Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) in his “Teaching on the Prayer Rule” wrote: “Rule! What an accurate name, borrowed from the very effect produced on a person by prayers called the rule! The prayer rule guides the soul correctly and holy, teaches it to worship God in Spirit and Truth (John 4:23), while the soul, left to itself, could not follow the correct path of prayer. Due to her damage and darkening by sin, she would constantly be seduced to the sides, often into the abyss, now into absent-mindedness, now into daydreaming, now into various empty and deceptive ghosts of high prayerful states, created by her vanity and voluptuousness.

Prayer rules keep the person praying in a saving disposition, humility and repentance, teaching him constant self-condemnation, feeding him with tenderness, strengthening him with hope in the All-Good and All-Merciful God, delighting him with the peace of Christ, love for God and for his neighbors.”

From these words of the saint it is clear that it is very saving to read the morning and evening prayer rules. It spiritually takes a person out of the confusion of night dreams or daytime worries and puts him before God. And the human soul enters into communication with its Creator. The grace of the Holy Spirit descends on a person, brings him into the necessary repentant mood, gives him inner peace and harmony, drives away demons from him (“This generation is driven out only by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21), sends down God’s blessing and strength to him especially since the prayers were written by holy people: Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostom, Saint Macarius the Great and others. That is, the structure of the rules is very useful for the human soul.

Therefore, of course, reading the morning and evening prayer rules every day, so to speak, is the necessary minimum for an Orthodox Christian. Moreover, it does not take much time. For someone who has gotten into the habit of reading, it takes about twenty minutes in the morning and the same in the evening.

If you don’t have time to read the morning rule all at once, then break it into several parts. “Little Cap” from the beginning to “Lord have mercy” (12 times), inclusive, can, for example, be read at home; The following prayers are during pauses in work or during your daily activities. This, of course, needs to be confessed, but it’s better than not reading it at all. We are all human, and it is clear that we are very sinful and busy. You also regulate the end of your morning prayers yourself. This concerns the commemoration. You can read the extended commemoration or the shortened one. At your discretion, depending on the time available.

A fairly common mistake of new Orthodox Christians is reading the evening prayer rule immediately before going to bed. You sway, stagger, mutter words of prayer, and you yourself think about how to lie down in bed under a warm blanket and fall asleep. So it turns out – not prayer, but torment. Mandatory hard labor before bed.

In fact, the evening prayer rule is read somewhat differently. Hegumen Nikon (Vorobiev) wrote that after evening prayers you can leave time to talk and drink tea.

That is, in fact, you can read the evening prayer rule from the beginning to the prayer of St. John of Damascus “O Lord, Lover of Mankind...” If you, dear brothers and sisters, have noticed, then before this prayer there is a prayer of dismissal: “Lord Jesus Christ, the Son God... have mercy on us. Amen". It really is a vacation. You can read the evening prayers up to and including it long before bedtime: at six, seven, eight o’clock in the evening. Then go about your daily evening routine. You can still eat and drink tea, as Father Nikon said, and communicate with loved ones.

And starting with the prayer “Lord, Lover of Mankind...” and until the end, the rule is read immediately before going to bed. During the prayer “May God rise again,” you need to cross yourself and you can cross your bed and house to the four cardinal directions (starting, according to the Orthodox tradition, from the east), protecting yourself, your loved ones and your home with the sign of the cross from all evil.

After reading the second half of the evening prayers, nothing is eaten or drunk. In the prayer “In Thy hands, O Lord...” you ask God for a blessing for a good sleep and surrender your soul to Him. After this you should go to bed.

I would also like to draw your attention, dear brothers and sisters, to the rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov. Many understand it as reading three times a day (morning, lunch, evening) certain prayers “Our Father” (three times), “Virgin Mother of God, rejoice...” (three times) and the Creed (once). But this is not entirely true. In addition to reading the rule three times, the Monk Seraphim said that in the first half of the day a person should read the Jesus Prayer almost all the time, or, if people are around, in his mind “Lord, have mercy,” and after lunch, instead of the Jesus Prayer, “Most Holy Theotokos, save me, a sinner."

That is, Saint Seraphim offers a person spiritual exercise in continuous prayer, and not just a relief from the evening and morning prayer rules. You can, of course, read the prayer according to the rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov, but only then you need to follow all the instructions of the great elder.

Therefore, I repeat once again, the morning and evening prayer rule is the necessary minimum for an Orthodox Christian.

I would also like to draw your attention, dear brothers and sisters, to a fairly common mistake that we often make.

Saint Ignatius warns us about it in the above-mentioned work: “When performing the rule and bows, one must not rush; It is necessary to perform both the rules and bows with as much leisure and attention as possible. It is better to say fewer prayers and bow down less, but with attention, than a lot and without attention.

Choose for yourself a rule that corresponds to your strengths. What the Lord said about the Sabbath, that it is for man, and not man for it (Mark 2:27), can and should be applied to all pious deeds, as well as to the prayer rule. The prayer rule is for the person, and not the person for the rule: it should contribute to a person’s achievement of spiritual success, and not serve as an inconvenient burden (onerous duty), crushing bodily strength and confusing the soul. Moreover, it should not serve as a reason for proud and harmful conceit, for harmful condemnation of loved ones and humiliation of others.”

The Monk Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain wrote in his book “Invisible Warfare”: “...There are many clergy who deprive themselves of the saving fruit of the world from their spiritual works by procrastinating on them, believing that they will suffer damage if they do not complete them, in false confidence , of course, that this is what spiritual perfection consists of. Following their will in this way, they work hard and torment themselves, but do not receive true peace and inner peace, in which God truly finds and rests.”

That is, we need to count our strength in prayer. You should sit down and think about the time that everyone has. If you, for example, are a freight forwarder in a trading company and are on the road from morning to night, or you are married, work and still need to devote time to your husband, children, and organize family life, then perhaps the morning and evening prayer rule is enough for you and reading two chapters of "The Apostle", a chapter of the Gospel per day. Because if you also take upon yourself to read various akathists, several kathismas, then you will have no time left to live. And if you are a pensioner or work somewhere as a security guard or at another job, with free time, then why not read akathists and kathismas.

Explore yourself, your time, your capabilities, your strengths. Balance your prayer rule with your life so that it is not a burden, but a joy. Because it is better to read fewer prayers, but with heartfelt attention, than to read a lot, but thoughtlessly, mechanically. Prayer has power when you listen and read it with your whole being. Then a life-giving spring of communication with God will flow into our hearts.

Priest Andrey Chizhenko

In the morning, getting up from sleep, still in bed, cross yourself with prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Getting out of bed and washing your face, and in the evening, going to bed, stand with reverence before the holy icons and, looking at them, directing your thoughts to the invisible God and his saints, earnestly, slowly, protecting yourself with the sign of the cross and bowing, say with tenderness the prayer of the publican:

(bow) (bow). Without number of sinners, Lord, have mercy and forgive me, a sinner. (bow).

(bow always to the ground).

(bow) (bow).

Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord bless (bow).

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the sake of Thy Most Pure Mother, by the power of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross, and my holy Guardian Angel, and all for the sake of the saints, have mercy and save me, a sinner, for I am Good and Lover of Mankind. Amen. (bow to the ground, without the sign of the cross).

These prayers are called “beginning” or “coming and starting bows” because they are performed at the beginning and after any prayer rule.

After this, repeat the publican’s prayer with bows:

God, be merciful to me, a sinner (bow). Create me, O Lord, and have mercy on me (bow). Without number of sinners, Lord, have mercy and forgive me, a sinner. (bow).

And begin your morning prayers with reverence.

For the prayers of the saints, our father, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us. Amen (bow always from the waist). Cross yourself and say three times:

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee for everyone's sake.

Next: God, cleanse me, a sinner, for I have done no good before You. (bow), but deliver me from the evil one, and Thy will be done in me (bow) May I open my unworthy lips without condemnation and praise Your holy name: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen (bow).

Circled prayers are not read in the evening.

