How prayers are read. Prayer rule. How to read morning and evening prayers

This question, which came to our editorial office, determined the topic of a new conversation with the Metropolitan of Saratov and Volsky Longin.

— Vladyka, we have already said: prayer is our communion with God, for a Christian it should be as necessary as breathing. But we know both from our own experience and from the experience of our readers, who have many questions on this subject, that it is very difficult to learn to pray and love prayer. Even the saints said: to pray means to shed blood; prayer requires labor last day man... Vladyka, why is it so difficult to pray?

“Indeed, prayer is work, many saints spoke about it. And the Russian people have put together a very precise saying: the most difficult thing in the world is to pray to God and feed old parents.

Why is it difficult to pray, although many saints had the habit of constant unceasing prayer? We need to remind ourselves what prayer is. This is standing before God, one might say, a conversation with God, fellowship with Him. And what is needed in order to constantly want to communicate with a person in our ordinary life?

- Love him…

— Quite right. For example, here is a bride and groom - they want to communicate with each other all the time, 24 hours a day. Because there is love, attraction to each other. So it is with God: there must be a striving for Him so that prayer is not a tedious duty. Do you know how they sometimes say: "read the rule"? It was like digging a hole... Of course, it is difficult to pray constantly while living in the world, but at least you can turn to God often and with love.

I remember my youth when I just ran to the temple. I also know others of my age, those who came to the Church back in Soviet times. For us, this was the most important thing that could be on earth, and obscured absolutely everything: study, work, and some kind of family ties. We literally “matured” to the temple (as it is said in the prayer: “For my spirit will matine to Thy holy temple”), that is, from the very early morning we constantly wanted to be in the temple, to see, to hear what was happening there. I remember this feeling, until today the memory of it is in my heart.

A person must have such a living feeling for God in order for him to want to pray. But, of course, it is not always there. Man is an extremely unstable creature, and even when he reaches some peaks in his life, then he has periods of cooling and falling. But the memory of what was - about the former heights, whether it was a relationship with God or people - should warm the human heart when the peak of feelings gradually passes. Then instead of cooling there will be even burning, and then it will flare up brighter and brighter. After all, there are cases when spouses, having lived with each other for many decades, at the end of their lives love each other no less, but on the contrary, even stronger, deeper than it was in their youth.

Approximately the same relationship can be between a person and God. Perhaps, this example will seem to someone not absolutely correct, but it is clear. We must not forget that the communion of man and God is the communion of two personalities, and it requires that a person constantly warm up, nourish his feelings with the memory of those moments when the Lord Himself appeared to the human heart. In general, every person who goes to the temple - I am deeply convinced of this - at least once saw God, felt His closeness, and even here on earth experienced the feeling that the apostle spoke about: eyes did not see, ears did not hear. nor did it enter into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor. 2:9). The memory of this gives a person strength when cooling comes.

When one of the spiritual children complained in a letter to St. Theophan the Recluse about her coldness, that she could not pray in any way, although yesterday she rejoiced in everything and thanked God, he answered this way: look out the window - yesterday the sun was shining, and today it started to rain . This does not depend on us. In the same way, he says, in the human heart there is one state, then another. But one must learn to endure periods of cooling, despondency, forgetfulness of God and return to Him again.

— Vladyka, we would like to ask you questions about prayer that many parishioners of our churches have. “I have a difficult life situation. I pray, but it is not resolved, and it gets worse. What to do, how to pray so that the Lord will hear? Sergei asks.

- You have to pray unceasingly. But besides that, it is necessary to understand the situation, to try to understand why it develops the way it does. Indeed, sometimes the Lord wants us, so that we change in some way, so that we work ourselves. Suppose we ask God for something, and He puts us in such circumstances in which we can fulfill the will of God by doing something with our own hands. The Lord very rarely works in human life directly, with the help of some obvious miracle. Usually people are corrected by people.

Therefore, I think that Sergei and those who are concerned about similar issues should, first of all, very carefully analyze this difficult situation, perhaps consult with one of the spiritually experienced people in order to understand: what exactly is my fault in what happened? What can I change not in the people around me, but in myself? And if we change something in ourselves, then the situation will begin to change after that.

- Another question, let's say, about the effectiveness of prayer: “I would like to find out questions that are important to me. How is it better (more effective) to fulfill the prayer rule: mentally or out loud? If aloud, then in a whisper or loudly? What kind of intonation do you strive for: church or your own? Igor"

In general, approaching prayer from the point of view of “efficiency” is wrong. And it is necessary to execute the rule in such a way that it is most useful for us. We are all very different people: we have different skills, habits, characters. Some people prefer to read to themselves, others aloud. The main thing is that the texts of prayers that we read pass through our heart, our consciousness. And the pace of prayer, the way it is pronounced depends on how it is easier for a person to perceive it. Personally, I have one problem since my youth: in my time I read a lot of books and I read very quickly. For example, I can read the prayer rule (three canons with an akathist) to myself in about fifteen minutes, and quite consciously. Therefore, when I serve, I always say the prayers out loud so that it can be a little slower. Another person, perhaps, on the contrary, reads aloud in syllables, and it is more convenient for him to read to himself.

As for intonation, which Igor calls ecclesiastical (this is reading on one note, calm, without emotional outbursts), I think it is preferable, because this way a person gets used to reading in church better, and then it is easier for him to understand it. Such reading in the church is actually more correct, because the prayer itself should sound in the words of the prayers, and not our personal emotions. Although I repeat regarding the home rule - all this is very individual and does not matter much, as long as the prayer is understandable to the person and passes through his heart.

“For about ten years I have been praying and addressing my needs to Saint Matronushka. She asked, of course, for earthly things: health, marriage, so that her daughter would enter the budget department, etc. Because even before her death, she said: “Everyone come to me and tell me, as if alive, about your sorrows.” I understand the word “sorrows” as earthly difficulties, problems, sorrows, failures. But in the lectures of the theologian Professor A.I. Osipov it is said that we pray incorrectly, asking for earthly blessings. We must pray, ask for help in getting rid of sins. And when we get rid of sin, the Lord, seeing our needs, Himself will provide what is necessary. Now I am in doubt: I believe both Matronushka and Professor A.I. I also believe in Osipov. Explain how to pray? Do I need to confess that I asked for earthly blessings? Angelina"

— No, there is no need to repent of it. Professor Osipov speaks of lofty things. But we are still living in this world, and therefore we are worried, among other things, by the things of life that you write about. In such cases, I always recall an episode from the biography of St. Ambrose of Optina. Once a peasant woman from a neighboring village came to him and complained that her turkey poults were dying. And the elder listened, sympathized, explained to her what and how to do. The peasant woman left comforted. Was this attitude correct? Everyone has some needs and sorrows, and I think that this is normal when a person turns to God with them.

Another thing — and here I agree with Professor Osipov, I often say this myself — is that our relationship with God should by no means be limited to this “give, give, give” ... If we are Christians, we need to think and about some deeper things, they themselves tried to sacrifice something to God. "Son, let me your heart' says the Lord. He waits for our hearts from us, I think that this is the most important thing.

Therefore, despite the apparent inconsistency of the positions cited in the letter, both sides are right. It is possible to ask God for earthly blessings, and there is nothing criminal or bad in this. But we cannot limit ourselves to this, because our earthly life is preparation for eternity. The most important thing is the salvation of our souls. This is what we must ask God for and do everything that depends on us.

- Another question from among those that can often be heard: “They say, in order to understand the will of God, one must pray. But how to pray correctly and how to understand that the answer is really from God?

- There is such a rule: to follow the circumstances in which the Lord puts you. Especially if a person prays from the heart and asks God for help. In general, in all life situations one must be guided by the Gospel, and then you will fulfill the will of God, because in the Gospel the will of God for us is absolutely clearly defined.

— The next few questions, Vladyka, are again about cooling off in prayer. This is a very common ailment… “If the heart has not responded to prayer for a long time, should we put up with it and accept it? For example, they pray in the temple, but I want to, but I can’t, and then the prayers even begin to annoy: “How much can the same thing be? ..” Irina.

– No, you don’t need to put up with it, but you need, as St. Theophan the Recluse, whom I just quoted, said, this state is somehow to wait out. There is an interesting episode in the ancient Patericon. One novice monk asks a more experienced one: what to do if there is no desire to pray, on the contrary, relaxation, despondency has come? The elder advises: get up, overpower yourself, try to warm up your heart. The monk complains that it doesn't work. Then, says the elder, take your mantle, wrap yourself in it and sleep.

This advice, although it looks jocular, is actually very wise. Because sometimes it happens that a person just needs to recover, take a break. But in no case should you agree with such a state, but, after resting, gradually return to prayer. And here, as I said, very importance has a memory of that period when a person prayed and was heard by God, when he felt unity with Him, His closeness.

