realm of the fallen spirits, in captivity and slavery to them, is able to see only them, and they often, having noticed in him a high opinion of himself and self-delusion, appear to him in the form of bright angels, in the form of Christ Himself, for the destruction of his soul.
St. Ignatiy Brianchaninov
When you pray, pay attention to yourself so that inner man yours was praying, not just the outside one. Although I am sinful beyond measure, still pray. Do not look at the devil’s incitement, deceit and despair, but overcome and defeat his wiles. Remember the abyss of Spasov’s philanthropy and mercy. The devil will present to you the face of the Lord as menacing and unmerciful, rejecting your prayer and your repentance, and you remember the words of the Savior, filled with all hope and boldness for us: He who comes to Me I will not cast out (John 6:37), and - come to Me you who labor and are burdened with sins and iniquities, and the wiles of the devil and slander, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). St. rights John of Kronstadt
Read the prayers slowly, listen to every word - bring the thought of every word to your heart, otherwise: understand what you read, and feel what you understand. This is the whole point of pleasing to God and fruitful reading of prayer. St. Feofan the Recluse
Ask for what is worthy of God, don’t stop asking until you receive it. Although a month, and a year, and three years, and more years will pass until you receive, do not give up, but ask in faith, constantly doing good. St. Basil the Great
Do not be reckless in your requests, so as not to anger God with your foolishness: he who asks the King of kings for something insignificant humiliates Him. The Israelites, ignoring the miracles of God performed for them in the desert, asked for the fulfillment of the desires of the womb - and the food that is in their mouths, the wrath of God arose against them (Ps. 77: 30-31). He who seeks in his prayer perishable earthly goods arouses the indignation of the Heavenly King against himself. Angels and archangels - these nobles of Him - look at you during your prayer, looking at what you ask from God. They are surprised and rejoice when they see an earthly person leaving his earth and making a petition to receive something heavenly; They grieve, on the contrary, for those who have ignored heavenly things and ask for their earth and corruption. St. Ignatiy Brianchaninov
When praying to the Lord, the Mother of God or the saints, always remember that the Lord gives according to your heart (the Lord will give you according to your heart - Ps. 19:5), as is the heart, such is the gift; if you pray with faith, sincerely, with all your heart, unfeignedly, then in accordance with your faith, the degree of fervor of your heart, you will be given a gift from the Lord. And vice versa, the colder your heart, the more unfaithful and hypocritical it is, the more useless your prayer is, moreover, the more it angers the Lord... Therefore, whether you call on the Lord, the Mother of God, angels or saints, call with all your heart; whether you pray for anyone living or dead, pray for them with all your heart, pronouncing their names with warmth of heart; whether you are praying for the granting of some spiritual good to yourself or another, or for deliverance of yourself or your neighbor from some calamity or from sins and passions, bad habits - pray about this with all your heart, wishing with all your heart for yourself or another the requested good, having a firm intention to lag behind, or wanting others to be freed from sins, passions and sinful habits, and the Lord will give you a gift according to your heart. St. rights John of Kronstadt
The beginning of prayer is to drive away incoming thoughts at their very appearance; the middle of it is that the mind should be contained in the words that we pronounce or think; and the perfection of prayer is admiration to the Lord. St. John Climacus
Why is prolonged prayer necessary? In order to warm up our cold hearts, hardened by prolonged bustle, through the duration of fervent prayer. 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 work, time and time. St. rights John of Kronstadt
Staying in prayer for a long time and not seeing fruit, do not say: I have not gained anything. For the very stay in prayer is already an acquisition; and what good is greater than this, to cleave to the Lord and remain unceasingly in union with Him? St. John Climacus
At the end of your home morning and evening prayers, call on the saints: patriarchs, prophets, apostles, saints, martyrs, confessors, saints, abstinents or ascetics, unmercenaries - so that, seeing in them the implementation of every virtue, you yourself become an imitator in every virtue. Learn from the patriarchs childlike faith and obedience to the Lord; among the prophets and apostles - zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of human souls; among the saints - zeal to preach the word of God and, in general, through the scriptures to contribute to the possible glorification of the name of God, to the establishment of faith, hope and love in Christians; among martyrs and confessors - firmness for faith and piety before unbelieving and wicked people; among ascetics - the schedule of the flesh with passions and lusts, prayer and contemplation of God; among those without money - non-covetousness and free help to those in need.
When we call upon saints in prayer, to say their name from the heart means to bring them closer to our very heart. Then undoubtedly ask for their prayers and intercession for yourself - they will hear you and present your prayer to the Lord soon, in the twinkling of an eye, as the Omnipresent and All-Knowing One. St. rights John of Kronstadt
One day the brethren asked Abba Agathon: which virtue is the most difficult? He replied: “Forgive me, I think the hardest thing is to pray to God. When a person wants to pray, his enemies try to distract him, because they know that nothing opposes them as much as prayer to God. In every feat, no matter what a person undertakes, he receives peace after intense labor, but prayer until the last minute of life requires struggle.” St. Abba Agathon
Prayer rule.