Heavenly King, Comforter, True Soul, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, Treasure of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Blessed One, our soul.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (three times with bows). Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen. Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse our sins. Master, forgive our iniquities. Saints, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy Name's sake. Lord have mercy (three times). Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread this day. 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. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us. Amen. Lord have mercy (12 times).

If it’s morning, it reads:

Having risen from sleep, I thank Thee, All-Holy Trinity, for for the sake of many, for the sake of kindness and long-suffering, Thou hast not been angry with me, Thy sinful and lazy servant, and Thou hast not destroyed me with my iniquities, but love of mankind. And lying in despair, raise me up to practice and glorify Your invincible power. And now, Master, Most Holy God, enlighten the eyes of my heart and open my lips to learn Your words, and understand Your commandments, and do Your will, and sing to You in confession of the heart. Sing and glorify Your most honorable and magnificent name: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

If evening:

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And now, and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.

Come, let us worship our King God (bow). Come, let us worship Christ, the King and our God (bow). Come, let us worship and fall before the Lord Jesus Christ himself, the King and our God (bow).

PSALM 50 (repentance)/>

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy. And according to the multitude of Your mercies, cleanse my iniquity. Above all, wash me from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my iniquity and bear away my sin before me. I have sinned against You alone and have done evil before You. For you may be justified in Your words and overcome without ever being judged. Behold, I was conceived in iniquity, and my mother gave birth to me in sins. Behold, you have loved the truth; You have revealed to me the unknown and secret wisdom of Yours. Sprinkle me with hyssop and I will be cleansed. Wash me and I will be whiter than snow. Give joy and gladness to my hearing: humble bones will rejoice. Turn Your face away from my sins and cleanse all my iniquities. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb. Do not turn me away from Your Face, and do not take Your Holy Spirit away from me. Reward me with the joy of Your salvation and strengthen me with the Lord’s spirit. I will teach the wicked your way, and they will turn to you in wickedness. Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, God of my salvation; My tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness. Lord, open my mouth, and my mouth will declare Your praise. As if he had wanted a sacrifice, he would have given it; You do not favor burnt offerings. A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit: God will not despise a contrite and humble heart. Bless Zion, O Lord, with Your favor; and let the walls of Jerusalem be built. Then favor the sacrifice of righteousness, the offering and the burnt offering. Then they will place the calf on Your altar.

Protecting ourselves reverently with the sign of the cross, we pronounce the SYMBOL OF FAITH - the words of the holy fathers of the First and Second Ecumenical Councils (sign of the cross without bowing):

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible. And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, Who was born of the Father before all ages. Light from Light, true God from true God, born, not created, consubstantial with the Father, by Him all things were. For our sake, man, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary became human. Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffering and buried. And he rose again on the third day according to the scriptures. And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father. And again the coming one will be judged with glory by the living and the dead, but His kingdom has no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the true and life-giving Lord, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who spoke the prophets. And into one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the remission of sins. I hope for the resurrection of the dead. And the life of the next century. Amen.

Virgin Mother of God, rejoice, joyful Mary, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you gave birth to Christ the Savior, the Redeemer of our souls (with bows three times).

ABOUT! All-sung Mother, who gave birth to all the saints, the most holy Word, having accepted the present offering, deliver everyone from every misfortune, and the torment that is to come, crying out to You: Alleluia (three times, with bows to the ground).

Invincible and divine power of the honorable and life-giving Cross of the Lord, do not forsake me, a sinner who trusts in You. (bow). My Most Holy Lady Theotokos, have mercy on me, and save me, and help me now, in this life, and at the end of my soul, and in the future (bow). All heavenly powers, holy angels and archangels, cherubs and seraphim, have mercy on me, and pray for me, a sinner, to the Lord God, and help me now, in this life, and at the end of my soul, and in the future (bow). Angel of Christ, my holy guardian, have mercy on me and pray for me, a sinner, to the Lord God, and help me now, in this life, and at the end of my soul, and in the future (bow). Great Saints John, Prophet and Forerunner of the Lord, have mercy on me, and pray for me, a sinner, to the Lord God, and help me now, in this life, and at the end of my soul, and in the future (bow). Glorious holy apostles, prophets and martyrs, saints, venerable and righteous ones and all saints, have mercy on me, and pray for me, a sinner, to the Lord God, and help me now, in this life, and at the end of my soul, and in the future (bow).

After this, pray the following prayers three times with bows.

Most Holy Trinity our God, glory to Thee. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Glory, Lord, to Your Honest Cross. Most Holy Lady Theotokos, save me, Thy sinful servant. Angel of Christ, my holy guardian, save me, Thy sinful servant. Holy archangels and angels, pray to God for me, a sinner. Great Saints John, Prophet and Forerunner, Baptist of the Lord, pray to God for me, a sinner. Saints and glorious prophet Elijah, pray to God for me, a sinner. Holy forefathers, pray to God for me, a sinner. Holy prophets, pray to God for me, a sinner. Holy apostles, pray to God for me, a sinner. Holy Glorious Apostles and Evangelists: Matthew, Marco, Luke and John the Theologian, pray to God for me, a sinner. Holy Glorious Supreme Apostles Peter and Paul, pray to God for me, a sinner. Holy three great saints: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom, pray to God for me, a sinner. Saint Nicholas of Christ, pray to God for me, a sinner. Reverend Father Sergius, pray to God for me, a sinner. Holy Hieromartyr and Confessor Habakkuk, pray to God for me, a sinner. Saint of Christ and confessor Ambrose, pray to God for me, a sinner. Our reverend and God-bearing fathers, shepherds and teachers of the universe, pray to God for me, a sinner. All saints, pray to God for me, a sinner.

After this, pray to the saint whose name you bear, and to the saint celebrated on this date, as well as to other saints whom you wish. Don’t forget to pray and do penance, whatever bows you receive from your spiritual father.

Then pray for the health of the ruling bishop, spiritual father, parents, relatives and loved ones, saying with bows three times about health and salvation:

Merciful Lord, save and have mercy on Your servants (bow) (name the names for whom you pray). Deliver them from all sorrow, anger and need. (bow). From all illnesses of mind and body (bow). And forgive them every sin, voluntary and involuntary. (bow). And do something useful for our souls (bow).

Then pray for the repose of your spiritual fathers, parents and loved ones, and for whom you have zeal, saying three times with bows:

Rest, O Lord, the soul of your departed servants (bow) (name the names for whom you pray). And as much as men have sinned in this life, You, as the Lover of Mankind, forgive them and have mercy (bow). Deliver us from eternal torment (bow). Make partakers of the kingdom of heaven (bow). And do something useful for our souls (bow).

When finishing your prayers, say:

Lord, whether in word, or in deed, or in thought, I have sinned throughout my life, have mercy on me and forgive me, for Thy mercy’s sake. (bow to the ground). I place all my hope in You, Mother of God, keep me in Your blood (bow to the ground). My hope is God, and my refuge is Christ, and my patron is the Holy Spirit. (bow to the ground).

It is worthy to eat, for truly you are blessed, the Mother of God, ever blessed and immaculate, and the Mother of our God. The most honorable cherub and the most glorious truly seraphim, who without corruption gave birth to God the Word, the real Mother of God, we magnify You (bow always to the ground).

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (bow). And now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen (bow). Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord bless (bow).

And release:/>

Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the sake of Thy Most Pure Mother and our reverend and God-bearing fathers and all saints, have mercy and save me, a sinner, for I am Good and Lover of Mankind. Amen.

And, bending down to the ground, without making the sign of the cross, read forgiveness:

Weaken, forsake, let go, O God, of my sins, voluntary and involuntary, both in word and in deed, both in knowledge and in ignorance, in mind and in thought, in days and in nights, forgive me all, as Good and Lover of Humanity. Amen.