“For many years I have been reading evening and morning prayers, but I stand up to the rule with great difficulty. Whatever you do, just don't pray... How can you change your attitude to prayer, how can you fall in love with it? Tatiana"

- It happens that a person just, as they say, has become fussy, that is, the usual daily worries and chores have taken too much place in his life. But at the same time, such a rudiment remained: you need to get up for prayer in the morning and in the evening. Of course, when there is no living relationship with God, after a while this rudiment begins to annoy: well, why, one wonders, spend time repeating the same words when the heart is silent? Again, you need to stop and look at yourself. The reason is always in the person himself.

It also happens that a person stops praying, fasting, going to church when his way of life becomes far from Christian. What are we? We sinned in one, in another, in the third - but it’s hard for us, and the times are like that, everyone lives like that ... We all know this set of self-justifications. And gradually, when some shortcomings, sins, maybe even vices accumulate, it becomes impossible to pray. Attempts to pray only cause rejection.

The reason could be anything. Therefore, Tatyana and everyone who has a similar condition need to think, understand themselves, in their lives and try to make adjustments. Then the person will again be able to pray attentively.

—You once spoke, Vladyka, about the experience of unceasing prayer. But these things, the troubles that our reader writes about, they do not prevent everyone from praying, according to the word Reverend Seraphim Sarovsky, who said that prayer is not a hindrance to work?

– Unceasing prayer is, after all, the work of monastics, and even then you don’t always find it in our time. There is no need to strive for this in the world, but it is often possible and necessary to pray. You know there is unceasing prayer, but there is its opposite - incessant vanity ... But this incessant vanity must still be pushed aside. In addition, prayer is the remembrance of God. And it is good to acquire such a skill: here I am walking, talking, doing something - and all the time I remember that there is a God, He is over all my affairs. And usually we live as if He does not exist, and rarely remember Him. In fact, we must always remember Him.

“Please tell me what to do right if during prayer anything comes into your head, except for the prayer itself ... I read two completely polar opinions: stop praying, since God doesn’t hear such a prayer anyway, or force yourself , pray through strength. Inna"

- In no case should you stop, you should force yourself. To restore attention to prayer, you can do this exercise from time to time: when you read a rule and suddenly realize that your attention has “flyed away”, you need to go back and read with attention. It is difficult, and you do not need to do it all the time, but you need to try to develop the skill of attentive reading in yourself.

The same Saint Theophan also has a wonderful answer to a similar question. One of his spiritual children asked: “Sometimes I understand that I stood in prayer and nothing moved in my heart. What to do?". He answered: “Then stand in front of the icons, cross yourself, sigh, and say: “Lord, I could not bring you my heart today, accept at least my feet from me.” He says a lot in his letters that one must learn to keep oneself in order, to be collected. For example: here you are lying on the couch, remember that this is wrong, and instead sit down as you should, straighten up. Such seemingly small external things help a person to keep himself within the necessary limits, because when we abolish these limits, we spread out, lose our composure. And without this, many things are impossible, not only to pray to God - for example, to study. Look, much of what we say about prayer can be said to a student who does not know how to study, because there is exactly the same thing: there is no attention. Therefore, many things in a person's life will change, many things will become easier to do, a person will achieve great success if he sets himself up for correct, attentive prayer.

I would like to advise the authors of these questions and all our readers to definitely read the book of St. Theophan the Recluse “What is spiritual life and how to tune in to it.” These are answers to similar questions in the form of letters. And for those who love to read and are not afraid of thick books, I would recommend the collection of letters of St. Theophan, which contain exceptionally deep, very valuable, and quite modern materials. The saint answers the questions of his spiritual children, which are not so different from those that are asked today. At one time, these books helped me a lot.

Photo by Alexey Luzgan and Andrey Gutynin

How to Pray and What Mistakes to Avoid
Prayer Rule
What prayers should a layman'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 by prayer
How to end your prayer rule
How to learn to spend the day in prayer
How to force yourself to pray
What you need for successful prayer

How to pray and what mistakes to avoid.

In order to express to God our reverence for Him and reverence for Him, we stand during prayer, not sit: only the sick and the very old are allowed to pray while sitting.
Recognizing 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 *.
Law of God

[*] On Sundays, as well as from the day of St. Easter until the evening of St. Trinity, as well as from the day of the Nativity of Christ to the day of Baptism, also on the day of the Transfiguration and Exaltation (on this day it is supposed to make only three earthly bows before the cross), Sts. the apostles completely forbade bending the knee and making prostrations ... for Sunday and other Lord's holidays contain memories of reconciliation with God, according to the words of the apostle: “Already carry a servant, but a son” (Gal. 4, 7); it is not fitting for sons to create slavish worship.

The sign of the cross, according to the teachings of the holy fathers, should be performed as follows: having folded the right hand with three fingers, put it on the forehead, on the womb, on the right shoulder and on the left, and then, having put the sign of the cross on themselves, they bend down. About those who signify themselves with the whole five or bow before they have finished the cross, or wave in the air or on 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 the two fingers bent to the palm mean that the Son of God, after His descent to earth , being God, became a man, that is, His two natures mean - Divine and human.
Overshadowing ourselves with the sign of the cross, we put our fingers folded like this on our forehead - to sanctify our mind, on the womb (stomach) - to sanctify our inner feelings, then on the right and left shoulders - to sanctify our bodily forces.
It is necessary to overshadow oneself with the sign of the cross, or to 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 the temple, when we kiss the cross, to icons, and in all important cases of our life : in danger, in grief, in joy, etc.
Law of God

When approaching prayer, one must always sober one's thoughts, divert them from earthly affairs and interests, and for this purpose one should stand quietly, sit or walk around the room. Then think about whom you intend to stand before and whom to turn to, so that a feeling of humility and self-abasement appears. After that, you should put a few 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 filthiness - feel your filthiness; you read: forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors - in your soul forgive everyone, and in your heart ask the Lord for forgiveness, etc. order of thought in prayer. This order was once revealed by an angel to a holy monk (Lestv. 28:7). The beginning of prayer should consist of praise to God, of thanksgiving for His countless good deeds; then we must offer God a sincere confession of our sins in contrition of heart and, in conclusion, we can express with great humility our petitions for the needs of our soul and body, 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 root prayer, and patience, without which nothing can be achieved in life, will undoubtedly instill a prayerful spirit. Shmch. Met. Serafim Chichagov

Man sees on the face, but God sees on the heart (1 Sam. 16:7); but in a man the location of the heart is most consistent with the position of his face, his appearance. And therefore, during prayer, give the most reverent position to the body. Stand like a convict, with your head bowed, not daring to look at the sky, with your hands down... Let the sound of your voice be the pitiful sound of weeping, the groan of a deadly weapon or tormented by a fierce disease. St. Ignaty Brianchaninov

When you pray, do everything intelligently. When you add oil to the lamp, then imagine that the Life-Giver every day and hour, every minute of your life supports your life with His Spirit, and as if daily through sleep in the body, and through prayer and the word of God in spiritually, pours into you the oil of life, which burns your soul and body. When you put a candle in front of the icon, remember that your life is like a burning candle: it will burn out and go out; or that others make it burn faster than it should, with passions, polygamy, 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 according to the Divinity, and His icon present in the place where it is located. standing in front of the icon Mother of God stand, as it were, before Himself Blessed 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 want to see Christ or an angel sensually, so that you do not completely go crazy, accepting a wolf instead of a shepherd and worshiping your enemies, demons.
Only the holy saints of God, renewed by the Holy Spirit, ascend to the supernatural state. Man, before being renewed by the Holy Spirit, is incapable of communion with holy spirits. He, as he is still in the realm of the fallen spirits, in captivity and in slavery to them, is able to see only them, and they often, noticing in him a high opinion of themselves and self-delusion, appear to him in the form of bright angels, in the form of Christ Himself, for destruction of his soul.
St. Ignaty Brianchaninov

When you pray, pay attention to yourself so that your inner person prays, and not only the outer one. Although he is sinful without measure, but all pray. Do not look at the devil's kindling, craftiness and despair, but overcome and defeat his intrigues. Remember the abyss of philanthropy and mercy of Spasov. The devil will present to you the face of the Lord as formidable and unmerciful, rejecting your prayer and your repentance, and you remember the words of the Savior, filled for us with all hope and boldness: He who comes to Me I will not get out of (John 6, 37), and - come to Me those who labor and are burdened with sins and iniquities, and devilish wiles and slander, and I will give you rest (Matt. 11, 28). St. rights. John of Kronstadt

Read prayers slowly, pay attention to every word - bring the thought of every word to the heart, otherwise: understand what you are reading, and feel what you understand. This is the whole point of pleasing God and fruitful reading of prayer. St. Theophan the Recluse

Ask for what is worthy of God, don't stop asking until you get it. Although a month will pass, and a year, and a three-year period, and more years, until you receive, do not retreat, but ask in faith, continually doing good. St. Basil the Great

