According to the works of the saint, prayer is “the offering of our petitions to God”, “the greatest virtue, a means of uniting man with God”, “communion of life”, “the door to all spiritual gifts”, “the highest exercise for the mind”, “the head, the source, mother of all virtues"; it is “food”, “book”, “science”, “life” of all Christians, and especially the holy desert dwellers.
What is the need for prayer? The fact is that we have fallen away from God, have lost bliss, eternal joy, but we strive to find what we have lost and therefore we pray. Thus, prayer is “the turning of a fallen and repentant person to God. Prayer is the cry of a fallen and repentant person before God. Prayer is the outpouring of the heart’s desires, petitions, sighs of a fallen man killed by sin before God.” And prayer itself, to some extent, is already the return of what was lost, since our bliss lies in the lost communion with God; in prayer we find it again, since in prayer we ascend to communion with God. “We need prayer: it assimilates a person to God. Without it, a person is alien to God, and the more he practices prayer, the closer he gets to God.” This is the principle of spiritual life that St. John Climacus pointed out: “After remaining in prayer for a long time and not seeing fruit, do not say: I have not acquired anything. For the very stay in prayer is already an acquisition; and what good is greater than this - to cleave to the Lord and remain unceasingly in union with Him.”
It is worth remembering that in the Fall, man inherited not only physical, but also spiritual death, since he lost communion with the Holy Spirit. In carelessness, we also lose the grace of baptism that regenerates us. But in prayer we are reborn again through the communion of our soul with the Spirit of God. “What air is to the life of the body, the Holy Spirit is to the life of the soul. The soul, through prayer, breathes this holy, mysterious air.” And prayer “from the union of the human spirit with the Spirit of the Lord” gives birth to spiritual virtues, “it borrows virtues from the source of goods - God, and assimilates them to the person who through prayer tries to remain in communion with God.”
Regarding the performance of prayer, Saint Ignatius pointed out two main points: correctness and constancy.
To achieve success in prayer, it is necessary to do it correctly, then it will lead us to the desired goal - communication with God. Correct prayer is taught by those who have already performed it correctly, who have achieved communion with God - the holy fathers, and this means that it is necessary to get acquainted with their writings. But it is important to pay attention to the fact that “of true prayer, the true Teacher - God alone, the holy teachers - men - give only the initial concepts of prayer, indicate the correct mood in which the grace-filled teaching about prayer can be communicated by delivering supernatural, spiritual thoughts and sensations . These thoughts and sensations come from the Holy Spirit and are communicated by the Holy Spirit.” Hence, correct prayer can only be learned through experience, in personal prayerful appeal to God. Prayer cannot be learned from the words of others; only the Lord gives us the correct prayer when we try to find it and constantly remain in it.
However, Saint Ignatius, who himself has experienced all the stages of prayer, suggests what correct prayer should be, or rather, what the inner mood of a praying person should be.
We all, of course, know that prayer is inspired by our personal, sincere faith in God, trust in His Providence and care for us. Saint Ignatius confirms this: “Faith is the basis of prayer. Whoever believes in God, as he should believe, will certainly turn to God in prayer and will not deviate from prayer until he receives the promises of God, until he assimilates to God and unites with God.” Prayer is inspired by faith in order to ascend to the very throne of God, and faith is the soul of prayer. Faith makes the mind and heart constantly strive for God, it is faith that introduces into the soul the conviction that we are under the constant gaze of God, and this conviction teaches us to constantly walk before God with reverence, being in His sacred fear (that is, the fear of sinning even in thought, How can one lose communion with God?)
At the same time, few people know that faith is a natural property of the soul, planted in us by God, and therefore it often flares up or goes out from the action of our own will. What does the power of faith depend on? According to the saint, it depends on the degree of our rejection of sin, and where there is living faith in God, there is living prayer to God; only through the power of living faith is the unlimited power of God embraced; the prayer of such a person raises his created spirit to unity with the uncreated Spirit of God.
In prayer, we submit ourselves to the will of God, we ask for God’s will, and for this we reject in ourselves that which opposes God’s will. And this means that in prayer it is important to show self-sacrifice. “Carnal feelings,” writes the saint, “flowing from carnal kinship, prevent the assimilation of spiritual feelings and the very activity according to the spiritual law, which requires crucifixion for carnal wisdom. You must seek spiritual success in cutting off your will. This work mortifies passions and removes, as if from hell, from carnal wisdom. In one who cuts off his own will, the effect of prayer appears by itself when he exercises attentive prayer with the conclusion of the mind in the words of prayer. If a person is not first purified by cutting off his will, then true prayerful action will never be revealed in him. When the prayer action is revealed, then it will become clear that it is nothing more than a complete rejection of one’s will for the sake of the will of God.”
Now let’s pay attention to what is overlooked by so many. Often we wish that through prayer we would achieve self-improvement, spiritual strength, and perhaps even special gifts of grace. However, such a mood presupposes a certain self-interest, which may be followed by a deceptive impression of what has been achieved, that is, charm. Saint Ignatius warned: “Do not seek prematurely high spiritual states and prayerful delights.” “Do not look for pleasures in prayer: they are by no means characteristic of a sinner. The desire of a sinner to feel pleasure is already self-delusion. Seek for your dead, petrified heart to come to life, so that it opens up to the feeling of its sinfulness, its fall, its insignificance, so that it sees them, confesses to them with selflessness.”
Of course, prayer leads to spiritual perfection and introduces us to the gracious power of God, but this should not be considered as a special goal, but is presented only as a consequence of unity with God. Otherwise, self-interest lurks in the soul, an attempt to satisfy the desire of one’s separate “I,” separate precisely from God. In this case, the thought of St. Nicodemus the Holy Mountain is similar to the teaching of St. Ignatius: for us, true and correct spiritual life consists in doing everything only for the sake of pleasing God and precisely because He Himself wants it that way. In other words, we begin to pray because it pleases God so much that we have moved away from Him, and in Him lies our whole life, all our good, and therefore we need to constantly lift our minds and hearts to Him.
According to Saint Ignatius, we must be unselfish even in relation to acquiring the grace of the Holy Spirit. “Many, having received grace, have become careless, arrogant and presumptuous; The grace given to them served, due to their foolishness, only to their greater condemnation.” We should not deliberately wait for the coming of grace, since this implies the idea that we are already worthy of grace. “God comes of its own accord - at a time when we do not expect it and do not hope to receive it. But in order for God’s favor to follow us, we must first purify ourselves by repentance. In repentance all the commandments of God are combined. By repentance a Christian is led first into the fear of God, then into Divine love.” “Let us engage in the Jesus Prayer unselfishly,” calls Saint Ignatius, “with simplicity and directness of intention, with the goal of repentance, with faith in God, with complete devotion to the will of God, with trust in the wisdom, goodness, and omnipotence of this holy will.”
So, it is repentance that is the spirit that should fill our prayer. “True prayer is the voice of true repentance. When prayer is not animated by repentance, then it does not fulfill its purpose, then God is not pleased with it.” The first thing St. Ignatius draws attention to regarding repentance is seeing your sin. Without seeing our shortcomings, we will not be able to get rid of them, we will not feel that we generally need to pray before the Lord. “The more a person looks into his sin, the more he goes into crying about himself, the more pleasant he is, the more accessible he is to the Holy Spirit, Who, like a doctor, approaches only those who recognize themselves as sick; on the contrary, he turns away from those who are rich with their vain self-conceit.” He who seeks to reveal his sinfulness casts himself in contrition of heart before God; not even a shadow of an opinion about himself will arise in him. He is alien to any falsehood, unnaturalness, self-deception. The vision of one’s weaknesses and insignificance prompts one to rush to God in pure prayer. “All the hope of such a soul is concentrated in God, and therefore there is no reason for it to be entertained during prayer; she prays, combining her strength into one and rushing to God with all her being; she resorts to prayer as often as possible, she prays unceasingly.” “Through attentive prayer, let us seek to turn the eyes of the mind on ourselves in order to discover our sinfulness within ourselves. When we open it, let us stand mentally before our Lord Jesus Christ in the face of the lepers, the blind, the deaf, the lame, the paralytic, the demoniac; Let us begin before Him from the poverty of our spirit, from a heart crushed by illness over our sinfulness, a lamentable cry of prayer.” And therefore, the second thing the saint teaches about repentance is the cry of the heart, the cry of the human spirit about itself, about its distance from God, born from the sight of one’s sin. “Whoever combines crying with prayer strives according to the direction of God Himself, struggles correctly and legally. In due time he will reap abundant fruit: the joy of certain salvation. He who has eliminated crying from prayer is working contrary to God’s establishment and will not reap any fruit. Not only that, but he will reap the thorns of conceit, self-delusion, and destruction.” At the same time, it is important to know that crying does not necessarily mean tears - tearfulness in itself is not a virtue; rather, on the contrary, it is cowardice. By crying, Saint Ignatius understands a special type of humility, consisting in a heartfelt feeling of repentance, in the sorrow of the heart for our fall, in deep sadness for the sinfulness and weakness of man.