Having risen, read this prayer with bows:

Forgive those who hate and offend us, Lord Lover of Mankind. Do good to those who do good, to the brethren and to all our relatives, even those who are alone, grant them everything, even petitions for salvation and eternal life (bow). In the present illnesses, visit and heal, in the prisons of the present freedom, on the floating waters, awaken the Ruler and those who are on their way, correct and hasten (bow). Remember, Lord, our captive brethren, fellow believers of the Orthodox faith, and deliver them from every evil situation (bow). Have mercy, Lord, on those who gave us alms and commanded us, unworthy, to pray for them, forgive them and have mercy (bow). Have mercy, O Lord, on those who labor and serve us, who have mercy and nourishment on us, and grant them all petitions and eternal life that lead to salvation. (bow). Remember, O Lord, our fathers and brethren who departed before, and bring them home, where the light of Thy face shines (bow). Remember, Lord, our thinness and wretchedness, and enlighten our minds with the light of reason of Thy Holy Gospel, and guide us on the path of Thy commandments, through the prayers of Thy Most Pure Mother and all Thy saints, amen (bow).

These prayers end with the usual seven bows (see “incoming and outgoing bows” at the beginning).

At the end of your prayers, both in the morning and in the evening, protecting yourself with your pectoral cross, say: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, bless and sanctify and preserve me by the power of Your Life-Giving Cross.

After that, kiss the cross.

And read the prayer to the Cross, crossing yourself:

May God rise again, and may His enemies be scattered, and may those who hate Him flee from His face, like smoke disappearing, may they disappear. As wax melts in the face of fire, so let demons perish from the face of those who love God and who are marked with the sign of the cross, and let us rejoice with joyful words: Rejoice, O Cross of the Lord, driving away demons by the power of You, our Lord Jesus Christ, who descended into hell and trampled upon the power of the devil. , and who gave us His Honest Cross to drive away every adversary.

ABOUT! Most honorable and life-giving Cross of the Lord, help me, with the Most Holy Lady Theotokos, and with all the holy heavenly powers, always and now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Prayer rule– 1) daily morning and evening rituals performed by Christians (recommended texts can be found in); 2) regulated reading of these prayers.

The rule can be general - mandatory for everyone, or individual, selected for a believer taking into account his spiritual state, strength and employment.

Consists of morning and evening prayers, which are performed daily. This vital rhythm is necessary, because otherwise the soul easily falls out of the prayer life, as if waking up only from time to time. In prayer, as in any big and difficult matter, “inspiration”, “mood” and improvisation are not enough.

Reading prayers connects a person with their creators: psalmists and ascetics. This helps to gain a spiritual mood akin to their heartfelt burning. Our example in praying in other people’s words is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. His prayerful exclamations during the suffering of the cross are lines from ().

There are three basic prayer rules:
1) Complete prayer rule, which is printed in “”;

2) A short prayer rule. The laity sometimes encounters situations when there is little time and energy left for prayer, and in this case it is better to read the short rule with attention and reverence than to hastily and superficially, without a prayerful attitude, read the entire prescribed rule. The Holy Fathers teach to treat your prayer rule with reason, on the one hand, not giving indulgence to your passions, laziness, self-pity, etc., which can destroy the correct spiritual structure, and on the other hand, learn to shorten or even slightly change the rule without temptation or embarrassment when there is a real need for it.

in the morning : “Heavenly King”, Trisagion, “”, “Virgin Mother of God”, “Rising from sleep”, “God have mercy on me”, “”, “God, cleanse”, “To You, Master”, “Holy Angel”, “ Most Holy Lady,” invocation of saints, prayer for the living and the dead;
In the evening : “Heavenly King”, Trisagion, “Our Father”, “Have mercy on us, Lord”, “Eternal God”, “Good King”, “Angel of Christ”, from “The Chosen Governor” to “It is worthy to eat”;

Is it good if there are more prayer rules: in addition to the usual morning and evening prayers - Akathists, canons?

The most important thing in fulfilling a prayer rule is constant daily fulfillment of it. When necessary, it contracts. You must have a rule so that it does not exceed your strength and so that your conscience does not reproach you for laziness.

The morning and evening rules are just necessary spiritual hygiene. We are commanded to pray unceasingly (see). The Holy Fathers said: if you churn milk, you will get butter, and so in prayer, quantity turns into quality.

“For a rule to become not an obstacle, but a real driver of a person towards God, it is necessary that it be proportionate to his spiritual strength, correspond to his spiritual age and state of soul. Many people, not wanting to burden themselves, deliberately choose too easy prayer rules, which because of this become formal and do not bear fruit. But sometimes a big rule, chosen out of unreasonable jealousy, also becomes a shackle, driving you into despondency and preventing you from growing spiritually.
A rule is not a frozen form; throughout life it must necessarily change both qualitatively and externally.”

The saint briefly systematizes advice on reading the prayer rule:

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

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

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

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

e) 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 according to the rule, you know in advance what feeling should be aroused in the heart...

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

The power of prayers is proven and undeniable. However, it is important to know how to read prayers correctly so that they are effective.

What is prayer for a believer?

An integral part of any religion is prayer. Any prayer is a person’s communication with God. With the help of special words that come from the depths of our souls, we praise the Almighty, thank God, and ask the Lord for help and blessings in earthly life for ourselves and our loved ones.

It has been proven that prayer words can greatly influence a person’s consciousness. The clergy claim that prayer can change the life of a believer and his destiny in general. But it is not necessary to use complex prayer appeals. You can also pray in simple words. Often in this case, it is possible to invest great energy in a prayer appeal, which makes it more powerful, which means it will definitely be heard by the Heavenly forces.

It has been noticed that after prayer, a believer’s soul calms down. He begins to perceive the problems that have arisen differently and quickly finds a way to solve them. True faith, which is invested in prayer, gives hope for help from above.

Sincere prayer can fill spiritual emptiness and quench spiritual thirst. A prayerful appeal to the Higher Powers becomes an indispensable assistant in difficult life situations when no one can help. A believer not only receives relief, but also strives to change the situation for the better. That is, we can say that prayer awakens internal strength to confront current circumstances.

What types of prayers are there?

The most important prayers for a believer are prayers of thanksgiving. They glorify the greatness of the almighty Lord, as well as the mercy of God and all the Saints. This type of prayer should always be read before asking the Lord for any blessings in life. Any church service begins and ends with the glorification of the Lord and the singing of his holiness. Such prayers are always mandatory during evening prayer, when gratitude is offered to God for the day.

In second place in popularity are petitionary prayers. They are a way of expressing requests for help with any mental or physical needs. The popularity of petitionary prayers is explained by human weakness. In many life situations, he is not able to cope with the problems that have arisen and he definitely needs help.

Petitionary prayers not only ensure a prosperous life, but also bring us closer to the salvation of the soul. They necessarily contain a request for forgiveness of known and unknown sins and acceptance of repentance by the Lord for unseemly actions. That is, with the help of such prayers a person cleanses the soul and fills it with sincere faith.

A sincere believer must be sure that his petitionary prayer will definitely be heard by the Lord. You need to understand that God, even without prayer, knows about the misfortunes that befell the believer and his needs. But at the same time, the Lord never takes any action, leaving the believer the right to choose. A true Christian must offer his petition by repenting of his sins. Only a prayer that includes words of repentance and a specific request for help will be heard by the Lord or other heavenly Heavenly Powers.

There are also separate prayers of repentance. Their purpose is that with their help the believer frees the soul from sins. After such prayers, spiritual relief always comes, which is due to liberation from painful experiences about committed unrighteous acts.

A prayer of repentance involves a person’s sincere repentance. It must come from the depths of the heart. In such cases, people often pray with tears in their eyes. Such a prayerful appeal to God can save the soul from the most serious sins that interfere with life. Repentant prayers, cleansing a person’s soul, allow him to move further along the path of life, find peace of mind and acquire new spiritual strength for new achievements for good. Clergymen recommend using this type of prayer appeal as often as possible.

Prayers that are written in Old Church Slavonic are very difficult to read in the original. If this is done mechanically, then such appeals to God are unlikely to be effective. In order to convey a prayer to God, you need to fully understand the meaning of the prayer text. Therefore, it is hardly worth bothering yourself with reading prayers in church language. You can simply listen to them by attending a church service.

It is important to understand that any prayer will be heard only if it is conscious. If you decide to use the canonical prayer in the original, then you first need to familiarize yourself with its semantic translation into modern language or ask the priest to explain its meaning in accessible words.