Do not be reckless in your petitions, 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 wilderness, asked for the fulfillment of the desires of the womb - and I still exist in their mouths, the wrath of God is lifted up on them (Ps. 77, 30-31). The one who seeks in prayer his perishable earthly blessings arouses the indignation of the Heavenly King against himself. Angels and archangels - these His nobles - look at you during your prayer, looking at what you ask from God. They wonder and rejoice when they see an earthly one who has left his earth and brings a petition for receiving something heavenly; they grieve, on the contrary, for the one who left the heavenly things without attention, and who asks for his land and corruption. St. Ignaty Brianchaninov

Praying to the Lord, the Mother of God or saints, always remember that the Lord gives according to your heart (the Lord will give you according to your heart - Ps. 19, 5), what is the heart, such is the gift; if you pray with faith, sincerely, with all your heart, without hypocrisy, then according to your faith, the degree of fervor of your heart, a gift from the Lord will be given to you. And vice versa, the colder your heart, the more incredulous, 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 any of the living or the dead, pray for them with all your heart, pronouncing their names with warmth of heart; whether you pray for granting yourself or another any spiritual blessing, or for the deliverance of yourself or your neighbor from any disaster or from sins and passions, bad habits - pray for 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 wishing others to be freed from sins, passions and sinful habits, and a gift according to your own heart will be given to you from the Lord. St. rights. John of Kronstadt

The beginning of prayer is to drive away incoming thoughts at their very appearance; its middle is that the mind is contained in the words that we pronounce or think; and the perfection of prayer is admiration for the Lord. Rev. John of the Ladder

Why long prayer? In order to warm up our cold hearts, hardened in a long vanity, by the duration of fervent prayer. For it is strange to think, all the more so to demand, that a heart that has matured in the bustle of life could soon be imbued with the warmth of faith and love for God during prayer. No, it takes work and work, time and time. St. rights. John of Kronstadt

If you remain in prayer for a long time and do not see the fruit, do not say: I have gained nothing. For the very presence in prayer is already a gain; and what good is higher than this, to cling to the Lord and abide unceasingly in union with Him? Rev. John of the Ladder

At the end of your home morning and evening prayers, call on the saints: patriarchs, prophets, apostles, saints, martyrs, confessors, reverends, abstinences or ascetics, unmercenaries, so that, seeing in them the realization 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 for the salvation of human souls; among the hierarchs - zeal to preach the word of God and, in general, to contribute by writings to the possible glorification of the name of God, to the affirmation of faith, hope and love in Christians; among martyrs and confessors - firmness for faith and piety before unbelieving and ungodly people; for ascetics - the schedule of the flesh with passions and lusts, prayer and contemplation; among the disinterested - non-possessiveness and gratuitous assistance to those in need.

When we call on the saints in prayer, then to pronounce their name from the heart means to bring them closer to our very heart. Ask then undoubtedly their prayers and intercession for yourself - they will hear you and your prayer will be presented to the Lord soon, in the twinkling of an eye, as if to the Omnipresent and all Leading. St. rights. John of Kronstadt

One day the brethren asked Abba Agathon: what virtue is the hardest of all? He replied, “Forgive me, I think the hardest thing is praying to God. When a person wants to pray, the enemies try to distract him, because they know that nothing counteracts them as much as praying to God. In every feat, no matter what a person undertakes, he receives peace after hard work, and prayer until the last minute of life requires struggle. Rev. Abba Agathon

Prayer rule.

What is a prayer rule? These are prayers that a person reads regularly, daily. Everyone's prayer rule is different. For some, the morning or evening rule takes several hours, for others it takes several minutes. Everything depends on a person's spiritual disposition, on the degree of his rootedness in prayer, and on what time he has at his disposal.
It is very important that a person fulfill the prayer rule, even the shortest one, so that there is regularity and constancy in prayer. But the rule should not turn into a formality. The experience of many believers shows that with constant reading of the same prayers, their words become discolored, lose their freshness, and a person, getting used to them, stops focusing on them. This danger must be avoided by all means.
I remember when I took monastic vows (I was twenty years old then), I turned to an experienced confessor for advice and asked him what my prayer rule should be. He said, "You must read your morning and evening prayers, three canons and one akathist. Whatever happens, even if you are very tired, you must read them. And even if you subtract them hastily and inattentively, it doesn’t matter, the main thing is that the rule be subtracted. "I tried. It didn't work. Daily reading of the same prayers led to the fact that these texts quickly got bored. during the day I spent many hours in the temple at services that spiritually nourished, sated, inspired me. And the reading of the three canons and the akathist turned into some kind of unnecessary "appendage". I began to look for another advice that was more suitable for me. And I found it in the creations Theophan the Recluse, a remarkable ascetic of the 19th century. He advised the prayer rule to be calculated not by the number of prayers, but by the time that we are ready to devote to God. For example, we can make it a rule to pray in the morning and in the evening for half an hour, but these half hours should be completely given God. And it is not so important whether we read all the prayers during these minutes or only one, or maybe we will devote one evening entirely to reading the Psalter, the Gospel or praying 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 hearts. This advice worked for me. However, I do not rule out that for others the advice of the confessor I received will be more suitable. Much here depends on the personality of the person.
It seems to me that for a person living in the world, not only fifteen, but even five minutes of morning and evening prayer, if, of course, it is pronounced with attention and with feeling, is enough to be a real Christian. It is only important that the thought always correspond to the words, the heart responds to the words of the prayer, and the whole life corresponds to the prayer.
Try, following the advice of St. Theophan the Recluse, to allocate some time for prayer during the day and for the daily fulfillment of the prayer rule. And you will see that it will bear fruit very soon.

What prayers should a layman's prayer rule consist of?

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

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: “King of Heaven”, Trisagion, “Our Father”, “Virgin Mother of God”, “Rising from sleep”, “Have mercy on me, God”, “I believe”, “God, cleanse”, “To You, Master”, “ Holy Angele”, “Most Holy Lady”, invocation of the saints, prayer for the living and the dead; in the evening: “King of Heaven”, Trisagion, “Our Father”, “Have mercy on us, Lord”, “Eternal God”, “Good King”, “Angel of Christ”, from “Choose Governor” to “It is worthy to eat”; these prayers are contained in any prayer book;
3) a short prayer rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov: three times “Our Father”, three times “Virgin Mother of God” and once “I believe” - for those days and circumstances when a person is extremely tired or very limited in time.

The duration of prayers, their number are determined by the spiritual fathers, priests, taking into account the lifestyle of each and his spiritual experience.

It is impossible to completely omit the prayer rule. Even if the prayer rule is read without due attention, the words of the prayers, penetrating into the soul, have their cleansing effect.

St. Theophan writes to one family person: “In case of emergency, one must be able to shorten the rule. Little in family life accidents. When things do not allow you to make a complete prayer rule, then make it abbreviated.

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

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

During fasting, prayers are especially long, in order, as the holy righteous John of Kronstadt writes, “in order to disperse our cold, hardened hearts in a long vanity. For it is strange to think, all the more so to demand, that a heart that has matured in the bustle of life could soon be imbued with the warmth of faith and love for God during prayer. No, it takes work and time. Kingdom Heavenly power is taken, and those who use force delight it (Mt. 11, 12). It is not soon that the Kingdom of God comes into the heart when people run away from it so diligently. The Lord God Himself has expressed His will that we pray not briefly, when he presents as an example a widow who went to the judge for a long time and for a long time (for a long time) bothered him 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. It is necessary to develop strict rules of prayer discipline and strongly adhere to your prayer rule.
Morning prayers are best read before starting any business. In extreme cases, they are pronounced on the way from home. Prayer teachers recommend reading the evening prayer rule 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 main prayers that make up the morning and evening rule 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 that are part of 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 accurate understanding. This is what the Church Fathers advise. “Take the trouble,” writes St. Nikodim the Holy Mountaineer, “not at the hour of prayer, but at another, free time, to think over and feel the prescribed prayers. Having done this, you will not encounter any difficulty during prayer to reproduce in yourself the content of the prayer being read.

It is very important that the person approaching prayer banish resentment, irritation, and bitterness from the heart. St. Tikhon of Zadonsk teaches: “Before praying, it is required not to be angry with anyone, not to be angry, but to leave all offense, so that God himself will leave sins.”

“Coming to the Benefactor, be yourself benevolent; approaching the Good, be good yourself; approaching the Righteous, be righteous yourself; approaching the Patient One, be patient yourself; approaching the philanthropic, be philanthropic; and also be everything else, approaching the Kind-hearted, the Benevolent, the Sociable in blessings, the Merciful of everyone, and if anything else is seen as the Divine, likening in all this by your own will, acquire boldness for prayer,” writes St. Gregory of Nyssa .

How to make your prayer rule at home.

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

Before the beginning of prayer, one should make the sign of the cross and make several bows, half-length or earthly, and try to tune in to an inner conversation with God. “Stand silently until feelings subside, put yourself in the presence of God to the consciousness and feelings of Him with reverent Fear and raise in your heart a living faith that God hears and sees you,” the prayer book says at the beginning. Saying prayers out loud or in a low voice helps many people focus.