True prayer is not compatible with artistry. It should not be pronounced as if for show, in an emphatically eloquent manner, with passion, or in emotional excitement. From this, one’s “I” comes to life, arrogance enters the soul. Prayer must be imbued with simplicity, artlessness, then only it is capable of embracing the whole soul, then only we feel like a creature standing before the Almighty and All-Good God. “The robe of your soul should shine with white simplicity. Nothing should be complicated here! Evil thoughts and feelings of vanity, hypocrisy, pretense, man-pleasing, arrogance, voluptuousness should not be mixed in - these dark and fetid stains with which the spiritual clothing of praying Pharisees can be spotted.” Simplicity is alien to any insincerity, falsehood, unnaturalness, artificiality; it does not need a guise. A soul filled with simplicity does not compare itself with anyone, sees everyone better than itself, it does not imagine itself, but puts itself before God as it really is, because it completely surrenders itself to God. This should be the spirit of real prayer.
In this regard, Saint Ignatius does not advise composing his multi-verbal and eloquent prayers, since the writer is carried away by the elegance of his own expressions, and will consider delighting in the orbit of his fallen mind as a consolation of conscience or even as an act of grace, through which he will lose true prayer during the very utterance of the words of the prayer. For the Lord, more pleasant is the infantile babbling of a soul diminished by the sight of its many infirmities. “Bring to the Lord in your prayers the babbling of a child, a simple childish thought - not eloquence, not reason. If you don't contact- as if from paganism and Mohammedanism, from your complexity and duplicity - and you won't, said the Lord, like children you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven(Matthew 18:3)" We must open ourselves completely before God, open before Him all the secrets of our hearts, and our prayer to Him must be a pure and sincere sigh of the soul. “If you have acquired the village of repentance, go into the weeping of a child before God. Don’t ask if you can ask nothing from God; surrender yourself with selflessness to His will. Understand, feel that you are a creature, and God is the Creator. Surrender yourself unconsciously to the will of the Creator, bring Him one baby’s cry, bring Him a silent heart, ready to follow His will and be imprinted by His will.”
As for the very method of correctly performing prayer, Saint Ignatius saw it as enclosing the mind in the words of prayer, so that all the attention of the soul would be concentrated in the words of prayer. “The soul of prayer is attention. Just as a body without a soul is dead, so prayer without attention is dead. A prayer pronounced without attention turns into idle talk, and the one praying is thus counted among those who take the name of God in vain.” With the attention of the mind, the soul is imbued with prayer, prayer becomes the inalienable property of the one praying. At the same time, all thoughts, dreams, reflections, especially emerging images, must be rejected. The mind must remain dreamless, without O figurative, so that he is able to ascend into the immaterial land of the Holy Spirit. Attentive prayer expresses the self-sacrifice of the soul, which seeks not self-delight with the images that arise and the thoughts brought to it by fallen spirits, but fidelity to God.
When the mind pays attention to prayer, the heart begins to listen to it; the heart is imbued with the spirit of prayer, the spirit of repentance, tenderness, and blessed sadness for sins. The feelings allowed to the heart in prayer are feelings of sacred fear and reverence before God, consciousness of the presence of God and one’s deepest unworthiness before Him. There should be no enthusiasm, no heat or emotional excitement in the heart; it should be filled with prayer of silence, peace, and rest in God. And it is the attention of the mind to the words of prayer that elevates the soul to all this. “Attentive prayer, free from distraction and daydreaming, is a vision of the invisible God, drawing to itself the vision of the mind and the desire of the heart. Then the mind sees without form and completely satisfies itself with non-seeing, which surpasses all vision. The reason for this blissful invisibility is the infinite subtlety and incomprehensibility of the Object to which vision is directed. The invisible Sun of Truth - God also emits rays that are invisible, but cognizable by the clear sensation of the soul: they fill the heart with wonderful calmness, faith, courage, meekness, mercy, love for neighbors and God. By these actions, visible in the inner heart cell, a person undoubtedly recognizes that his prayer is accepted by God, begins to believe with living faith and firmly trust in the Lover and the Beloved. This is the beginning of the revival of the soul for God and blissful eternity."
And when our personal life is included in prayer, then it, prayer, becomes a mirror of our spiritual success. By the state of our prayer we will be able to judge the strength of our love for God, the depth of our repentance and how captive we are to earthly addictions. After all, as much as a person desires eternal salvation, he pays attention to prayer to God, and someone who is immersed in earthly things has no time to pray all the time.
Having learned to pray correctly, we must pray constantly, “prayer is always necessary and useful for a person: it keeps him in communion with God and under the protection of God.” Almost all the holy fathers teach about the need for unceasing prayer. And some advise praying as often as we breathe. Since we are too easily inclined towards all evil, open to the temptations of the surrounding world and the influence of fallen angels, we need constant communication with God, His protection and help, and therefore our prayer must be constant.
In order to get used to praying as often as possible, there are prayer rules. “The soul that begins the path of God is immersed in deep ignorance of everything Divine and spiritual, even if it were rich in the wisdom of this world. Because of this ignorance, she does not know how and how much she should pray. To help the infant soul, the Holy Church established prayer rules. A prayer rule is a collection of several prayers composed by the divinely inspired holy fathers, adapted to a certain circumstance and time. The purpose of the rule is to provide the soul with the amount of prayerful thoughts and feelings it lacks, moreover, thoughts and feelings that are correct, holy, and indeed, pleasing to God. The grace-filled prayers of the holy fathers are filled with such thoughts and feelings.” The rule includes daily morning and evening prayers, canons, akathists, and Saint Ignatius pointed to the akathist to the Sweetest Jesus as an excellent preparation for practicing the Jesus Prayer: “The akathist shows what thoughts can be accompanied by the Jesus Prayer, which seems extremely dry for beginners. Throughout its entire space, it depicts one sinner’s petition for mercy by the Lord Jesus Christ, but this petition is given various forms, in accordance with the infancy of the minds of the novices.”
The saint of God advises beginners to read more akathists and canons, and the Psalter after some success. The rule may also include bowing with the Jesus Prayer, as well as reading the New Testament combined with prayer; among monks, the daily prayer rule is more complete and lengthy than among the laity. It is necessary that the chosen rule be consistent with our mental and physical strength, then only it will spiritually warm us. “It is not man for the rule, but the rule for man,” St. Ignatius often reminds; It is precisely the feasible rule that easily turns into a skill and is performed constantly, which is the key to spiritual success. Saint Ignatius draws attention to the fact that even the great holy fathers, who achieved unceasing prayer, did not abandon their rule, such was the benefit for their spiritual activity from the daily prayer rule, which turned into a habit; It will also be beneficial for us: “The one who has acquired this blessed skill barely approaches the usual place of performing the rules, when his soul is already filled with a prayerful mood: he has not yet had time to utter a single word of the prayers he reads, and already tenderness flows from his heart, and his mind has deepened completely into the inner cage."