If you constantly pray at home, then be sure to organize a red corner for this. There you need to install icons and put church candles, which will need to be lit during prayer. It is permissible to read prayers from a book, but it is much more effective to read them by heart. This will allow you to concentrate as much as possible and invest stronger energy in your prayer appeal. You shouldn't stress too much about this. If prayers become a rule, then it will not be difficult to remember them.

What actions accompany Orthodox prayer?

Very often, believers have a question about what additional actions strengthen prayer. If you are at a church service, the best advice that can be given is to carefully monitor the actions of the priest and other worshipers.

If everyone around is kneeling or crossing themselves, then you need to do the same. Indicative for repetition are all the actions of the priests, who always conduct services in accordance with church rules.

There are three types of church bows that are used when offering prayers:

• A simple bow of the head. It is never accompanied by the sign of the cross. Used in words in prayers: “we fall down”, “we worship”, “the grace of the Lord”, “the blessing of the Lord”, “peace to all”. In addition, you need to bow your head if the priest blesses not with the Cross, but with his hand or a candle. This action also takes place when a priest walks with a censer in a circle of believers. It is imperative to bow your head while reading the Holy Gospel.
• Bow from the waist. During this process, you need to bend at the waist. Ideally, such a bow should be so low that you can touch your fingers to the floor. It is important to remember that before such a bow you must make the sign of the cross. A waist bow is used in words in prayers: “Lord, have mercy”, “Lord grant”, “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit”, “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us”, “Glory to Thee, Lord, Glory You". This action is mandatory before the reading of the Gospel and at the end, before the beginning of the “Creed” prayer, during the reading of akathists and canons. You need to bow from the waist when the priest blesses with the Cross, Icon or Holy Gospel.” Both in church and at home, you must first cross yourself, perform a bow from the waist, and after that read the well-known and very important prayer for all Orthodox Christians, “Our Father.”
• Bow to the ground. It involves kneeling and touching the forehead to the ground. When such an action should be performed at a church service, the clergy’s attention is necessarily focused on this. Praying at home with this action can strengthen the effect of any prayer request. It is not recommended to use prostrations in prayers during the period between Easter and Trinity, between Christmas and Epiphany, on the days of the twelve great church holidays, and on Sunday.

You should know that in Orthodoxy it is not customary to pray on your knees. This is done only in exceptional cases. Very often believers do this in front of a miraculous icon or a particularly revered church shrine. After bowing to the ground during regular prayer, you must rise and continue the prayer.

You should make the sign of the cross after simply bowing your head before reading any independent prayer. After its completion, you should also cross yourself.

How to read morning and evening prayers

Morning and evening prayers are read in order to strengthen faith in the soul. To do this, there are morning and evening rules that must be followed. After waking up and before going to bed, it is recommended to pray using the prayers below.

This prayer was conveyed to the apostles by Jesus Christ himself with the goal that they would spread it throughout the world. It contains a strong petition for seven blessings that make the life of any believer complete, filling it with spiritual shrines. In this prayer appeal, we express respect and love for the Lord, as well as faith in our own happy future.

This prayer can be used to read in any life situation, but in the morning and before going to bed it is mandatory. You should always read the prayer with increased sincerity; this is what distinguishes it from other prayer requests.

The text of the prayer reads as follows:

Prayer for agreement at home

It is believed that the power of Orthodox prayers increases many times over if several believers pray together. This fact is confirmed from an energy point of view. The energy of people praying at the same time unites and strengthens the effect of the prayer appeal. The prayer by agreement can be read at home with your household. It is considered the most popular and effective in cases where someone close to you is sick and you need to make a joint effort for his recovery.

For such a prayer you need to use any directed text. You can use it not only to the Lord, but also to various Saints. The main thing is that the ritual participants are united by a single goal and that the thoughts of all believers are pure and sincere.

Prayer detention

Particularly worth reading is the prayer to the “Detention” icon. Its text is available in the collection of prayers of Elder Pansophius of Athos, and it must be recited in the original during prayer. It is a powerful weapon against evil spirits, so priests do not recommend using this prayer at home without the blessing of a spiritual mentor. The whole point is that the wishes and phrases that it contains are close to the Old Testament, and are far from the traditional petitions of Orthodox believers. The prayer is read nine times a day for nine days. At the same time, you cannot miss a single day. In addition, there is a requirement that this prayer must be said in secret.

This prayer allows you to:

• Provide reliable protection from demonic forces and human evil;
• Protect from household damage and the evil eye;
• Protect yourself from the actions of selfish and evil people, including the meanness and cunning of your enemies.

When the prayer to Saint Cyprian is read

A bright prayer to Saint Cyprian is an effective way to ward off all sorts of troubles from a believer. It is recommended to use it in cases where damage is suspected. It is permissible to say this prayer to the water and then drink it.

The prayer text reads as follows:

“O holy saint of God, Hieromartyr Cyprian, you are the helper of all those who turn to you for help. Accept from us sinners your praise for all your earthly and heavenly deeds. Beg the Lord for strength for us in our weaknesses, healing in severe illnesses, consolation in bitter sorrows, and ask him to grant us other earthly blessings.

Offer up Saint Cyprian, revered by all believers, your powerful prayer to the Lord. May the Almighty protect me from all temptations and falls, teach me true repentance, and deliver me from the demonic influence of unkind people.

Be my true champion for all my enemies, visible and invisible, give me patience, and at the hour of my death, become my intercessor before the Lord God. And I will chant your Holy name and pray to our Almighty God. Amen".

What to address to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in prayer

Very often people turn to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker with a variety of requests. This Saint is often turned to when a dark streak comes in life. The prayer request of a sincere believer will certainly be heard and fulfilled, since Saint Nicholas is considered the closest Saint to the Lord.

You can express a specific request in prayers, but there is a universal prayer for the fulfillment of a desire.

It sounds like this:

“O Most Holy Wonderworker Nicholas, help me, the Servant of God (my own name) in my mortal desires. Help me fulfill my cherished desire, and do not be angry at my impudent request. Don't leave me alone with vain affairs. My desire is only for the good and not for the harm of others, fulfill it with your mercy. And if I have planned something daring according to your understanding, then avert the attack. If I want something bad, turn away the misfortunes. Make sure that all my righteous desires come true and my life is filled with happiness. Thy will be done. Amen".

Only baptized people can recite the Jesus Prayer. This prayer appeal is considered the first step in the formation of faith in a person’s soul. Its meaning is to ask for mercy from the Lord God through His Son. This prayer is a real daily amulet for a believer and can help overcome any difficulties. Also, the Jesus Prayer is an effective remedy against the evil eye and damage.

In order for prayer to be effective, the following recommendations should be followed:

• While pronouncing words, you need to concentrate on them as much as possible;
• The prayer should not be memorized mechanically; it should be memorized by fully understanding each word;
• It is necessary to pray in a calm and quiet place;
• If faith is very strong, then it is allowed to pray while actively working;
• During prayer, all thoughts should be directed toward true faith in the Lord. The soul must contain love for God and admiration for the Almighty.

Prayer for amulet - red thread

A red thread on the wrist is considered a very common amulet. The history of this talisman is rooted in Kabbalah. In order for the red thread on the wrist to acquire protective properties, a special prayer must first be read over it.

A red thread for a talisman must be purchased with money. It should be wool and quite durable. A close relative or relative should tie it on the wrist and perform the accompanying ritual. It is very good if your own mother will tie the thread. But in any case, you must be sure that the person who will perform the ceremony sincerely loves you.

For each knot tied, the following prayer is said:

“Lord Almighty, blessed is the Kingdom on Earth and in Heaven. I bow before Your Power and Greatness and glorify You. You do many good deeds, heal the sick and support those in need, you show your true love and only you have universal forgiveness. I ask you to save the Servant of God (name of the person), protect him from troubles and protect him from enemies visible and invisible. Only you can do this on Earth and in Heaven. Amen".

Why does mental fatigue happen? Can a soul be empty?