“When starting to pray,” advises St. Theophan the Recluse, “in the morning or in the evening, stand a little, or sit, or walk around, and at this time take the trouble to sober up the thought, diverting 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, now having to begin this prayerful address to Him - and arouse in your soul the corresponding mood of self-abasing and reverent fear imbued with standing before God in your heart. This is the whole preparation - to stand reverently before God - small, but not insignificant. Here is the beginning of prayer, but a good beginning is half the work.

Having thus established yourself inwardly, then stand before the icon and, having made several bows, begin the usual prayer: “Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee,” “King of Heaven, Comforter, Soul of Truth,” and so on. Read slowly, delve into every word, and bring the thought of every word to the 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 the heart, otherwise - understand what you are reading, and feel understandable. No other rules are required. These two - understand and feel - performed properly, adorn any prayer with full dignity and impart to it all fruitful action. You read: “cleanse us from all filthiness” - feel your filthiness, desire purity and seek it with hope, it is with the Lord, You read: “forgive us our debts, as we leave our debtors” - and in your soul forgive everyone, and With a heart that has forgiven everyone, ask the Lord for forgiveness. You read: "Thy will be done" - and in your heart completely surrender to the Lord your fate and express an unquestioning readiness to complacently meet everything that the Lord will please to send you.

If you act like this with every verse of your prayer, then you will have the proper prayer.

In another of his admonitions, St. Theophan so briefly systematizes advice on reading the rule of prayer:
a) never read in a hurry, but read as if in a singsong voice ... In ancient times, everything recited prayers taken from the psalms... But nowhere do I see the word "read", but everywhere "sing"...
b) delve into every word and not only reproduce the thought of what you read in your mind, but also arouse a corresponding feeling ...
c) in order to cut off the urge to hastily reading, put - do not read this and that, but stand on the reading prayer for a quarter of an hour, half an hour, an hour ... how long you usually stand ... and then do not worry ... how many prayers you read, - but when the time has come, if there is no desire to stand further, stop reading ...
d) having put this down, however, do not look at the clock, but stand like that in order to stand endlessly: the thought will not run ahead ...
e) in order to promote the movement of prayerful feelings in your free time, reread and rethink all the prayers that are included in your rule - and re-feel them, so that when you begin to read them on the rule, you know in advance what feeling should be aroused in the heart .. .
f) never read prayers without interruption, but always interrupt them with your own prayer, with bows, whether in the middle of prayers you have to do this or at the end. As soon as something falls into your heart, immediately stop reading and bow down. This last rule is the most necessary and most necessary for cultivating the spirit of prayer... If some other feeling takes a lot, you will be with him and bow down, and leave the reading ... so until the very end of the allotted time.

What to do when distracted by prayer.

For a long time it was recommended to read the prayer slowly, evenly, in order to "enclose attention in words." Only when the prayer that you want to bring to God is meaningful enough and means a lot to yourself, you will be able to “reach out” to the Lord. If you are inattentive to the words you utter, if your own heart does not respond to the words of prayer, your requests will not reach God.
Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh said that his father, when he began to pray, hung a sign on the door: “I am at home. But don't try to knock, I won't open it." Vladyka Anthony himself advised his parishioners before starting to pray to think about how much time they have, set an alarm clock and pray calmly until it rings. “It doesn't matter,” he wrote, “how many prayers you have time to read during this time; it is important that you read them without being distracted by anything and without thinking about time.

Praying is very difficult. Prayer is primarily a spiritual work, therefore one should not expect immediate spiritual delight from it. “Do not look for pleasures in prayer,” writes St. 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 seek prematurely high spiritual states and prayerful delights.”
As a rule, attention to words, prayers can be held for several minutes, and then thoughts begin to wander, the eye glides over the words of the prayer - and our hearts and minds are far away.
If someone prays to the Lord, but thinks of something else, then the Lord will not listen to such a prayer,” writes St. Silouan of Athos.
At these moments, the Fathers of the Church advise to be especially attentive. St. Theophan the Recluse writes that we must prepare in advance for the fact that when reading prayers we are distracted, often mechanically read the words of a prayer. “When a thought runs away during prayer, bring it back. Runs back again - return again. So every time. Every time that is read while thoughts are running away and, therefore, without attention and feeling, do not forget to reread. And even if your thought runs back several times in one place, read it several times until you read it with understanding and feeling. Once you overcome this difficulty, another time, maybe it won’t happen again, or it won’t happen again with such force.
If during the reading of the rule a prayer breaks through in one's own words, then, as St. Nicodemus says, "not allowing this occasion to pass fleetingly, but dwell on it."
We find the same thought in St. Theophan: “Another word will affect the soul so strongly that the soul will not want to prolong further in prayer, and although the tongue reads prayers, and the thought keeps running back to the place that had such an effect on her. In this case, stop, do not read further, but stay with attention and feeling in that place, feed your soul with them, or with those thoughts that it will produce. And do not rush to tear yourself away from this state, so if time does not endure, it is better to leave an unfinished rule, and do not ruin this state. It will overshadow you, maybe 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, consequently, the preservation of this state is the most reliable means of educating and strengthening the prayerful spirit in us.

How to end your prayer rule.

It is good to end the prayer with thanksgiving to God for the gift of fellowship and contrition for one's inattention.
“When you finish your prayers, do not immediately go on to your own activities, but also, at least a little, stop and think about what you have done and what it obliges you to do, trying, if something is given to feel during prayer, to keep it after prayers,” writes St. Theophan the Recluse. “Do not immediately rush into everyday affairs,” teaches St. Nikodim, “and never think that, having completed your prayer rule, you have finished everything in relation to God.”
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 the day in prayer.

Having finished the morning prayers, we should not think that everything has been fulfilled in relation to God, and only in the evening, during the evening rule, should we return to prayer again.
Good feelings that arose during morning prayers will be drowned out in the bustle and busyness of the day. Because of this, there is no desire to stand for the evening prayer.
We must try to make the soul turn to God not only when we stand in prayer, but throughout the whole day.

Here is how St. Theophan the Recluse advises to learn this:
“Firstly, during the day it is necessary to cry out to God more often from the heart in short words, judging by the need of the soul and current affairs. You start something, for example, say: “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. What passion rises, say: "Save, Lord, I'm dying!" Finds the darkness of confusing thoughts, cry out: "Bring my soul out of prison!". Wrong deeds are coming and sin attracts to them, pray: “Guide me, Lord, on the path” or “Do not give my feet into confusion.” Sins suppress and lead to despair, cry out with a publican's voice: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." So, anyway. Or just say often: “Lord, have mercy; Mother of God, have mercy on me. Angel of God, my holy guardian, protect me, ”or call out with 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 increase will impart the habit of intelligent conversation with God.
But in order for the soul to begin to cry out like this, it is necessary in advance to force it to turn everything to the glory of God, all its deeds, large 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 our law to fulfill this apostolic commandment, to do everything for the glory of God, whether you eat or drink, or do anything else, you do everything for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31), then we will certainly remember in every deed God, and let us remember not simply, but with apprehension, how not to do something wrong in any case and not offend God in any way. This will make you turn to God with fear and prayerfully ask for help and admonition. Just as we do something almost incessantly, we will almost incessantly turn to God in prayer, and, consequently, we will almost continuously go through the science of prayer in the soul to God of exaltation.
But in order for the soul to fulfill 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 his work and to his work until evening. This mood is produced by the thought of God. And this is the third way of training the soul to turn often to God. God-thinking is a reverent reflection on the Divine properties and actions and on what the knowledge of them and their attitude towards us obliges us, this reflection on the goodness of God, justice, wisdom, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, about creation and providence, about 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.
Which of these subjects you do not begin to reflect on, this reflection will certainly fill the soul with a reverent feeling for God. Begin to meditate, for example, on the goodness of God - you will see that you are surrounded by the graces of God both bodily and spiritually, and unless you are a stone, so as not to fall before God in an outpouring of humiliated feelings of thanksgiving. Begin to meditate on 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 meditate on the omniscience of God - you will know that nothing in you is hidden from the eye of God, and you will certainly resolve to be strictly attentive to the movements of your heart and mind, so as not to somehow offend the all-seeing God. Start to reason about the truth of God, and you will be sure that not a single bad deed will go unpunished, and you will certainly set out to cleanse all your sins with contrition and repentance of the heart before God. So, no matter what property and action of God you begin to discuss, any such reflection will fill the soul with reverent feelings and dispositions for God. It directs the whole being of man directly to God, and is therefore the most direct means of accustoming the soul to ascend to God.
The most decent, convenient time for this is the morning, when the soul is not yet burdened with many impressions and business concerns, and precisely after the morning prayer. When you finish your prayer, sit down and, with a thought sanctified in prayer, begin to meditate today on one thing, tomorrow on another of God's property and action, and make an arrangement in your soul accordingly. “Go,” said St. Demetrius of Rostov, “go, holy contemplation, and let us plunge into contemplation of the great deeds of God,” and he went through the thought or the deeds of creation and industry, or the miracles of the Lord Savior, or His sufferings, or something else, touched the heart and began to pour out his soul in prayer. So anyone can do it. There is little work, only desire and determination are needed; and a lot of fruit.
So here are three ways, in addition to the rule of prayer, to teach the soul to prayerfully ascend to God, namely: dedicate some time in the morning to contemplation, turn every deed to the glory of God, and often turn to God with short invocations.
When contemplation of God is well done in the morning, it will leave a deep mood for contemplation of God. Thinking about God will force the soul to perform every action, both internal and external, carefully and turn it to the glory of God. And both will put the soul in such a position that prayerful appeals to God will often be torn out of it.
These three are thought of God, all for the glory God's creation and frequent invocations are the most effective instruments of intelligent and heartfelt prayer. Each of them elevates the soul to God. Whoever sets out to practice them will soon acquire to believe in his heart the habit of ascending to God. This work is like climbing a mountain. The higher someone climbs the mountain, the freer and easier he breathes. So here too, the more one masters the exercises shown, the higher the soul will be raised, and the higher the soul will rise, 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 non-originating both in thought and heart; but the burden of earthly thoughts and passions attracts and burdens her dale. The shown methods tear it off the ground little by little, and there it will be completely torn off. When they are completely torn off, then the soul will enter its own region and will sweetly dwell on the mountain - here heartily and mentally, after that, with its very being, it will be able to abide before the face of God in the faces of angels and saints. What may the Lord vouchsafe to all of you with His grace. Amen".