Particular attention should be paid to short prayer, in particular the Jesus Prayer. Saint Ignatius makes a significant remark that “the holy fathers actually call prayer the Jesus Prayer, which is pronounced like this: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” as well as “the prayer of the publican and other very short prayers.”
Following the spirit of the ancient holy fathers, Saint Ignatius noted the special importance of short prayer before more complete and lengthy prayers. The latter, although they have spiritually rich content, but the variety of thoughts they contain distract the mind from focusing on itself and give the mind some entertainment. A short prayer collects the mind and does not allow its attention to wander; one thought of a short prayer embraces the mind, so that the whole soul is clothed in this prayer. The Monk John Climacus wrote beautifully about this: “Do not try to be verbose when talking with God, so that your mind is not wasted on finding words... Verbosity during prayer often entertains the mind and fills it with dreams, but unanimity usually collects it.” Learning short prayer allows you to pray at any time, in any place, and the acquired skill of such prayer makes it natural to the soul.
It must be said that Saint Ignatius, with all the power of conviction, asserted that the Jesus Prayer is a Divine institution, that it is commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself: “After the Last Supper, among other sublime final commandments and testaments, the Lord Jesus Christ established prayer in His name, gave this method of prayer like a new, unusual gift, a gift of immeasurable value.” In the following words of the Lord, the holy saint sees the establishment of the Jesus Prayer: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you” (John 16:23); “And if you ask the Father anything in My name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14: 13–14); “Until now you have asked nothing in My name; pros And those and gender at Wait that your joy may be complete” (John 16:24).
You can remember that the holy apostles performed all miracles in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, they called upon His name in prayers, in His name they saw the salvation of people (there are many such examples in the book of Acts). Saint Ignatius finds glorification of the name of the Savior and prayer in this name among the earliest saints: Ignatius the God-Bearer, Hermias, and the martyr Callistratus. He considers the Jesus Prayer to be well known in the first centuries of Christianity. Thus, the legend about the martyrdom of Saint Ignatius the God-Bearer tells that when he was led to be devoured by wild beasts, he constantly called on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The torturers asked why he was doing this, and Saint Ignatius replied that “he has the name of Jesus Christ inscribed in his heart and confesses with his lips the One Whom he always carries in his heart.” It is reported about the martyr Callistratus that, while in the army, he prayed at night, often calling on the name of Jesus Christ.
The saint calls to approach prayer in the name of the Savior with childlike simplicity and faith, to perform the Jesus Prayer with reverence and fear of God. “In the name of the Lord Jesus, revival is given to the soul killed by sin. The Lord Jesus Christ is Life (see: John 11:25), and His name is living: it gives life to those who cry to him to the Source of life, the Lord Jesus Christ.” The Jesus Prayer protects a person from the temptations of the world around him, delivers him from the influence of fallen spirits, it introduces him to the Spirit of Christ, and leads him to deification. “The name of the Lord is more than any name: it is a source of delight, a source of joy, a source of life; it is Spirit; it gives life, changes, melts, idolizes.”
At the same time, it is important to know that it is impossible to immediately ascend to the heights of prayer. There is a certain sequence in performing the Jesus Prayer, certain steps in the prayerful ascent to God. According to the teachings of St. Ignatius, these are such steps as oral prayer, mental prayer, heartfelt prayer, spiritual prayer. Moreover, in the description of all types of prayer actions, the same principle is proposed, which will protect against possible mistakes. This principle is as follows: “Saint John Climacus advises to enclose the mind in the words of prayer and, no matter how many times it withdraws from the words, to introduce it again. This mechanism is especially useful and especially convenient. When the mind is thus attentive, then the heart will enter into sympathy with the mind with tenderness - prayer will be performed jointly with the mind and heart.” When following this principle, a step-by-step passage of prayer steps is proposed as follows.
The first type of performing the Jesus Prayer is performing it orally, publicly, verbally. It consists of verbally pronouncing the words of the Jesus Prayer while paying attention to them with the mind. “Let us first learn to pray attentively, verbally and publicly, then we will conveniently learn to pray with our mind alone in the silence of our inner cell.”
Of course, oral prayer, since it is pronounced with the tongue, is also a manifestation of the external, and not the internal, feat of a Christian. However, oral prayer already exists together with mental prayer when it is accompanied by the attention of the mind. “Oral, public prayer, like any other, must certainly be accompanied by attention. With attention, the benefits of verbal prayer are innumerable. The ascetic must begin with it.” “It is essential for each and every person to begin learning to pray in the name of the Lord Jesus by performing the Jesus Prayer orally while enclosing the mind in the words of the prayer. By enclosing the mind in the words of prayer, the strictest attention to these words is depicted, without which prayer is like a body without a soul.” In the attention of the mind to the words of prayer - the method of St. John of the Climacus - lies the entire connection between oral prayer and mental activity; without this, oral prayer cannot benefit the soul. And therefore it is necessary to say the prayer slowly, quietly, calmly, with tenderness of the heart, to say it a little out loud, in order to drive away all the enemy thoughts that come, to collect the mind, to enclose it in the spoken words.
Verbal prayer, when attention is acquired and kept undistracted, over time turns into prayer smart And cardiac. Because “attentive vocal prayer is both mental and heartfelt.” From frequent practice in vocal prayer, the lips and tongue are sanctified, made incapable of serving sin, and sanctification cannot but be imparted to the soul. Therefore, Saint Ignatius cites as an example the Monks Sergius of Radonezh, Hilarion of Suzdal, Seraphim of Sarov and some other saints who did not give up oral and vocal prayer throughout their lives and were honored with the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit. These saints “had their mind, heart, whole soul and whole body united with their voice and lips; they said the prayer with all their souls, with all their strength, with all their being, with all their humanity.”
To engage in mental and then heartfelt prayer, spiritual maturity is already required. Prayer is called “clever when pronounced with the mind with deep attention, with the sympathy of the heart.” Here the method of St. John the Climacus is already bearing some fruit: the mind gets used to being enclosed in the words of prayer, the attention of the mind becomes deeper, and at the same time the heart cannot help but sympathize with the mind. The heart here participates in prayer with feelings of contrition, repentance, crying, and tenderness. St. Neil of Sinai also reports similar feelings: these are self-absorption, reverence, tenderness and mental pain about sins. But you still need to constantly force yourself to perform prayer correctly, since the nature has not yet been transformed and prayer is plundered by alien thoughts. Having not completely freed itself from attachments, impressions, and worries, the mind still indulges in daydreaming.
Saint Ignatius repeatedly said that in order to achieve the grace-filled non-vapority of the mind, it is necessary to demonstrate one’s own effort, keeping the mind in the words of prayer, constantly returning it from mental wanderings to prayer. Such a feat can, over time, lead to grace-filled, unsquandered attention, but first “it is left to the one praying to pray with his own effort; The grace of God undoubtedly assists the one who prays with good intentions, but it does not reveal its presence. At this time, the passions hidden in the heart come into motion and elevate the worker of prayer to a martyrdom, in which conquests and victories constantly replace each other, in which the free will of man and his weakness are expressed with clarity.” Often, forcing oneself to pray lasts a lifetime, because prayer kills the old man, and as long as he is present in us, he resists prayer. Fallen spirits also resist it and try to desecrate prayer, inclining us to absent-mindedness and to accepting the thoughts and dreams they bring. But often forcing oneself is crowned with grace-filled consolation in prayer, which can encourage further work.