Why can't it? If there is no prayer, it will be empty and tired. The Holy Fathers act as follows. The man is tired, he has no strength to pray, he says to himself: “Or maybe your fatigue is from demons,” he gets up and prays. And the person gains strength. This is how the Lord arranged it. In order for the soul not to be empty and to have strength, one must accustom oneself to the Jesus Prayer - “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner (or a sinner).”

How to spend a day in God's way?

In the morning, when we are still resting, there are already standing near our bed - an Angel on the right side, and a demon on the left. They are waiting for whom we will begin to serve on this day. And this is how you should start your day. When you wake up, immediately protect yourself with the sign of the cross and jump out of bed, so that laziness remains under the covers, and we find ourselves in the holy corner. Then make three bows to the ground and turn to the Lord with these words: “Lord, I thank You for last night, bless me for the coming day, bless me and bless this day, and help me spend it in prayer, in good deeds, and save me from all enemies visible and invisible." And immediately we begin to read the Jesus Prayer. Having washed and dressed, we will stand in the holy corner, gather our thoughts, concentrate so that nothing distracts us, and begin our morning prayers. Having finished them, let's read a chapter from the Gospel. And then let’s figure out what kind of good deed we can do for our neighbor today... It’s time to go to work. Here, too, you need to pray: before going out the door, say these words of St. John Chrysostom: “I deny you, Satan, your pride and service to you, and I unite with you, Christ, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.” Sign yourself with the sign of the cross, and when leaving the house, quietly cross the road. On the way to work, or while doing any business, we must read the Jesus Prayer and “Rejoice to the Virgin Mary...” If we are doing housework, before preparing food, we will sprinkle all the food with holy water, and light the stove with a candle, which Let's light it from the lamp. Then food will not harm us, but will benefit us, strengthening not only our physical but also our mental strength, especially if we cook while constantly reciting the Jesus Prayer.

After morning or evening prayers there is not always a feeling of grace. Sometimes sleepiness interferes with prayer. How to avoid this?

Demons do not like prayer; as soon as a person begins to pray, drowsiness and absent-mindedness attack. We must try to delve into the words of the prayer, and then you will feel it. But the Lord does not always console the soul. The most valuable prayer is when a person does not want to pray, but he forces himself... A small child cannot yet stand or walk. But his parents take him, put him on his feet, support him, and he feels help and stands strong. And when the parents let him go, he immediately falls and cries. So we, when the Lord - our Heavenly Father - supports us with His grace, we can do everything, we are ready to move mountains and we pray well and easily. But as soon as grace leaves us, we immediately fall - we don’t really know how to walk spiritually. And here we must humble ourselves and say: “Lord, without You I am nothing.” And when a person understands this, God’s mercy will help him. And we often rely only on ourselves: I am strong, I can stand, I can walk... So, the Lord takes away grace, that’s why we fall, suffer and suffer - from our pride, we rely a lot on ourselves.

How to become attentive in prayer?

In order for the prayer to pass through our attention, there is no need to rattle or proofread; he drummed and calmed down, putting the Prayer Book aside. At first they delve into every word; slowly, calmly, evenly, you need to prepare yourself for prayer. We begin to gradually enter into it, you can read it quickly, but still every word will enter your soul. We need to pray so that it doesn’t pass by. Otherwise we will fill the air with sound, but the heart will remain empty.

The Jesus Prayer is not working for me. What do you recommend?

If prayer does not work, it means sins are interfering. As we repent, we must try to read this prayer as often as possible: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner! (or a sinner)” And while reading, put an emphasis on the last word. In order to constantly read this prayer, you need to lead a special spiritual life, and most importantly, gain humility. You must consider yourself worse than everyone else, worse than any creature, endure reproach, insults, not grumble and not blame anyone. Then the prayer will go. You need to start praying in the morning. How is it at the mill? The one who fell asleep in the morning will continue to pray all day. As soon as we woke up, immediately: “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Lord, I thank You for last night, bless me for today. Mother of God, I thank You for last night, bless me for today. Lord, strengthen me faith, send me the grace of the Holy Spirit! Give me a Christian death, unashamed and a good answer on the day of the Last Judgment, my Guardian Angel, thank you for the past night, bless me for today, save me from all enemies visible and invisible, Lord Jesus Christ. Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!” Just read and read right away. We dress with prayer, we wash. We read the morning prayers, again the Jesus Prayer 500 times. This is a charge for the whole day. It gives a person energy, strength, and expels darkness and emptiness from the soul. A person will no longer walk around and be indignant about something, make noise, or get irritated. When a person constantly reads the Jesus Prayer, the Lord will reward him for his efforts, this prayer begins to happen in the mind. A person concentrates all his attention in the words of prayer. But you can only pray with a feeling of repentance. As soon as the thought comes: “I am a saint,” know that this is a disastrous path, this thought is from the devil.

The confessor said “to begin with, read at least 500 Jesus prayers.” It’s like in a mill - if you fall asleep in the morning, it grinds all day long. But if the confessor said “only 500 prayers,” then there is no need to read more than 500. Why? Because everything is given according to the strength, according to the spiritual level of each person. Otherwise, you can easily fall into delusion, and then you won’t be able to approach such a “saint.” In the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, one elder had a novice. This elder lived in the monastery for 50 years, and the novice had just come from the world. And he decided to struggle. Without the blessing of the elder, both the early liturgy and the later one were held, he set a large rule for himself and read everything, and was constantly in prayer. After 2 years he achieved great “perfection”. “Angels” began to appear to him (they only covered their horns and tails). He was seduced by this, came to the elder and said: “You lived here for 50 years and did not learn to pray, but in two years I have reached heights - Angels are already appearing to me. I am all in grace.. People like you have no place on earth , I will strangle you." Well, the elder managed to knock on the neighboring cell; another monk came, this “saint” was tied up. And the next morning they sent me to the cowshed, and allowed me to attend liturgy only once a month: and they forbade me to pray (until I humbled myself)... In Rus', we are very fond of prayer books and ascetics, but true ascetics will never expose themselves. Holiness is measured not by prayers, not by deeds, but by humility and obedience. Only he has achieved something who considers himself the most sinful of all, worse than any cattle.

How to learn to pray purely, undistractedly?

We must start in the morning. The Holy Fathers advise that it is good to pray before we eat. But as soon as the food is tasted, it immediately becomes difficult to pray. If a person prays absent-mindedly, it means he prays little and infrequently. The one who is constantly in prayer has living, undistracted prayer.

Prayer loves a pure life, without sins burdening the soul. For example, we have a telephone in our apartment. The kids were naughty and cut the wire with scissors. No matter how many numbers we dial, we won’t get through to anyone. It is necessary to reconnect the wires, restore the interrupted connection. In the same way, if we want to turn to God and be heard, we must establish our connection with Him - repent of sins, clear our conscience. Unrepentant sins are like a blank wall; through them prayer does not reach God.

I shared with a woman close to me, saying that you gave me the Mother of God rule. But I don't do it. I also don’t always follow the cell rule. What should I do?

When you are given a separate rule, don't tell anyone about it. Demons will hear and will definitely steal your exploits. I know hundreds of people who had prayer, read the Jesus Prayer from morning to evening, akathists, canons - the whole soul was blissful. As soon as they shared it with someone and boasted about the prayer, everything disappeared. And they have neither prayers nor bows.

I often get distracted while praying or doing something. What to do - continue to pray or pay attention to the person who has come?

Well, since God’s commandment to love our neighbor comes first, that means we must put everything aside and pay attention to the guest. One holy elder was praying in his cell and saw through the window that his brother was coming to him. So the elder, so as not to show that he was a man of prayer, went to bed and lay there. He read a prayer near the door: “Through the prayers of the saints, our fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us.” And the old man stood up from the bed and said: “Amen.” His brother came to see him, he received him with love, treated him to tea - that is, he showed love for him. And this is the most important thing!