How to force yourself to pray.

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

The holy righteous John of Kronstadt, also advising to force oneself in prayer when it does not go, warns:
“Forced prayer develops hypocrisy, makes it incapable of any occupation that requires reflection, and makes a person sluggish to everything, even to the performance of his duties. This should convince all who thus pray to correct their prayer. One should pray willingly, with energy, from the heart. Pray to God neither out of sorrow nor out of need (forcibly), - Everyone give according to the disposition of the heart, not with chagrin and not with compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).

What is needed for successful prayer.

“Wishing and seeking success in the work of prayer, adapt everything else to this, so that you do not destroy with one hand what the other builds.
1. Keep your body strictly in food, and in sleep, and in rest: do not give it anything just because it wants it, as the apostle commands: Do not turn the cares of the flesh into lusts (Rom. 13:14). Give no rest to the flesh.
2. Reduce your external relations to the most inevitable. This is at the time of teaching yourself to pray. Afterward, prayer, acting in you, will indicate what can be added without damage to it. Especially watch over the senses, and among them the most - the eyes, hearing, tie the tongue. Without observing this, you will not make a step forward in the matter of prayer. Just as a candle cannot burn in the wind and rain, so prayer cannot be kindled by a surge of impressions from without.
3. Use all your free time after prayer for reading and meditation. For reading, choose mainly those books that deal with prayer and in general about the inner spiritual life. Meditate exclusively on God and Divine things, on the Incarnate Economy of our salvation, and in it especially on the suffering and death of the Lord Savior. By doing this, you will be immersed in the sea of ​​Divine light. Add to this going to church as soon as you can. One presence in the temple will overshadow you with a prayer cloud. What will you get if you stand in a truly prayerful mood throughout the entire service!
4. Know that you cannot succeed in prayer without succeeding in the Christian life in general. It is necessary that not a single sin lie on the soul that is not cleansed by repentance; and if during the time of prayer you do something that confuses your conscience, hasten to cleanse yourself with 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 show any good disposition, especially humility, obedience and renunciation of one's own will. But it goes without saying that zeal for salvation must burn unquenchably and, filling the whole soul, in everything, from small to great, must be the main driving force with the fear of God and unshakable hope.
5. Being in such a mood, bother yourself in prayerful work, praying: either with ready-made prayers, or with your own, or with short invocations to the Lord, or with the Jesus Prayer, but without missing anything that can contribute to 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 wish success in prayer – and will give you prayer. For know that although prayer done and achieved by one's own efforts is pleasing to God, the real prayer is that which dwells in the heart and becomes unrelenting. She is a gift from God God's grace. Therefore, when praying about everything, do not forget to pray about prayer” (St. Nikodim the Holy Mountaineer).

How to prepare yourself for going to the temple. The temple is the house of God, heaven on earth, the place where the greatest Sacraments are performed. Therefore, it is necessary to always prepare for the acceptance of shrines, so that the Lord does not condemn us for negligence in communicating with the Great. Some retreats are possible with weakness, with the obligatory reproach of oneself.
Clothing is of great importance, the apostle Paul mentions this, commanding women to cover their heads without fail. He notes that the woman's covered head is a positive sign for angels, for it is a sign of modesty. It is not good to visit the temple in a short, bright skirt, in a defiantly open dress or in a tracksuit. Everything that forces others to pay attention to you and distracts from service and prayer is considered bad. A woman in trousers, in a temple, is also an unacceptable phenomenon. In the Bible, there is still an Old Testament prohibition for women to dress in men's clothes, and men - in women's. Respect the feelings of believers, even if this is YOUR first visit to the temple.

In the morning, getting up from your bed, thank our Lord, who gave us the opportunity to spend the night in peace and extended our days for repentance. Slowly wash your face, stand in front of the icon, light a lamp (necessarily from a candle), to give a prayerful spirit, bring your thoughts into silence and order, forgive everyone and only then start reading morning prayers from the prayer book. If you have time, read one chapter from the Gospel, one of the Acts of the Apostles, one kathisma from the Psalter, or one psalm. At the same time, it must be remembered that it is always better to read one prayer, with a sincere feeling, than all prayers, with an obsessive thought, to complete as soon as possible. Before you leave, say a prayer - “I deny you, Satan, your pride and your service, and unite with You, Christ our God, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen". Then, cross yourself and calmly walk to the temple. On the street, cross the road in front of you, with a prayer: "Lord, bless my ways and save me from all evil." On the way to the temple, read a prayer to yourself: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner."

* Rules for entering the temple.
Before entering the temple, cross yourself, bow three times, looking at the image of the Savior, and say to the first bow: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." second bow: "God, cleanse my sins and have mercy on me."
To the third: "I have sinned without number, Lord, forgive me."
Then, having done the same, having entered the doors of the temple, bow to both sides, say to yourself: "Forgive me, brothers and sisters."
* In the temple, it is correct to kiss the icons, as follows:
Kissing the holy icon of the Savior - you should kiss your feet,
Mother of God and Saints - hand,
A miraculous image Savior and the head of St. John the Baptist - in sackcloths.
And remember!!! If you came to the service, then the Service must be defended from beginning to end. Service is not a duty, but a sacrifice to God.
NOTE: - if you do not have the strength to stand the whole service, then you can sit, because as St. Philaret of Moscow said: “It is better to think about God while sitting than about standing legs.”
However, while reading the Gospel it is necessary to stand!!!

HOW TO BE BAPTIZED CORRECTLY.
The sign of the cross is performed in the following way.
We fold our fingers right hand: large, index and middle - together (pinch), ring and little fingers - bending together, press to the palm of your hand.

Three folded fingers mean our faith in God, worshiped in the Trinity, and two fingers - faith in Jesus Christ as the true God and true Human. Then, with the tips of three folded fingers, we touch the forehead to sanctify our thoughts; belly to sanctify our body; right and left shoulder to sanctify the works of our hands. Thus we depict the cross on ourselves.

After that we make a bow. Bows are waist and earth. The waist bow consists in tilting the upper body forward after making the sign of the cross. When bowing to the ground, the believer kneels, bending down, touches the floor with his forehead and then gets up.

Regarding what prostrations should be performed and when, there are certain extensive church rules. For example, prostrations are not performed during the period from the Easter holiday to the day of the Holy Trinity, as well as in Sundays and on great holidays.

To be baptized without prostrations: 1. In the middle of the Six Psalms on "Alleluia" three times.
2. At the beginning, "I believe."
3. On leave "Christ, our true God."
4. At the beginning of the reading of the Holy Scriptures: the Gospel, the Apostle and proverbs.

Baptized with a bow:
1. At the entrance to the temple and at the exit from it - three times.
2. At each petition of the litany, after the singing of “Lord, have mercy,” “Give, Lord,” “Thee, Lord.”
3. At the exclamation of the priest, giving glory to the Holy Trinity.
4. At the exclamations “Take, eat”, “Drink everything from her”, “Yours from Yours”.
5. At the words "Most honorable Cherub."
6. At each word “bow down”, “worship”, “fall down”.
7. During the words “Alleluia”, “Holy God” and “Come, let us worship” and with the exclamation “Glory to Thee, Christ God”, before the dismissal - three times.
8. On the canon on the 1st and 9th odes at the first invocation to the Lord, the Mother of God or the saints.
9. After each stichera (moreover, the kliros that finishes singing is baptized).
10. On the lithium after each of the first three petitions of the litany - 3 bows, after the other two - one each.