If it is the will of God, then “the grace of God palpably reveals its presence and action, connecting the mind with the heart, making it possible to pray without steam or, what is the same, without entertainment, with heartfelt crying and warmth; at the same time, sinful thoughts lose their violent power over the mind.” According to Saints Hesychius of Jerusalem and John Climacus, prayer united with the heart blots out sinful thoughts and images in the soul and drives away demons. And such a prayer is called “heartfelt when it is pronounced with the mind and heart united, and the mind, as it were, descends into the heart and sends up a prayer from the depths of the heart.” Now that there has been liberation from the plunder and captivity of the soul by the thoughts inflicted by the enemy, the ascetic is allowed before the invisible face of God, standing before Him in his heart and offering up deep, pure prayer. The saint’s reasoning on this topic is insightful: “He who prays unclean prayer has a dead concept of God, as of an unknown and invisible God. When, having freed himself from plunder and captivity by thoughts, he is admitted before the invisible face of God, then he comes to know God with a living, experienced knowledge. He knows God as God. Then a person, turning his mind’s gaze to himself, sees himself as a creature, and not as an original being, as people deceptively imagine themselves to be, being in darkness and self-delusion; then he sets himself in the attitude towards God in which His creation should be, recognizing himself as obligated to reverently submit to the will of God and diligently fulfill it.”
And further, prayer becomes " spiritual, when it is done with all the soul, with the participation of the body itself, when it is done from the whole being, and the whole being is made as if by one mouth saying a prayer.” St. Neil of Sinai explains it this way: “There is the highest prayer of the perfect, a certain admiration of the mind, its complete detachment from the sensual, when with unutterable sighs of the spirit it approaches God, Who sees the disposition of the heart, open, like a written book, and expressing its will in silent images ". Spiritual prayer is characterized by a gracious spiritual feeling of fear of God, reverence and tenderness, which turns into love. Here the ascetic experiences spiritual pleasure in standing before the face of God, his prayer becomes self-motivated, unceasing.
The saint describes this final stage of prayerful ascent to God in the following way: “When, by the ineffable mercy of God, the mind begins to unite in prayer with the heart and soul, then the soul, first little by little, and then the whole will begin to rush together with the mind into prayer. Finally, our most perishable body, created with the lust of God, and from the fall infected with bestial lust, will rush into prayer. Then the bodily senses remain inactive: the eyes look and do not see; the ears hear but do not hear. Then the whole person is enveloped in prayer: his very hands, feet and fingers, unspeakably, but quite clearly and tangibly, participate in prayer and are filled with power inexplicable in words.”
The entire life of Saint Ignatius himself passed in prayer to the Lord, he experienced its beneficial effect, through it he entered into the peace of the Heavenly City, and he also called all Christians to it: “Do not waste precious time and strength of the soul on acquiring knowledge delivered by human sciences. Use both strength and time to acquire prayer, performed sacredly in the inner cell. There, in yourself, prayer will open a spectacle that will attract all your attention: it will give you knowledge that the world cannot contain, the existence of which it has no idea.”
Ignatius (Brianchaninov), saint. Ascetic experiences. Part 1. pp. 140–141; Offering to modern monasticism // Ignatius (Brianchaninov), saint. Creations. T. 5. M., 1998. P. 93.
Cm.: Ignatius (Brianchaninov), saint. Ascetic experiences. Part 1. pp. 498–499; Ascetic sermon. pp. 341, 369; Ignatius, Bishop of the Caucasus, Saint. Collection of letters / Comp. Abbot Mark (Lozinsky). M.; St. Petersburg, 1995, pp. 138, 194, 200–201.
Right there. P. 74. The idea that God comes by itself was adopted by the saint from the Monk Isaac the Syrian. The Monk Isaac explains this idea perfectly: “One of the saints wrote: “Whoever does not consider himself a sinner, his prayer is not accepted by the Lord.” If you say that some fathers wrote about what spiritual purity is, what health is, what dispassion is, what vision is, then they did not write so that we would expect this ahead of time; for it is written that “the kingdom of God will not come without waiting” (Luke 17:20). And in those who had such an intention, they acquired pride and downfall. And we will bring the area of the heart into order by deeds of repentance and a life pleasing to God; The Lord comes by itself if the place in the heart is clean and not defiled. What we seek “with observance,” I mean God’s lofty gifts, is rejected by the Church of God; and those who accepted this earned themselves pride and downfall. And this is not a sign that a person loves God, but an illness of the soul" ( Isaac the Syrian, Rev. Ascetic words. M., 1993. P. 257). Saint Isaac also has a shorter statement: “They say: “What is from God comes by itself, but you will not even feel it.” This is true, but only if the place is clean and not defiled” (Ibid. pp. 13–14). It is clear that the Monk Isaac himself refers to more ancient fathers. And there is a similar statement, for example, by Abba Isaiah the Hermit: “Do not seek the higher (gifts) of God while you pray to Him for help, that He may come and save you from sin. God comes by itself when an undefiled and clean place is prepared (for him)" ( Isaiah the Hermit, Abba. Words // Philokalia. Publication of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, 1993. T. 1. P. 316).
Ignatius (Brianchaninov), saint. Ascetic sermon. P. 325. For example, the Monk Anthony the Great teaches about seeing one’s sin (Rule of hermit life // Philokalia. T. 1. P. 108, 111), Abba Isaiah (Words // Philokalia. T. 1. P. 283) . St. Macarius the Great notes that even in the pure nature of man there is the possibility of exaltation, that is, achieving spiritual purity does not mean the inability to fall into sin again; and therefore the true sign of Christianity, which will protect you from pride: no matter how many righteous deeds have been done, to think that nothing has been done ( Macarius of Egypt, Rev. Spiritual conversations. Publication of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, 1994. pp. 66, 197). The statement of the Monk Theognostus is beautiful in terms of the power of thought: “With all your feelings, consider yourself an ant and a worm, so that you become a God-created man: for if this does not happen first, this will not follow. The more you go down in your feelings about yourself, the more you go up in reality. When you count yourself as nothing before the face of the Lord, like the Psalmist (see: Ps. 39:6), then you become secretly great from small; and when you recognize yourself as having nothing and knowing nothing, then you are rich in both deeds and intelligence, commendable to the Lord" ( Theognostus, Rev. About active and contemplative life // Philokalia. T. 3. P. 377). No less powerful is the statement of St. Isaac the Syrian: “He who feels his sins is better than he who raises the dead with his prayer... He who spends one hour sighing for his soul is better than he who brings benefit to the whole world through his contemplation. He who is worthy to see himself is better than he who is worthy to see angels. For the latter enters into fellowship with the eyes of the body, and the former with the eyes of the soul" ( Isaac the Syrian, Rev. Ascetic words. P. 175).Right there. P. 228. The teaching about crying as the very essence of repentance and the core of mental work runs through the entire patristic tradition. The Venerable Anthony the Great commands us to awaken from sinful sleep and mourn ourselves with all our hearts day and night, since it is through weeping that liberation from sins and the acquisition of virtues is achieved (Instructions, rules of hermit life and sayings // Philokalia. Vol. 1. P. 39, 55, 110, 134). According to Abba Isaiah, invisible enemies oppress us because we do not see our sins and have not acquired tears; it is the consciousness of sins and then crying about them that drives demons out of the soul (see: Fatherland, compiled by St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov). M., 1996. P. 129; Isaiah the Hermit, Abba. Words // Philokalia. T. 1. P. 359). The Monk Macarius the Great teaches that just as a mother cries for a dead son, so our mind should bring tears for a soul that has died for God through its sins, shed tears and constantly indulge in grief, and it is precisely such one that the grace of God will visit (Spiritual Conversations. P. 145) . The teaching on lamentation was especially developed by Saint John Climacus, and Saint Ignatius relied heavily on his teaching. St. John gives the following definition of this activity, the feeling of the soul: “Crying is the sorrow of the soul, rooted from habit, which has fire (Divine) in itself” (Ladder. P. 95) “Crying for God is the lamentation of the soul, such an arrangement of a painful heart that with frantically seeks what it longs for, and, not finding it, strives after it with difficulty and weeps bitterly after it. Or in other words: crying is a golden sting, with its wounding it exposes the soul from all earthly love and passion and is planted in the contemplation of the heart with holy sadness” (Ibid. pp. 86–87). According to Climacus, at the Last Judgment we will not be condemned for not having theologized or performing miracles, but we will be condemned for not weeping incessantly for our sins. Every day on which sins were not mourned should be considered lost. Moreover, Climacus notes that none of those who cry over sins should expect to receive notice of forgiveness upon leaving this life. And it is Climacus who teaches about crying without tears, about spiritual tears that allow you to cry before God in any place at any time (Ibid. pp. 80, 81, 88, 98). Saint Isaac the Syrian also teaches about crying; in crying he sees the essence of monastic activity; The Monk Isaac notes that consolation comes from crying, since one who weeps incessantly cannot be disturbed by passions (Ascetic Words. pp. 98, 99).