What is a prayer rule? These are prayers that a person reads regularly, daily. Everyone's prayer rules are different. For some, the morning or evening rule takes several hours, for others - a few minutes. Everything depends on a person’s spiritual make-up, the degree to which he is rooted in prayer and the time he has at his disposal.
It is very important that a person follows 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 when constantly reading 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 at all costs.
I remember when I took monastic vows (I was twenty years old at the time), I turned to an experienced confessor for advice and asked him what prayer rule I should have. He said: “You must read the morning and evening prayers, three canons and one akathist every day. No matter what happens, even if you are very tired, you must read them. And even if you read them hastily and inattentively, it doesn’t matter, the main thing is so that the rule is read." I tried. Things didn't work out. Daily reading of the same prayers led to the fact that these texts quickly became boring. In addition, every day I spent many hours in church at services that spiritually nourished me, nourished me, and inspired me. And reading the three canons and the akathist turned into some kind of unnecessary “appendage”. I started looking for other advice that was 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 evening for half an hour, but this half hour must be completely given to God. And it is not so important whether during these minutes we read all the prayers or just one, or perhaps we devote one evening entirely to reading the Psalter, the Gospel or prayer in our own words. The main thing is that we are focused on God, so that our attention does not slip away and that every word reaches our heart. This advice worked for me. However, I do not rule out that the advice I received from my confessor would be more suitable for others. Here a lot depends on the individual 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 said with attention and feeling, is enough to be a real Christian. It is only important that the thought always corresponds to the words, the heart responds to the words of prayer, and the whole life corresponds to the prayer.
Try, following the advice of St. Theophan the Recluse, to set aside some time for prayer during the day and for daily fulfillment of the prayer rule. And you will see that it will bear fruit very soon.
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) a short prayer rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov: “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 family life accidents. When things do not allow you to complete the prayer rule in full, 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 fasting, prayers are especially long, in order, as the holy righteous John of Kronstadt writes, “in order to disperse our cold hearts, hardened in prolonged vanity, by the duration of fervent prayer. 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 take it away (Matthew 11:12). The Kingdom of God does not come to the heart soon when people run so diligently from it. The Lord God Himself expressed His will that we should not pray 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 (Luke 18:2-6).”
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 need to work out strict rules prayer discipline and insistently adhere to your prayer rule.
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 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 Nicodemus the Svyatogorets, “not during the hour of prayer, but at another, free time, to think 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. Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk teaches: “Before prayers, you need not to 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, being likened in all this by will, thereby acquire for yourself the boldness to pray,” writes St. Gregory of Nyssa .
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 special 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, either 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,” advises Saint Theophan the Recluse, “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 have 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 in front of 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 is understandable. 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 filth” - feel your filthiness, desire purity and seek it with hope from the Lord. You read: “forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors” - and forgive everyone in your soul, and With a heart that 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.”
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, everything recited prayers taken from the psalms... But nowhere do I find 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, do not read this or that, but 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 when the time has come, if you don’t want to stand any longer, 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 some other feeling takes up too much, you should be with it and bow down, but leave reading... so until the very end of the allotted time.
What to do when distracted in prayer.
For a long time, it was recommended to read the prayer slowly, evenly, in order to “contain attention in the words.” Only when the prayer you want to offer to God is meaningful enough and means a lot to you, will you be able to “reach out” to the Lord. If you are inattentive to the words you say, if your own heart does not respond to the words of prayer, your requests will not reach God.
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh said that when his father began to pray, he hung a sign on the door: “I’m home. But don’t try to knock, I won’t open it.” Bishop Anthony himself advised his parishioners, before starting prayer, to think about how much time they have, set an alarm clock and pray quietly until it rings. “It doesn’t matter,” he wrote, “how many prayers you manage to read during this time; It is important that you read them without being distracted or thinking about time.”
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,” writes Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov), “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 and 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 Monk Silouan of Athos.
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 Saint 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 entire day.
Here is how Saint Theophan the Recluse advises learning this:
“First, it is necessary to cry out to God from the heart more often throughout the day. 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, to do everything for the glory of God, even whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, you do everything for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31), then in every deed we will certainly remember God, and let us remember not simply, but with caution, lest we act wrongly and offend God in some 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 providence, 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 - you will see that you are surrounded by God’s mercies both physically and spiritually, and you will only be a stone so as not to 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 worries, 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 Saint Demetrius of Rostov, “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 the Savior, or His suffering, or something else, thereby touching the heart his own 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—thought of God, all creation for the glory of God, and frequent invocations—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 grief will sweetly dwell - 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 doesn’t want to to bend over, they take him by the forelock and bend him 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.”
Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt, also advising to force yourself in prayer when it does not work, warns:
“Forced prayer develops hypocrisy, makes one incapable of any activity that requires reflection, and makes a person sluggish in everything, even in fulfilling his duties. This should convince everyone praying in this way to correct their prayer. One must pray willingly, with energy, from the heart. Neither out of sorrow, nor out of need (forcibly) pray to God - Each give according to the disposition of his heart, not with grief and not with compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7).”
What is needed 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 (Rom. 13:14). 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” (Reverend Nicodemus the Holy Mountain).