Baptized with a bow to the ground:
1. Fasting at the entrance to the temple and at the exit from it - 3 times.
2. In fasting after each chorus to the song of the Theotokos "We magnify you."
3. At the beginning of the singing "It is worthy and righteous to eat."
4. After "We'll sing to you."
5. After "It is worthy to eat" or Zadostoynik.
6. At the exclamation: "And vouchsafe us, Lord."
7. When taking out the Holy Gifts, at the words "Come with the fear of God and faith", and the second time - at the words "Always, now and forever."
8. In great post, at Great Compline, while singing "Most Holy Lady" - on every verse; while singing "Our Lady of the Virgin, rejoice" and so on. Three prostrations are performed at Lenten Vespers.
9. In fasting, while praying "Lord and Master of my life."
10. In fasting at the final chant: "Remember me, Lord, when you come into Your Kingdom." Only 3 earthly bows.

Belt bow without the sign of the cross
1. At the words of the priest "Peace to all"
2. "God bless you"
3. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ",
4. "And let there be mercies of the Great God" and
5. At the words of the deacon, “And forever and ever” (after the exclamation of the priest “For thou art holy, our God” before the singing of the Trisagion).

You are not supposed to be baptized.
1. During the psalms.
2. Generally while singing.
3. During litanies, to that kliros who sings the litanian refrains
4. You need to be baptized and bow down at the end of the singing, and not at all at the last words.

Prostrations are not allowed.
On Sundays, on the days from the Nativity of Christ to Baptism, from Easter to Pentecost, on the feast of the Transfiguration and Exaltation (on this day there are three earthly bows to the Cross). Bows stop from the evening entrance before the feast to “Vouchify, Lord” at Vespers on the very day of the feast.

ICONS IN THE HOUSE
Savior Not Made by Hands

Icon is a Greek word and is translated as “image”. Holy Bible says that Jesus Christ himself was the first to give people His visible image.
Ruled during the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Syrian city of Edessa, King Abgar was seriously ill with leprosy. Having learned that in Palestine, there is a great "prophet and miracle worker" Jesus, who teaches about the Kingdom of God and heals any diseases in people, Abgar believed in Him, and sent his court painter Ananias to give Jesus the letter of Abgar, asking for healing and repentance. In addition, he ordered the painter to paint a portrait of Jesus. But the artist failed to make a portrait, "because of the shining brilliance of His face." To help him, the Lord himself came. He took a piece of fabric and applied it to His Divine face, which is why His divine image was imprinted on the fabric by the power of grace. Having received this Holy Icon, the first icon created by the Lord Himself, Abgar venerated it with faith and received healing for his faith.
Behind it miraculously the name was fixed - * Savior Not Made by Hands *.

The purpose of the icon
The main purpose of the icon is to help people rise above worldly fuss, to assist in prayer. “An icon is an embodied prayer. It is created in prayer and for the sake of prayer, the driving force of which is love for God, striving for Him as perfect Beauty.
The icon is called upon to awaken in the future before it the spiritual need to pray, to bow down to God in repentance, to seek consolation in sorrows and prayers.

What icons should be in the house of an Orthodox Christian
At home, it is imperative to have icons of the Savior and the Mother of God. From the images of the Savior, for home prayer, they usually choose a half-length image of the Lord Almighty. A characteristic feature of this iconographic type is the image of the Lord with a blessing hand and an open or closed book. Also, often for the home they acquire the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands.
The icon of the Mother of God is most often chosen from the following iconographic types:
"Tenderness" ("Eleusa") - Vladimirskaya, Donskaya, Pochaevskaya, Feodorovskaya, Tolgskaya, "Recovery of the dead" and others;
"Guidebook" ("Hodegetria") - Kazan, Tikhvin, "Skoroposlushnitsa", Iverskaya, Georgian, "Three Hands", etc.
Usually in Rus' it is accepted in every home iconostasis to dispose of the icon of St. Nicholas, Bishop of the World of Lycia (Nikola the Pleasant). Of the Russian saints, images are most often found St. Sergius Radonezhsky and Seraphim of Sarov; of the icons of the martyrs, the icons of George the Victorious and the healer Panteleimon are very often placed. If space permits, it is desirable to have images of the holy Evangelists, St. John the Baptist, the archangels Gabriel and Michael.
If desired, you can add icons of patrons. For example: The patrons of the family. - Holy noble Prince Peter (in monasticism David) and Princess Fevronia
Saints Peter and Fevronia are a model of Christian marriage. With their prayers, they bring down the heavenly blessing on those who are getting married.
- the holy martyrs and confessors Guriy, Samon and Aviv - are known among Orthodox Christians as the patrons of matrimony, marriage, a happy family; they are prayed “if a husband innocently hates his wife” - they are the intercessors of a woman in a difficult marriage. PATRON OF CHILDREN. Holy Infant Martyr Gabriel of Bialystok

How to Pray RIGHT. Prayers are read according to certain RULES. The rule is the order of reading prayers, fixed by the Church, their composition and sequence. There are: morning, afternoon and evening rule, the rule for Holy Communion.
Each of the rules has almost the same beginning - the initial prayers:

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

King of Heaven...
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (thrice).
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen.
Holy Trinity, have mercy on us...
Lord, have mercy ... (three times).
Glory to the Father and to the Son...
Our Father …"
these opening prayers are followed by the rest.

If you are limited in time, then use, prayer rule, Seraphim of Sarovsky:
After sleep, having washed, first of all, you need to stand in front of the icons and, reverently crossing yourself, read three times Lord's Prayer*Our Father*. Then three times * Mother of God Virgin, rejoice * and, finally, the Creed.

Is it possible to pray in your own words? Yes, but within certain restrictions.
The Church does not forbid praying in your own words. Moreover, she points to this and prescribes, say, in the morning rule: “Briefly offer a prayer for the salvation of your spiritual father, your parents, relatives, bosses, benefactors, known to you, sick or in sorrow.” Thus, we can tell the Lord in our own words about what concerns our acquaintances or ourselves personally, about what was not said in the prayers placed in the prayer book.
However, without reaching spiritual perfection, praying with the words that come to mind, even if they come from the depths of the soul, we can only remain at our level of spirituality. By joining the prayers of the saints, trying to delve into their words, each time we become a little higher and better spiritually.
The Lord Himself has given us an example of how to pray. The prayer left by Him to His disciples is called the Lord's. It exists in all prayer books and is part of church services. This is a prayer - *Our Father*.

The Lord's Prayer (given to us by Jesus Christ)
Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be thy name, may thy kingdom come,
May Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us our daily bread for this day;
and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors;
and do not let us fall into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
**********

SYMBOL OF FAITH:
I believe in one God the Father, the Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, everything visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, begotten from the Father before the beginning of time; Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, through whom all things were created.
For us for the sake of people and for our sake of salvation, he descended from heaven and was incarnated from the Holy Spirit and Mary the Virgin, and became a man. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and rose again on the third day, as the Scriptures foretold. And ascended into heaven and reigns with the Father. And coming again in glory to judge 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, with the Father and the Son equally worshiped and glorified, who spoke through the prophets.
Into one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. I look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.
The Creed - A Summary of the Basics Orthodox faith drawn up on I and II Ecumenical Councils in the IV century; recited in the morning as a daily prayer.

PSALM 50.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy, and according to the multitude of Thy mercies, cleanse my iniquities. Wash me from all my iniquities, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my iniquities, and my sin is always before me. I have sinned against You alone, and I have done evil before You, so that You are right in Your judgment and just in Your judgment. From my very birth I am guilty before You; I am a sinner from my conception in my mother's womb. But You love the sincere in heart and reveal to them the secrets of wisdom. Sprinkle me with hyssop and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Return joy and gladness to my soul, and my bones, broken by Thee, will rejoice. Turn Your face away from my sins and cleanse all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in me. Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Give me back the joy of Thy salvation, and by Thy Sovereign Spirit confirm me. I will teach the transgressors Your ways, and the wicked will turn to You. Deliver me from premature death, O God, God my salvation, and my tongue will praise Your righteousness. God! Open my mouth, and my mouth will proclaim Your praise. For you do not desire sacrifice—I would give it—and you do not delight in burnt offerings. A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; God will not despise the heart of the contrite and humble. Renew Zion, O God, by Thy mercy; raise up the walls of Jerusalem. Then righteous sacrifices will please Thee; then they will offer sacrifices to you on your altar.

* Song of the Most Holy Theotokos:
Virgin Mother of God, rejoice, Blessed Mary, the Lord is with you; blessed are you in women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, as if the Savior gave birth to our souls.

* Prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos:
O Most Holy Lady Theotokos! Raise us, servant of God (names), from the depths of sin and deliver us from sudden death and from all evil. Grant, Madam, peace and health to us and enlighten our minds and eyes of the heart, even to salvation, and vouchsafe us, Thy sinful servants, the Kingdom of Thy Son, Christ our God: for His power is blessed with the Father and His Most Holy Spirit.

*A simpler prayer -
Most Holy Mother of God, pray to Your Son and God for the revelation of my mind and for the blessing of my undertakings, and for sending down help from above in my affairs, and forgiving my sins, and for receiving eternal blessings. Amen.