Ignatius (Brianchaninov), saint. Ascetic experiences. Part 1. P. 144. In many ways, the saint here follows the teaching of the Monk Isaac the Syrian, who has the following words: “Walk before God in simplicity, and not in knowledge. Simplicity is accompanied by faith, and refinement and resourcefulness of thoughts are followed by conceit; for conceit, there is a distance from God” (Ascetic Words. P. 214). The reasoning about the simplicity of St. John Climacus is interesting: “Like an evil man there is something dual, one in appearance, and the other in heart disposition; so the simple is not dual, but is something united” (Ladder. P. 39). The simplicity of the soul reveals the absence of guile, reveals inner chastity, the integrity of nature. As St. Anthony the Great notes, “the saints are united with God by their simplicity. You will find simplicity in a person filled with the fear of God. He who has simplicity is perfect and like God; it smells fragrant with the sweetest and most gracious fragrance; he is filled with joy and glory; the Holy Spirit rests in him, as in His abode” (Fatherland, p. 5).
Ignatius (Brianchaninov), saint. Ascetic experiences. Part 2. pp. 163, 171; Collection of letters. P. 154. Saint Isaac the Syrian also instructs: “The house of faith is an infant thought and a simple heart.” “No one can receive spiritual knowledge unless he is converted and becomes like a child... In a feeling of weakness and in simplicity, pray that you may live well before God and be without care” (Ascetic Words. pp. 119, 217). Close to this are the instructions of Saint John of the Climacus: “Let the whole fabric of your prayer be a little complicated, for the publican and the prodigal son propitiated God with one word... Do not use wise expressions in your prayer, for often the simple and unsophisticated babble of children pleased their Heavenly Father” (Ladder). . pp. 235–236).
Ignatius (Brianchaninov), saint. Ascetic experiences. Part 2. P. 123. “When you appear before God,” teaches Saint Isaac the Syrian, “become in your thoughts like an ant, like a reptile on the ground, like a leech and like a babbling child. Do not speak before God anything from knowledge, but with your childish thoughts draw near to Him and walk before Him, so that you may be worthy of that paternal Providence that fathers have for their children and infants. It is said: “The Lord protect the little ones” (Ps. 115:5)” (Ascetic Words. P. 214). Paisiy Velichkovsky Hesychius of Jerusalem, Rev. About sobriety and prayer // Philokalia. T. 2. P. 187, 189–190, 196; John of Sinai, Rev. Ladder. P. 215
The sixth volume of the “Words” of Elder Paisius the Holy Mountain, “On Prayer,” was published in Greece. Agionoros.ru brings to your attention the third chapter of this publication.
Passions are obstacles to communication with God
- Father, if I have passion, can my heart work in prayer?
— How will your heart work in prayer when you have passions? Take a rusty wire and connect it to the phone. Will it be possible to speak on it? The connection will be interrupted every now and then, and you will only hear a crackling sound in the receiver. So is a person, when he has rust and passions inside him, short circuits happen in his spiritual life, through his own fault. You need to protect yourself from pride, selfishness, self-will, and arrogance. Because when a person is possessed by passions, he cannot be visited by the grace of God and he is unable to pray. He needs to clean his “wires” of rust so that they conduct current well and he can communicate with God. And the more a person cleanses himself of passions, the more he will succeed in prayer.
Passions are obstacles that interfere with our communication with God. If the interference does not disappear, then how to communicate with God? At the front, when the radio operator heard interference, he said to the person who called him: “I can’t hear you, audibility is zero” or “Audibility is one, check the connection and try again.” Because of the interference, the person could not be heard. The audibility should have been higher than “three”. Audibility “five” was considered very good. Otherwise, the radio operator shouted, but he could not be heard due to interference. First he had to set up the transmitter and receiver of his walkie-talkie, and then tune in to the same frequency as the center.
So, in order to tune into the same frequency with God, you need to tune your transmitter to the frequency of love, and the receiver to the frequency of humility; so that God hears us and so that we hear Him, because His frequency is love-humility. A person must work as hard as he can to catch this frequency. Then he will enter into fellowship with God, and his mind will constantly dwell in God. I wish you to enter into this communication. Amen.
Self-interest hinders communication with God
— Father, you said that I need to charge my battery with spiritual content. How to do it?
- Try to acquire spiritual nobility, curiosity, so that selfishness goes away. Self-interest hinders prayer because it separates a person from God and creates an impenetrable wall. Do you know what an impenetrable wall means? It’s as if God is telling you: “Child, I don’t understand you!”
— Father, can a monk be consistent in fulfilling his monastic rules, but at the same time suffer from a lack of sacrifice and love for his brothers?
- Of course it can. If he thinks only about himself, then he can pray, struggle, etc., but at the same time have a great opinion of himself and be indifferent to others. But then he will always remain a beggar. After all, while a person is busy with himself, not in the sense of caring about eradicating his passions, but in doing what he likes, what is convenient, he cannot succeed.
- So, father, in obedience, in everything
m, you always and everywhere need to be good.
- In everything! To have fellowship with Christ, you need to be pleasing to Christ in everything. And Christ wants us to please our neighbor, in a good sense. Therefore, I pay special attention to spiritual nobility and sacrifice. After all, if a monk fulfills a rule, but does not pay attention to another - sacrifice, etc. - then his rules become useless.
“But the more time passes, father, and my request remains unanswered, the more upset I become.”
—When we ask for something in prayer, we must wait with patience. One day my eye was swollen and it hurt a lot. I went to the icon of the Mother of God three times and asked her for healing, so that I could read the Psalter at night. He also took oil from the lamp in front of the icon and anointed his eye with it, but it did not go away. A few days later it got even worse; the eye hurt more and swollen more and more. Fifteen days have passed. Then I again humbly went to the icon of the Mother of God and said: “Mother of God, forgive me; I’ll bother you again.” He again took oil from the lamp and just anointed his eye with it, when he immediately recovered. Couldn’t the Mother of God heal my eye the first time? But for my benefit She left me to suffer. And you ask humbly and wait patiently. A prayer that is done with faith, pain, perseverance and patience, if what we ask is for our good, is heard.
Translation Ipublishing Dohm "Holy Mountain".
To the Esphigmen Monastery in 1953.
Previously, heated bricks were used instead of heating pads.
In September 1962.
In February 1963.
Wed: Ps. 50, 19.
See Matt. 15, 21-28.
And believers. In their prayers, people share their joys and problems with the Almighty. And many people have a question: “How to offer prayers to God so that he hears and helps?” This question is especially often asked by disappointed people who have not found the support of a Higher Power. Perhaps they should reconsider their views and think more about the fact that maybe they themselves did something wrong.
In the modern pace of life, it can be difficult for a person to find time to visit a temple to participate in services, but if he needs God’s support, he can do it in any other place. How to pray correctly at home?
How to offer prayers in front of an icon?
God and faith in him are in us, our souls. That is why you need to read prayers not only in a certain place - a temple, but always and everywhere. You can organize the reading of prayers with the help of special religious literature (Prayer Book, Psalter) or in your own words - often this does not matter. The main condition for good prayer is sincerity and a sense of connection with God.
- It is advisable to purchase a collection of prayers - Prayer Book. It comes in several types - full and short, in Church Slavonic and the familiar Russian language. Therefore, choose a collection of prayers that is convenient for you to use.
- Before prayer you should tune in. This means that it is necessary to drive away all bad thoughts and forget about worldly problems. You should also pay attention to appearance, wear a cross, and women tie a scarf.
- You need to pray in front of the image of the saint to whom it will be directed. Approach the icon, take a comfortable position, concentrate, bow and cross yourself.