This often happens in our lives: we are reading evening prayers, and suddenly there is a call (on the phone or on the door). What should we do? Of course, we must immediately answer the call by leaving prayer. We clarified everything with the person and again continue the prayer from where we left off. True, we also have visitors who come not to talk about God, not about the salvation of the soul, but to talk idle talk and condemn someone. And we should already know such friends; when they come to us, invite them to read together an akathist, or a Gospel, or a holy book prepared in advance for such an occasion. Tell them: “My joy, let’s pray and read the akathist.” If they come to you with a sincere feeling of friendship, they will read. And if not, they will find a thousand reasons, immediately remember urgent matters and run away. If you agree to chat with them, then both the “unfed husband at home” and the “uncleaned apartment” are not a hindrance to your friend... Once in Siberia I saw an interesting scene. One comes from the water pump, there are two buckets on the rocker, the second comes from the store, with full bags in her hands. They met and started talking among themselves... And I watched them. Their conversation went something like this: “Well, how is your daughter-in-law? And your son?” And the gossip begins. Those poor women! One shifts the yoke from shoulder to shoulder, while the other holds the bag with her arms pulling. And all you had to do was exchange a few words... Moreover, it’s dirty - you can’t put the bags down... And they stand there not for two, but for ten, and twenty, and thirty minutes. And they don’t think about the burden, the most important thing is that they learned the news, satiated the soul, and amused the evil spirit. And if they call you to church, they say: “It’s hard for us to stand, our legs hurt, our back hurts.” And standing with buckets and bags doesn’t hurt! The main thing is that the tongue doesn’t hurt! I don’t want to pray, but I have the strength to chat, and I have a good tongue: “We’ll get through everyone, we’ll find out about everything.”

The best thing is to wake up, wash your face and start the day with morning prayers. After this, you need to read the Jesus Prayer with attention. This is a huge charge for our soul. And with such “recharging” we will have this prayer in our thoughts throughout the day. Many people say that when they begin to pray, they become absent-minded. You can believe it, because if you read a little in the morning and a little in the evening, nothing will happen in your heart. We will always pray - and repentance will live in our hearts. After the morning prayers - the “Jesus” prayer as a continuation, and after the day - evening prayers as a continuation of the daytime prayers. And so we will constantly remain in prayer and will not be distracted. Don’t think that it is very difficult, very difficult to pray. We need to make an effort, overcome ourselves, ask the Lord, the Mother of God, and grace will act in us. We will be given the desire to pray at all times.

And when prayer enters the soul, the heart, then these people try to move away from everyone, to hide in secluded places. They can even crawl into the cellar just to be with the Lord in prayer. The soul melts in Divine Love.

In order to achieve such a state of mind, you need to work a lot on yourself, on your “I”.

When should you pray in your own words, and when according to the Prayer Book?

When you want to pray, at this time pray to the Lord; “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34).

Prayer to a person’s soul is especially useful when there is a need for it. Let's say a mother's daughter or son is lost. Or they took their son to prison. You won’t be able to pray from the Prayer Book here. A believing mother will immediately kneel down and speak to the Lord out of the abundance of her heart. There is a prayer from the heart. So you can pray to God anywhere; Wherever we are, God hears our prayers. He knows the secrets of our heart. Even we ourselves do not know what is in our hearts. And God is the Creator, He knows everything. So you can pray in transport, in any place, in any society. So Christ says: “When you pray, go into your room (that is, inside yourself) and, having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matt. 6.6). When we do good, when we give alms, then we must do it so that no one knows about it. Christ says: “When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your almsgiving may be in secret” (Matthew 6:3-4). That is, not literally, as grandmothers understand - they serve only with their right hand. What if a person doesn’t have a right hand? What if both hands are missing? Good can be done without hands. The main thing is that no one sees this. Good must be done in secret ways. All boastful, proud, self-loving people do a good deed for show in order to receive praise and earthly glory from it. They will tell her: “How good, how kind! She helps everyone, gives to everyone.”

I often wake up at night, always at the same time. Does this mean anything?

If we wake up at night, then there is an opportunity to pray. We prayed and go back to sleep. But, if this happens often, you need to take a blessing from your confessor.

Once I was talking to one person. He says:

Father Ambrose, tell me, have you ever seen demons with your own eyes?

Demons are spirits and cannot be seen with ordinary eyes. But they can materialize, taking the form of an old man, a young man, a girl, an animal, they can take on any image. A non-church person cannot understand this. Even believers fall for his tricks. Do you want to see? Well, I have a woman I know in Sergiev Posad, her confessor gave her a rule - to read the Psalter a day before. It is necessary to constantly burn candles, without rushing to read - it will take 8 hours. In addition to this, the rule requires reading the canons, akathists, the Jesus Prayer, and eating only lean food once a day. When she began to pray (and this had to be done for 40 days) with the blessing of her confessor, he warned her: “If you pray, if there are any temptations, then do not pay attention, continue to pray.” She accepted it. On the 20th day of strict fasting and almost incessant prayer (she had to sleep sitting for 3-4 hours), she heard the locked door open and heavy footsteps were heard - the floor was literally cracking. This is the 3rd floor. Someone came up behind her and began breathing near her ear; breathes so deeply! At this time, she was overcome with cold and trembling from head to toe. I wanted to turn around, but I remembered the warning and thought: “If I turn around, I won’t survive.” So I prayed to the end.

Then I looked - everything was in place: the door was locked, everything was fine. Then, on the 30th day, a new temptation. I was reading the Psalter and heard how, from the back of the windows, cats began to meow, scratch themselves, and climb into the window. They scratch - and that's it! And she survived it. Someone from the street threw a stone - the glass was shattered, the stone and fragments were lying on the floor. You can't turn around! The cold came through the window, but I read it all to the end. And when she finished reading, she looked - the window was intact, there was no stone. These are demonic forces attacking a person.

When the Monk Silouan of Athos prayed, he slept for two hours while sitting. His spiritual eyes were opened and he began to see evil spirits. I saw them with my own eyes. They have horns, ugly faces, hooves on their legs, tails...

The man I spoke with is very obese - more than 100 kg, loves to eat deliciously - he eats meat and everything. I say: “Here, you start fasting and praying, then you will see everything, hear everything, feel everything.”

How to thank the Lord correctly - in your own words or is there some special prayer?

You need to thank the Lord with your whole life. There is a prayer of thanksgiving in the prayer book, but it is very valuable to pray in your own words. The Monk Benjamin lived in one monastery. The Lord allowed him to suffer from dropsy. He became enormous in size; he could only clasp his little finger with two hands. They made a huge chair for him. When the brethren came to him, he showed his joy in every possible way, saying: “Dear brethren, rejoice with me. The Lord has had mercy on me, the Lord has forgiven me.” The Lord gave him such an illness, but he did not grumble, did not despair, rejoiced at the forgiveness of sins and the salvation of his soul, and thanked the Lord. No matter how many years we live, the main thing is to remain faithful to God in everything. For five years I carried out difficult obedience in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra - I confessed day and night. I had no strength left, I couldn’t stand for even 10 minutes - my legs couldn’t hold me up. And then the Lord gave polyarthritis - I lay for 6 months with acute pain in the joints. As soon as the inflammation passed, I began to walk around the room with a stick. Then he began to go out into the street: 100 meters, 200, 500... Each time more and more... And then, in the evenings, when there were few people, he began to walk 5 kilometers; I left my wand. In the spring, the Lord gave - and he stopped limping. Until this day the Lord protects. He knows who needs what. Therefore, thank the Lord for everything.

You need to pray everywhere and always: at home, at work, and in transport. If your legs are strong, it is better to pray standing, and if you have sick legs, then, as the elders say, it is better to think about God during prayer than about your sick legs.

Is it possible to cry during prayer?

Can. Tears of repentance are not tears of evil and resentment; they wash our soul from sins. The more we cry, the better. It is very valuable to cry during prayer. When we pray - read prayers - and at this time we linger on some words in our minds (they penetrated our soul), there is no need to skip them, speed up the prayer; return to these words and read until your soul dissolves in feeling and begins to cry. The soul is praying at this time. When the soul is in prayer, and even with tears, the Guardian Angel is next to it; he prays next to us. Any sincere believer knows from practice that the Lord hears his prayer. We turn the words of prayer to God, and He, by grace, returns them to our hearts, and the believer’s heart feels that the Lord accepts his prayer.