PRAYERS BEFORE EATING AND AFTER EATING FOOD
Blessing food or thanksgiving prayer, pronounced before the start of the meal.
Prayer can be read sitting or standing. But, if there are people professing a different faith, then it is better not to say the prayer out loud!
Prayer, in content, can be short or lengthy. The three options below for prayers before a meal are the most common, as they are the most concise:

1. Lord, bless us and these Thy gifts, which we partake of bounty
yours. In the name of Christ our Lord, amen.

2. Bless, Lord, this food so that it goes for our good and gives
strength to serve You and help those who need it. Amen.

3. Let us thank the Lord for the meal that is given to us. Amen.

We present you other options for prayers before meals:

1. Our Father ... Or: The eyes of all are turned to You, Lord, and You give food to everyone at the right time,
you open your generous hand and satisfy all living things.

2. We thank You, Christ our God, for You have satisfied us with Your earthly blessings. Don't deprive us
Your Heavenly Kingdom, but as you once came to Your disciples, granting them peace, come to us and save us.

Often, believers, before and after eating, simply read three prayers: “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen". "Lord, have mercy" (three times). “Through the prayers of Your Most Pure Mother and all Your saints, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us. Amen".

And, if you want to have a snack with an apple or a sandwich, for example, then the clergy recommend simply to cross yourself or cross what you eat!

PRAYERS FOR THE COMING DREAM:
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the sake of Your Most Pure Mother, our reverend and God-bearing fathers and all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of Truth, Who is everywhere and fills everything, Treasury of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Blessed, 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 forever and forever and ever. Amen.
Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Lord, forgive our iniquities; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Your name's sake.
Lord have mercy. (Three times)

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.
Our Father, Who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

* Prayer of St. Macarius the Great, to God the Father
Eternal God and the King of every creature, having made me sing even at this hour, forgive me the sins that I have done in this day by deed, word and thought, and cleanse, Lord, my humble soul from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. And give me, Lord, in this night this dream to pass in peace, but having risen from my humble bed, I will please holy name Yours, all the days of my belly, and I will stop the enemies of the flesh and the fleshless who fight me. And deliver me, O Lord, from vain thoughts that defile me, and from evil lusts. For Yours is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

* Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Lord, the King of Heaven, the Comforter, the Soul of truth, have mercy and have mercy on me, Your sinful servant, and let me go unworthy, and forgive all, the tree You have sinned today as a man, more so, and not as a man, but also more woefully than cattle, my free sins and involuntary, known and unknown: even from youth and science are evil, and even from impudence and despondency. If I swear by Your name, or blaspheme in my thoughts; or whom I reproach; or I slandered whom with my anger, or grieved, or about what I became angry; or lied, or was worthless, or came to me poor, and despised him; or my brother grieved, or married, or whom I condemned; or you become proud, or you become proud, or you become angry; or standing by me in prayer, my mind moving about the wickedness of this world, or the corruption of thoughts; or overeat, or drunk, or laughing madly; or a crafty thought, or seeing a strange kindness, and by that wounded by the heart; or unlike the verbs, or the sin of my brother laughed, but my essence is countless sins; or about prayer, not radih, or otherwise that crafty deeds, I don’t remember, that’s all and more than these deeds. Have mercy on me, my Creator, my Lord, a sad and unworthy servant of Yours, and leave me, and let go, and forgive me, as a Good and Humanitarian, but I will lie down in peace, sleep and rest, prodigal, sinful and accursed az, and I will worship and sing And I will glorify Your honorable name, with the Father and His Only Begotten Son, now and forever and forever. Amen.

*Prayer
Lord our God, if I have sinned in these days in word, deed and thought, forgive me as Good and Lover of mankind. Peaceful sleep and serene grant me. Send your guardian angel, covering and keeping me from all evil, as if you are the guardian of our souls and our bodies, and we send glory to you, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen.

* Prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for the sake of Your most honest Mother, and Your bodiless Angels, the Prophet and Forerunner and Your Baptist, the apostles of God, the bright and victorious martyrs, the reverend and God-bearing father, and all the saints with prayers, deliver me from the present demonic condition. Hey, my Lord and Creator, do not want the death of a sinner, but as if to turn and live to be him, give me the conversion of the accursed and unworthy; deliver me from the mouth of the destructive serpent that gapes, devour me and bring me down to hell alive. Hey, my Lord, my consolation, Even for the sake of the accursed in corruptible flesh, throw me out of wretchedness, and give consolation to my wretched soul. Plant in my heart to do Thy commandments, and leave evil deeds, and receive Thy blessedness: in Thee, O Lord, trust, save me.

* Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos
Good Tsar, good Mother, Most Pure and Blessed Mother of God Mary, pour out the mercy of Your Son and our God on my passionate soul and with Your prayers instruct me in good deeds, so that the rest of my life will pass without a blemish and I will find paradise with You, Virgin Mother of God, one Pure and Blessed.

* Prayer to the Holy Guardian Angel
Angel of Christ, my holy guardian and protector of my soul and body, forgive me all, the fir-tree of sinning in this day, and deliver me from every wickedness of the enemy, but in no sin will I anger my God; but pray for me a sinful and unworthy slave, as if I were worthy, show the goodness and mercy of the All-Holy Trinity and the Mother of my Lord Jesus Christ and all the saints. Amen.

Prayer to the Holy Life-Giving Cross:
Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered, and let those who hate Him flee from His face. As the smoke disappears, let them disappear; like wax melts from the face of fire, so let the demons perish from the face loving God and signing the sign of the cross, and saying in joy: Rejoice, Most Honorable and Life-Giving Cross Lord, drive away the demons by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, crucified on you, who descended into hell and corrected the strength of the devil, and gave us His Honest Cross to drive away every adversary. O Most Honorable and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord! Help me with the Holy Lady Virgin Mother of God and with all the saints forever. Amen.
Or briefly:
Protect me, Lord, by the power of Your Honorable and Life-Giving Cross, and save me from all evil.

*Prayer
Weaken, leave, forgive, God, our sins, free and involuntary, even in word and in deed, even in knowledge and not in knowledge, even in days and nights, even in mind and in thought: forgive us all, as Good and Humanitarian.
*Prayer
Forgive those who hate and offend us, Lord, Lover of mankind. Bless those who do good. Grant to our brethren and relatives even for the salvation of petitions and eternal life. In the infirmities of the being, visit and grant healing. Izhe govern the sea. Travel travel. Grant forgiveness to those who serve and pardon us of sins. Those who have commanded us unworthy to pray for them, have mercy according to Your great mercy. Remember, Lord, before our departed father and brothers, and give them rest, where the light of Thy face dwells. Remember, Lord, our captive brothers and deliver me from every situation. Remember, Lord, those who bear fruit and do good in Your holy churches, and grant them even salvation, petitions and eternal life. Remember, Lord, also us, the humble and sinful and unworthy servants of Thy, and enlighten our minds with the light of Thy mind, and guide us on the path of Thy commandments, with the prayers of our Most Pure Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary, and all Thy saints: blessed be Thou forever and ever . Amen.

*Confession of sins DAILY:
I confess to you the Lord my God and Creator, in Holy Trinity To the one, glorified and worshiped, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, all my sins, even if I have done all the days of my stomach, and for every hour, and now, and in the past days and nights, deed, word, thought, obsession, drunkenness, secret eating, idle talk, despondency, laziness, slander, disobedience, slander, condemnation, negligence, pride, acquisitiveness, theft, ill-spokenness, foul profit, mischief, jealousy, envy, anger, remembrance, malice, hatred, covetousness and all my feelings: sight, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and my other sins, spiritual and bodily together, in the image of you my God and the Creator of anger, and my neighbor untrue: regretting these, I present myself guilty to you, my God, and I have the will to repent: just, Lord God my, help me, with tears I humbly pray to Thee: forgive me, who has passed my sins by Thy mercy, and resolve from all these, even I have spoken before Thee, as Good and Humanitarian.

When you go to sleep, be sure to say:

* In Your hands, Lord Jesus Christ, my God, I commit my spirit: You bless me, You have mercy on me and grant me eternal life. Amen.*

God bless and save you!!!

Prayer is not a request, not a statement, not a report for the work done. Rather, it is like a person. Who this person is for you is up to you. The manner and content of our conversations, with anyone, always depends on how we treat our interlocutor. Similarly, prayer directly depends on our relationship to God. A frequently asked question is whether it is possible to read prayers while sitting or lying down.

It cannot be said that there are strict requirements for reading prayers, but certain generally accepted norms and rules still exist.

What are the prayers

There are prayers both public and private:

• Public worship is collective prayer. In many religions, they are considered the most powerful and effective. They are performed during the Liturgy, Matins or Vespers.
• Private - those that a person reads alone. They are recognized as necessary on a par with collective ones. Such prayers are also called smart prayers.

Prayer can be:

• external (spoken out loud);
• internal (mental).