- Say the text of the prayer slowly, out loud or silently, thoughtfully, with reverence.
- must read daily. Be sure to read morning prayers and prayers before going to bed. This will help you be closer to God.
How to read prayers in church?
But still, a real Christian must attend church and at least occasionally participate in common prayer. This type of prayer is considered the most powerful, because... when everyone is praying for the same thing, even if one person is distracted, the prayer will not become weaker.
- It is not recommended to eat before going to church. The only exceptions are the sick and infirm. Appearance is very important: dress modestly, women should cover their heads and wear a skirt below the knees.
- When you head to, start reading a special prayer- going to church, or Our Father.
- When entering the temple, make the sign of the cross with three small bows.
- Respect the feelings of other believers. Do not disturb them from performing their prayers.
- It is forbidden to kneel in church during prayer.
- Just as during private prayer, during participation in public you need to concentrate on what you are doing, forget about worldly affairs. All your thoughts should be about God.
- All services are performed by the priest. The parishioners’ task is to listen carefully to what he says and follow the progress of the prayer.. To make it easier to do this, hold their text in your hands. Parishioners say the words of prayer together with the priest during the Divine Liturgy, Sunday all-night vigil and Easter service.
- If you want to pray in front of the icon, then you need to come to the temple before the start of the service, approach the icon, say a prayer to this saint, while making the sign of the cross and bowing from the waist twice, press your lips to the icon. If it is an icon of Christ, then you should venerate his hand, foot or clothing. If this is an icon, then to the hand or clothing, and for the Savior Not Made by Hands or the head of John the Baptist - to the hair.
How to be heard by God, how to read “Our Father”?
To be heard by God, you need to believe in what you are asking him for. You need to pronounce the words of prayers meaningfully, directing your thoughts only to God. It is unacceptable at this moment to be distracted by extraneous things for even a second.
The prayer “Our Father...” must be said several times a day, and at moments when you have any problems in your life, you need to say it especially often. History knows many cases when repeated repetition of this prayer stopped conflicts, healed illnesses, and cast out demons from people’s souls.
“Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors; and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. Lord have mercy. (Thrice) Bless."
Prayers
Prayer service "Detentions"
This the prayer of Elder Pansofia is read exclusively with the blessing of the priest. It helps to get rid of all evil, protect yourself and your family from hatred, envy, anger, and resentment. Prayer can protect against violent actions, both physical and energetic.
Saint Matrona
Blessed Moscow helps in almost all difficult life situations:
- When needed healing from diseases.
- For reconciliation and resolving family problems.
- When help needed at work or study.
- For conception child.
- To find family happiness.
- IN various everyday matters and etc.
Before turning to Matronushka for help, it would be nice to make a donation: take the food to the temple or distribute it to the poor on the street.
Prayers to Matrona:
“O blessed mother Matrono, hear and accept us now, sinners, praying to you, who in all your life has learned to receive and listen to all those who suffer and mourn, with faith and hope who resort to your intercession and help, giving quick help and miraculous healing to everyone;
May your mercy not fail now for us, unworthy, restless in this busy world
and nowhere finding consolation and compassion in spiritual sorrows and help in physical illnesses:
heal our illnesses, deliver us from the temptations and torment of the devil, who passionately fights,
help me to carry my everyday Cross, to bear all the hardships of life and not to lose the image of God in it,
preserve the Orthodox faith until the end of our days, have strong trust and hope in God and unfeigned love for our neighbors;
help us, after leaving this life, to achieve the Kingdom of Heaven with all those who please God,
glorifying the mercy and goodness of the Heavenly Father, glorified in the Trinity, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen."
A short prayer to Matrona:
“Holy righteous old woman Matrono, pray to God for us!”
Guardian Angel
Everyone has something that protects them throughout their lives. The Guardian Angel has the authority to forgive our sins, to pray to the Lord God for us, and to prevent us from making a mistake. You need to ask him about this by reading:
“Holy Angel of Christ, falling to you I pray, my holy guardian, given to me for the protection of my sinful soul and body from Holy Baptism, but with my laziness and my evil custom I angered your most pure lordship and drove you away from me with all the cold deeds: lies, slander, envy, condemnation, contempt, disobedience, brotherly hatred, and resentment, love of money, adultery, rage, stinginess, gluttony without satiety and drunkenness, verbosity, evil thoughts and crafty ones, proud custom and lustful indignation, self-lust for all carnal lust. How can you look at me, or approach me like a stinking dog? Whose eyes, Angel of Christ, look upon me, entangled in evil in vile deeds? How can I already ask for forgiveness with my bitter and evil and crafty deed, I fall into misery all day and night and at every hour? But I pray to you, falling down, my holy guardian, have mercy on me, your sinful and unworthy servant (name), be me a helper and intercessor against the evil of my opponent, with your holy prayers, and make me a partaker of the Kingdom of God with all the saints, always, and now and ever and ever. Amen."
Sometimes the Angel's help looks like a series of some signs, or as if an inner voice is telling a person. If you happen to experience a miracle created by your Guardian Angel, then do not forget to thank him for this with prayer or in your own words.
Spyridon of Trimifuntsky
Prayers to the defender of Orthodoxy, Spyridon of Trimifuntsky, helped those in need countless times. Coming from a simple peasant family, during his lifetime he was a shepherd. After the death of his wife, he was invited to become a priest in one of the Cypriot churches, because... everyone knew about his righteous life, his love for God and godly actions.
It was the first type of activity that became the reason that his image on icons is not the same as that of other saints - he is depicted in a shepherd’s hat.
Spyridon Trimifuntsky - saint, who performed a large number of miracles during his life: resurrected people, cast out demons.
He fulfills any requests of believers. Most often they pray to the Saint:
- ABOUT health.
- About family well-being.
- About successes in business.
- To get a job.
- Get housing.
- To the cattle were not sick, reap a good harvest, etc.
There are many prayers to Trimifuntsky. If it is difficult for you to learn them by heart, then refer to the saint in your own words, for example:
“Saint Spyridon! Pray to God to forgive my sins, give me health, protect me from trouble, enemies and envious people. Beg, blessed Spyridon, from our Lord for a comfortable life for me. Amen."
Mother of God
The Most Holy Theotokos is the earthly mother of Christ. She patronizes expectant mothers and is the protector of children.. Prayers dedicated to her help in family matters, to conceive and give birth to a healthy child, to receive healing, to protect yourself and your family from troubles, and more.
You can turn to the Mother of God with prayer:
“Virgin Mother of God, Rejoice, O Blessed Mary, the Lord is with Thee: blessed art Thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, for Thou hast given birth to the Savior of our souls.”
Before and after meals
Before eating, one of the family members, usually the head of the family, says the prayer “Our Father...”, the rest repeat it to themselves or in a low voice.
For the blessing of food and drink for the laity:
“Lord Jesus Christ, our God, bless us with food and drink through the prayers of Thy Most Pure Mother and all Thy saints, as Blessed be unto the ages of ages. Amen." (And cross food and drink)
After the meal:
“We thank Thee, Christ our God, for Thou hast filled us with Thy earthly blessings; Do not deprive us of Your Heavenly Kingdom, but because You have come among Your disciples, O Savior, give them peace, come to us and save us.”
Nicholas the Wonderworker
Nicholas the Wonderworker showed interest in church affairs from infancy. On the recommendation of a priest-relative, the parents, who, by the way, were wealthy people, sent little Nicholas to worship. It was to this cause that Nicholas the Wonderworker devoted his entire life. He had to endure a lot for the sake of faith, because... At that time there were persecutions of Christians.
Nicholas the Wonderworker helps in many difficult life circumstances, students during exam periods, the poor, and those who go on a long journey.
The saint occupies a special place among the saints. He is considered the closest to God. Therefore, prayers to him are the most powerful and fastest-acting.