When I read prayers, I often get distracted. Should I stop praying?

No. Read the prayer anyway. It is very useful to go out into the street and walk and recite the Jesus Prayer. It can be read in any position: standing, sitting, lying down... Prayer is a conversation with God. Now, we can tell our neighbor everything - both sorrow and joy. But the Lord is closer than any neighbor. He knows all our thoughts, the secrets of our hearts. He hears all our prayers, but sometimes he hesitates to fulfill them, which means that what we ask is not for the benefit of our soul (or for the benefit of our neighbor). Any prayer must end with the words: “Lord, Thy will be done. Not as I want, but as You want.”

What is the daily prayer rule for an Orthodox layperson?

There is a rule and it is mandatory for everyone. These are morning and evening prayers, one chapter from the Gospel, two chapters from the epistles, one kathisma, three canons, an akathist, 500 Jesus prayers, 50 bows (and with blessing, more is possible).

I once asked one person:

Do I need to have lunch and dinner every day?

It’s necessary,” he replies, “but besides this, I can grab something else and drink some tea.”

What about praying? If our body requires food, isn’t it even more important for our soul? We feed the body so that the soul is kept in the body and is cleansed, sanctified, freed from sin, so that the Holy Spirit dwells in us. It is necessary for her to unite with God here already. And the body is the clothing of the soul, which ages, dies and crumbles into the dust of the earth. And we pay special attention to this temporary, perishable thing. We really care about him! And we feed, and water, and paint, and dress in fashionable rags, and give peace - we pay a lot of attention. And sometimes there is no care left for our soul. Have you read your morning prayers?

This means you can’t have breakfast (that is, lunch; Christians never have breakfast). And if you’re not going to read in the evening, then you can’t have dinner. And you can't drink tea.

I'll die of hunger!

So your soul dies of hunger! Now, when a person makes this rule the norm of his life, then he has peace, quiet and quiet in his soul. The Lord sends grace, and the Mother of God and the Angel of the Lord pray. In addition to this, Christians also pray to the saints, read other akathists, the soul is nourished in this way, it is content and glad, peaceful, the person is saved. But you don’t need to read like some people, proofreading. They read it, rattled it off - through the air, but didn’t hit the soul. Touch this one a little and it bursts into flames! But he considers himself a great man of prayer - he “prays” very well. The Apostle Paul says: “It is better to speak five words with my understanding, in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.” (1 Cor. 14:19) It is better for five words to penetrate into the soul than ten thousand words to miss the soul.

You can read akathists at least every day. I knew one woman (her name was Pelagia), she read 15 akathists every day. The Lord gave her special grace. Some Orthodox Christians have collected many akathists - 200 or 500. They usually read a certain akathist every holiday celebrated by the Church. For example, tomorrow is the feast of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God. People who have an akathist for this holiday will read it.

Akathists are good to read from a fresh memory, i.e. in the morning, when the mind is not burdened with everyday affairs. In general, it is very good to pray from morning until lunch, while the body is not burdened with food. Then there is an opportunity to feel every word from the akathists and canons.

All prayers and akathists are best read aloud. Why? Because words enter the soul through the ear and are better remembered. I constantly hear: “We can’t learn prayers...” But you don’t need to learn them - you just have to read them constantly, every day - morning and evening, and they are remembered by themselves. If “Our Father” is not remembered, then we need to attach a piece of paper with this prayer where our dining table is.

Many refer to poor memory due to old age, but when you start asking them, asking various everyday questions, everyone remembers. They remember who was born when, in what year, everyone remembers their birthdays. They know how much everything is now in the store and on the market - but prices are constantly changing! They know how much bread, salt and butter cost. Everyone remembers it perfectly. You ask: “What street do you live on?” - everyone will say. Very good memory. But they just can’t remember the prayers. And this is because our flesh comes first. And we care so much about the flesh, we all remember what it needs. But we don’t care about the soul, that’s why we have a bad memory for everything good. We are masters at bad things...

The Holy Fathers say that those who daily read the canons to the Savior, the Mother of God, the Guardian Angel, and the saints are especially protected by the Lord from all demonic misfortunes and evil people.

If you come to any boss for a reception, you will see a sign on his door “Reception hours from... to...” You can turn to God at any time. Night prayer is especially valuable. When a person prays at night, then, as the holy fathers say, this prayer is, as it were, paid for in gold. But in order to pray at night, you need to take a blessing from the priest, because there is a danger: a person may become proud that he prays at night and fall into delusion, or he will be especially attacked by demons. Through blessing the Lord will protect this person.

Sitting or standing? If your legs can’t hold you up, you can kneel down and read. If your knees are tired, you can read while sitting. It is better to think about God while sitting than to think about your feet while standing. And one more thing: prayer without bowing is a premature fetus. Fans are a must do.

Now many are talking about the benefits of the revival of paganism in Russia. Maybe, really, paganism is not so bad?

In ancient Rome, gladiator fights were held in circuses. One hundred thousand people flocked to the spectacle, filling the pews through the many entrances within ten minutes. And everyone was thirsty for blood! We were hungry for a show! Two gladiators fought. In the struggle, one of them could fall, and then the second would put his foot on his chest, raise his sword over the fallen one and watch what sign the patricians would give him. If the fingers are raised up, it means you can let your opponent live; if down, it means you should have taken his life. Most often they demanded death. And the people triumphed, seeing the blood spilled. Such was the pagan fun.

In our Russia, about forty years ago, one acrobat walked on a wire high under the circus dome. She stumbled and fell. There was a net stretched below. It didn't crash, but something else is important. All the spectators stood up as one and buzzed: “Is she alive? Faster than the doctor!” What does this mean? That they did not want death, but were worried about the gymnast. The spirit of love was alive in the minds of people.

The younger generation is being raised differently now. On the television screen there are action films with murder, blood, pornography, horror, space wars, aliens - demonic forces... People from an early age get used to scenes of violence. What remains for the child? Having seen enough of these pictures, he gets a weapon and shoots his classmates, who, in turn, mocked him. There are so many such cases in America! God forbid something like this starts happening here.

It has happened before that contract killings were committed in Moscow. And now the scale of crime and mortality at the hands of killers has risen sharply. Three to four people are killed a day. And the Lord said: “Thou shalt not kill!” (Ex. 20.13); “... those who do this will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:21) - they will all go into the fire of Gehenna.

I often have to go to prisons and confess to prisoners. I also confess to death row prisoners. They repent of murders: some were ordered, while others killed in Afghanistan and Chechnya. They killed two hundred and seventy, three hundred people. They did the math themselves. These are terrible sins! War is one thing, and another is to order to deprive a person of a life that you did not give him.

When you confess about ten murderers and leave prison, then just wait: the demons will definitely arrange intrigues, there will be some kind of trouble.

Every priest knows how evil spirits take revenge for helping people free themselves from sins. One mother came to St. Seraphim of Sarov:

Father, pray: my son died without repentance. Out of modesty, he initially refused, humbled himself, and then gave in to the request and began to pray. And the woman saw that, praying, he rose above the floor. The elder said:

Mother, your son is saved. Go, pray yourself, thank God.

She left. And before his death, the Monk Seraphim showed his cell attendant the body from which the demons had torn out a piece:

This is how demons take revenge for every soul!

It is not so easy to pray for the salvation of people.

Orthodox Russia accepted the Spirit of Christ, but the pagan West wants to finish it off for this, thirsts for blood.

The Orthodox faith is the most impartial for a person. It obliges us to live a strict life on earth. And Catholics promise the soul purgatory after death, where one can repent and be saved...

In the Orthodox Church there is no such concept of “purgatory”. According to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, if a person lived righteously and passed into the other world, then he is awarded eternal joy; such a person can receive reward for his good deeds while living on earth, in the form of peace, joy, and peace of mind.

If a person lived uncleanly, did not repent and passed on to the other world, then he falls into the clutches of demons. Before death, such people are usually sad, despairing, graceless, joyless. After death, their souls, languishing in torment, await the prayers of their relatives and the prayers of the Church. When there is intense prayer for the departed, the Lord frees their souls from hellish torment.