Both prayers are equal in meaning, the main thing here is the right mental attitude.

Prayers differ in content

• Pleading. They express any (material, spiritual) needs of praying people.
• laudatory. In Orthodoxy, they are put in the first place. The one who prays gives praise to the Lord.
• Thanksgiving prayers. They express a person's gratitude to God for the blessings that are available.
• Prayers of repentance. They are practically not singled out as a separate type of prayer. More often they are considered as a kind of petitions.

Prayer Rules

• From the Jews came the rule to pray standing up.
• From them - the rule of kneeling.
• There is a rule of raising hands at the time of worship.
• Men should pray with their heads uncovered.
• Women should cover their heads with a scarf when praying.
• You can pray at any time of the day.

Someone sees in God a loving creator who knows our human weaknesses, understands problems and is ready for momentary help. Some see God as a reflection of themselves. Some are like a friend.

Any conception of God is correct, as long as it is based on trust. Talking to God should be sincere and necessary for you. After all, it is impossible to establish good relations without communication and conversation. If you want to receive comfort and help in prayer, read it sincerely.

And answering the question whether it is possible to read prayers while sitting, I would like to answer with the words of the Apostle Paul, who said: “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is useful.” If your physical condition does not allow you to pray standing up, of course, you can sit down. But it is very important to understand at the same time - what drives you? Laziness or pain. After all, sometimes. In this case, the power of his prayer is no less than that of a standing person, for his reading goes through physical suffering. If a person is simply tired, then it is worth overcoming yourself and getting up. The charter regulates when you can sit and when you stand during the service.

The life of a believing Christian is inextricably linked with the practice of prayer. The question of how to pray to God correctly is asked by both the new Orthodox and those who have long been churched.

What is prayer and why do we need it?

According to the holy fathers, prayer is the mother of all virtues. This is the only way we can communicate with the Almighty. hallmark Christianity is that the Lord Jesus Christ is perceived as the Living God, as a Person to whom one can always turn and who will surely hear.

Jesus Christ

God appeared to people through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, and it is through Christ that we discover Him for ourselves. Such an opening is only possible through prayer.

Important! Prayer is an instrument of unity with God available to us.

In the ordinary sense, prayer is often considered either as some kind of mystical conspiracy, or as a way to beg God for something necessary in earthly life. Both of these understandings are fundamentally wrong. The Holy Fathers often write that when turning to the Lord, it is best not to ask for anything at all, but simply to stand before Him and repent of your sins.

Read about penitential prayers:

Target Orthodox prayer- establish a spiritual connection with the Almighty, feel Him in your heart. The Lord knows all our needs and needs, He can satisfy them without our request. Of course, it is not forbidden to ask God for some necessary worldly blessings, but one cannot dwell on such an attitude and make it a goal.

Many novice Christians often wonder why we need to pray if the Lord himself knows everything we need. This is true, and many saints in their appeals to God did not ask for anything earthly at all. Turning to the Almighty is not necessary in order to get something desired. The main goal is to connect with God, to be with Him every moment of your life.

When exactly can you pray?

The Bible contains the words of the Apostle Paul, who calls us to constant prayer. John the Theologian argues that you need to turn to Christ even more often than take a breath. Thus, the ideal is when all human life turns into a constant standing before the Lord.

It can be said with certainty that a lot of troubles came precisely from the fact that a person forgot about the All-Seeing Lord. It is difficult to imagine a criminal committing an atrocity with the thought of Jesus being crucified for his own sins.

Important! A person falls under the influence of sin precisely when he loses the memory of God.

Since modern people there is no way to be in prayer all day, you need to find a certain time for it. So, waking up in the morning, even the busiest person can find a couple of minutes to stand in front of the icons and ask the Lord for blessings for the new day. During the day, you can repeat to yourself brief prayers to the Mother of God, the Lord, your Guardian Angel. You can do this to yourself, completely imperceptibly to others.

Special time - before going to bed. It is then that you need to look at the day you lived, draw conclusions about how spiritually it was spent, what we sinned about. Prayer before going to bed calms, eliminates the fuss of the past day, sets you up for a quiet peaceful sleep. We must not forget to thank the Lord for all the blessings during the day and for the fact that it was lived by us.

It may seem to a beginner that it takes a lot of time to do this, and now everyone is in short supply. In fact, no matter how fast the pace of our life is, there are always pauses in it when we can remember God. Waiting for transport, queues, traffic jams and much more can be turned into annoying factors at a time when we raise our mind to Heaven.

What should be the words of the prayer for God to hear them?

A common reason why people do not want to turn to God is ignorance of prayers or a misunderstanding of complex church texts. In fact, for the Lord to hear us, He does not need any words at all. In the practice of church worship, the Church Slavonic language is used, and the rite of the service itself is strictly defined. However, at home, in your personal prayer, you can use completely different texts.

The words themselves do not have a defining meaning, it is not magic conspiracies or spells. The basis of prayer that God hears is the pure and open heart of a person, aspiring to Him. Therefore, personal prayer can be characterized by such signs:

• brevity;
• simplicity;
• sincerity;
• attention;

It is very important during prayer not to scatter attention around, but to focus it on what is being said. This is not so easy to do, so at the beginning of the Christian life, you can choose a few short prayers that you can read with maximum attention, without being distracted by anything extraneous. Over time, acquiring skill, you can constantly expand and increase the rule.

Interesting! In the Gospel we see the image of the publican who saved his soul, whose prayer was extremely brief: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner."

Of course, there is a basic list of prayers that everyone who considers himself an Orthodox Christian should know by heart. This is at least "Our Father", "I believe", "Our Lady, Virgin, rejoice ...", the Jesus prayer. Knowing these texts by heart, you can call on the help of the Heavenly Forces in any situation.

Why is a prayer rule necessary?

If the Almighty does not need words so much, then the question arises, why then were prayer rules and ready-made texts invented, moreover, often long and complex? The Holy Fathers say that this is the payment for our impenitence and hardness of heart.

If man could completely pure heart say the most a short prayer"Lord, have mercy" - he would have been saved by now. But the thing is, we can't pray that earnestly. And a person really needs constancy and a special routine of prayer work.

A prayer rule is a list of texts that a person reads regularly. Most often, the rules from prayer books are taken as a basis, but you can also choose an individual list for each person. It is advisable to coordinate the list with the spiritual father or at least a priest who can give helpful advice.

About some prayer rules:

• Prayer Rule of Schema-Nun Anthony for Murdered Babies

Compliance with the prayer rule helps a person to organize himself, build a life more clearly, planned. Not always the rule will come easy, vanity Everyday life often leads to laziness, fatigue, unwillingness to pray. In this case, you need to try to overpower yourself, to compel.

Important! The gospel says that the Kingdom God's power taken - it's not about physical strength, but about efforts to change one's own life and old habits.

You need to choose a rule wisely, taking into account your spiritual capabilities. If a novice Christian is given obedience to read too long a rule, then this will quickly lead to fatigue, boredom and inattention. A person will either begin to read texts mechanically, or will completely abandon such an activity.

On the other hand, it is not useful for a person who has been churched for a long time to impose too small and short a rule on himself, as this will lead to relaxation in his spiritual life. Whatever your rule, you should never forget that the main condition for prayer that God hears is the sincere disposition of the heart of the one who prays.

What is the difference between home and church prayer

Since an Orthodox Christian is called to pray constantly and can do it almost anywhere, many people have a question why it is necessary to pray in the temple. There is a definite difference between church prayer and personal prayer.

The Church was founded by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, therefore, since ancient times, Orthodox Christians have gathered in communities to glorify the Lord. Church conciliar prayer has great power, and there are many testimonies of believers about grace-filled help after the service in the Church.

Church communion presupposes obligatory participation in divine services. How to pray for God to hear? To do this, you need to come to the temple and try to understand the essence of worship. At first it may seem complicated, but over time everything will become clear. In addition, special books are published to help the novice Christian, explaining everything that happens in the church. You can buy them in the icon shop.

Prayer by agreement - what is it?

In addition to the usual personal and church prayers in practice Orthodox Church there is the concept of prayer by agreement. Its essence lies in the fact that at the same time different people one and the same appeal to God or a saint is read. At the same time, people can be completely in different parts of the world - it is not at all necessary to gather together.

Most often, such doing is done to help someone in extremely difficult or difficult life situations. For example, when serious illnesses of a person, his relatives can unite and together ask the Lord to grant healing to the suffering. The power of such a call is great, because, in the words of the Lord himself, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them."

On the other hand, one cannot consider such an appeal to the Almighty as a kind of ritual or a way of fulfilling desires. As already mentioned, the Lord perfectly knows all our needs, and if we ask for something, then we need to do it with confidence in His holy will. Sometimes it happens that prayer does not bring the expected fruit for one simple reason - a person asks for something that is extremely unprofitable for his soul. In this case, it may seem that God does not answer the request. In fact, this is not so - God will definitely send us something that will benefit.

Watch a video on how to pray to God the right way.