“Oh, all-holy Nicholas, exceedingly saintly servant of the Lord, our warm intercessor, and everywhere in sorrow a quick helper. Help me, a sinner and a sad person, in this present life, beg the Lord God to grant me forgiveness of all my sins, which I have sinned greatly from my youth, in all my life, in deed, word, thought and all my feelings; and at the end of my soul, help me, the accursed one, beg the Lord God, the Creator of all creation, to deliver me from airy ordeals and eternal torment, so that I always glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and your merciful intercession, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen."
On the days of remembrance
The third, ninth and fortieth days from the day of death of a person are considered especially significant in Christianity. This is due to the special state of the soul of the deceased before the Last Judgment.
Therefore, for all 40 days from the date of death of a person, they read the Psalter and Prayers for the departed (“cell rule”). These special prayers are added to the obligatory prayers, which are referred to in the prayer book as a memorial for the departed.
“God of spirits and all flesh, having trampled down death and abolished the devil, and given life to Thy world; Himself, Lord, rest the soul of Your departed servant (Your departed servant or Your departed servant), [name], in a brighter place, in a greener place, in a calm place, from where sickness, sorrow and sighing have escaped. Every sin committed by him (her or them), in word, or deed, or thought, as God is good and a lover of mankind, forgive him. For there is no man who will live and not sin. For You are the only one without sin, Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and Your word is truth.”
How do Muslims pray to Allah?
Before prayer, it is necessary to perform the ablution ritual.. Then dress appropriately - in Islam, exposure of the body is unacceptable, especially for women.
ABOUT special attention should be paid to the place where prayer is held - it must be clean. Another special condition is that a Muslim’s face must be turned in a certain direction, towards Mecca.
Before performing namaz, you need to tune in, discard all extraneous thoughts. The whole consciousness should be occupied with what you say to the Almighty.
Namaz is preceded by a call - adhan. Next, surahs from the Koran and special dua prayers are read, accompanied by bows.
Prayer is a way of communication between God and believers. In their prayers, people share their joys and problems with the Almighty. And many people have a question: “How to offer prayers to God so that he hears and helps?” This question is especially often asked by disappointed people who have not found the support of a Higher Power. Perhaps they should reconsider their views and think more about the fact that maybe they themselves did something wrong.
In the modern pace of life, it can be difficult for a person to find time to visit a temple to participate in services, but if he needs God’s support, he can do it in any other place. How to pray correctly at home?
God and faith in him are in us, our souls. That is why you need to read prayers not only in a certain place - a temple, but always and everywhere. You can organize the reading of prayers with the help of special religious literature (Prayer Book, Psalter) or in your own words - often this does not matter. The main condition for good prayer is sincerity and a sense of connection with God.
- It is advisable to purchase a collection of prayers - Prayer Book. It comes in several types - full and short, in Church Slavonic and the familiar Russian language. Therefore, choose a collection of prayers that is convenient for you to use.
But still, a real Christian must attend church and at least occasionally participate in common prayer. This type of prayer is considered the most powerful, because... when everyone is praying for the same thing, even if one person is distracted, the prayer will not become weaker.
- It is not recommended to eat before going to church. The only exceptions are the sick and infirm. Appearance is very important: dress modestly, women should cover their heads and wear a skirt below the knees.
To be heard by God, you need to believe in what you are asking him for. You need to pronounce the words of prayers meaningfully, directing your thoughts only to God. It is unacceptable at this moment to be distracted by extraneous things for even a second.
The prayer “Our Father...” must be said several times a day, and at moments when you have any problems in your life, you need to say it especially often. History knows many cases when repeated repetition of this prayer stopped conflicts, healed illnesses, and cast out demons from people’s souls.
“Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors; and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. Lord have mercy. (Thrice) Bless."
This the prayer of Elder Pansofia is read exclusively with the blessing of the priest. It helps to get rid of all evil, protect yourself and your family from hatred, envy, anger, and resentment. Prayer can protect against violent actions, both physical and energetic.
Blessed Matrona of Moscow helps in almost all difficult life situations:
- When needed healing from diseases.
- For reconciliation and resolving family problems.
- When help needed at work or study.
- For conception child.
- To find family happiness.
- IN various everyday matters and etc.
Before turning to Matronushka for help, it would be nice to make a donation: take the food to the temple or distribute it to the poor on the street.
Prayers to Matrona:
“O blessed mother Matrono, hear and accept us now, sinners, praying to you, who in all your life has learned to receive and listen to all those who suffer and mourn, with faith and hope who resort to your intercession and help, giving quick help and miraculous healing to everyone;
May your mercy not fail now for us, unworthy, restless in this busy world
and nowhere finding consolation and compassion in spiritual sorrows and help in physical illnesses:
heal our illnesses, deliver us from the temptations and torment of the devil, who passionately fights,
help me to carry my everyday Cross, to bear all the hardships of life and not to lose the image of God in it,
preserve the Orthodox faith until the end of our days, have strong trust and hope in God and unfeigned love for our neighbors;
help us, after leaving this life, to achieve the Kingdom of Heaven with all those who please God,
glorifying the mercy and goodness of the Heavenly Father, glorified in the Trinity, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen."
A short prayer to Matrona:
“Holy righteous old woman Matrono, pray to God for us!”
Everyone has an angel to protect them throughout their lives. The Guardian Angel has the authority to forgive our sins, to pray to the Lord God for us, and to prevent us from making a mistake. You need to ask him about this by reading:
“Holy Angel of Christ, falling to you I pray, my holy guardian, given to me for the protection of my sinful soul and body from Holy Baptism, but with my laziness and my evil custom I angered your most pure lordship and drove you away from me with all the cold deeds: lies, slander, envy, condemnation, contempt, disobedience, brotherly hatred, and resentment, love of money, adultery, rage, stinginess, gluttony without satiety and drunkenness, verbosity, evil thoughts and crafty ones, proud custom and lustful indignation, self-lust for all carnal lust. How can you look at me, or approach me like a stinking dog? Whose eyes, Angel of Christ, look upon me, entangled in evil in vile deeds? How can I already ask for forgiveness with my bitter and evil and crafty deed, I fall into misery all day and night and at every hour? But I pray to you, falling down, my holy guardian, have mercy on me, your sinful and unworthy servant (name), be me a helper and intercessor against the evil of my opponent, with your holy prayers, and make me a partaker of the Kingdom of God with all the saints, always, and now and ever and ever. Amen."
Sometimes the Angel's help looks like a series of some signs, or as if an inner voice is telling a person. If you happen to experience a miracle created by your Guardian Angel, then do not forget to thank him for this with prayer or in your own words.
Prayers to the defender of Orthodoxy, Spyridon of Trimifuntsky, helped those in need countless times. Coming from a simple peasant family, during his lifetime he was a shepherd. After the death of his wife, he was invited to become a priest in one of the Cypriot churches, because... everyone knew about his righteous life, his love for God and godly actions.
It was the first type of activity that became the reason that his image on icons is not the same as that of other saints - he is depicted in a shepherd’s hat.
Spyridon Trimifuntsky - saint, who performed a large number of miracles during his life: resurrected people, cast out demons.
He fulfills any requests of believers. Most often they pray to the Saint:
There are many prayers to Spyridon of Trimifuntsky. If it is difficult for you to learn them by heart, then refer to the saint in your own words, for example:
“Saint Spyridon! Pray to God to forgive my sins, give me health, protect me from trouble, enemies and envious people. Beg, blessed Spyridon, from our Lord for a comfortable life for me. Amen."
The Most Holy Theotokos is the earthly mother of Christ. She patronizes expectant mothers and is the protector of children.. Prayers dedicated to her help in family matters, to conceive and give birth to a healthy child, to receive healing, to protect yourself and your family from troubles, and more.
You can turn to the Mother of God with prayer:
“Virgin Mother of God, Rejoice, O Blessed Mary, the Lord is with Thee: blessed art Thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, for Thou hast given birth to the Savior of our souls.”
Before eating, one of the family members, usually the head of the family, says the prayer “Our Father...”, the rest repeat it to themselves or in a low voice.