Church prayer also helps the righteous, those who have not yet received the fullness of grace during earthly life. The fullness of grace and joy are possible only after this soul is assigned to Paradise at the Last Judgment. It is impossible to feel their fullness on earth. Only selected saints merged here with the Lord in such a way that they were caught up by the Spirit into the Kingdom of God.

Orthodoxy is often called a “religion of fear”: “there will be a second coming, everyone will be punished, eternal torment...” But Protestants talk about something else. So will there be punishment for unrepentant sinners or will the love of the Lord cover everything?

Atheists have long deceived us when they talk about the emergence of religion. They said that people could not explain this or that natural phenomenon and began to deify it and enter into religious contact with it. It used to be that thunder would roar, people would hide underground, in the basement, sit there, afraid. They think that their pagan god is angry and will punish them, or a tornado will strike, or a solar eclipse will begin...

This is pagan fear. The Christian God is Love. And we should fear God not because He will punish us, we should be afraid of offending Him with our sins. And if we have retreated from God and brought disaster upon ourselves, we do not hide underground from the wrath of God, we do not wait for the wrath of God to pass by. On the contrary, we go to confession, turn to God with a prayer of repentance, ask God for mercy, and pray. Christians do not hide from God; on the contrary, they themselves strive to Him for permission from sins. And God gives the repentant a Helping Hand and covers him with His grace.

And the Church warns that there will be a Second Coming, a Last Judgment, not in order to intimidate. If you are walking along the road, there is a hole ahead and they tell you: “Be careful, don’t fall, don’t trip,” are you being intimidated? They warn you and help you avoid danger. So the Church says: “Don’t sin, don’t do evil to your neighbor, all this will turn against you.”

There is no need to make God out to be a villain because He does not accept sinners into Paradise. Unrepentant souls will not be able to live in Paradise; they will not be able to stand the light and purity that is there, just as sick eyes cannot stand the bright light.

Everything depends on ourselves, on our behavior and prayers.

The Lord can change everything through prayer. One woman came to us from Krasnodar. Her son was imprisoned. An investigation was underway. She came to one judge, who told her: “Your son is eight years old.” He had some great temptation. She came to me, crying, sobbing: “Father, pray, what should I do? The judge asks for five thousand dollars, but I don’t have that kind of money.” I say: “You know, mother, if you pray, the Lord will not leave you! What is his name?” She said his name, we prayed. And in the morning she comes:

Father, I'm going there now. The question is being decided, either they will imprison you or they will release you.

The Lord put it on his heart to tell her this:

If you pray, God will arrange everything.

I prayed all night. After lunch she came back and said:

The son was released. He was acquitted. They sorted it out and let me go. Everything is fine.

This mother had so much joy, so much faith that the Lord heard her. But the son was not to blame, he was simply framed in business.

The son is completely out of control, doesn’t speak, doesn’t listen. He's seventeen. How can I pray for him?

You need to read the prayer “Virgin Mother of God, Rejoice” 150 times. The Monk Seraphim of Sarov said that the one who walks in Diveevo along the groove of the Mother of God and reads “Rejoice to the Virgin Mary” one hundred and fifty times is under the special protection of the Mother of God. The Holy Fathers constantly spoke about veneration of the Mother of God, about turning to Her in prayer for help. The prayer of the Mother of God has great power. Through the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos, the grace of God will descend on both mother and child. Righteous John of Kronstadt says: “If all the angels, saints, all people living on earth gather together and pray, the prayer of the Mother of God surpasses all their prayers in power.

I remember one family. This was while we were serving in the parish. One mother, Natalia, had two girls - Lisa and Katya. Liza was thirteen or fourteen years old, she was capricious and headstrong. And although she went to church with her mother, she remained very restless. I was amazed at my mother's patience. Every morning he gets up and says to his daughter:

Lisa, let's pray!

That's it, mom, I'm saying my prayers!

Read quickly, read slowly!

Mom didn’t stop her and patiently fulfilled all her requests. At this time, it was useless to beat and stab my daughter. The mother endured. Time passed, my daughter grew up and became calmer. Joint prayer did her good.

There is no need to be afraid of temptations. The Lord will protect this family. Prayer has never harmed anyone. It only brings benefit to our soul. Boasting harms us: “I read the Psalter for the deceased.” We boast, and this is a sin.

It is customary to read the Psalter at the head of the deceased. Reading the Psalter is very useful for the soul of that person who constantly went to church and passed into the next world with repentance. The Holy Fathers say: when we read the Psalter over the deceased, say, for forty days, then sins fly from the deceased soul like autumn leaves from a tree.

How to pray for the living or the dead, is it possible to imagine a person while doing this?

The mind must be clear. When we pray, we should not imagine God, the Mother of God, or the holy saint: neither Their faces, nor their position. The mind must be free of images. Moreover, when we pray for a person, we just need to remember that such a person exists. And if you imagine images, you can damage your mind. The Holy Fathers forbid this.

I am twenty four years old. As a child, I laughed at my grandfather who talked to himself. Now that he died, I began to talk to myself. An inner voice tells me that if I pray for him, then this vice will gradually leave me. Should I pray for him?

Everyone needs to know: if we condemn a person for some vice, we will certainly fall into it ourselves. Therefore, the Lord said: “Judge not, and you will not be judged. With the same judgment you judge, you will be condemned.”

You definitely need to pray for your grandfather. Serve at mass, memorial notes at a memorial service, remember in your home prayers morning and evening. This will be of great benefit to his soul and to us.

Is it necessary to cover your head with a scarf during home prayer?

“Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disgraces her head, for it is as if she were shaved,” says the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 11:5). Orthodox Christian women, not only in church, but also at home, cover their heads with a scarf: “A wife should have on her head a sign of the power of the Angels over her” (1 Cor. 11:10).

Civil authorities are organizing additional bus routes to cemeteries for Easter. Is this correct? It seems to me that on this day the main thing is to be in church and remember the dead there.

For the deceased there is a special day of remembrance - “Radonitsa”. It occurs on Tuesday in the second week after Easter. On this day, all Orthodox Christians go to congratulate their departed on the universal holiday of Easter, the Resurrection of Christ. And on Easter day itself, believers must pray in church.

Routes organized by city authorities for those people who do not go to church. Let them at least go there, at least in this way they will remember death and the finitude of earthly existence.

Is it possible to watch live broadcasts of services from churches and pray? Often you don’t have enough health and strength to be present in the temple, but you want to touch the Divine with your soul...

The Lord vouchsafed me to visit a holy place, at the Holy Sepulcher. We had a video camera with us, and we filmed the holy place. Then they showed what they had filmed to one priest. He saw the footage of the Holy Sepulcher and said: “Stop this frame.” He bowed to the ground and said: “I have never been to the Holy Sepulcher.” And he directly kissed the image of the Holy Sepulcher.

Of course, you can’t worship images on TV; we have icons. The case I told is an exception to the rule. The priest did this in simplicity of heart, out of a feeling of reverence for the depicted shrine.

On holidays, all Orthodox Christians should strive to be in church. And if you don’t have health or strength to move, watch the broadcast, be with the Lord with your soul. Let our souls participate with the Lord in His holiday.

Is it possible to wear the "Live Aid" belt?

One person came to me. I ask him:

What prayers do you know?

Of course, I even carry “Live Help” with me.

He took out the documents, and there he had the 90th Psalm “Alive in the Help of the Most High” rewritten. The man says: “My mother wrote it to me, gave it to me, and now I always carry it with me. Is it possible?” - “Of course, it’s good that you carry this prayer, but if you don’t read it, what’s the point? It’s the same as when you’re hungry and carry bread and food with you, but don’t eat. You’re getting weaker, you could die. In the same way, “The Living help" were written not so that you could carry them in your pocket or on your belt, but so that you could take them out every day, read them, and pray to the Lord. If you don’t pray, you can die... That’s when you, hungry, got some bread , ate, strengthened your strength and you can calmly work by the sweat of your brow. So by praying, you will give food for the soul and receive protection for the body.