For the blessing of food and drink for the laity:
“Lord Jesus Christ, our God, bless us with food and drink through the prayers of Thy Most Pure Mother and all Thy saints, as Blessed be unto the ages of ages. Amen." (And cross food and drink)
“We thank Thee, Christ our God, for Thou hast filled us with Thy earthly blessings; Do not deprive us of Your Heavenly Kingdom, but because You have come among Your disciples, O Savior, give them peace, come to us and save us.”
Nicholas the Wonderworker showed interest in church affairs from infancy. On the recommendation of a priest-relative, the parents, who, by the way, were wealthy people, sent little Nicholas to worship. It was to this cause that Nicholas the Wonderworker devoted his entire life. He had to endure a lot for the sake of faith, because... At that time there were persecutions of Christians.
Nicholas the Wonderworker helps in many difficult life circumstances, students during exam periods, the poor, and those who go on a long journey.
Nicholas the Pleasant occupies a special place among the saints. He is considered the closest to God. Therefore, prayers to him are the most powerful and fastest-acting.
“Oh, all-holy Nicholas, exceedingly saintly servant of the Lord, our warm intercessor, and everywhere in sorrow a quick helper. Help me, a sinner and a sad person, in this present life, beg the Lord God to grant me forgiveness of all my sins, which I have sinned greatly from my youth, in all my life, in deed, word, thought and all my feelings; and at the end of my soul, help me, the accursed one, beg the Lord God, the Creator of all creation, to deliver me from airy ordeals and eternal torment, so that I always glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and your merciful intercession, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen."
The third, ninth and fortieth days from the day of death of a person are considered especially significant in Christianity. This is due to the special state of the soul of the deceased before the Last Judgment.
Therefore, for all 40 days from the date of death of a person, they read the Psalter and Prayers for the departed (“cell rule”). These special prayers are added to the obligatory prayers, which are referred to in the prayer book as a memorial for the departed.
“God of spirits and all flesh, having trampled down death and abolished the devil, and given life to Thy world; Himself, Lord, rest the soul of Your departed servant (Your departed servant or Your departed servant), [name], in a brighter place, in a greener place, in a calm place, from where sickness, sorrow and sighing have escaped. Every sin committed by him (her or them), in word, or deed, or thought, as God is good and a lover of mankind, forgive him. For there is no man who will live and not sin. For You are the only one without sin, Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and Your word is truth.”
Before prayer, it is necessary to perform the ablution ritual.. Then dress appropriately - in Islam, exposure of the body is unacceptable, especially for women.
ABOUT special attention should be paid to the place where prayer is held - it must be clean. Another special condition is that a Muslim’s face must be turned in a certain direction, towards Mecca.
Before performing namaz, you need to tune in, discard all extraneous thoughts. The whole consciousness should be occupied with what you say to the Almighty.
Namaz is preceded by a call - adhan. Next, surahs from the Koran and special dua prayers are read, accompanied by bows.
How to pray so that God will hear?- the natural desire of any believer. The paradox is that GOD ALWAYS HEARS! But he often hesitates to fulfill our often selfish desire. And indeed, God does not feel sorry for anything. People say: God has a lot of everything. And so it is. So, it's all about ourselves.
Now we will analyze some provisions that help us correctly structure our prayer activity so that it is effective, that is, we will indicate the properties of prayer in the hope that they will be used by praying people, so that God will really hear us in prayer.
Here are collected morning and evening prayers, the main canons - repentance to the Lord, prayer service to the Mother of God, Guardian Angel and others. Here, a believer finds prayers during the day or for special occasions - for illnesses, for children, when getting a job, for receiving prosphora and holy water, for travelers, for blessings for a new undertaking, for business, prayers of thanks, etc. d.
It is very important to pay attention to the Follow-up to Holy Communion when we are preparing for confession and Communion. This is a separate topic, we will cover it in the near future. Here we will say that communion is a union with the Lord Himself. And the more often we receive communion, the closer the Lord becomes to us, therefore. “More dear” to Him is our prayer, He “hears” us.
- An important property of prayer so that God will look upon us sinners is mindfulness while praying. How can you pray if your mind is wandering somewhere? After all, when we come to the authorities, we prepare what to say, how to say it, and try to convince. Our future fate depends on the boss’s decision. We behave strictly and reverently, do not allow unnecessary words, and speak specifically.
So it is in prayer. If we want to be heard, so that God “wants” to fulfill our request, then we need to be focused, extremely attentive and delve into the words of the prayer, know well what we want to bring to the “ears of God.”
- The Heartfulness of Prayer also helps us to be heard! Surely you have come across the phrase among believers that THE LORD ACCEPTS PRAYER FROM THE HEART, and this is true. We must feel every word of prayer with our hearts (souls) and experience it.
With such prayer, sooner or later a state of tenderness will occur. It comes as a gift from God and indicates that we have been heard. Tenderness is when we are so deeply inside our own prayer that nothing external interferes with us or distracts us. We spontaneously flow tears of devotion to the Lord.
This is such a state, it is so sweet that we want its endless continuation. “It is good for us to be here,” said the future Apostle Peter, when the Divine Teacher the Holy Christ was transfigured on Mount Tabor. So we must cultivate a personal Favor in ourselves with tenderness.
- For prayer to be effective, for God to “hear” and want to fulfill our request, there must be consistency in prayer. And this is natural. The Lord wants us to be saved in eternity, to be happy, pious, full of strength, and to constantly do good deeds. And we receive everything from the hands of God, figuratively speaking.
That is, if we set certain goals in life and want to have success, then we must also conform to the will of God, have constancy in prayer, which God will certainly appreciate and “will give good things to those who ask Him” without fail. Therefore, the one who prays daily, hourly, every minute is always at an advantage over the person who only sometimes comes to prayer and then complains, saying, why doesn’t God hear me!
We are praying for you!
- And also for the effectiveness of prayer we should be grateful to the Lord for all his constant benefits, obvious and invisible, felt and not felt by us. God always benefits us. Even if we don't notice it. He arranges everything for our good. Therefore, many holy fathers were afraid to ask God for anything, since what was asked could not be salutary and harmful to the soul.
A grateful heart needs nothing. It's enough for everyone. It is confident that God will never leave, no matter how difficult it may be. We need to be happy with what we already have. In all spheres of our life. And in the moral sense, and in the material, and in the spiritual, and in everyday life - we thank the Lord our God for everything!
And a miracle happens. Everything falls straight from the sky for us! We say, Lord, for what? We are unworthy of Your mercies! But humility benefits us even more. We are again grateful and amazed at the Lord’s generosity; we ask for nothing. And paradoxically, it pours in for us like from a cornucopia! So God always hears a grateful person.
- Always Orthodox the prayer ends with a doxology, for example, as in OUR FATHER: For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. In other prayers, the doxology is expressed in slightly different words, but is always present.
This suggests that, no matter what happens in our lives, which are often completely worthless, we praise God for everything, for the omnipotent Providence for us sinners, for our fulfilled and unfulfilled petitions, for our very existence, for the opportunity to live and improve, for God's care for us.
- So, if you want to be heard by God, pray correctly, carefully, heartily, constantly. Be grateful to God for everything! And praise Him no matter what happens.
- And the most important. The power of prayer lies in unity. It’s one thing to read at least the entire 20 chapters of Psalm at home - kathisma, and this will be equal to one “LORD HAVE MERCY” said by all believers during the service in the temple.
That is, frequent attendance at church services is necessary. This is the great power of prayer. The Lord Himself directs the Divine service and sends us accompanying Angels. Therefore, in the temple we cannot help but be heard.
If for a number of reasons you cannot go to church due to illness, work, or if the desired temple (monastery) is located far away, then it is customary to order a service in absentia, that is, to submit (transfer) a note ABOUT HEALTH and (or) RELATION to the proskomedia, Liturgy, prayer service, memorial service, magpie, semi-annual and annual commemoration.
In this case, the Church of Christ, which loves us all its children, will pray for you even without your presence. Moreover, many pious Christians send their notes with a small donation to various churches of the vast world Orthodoxy.
Use it.
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