Prayer for God to help. What is the right way to pray for God to hear and help us? Invocation of the help of the Holy Spirit for every good deed

Prayer is not a "tribute" to God, but a heart-to-heart talk with him. Sincere faith can change a person's life, so everyone wants to turn to God in the right way, so that they can hear him. To do this, you need to know how to properly pray at home in front of the icon. There are a number of rules that are recommended to be followed. The true canons can be found in the nearest church.

Basic rules for prayer at home

There are several basic rules:

• Prayer must come from the heart and must be devoid of selfish requests, such as: "I need a car."
• You can turn to God through the saints, asking them to "pray to God for us."
• It is better to trust your secrets and requests in silence in front of an icon or in any way of God.
• If a person does not know where to start, it is better to take a prayer book and read the morning or evening prayer, you can start with "Our Father".
• Not a single clergyman will forbid a person to turn to his thoughts in prayer and pronounce his own text of an appeal to the Lord, one can and should turn to God more often and in any conditions.
• During prayer, you do not need to be distracted by everyday thoughts and worldly affairs, it is important to tune your mind precisely to thoughts about God.
• In a crowd of people, you can say the prayer "to yourself."

It is important to remember that in a person's conversation with the Lord, all conventions are canceled, since he already sees through his children and knows everything about them. Feedback from the Lord usually manifests itself in our life by the appearance of new people who are ready to help or new trials that will be useful for the healing of the soul. Therefore, one should not wait for instant miracles, only through repentance and labor, human prayers will be heard.

At the beginning of a new day, you should say thank you to the Lord for giving this day and ask to spend this day in spiritual peace, kindness and patience with loved ones. Before going to bed, you need to thank God for one more day on earth, for the fact that everyone is healthy and alive, pray for yourself, loved ones and all of humanity.

Short prayers for every day

For sincere prayer, you do not need to have the ability to read the Old Church Slavonic text; you can always turn to God with simple human thoughts and words. The heart of a person is important to God, and not the beauty of the text that he utters. Therefore, you can start with extremely short prayers, on which a person can concentrate.

Prayer is not always associated with a feeling of gratitude and gratitude to God, which we say with a joyful feeling or with obvious relief, the prayer is not always read in joy or to ask for God's mercy. There is often a time when laziness, no desire, or the vanity of life does not allow finding time for prayer, at such times the strength of faith and desire to work for the Lord is tested, sacrificing one's deeds for him. Prayer does not take much time and you need to force yourself through force, in this case, prayer is a human labor, to which you need to make an effort.

Canonical prayers

In the Christian faith, there are many very powerful prayers, selected by the elders for centuries and preserved in the pages of prayer books and church canons. Usually, such prayers are addressed to the Lord or the Mother of God. It is believed that the words addressed to the Mother of God in moments of despair will always be heard and not ignored. Our Father is a universal and powerful prayer.

This text is easy to learn, many people know "Our Father" by heart from an early age. You can pronounce these words in many life situations, receiving protection from God. This appeal has great force.

The main canonical prayers, priests recommend knowing by heart, so that you can repeat them to yourself in any situation. It is very important to read prayers with an understanding of each word, the general meaning. You cannot read a prayer as a duty without understanding what you are reading. It is better to pronounce the morning prayer rule before starting all business, and the evening one right before bedtime.

Prayer book for home

An Orthodox prayer book, usually, is a collection of basic prayers that are read at different times and on different occasions: about health, about repose, morning and evening rules, before communion, etc. Rule of the morning and evening, if you don’t have time, you don’t have to read everything. In this situation, quantity is not important, but quality is important. It is better to say a few prayers, but from the heart, carefully delving into every word and living it.

The correct attitude to a conversation with the Lord is very important, prayer should come from within, from the soul, when the head is full of household chores, this becomes impossible.

• You cannot repeat a set of empty words in front of the icon and wait for the Lord to hear you and send everything that you asked for after pronouncing such a prayer.
• There is a downside to frequent prayers - the believer gets used to words, memorizing them by heart, and automatic pronunciation. When the prayer rule becomes habitual, a person stops thinking and trying, he says the texts “on the machine” and thinks about his own affairs. In this case, you must always fight with yourself, return your mind to its place.
• Before praying properly at home in front of an icon, it is important to remember that the image is a help to the believer in his efforts, visualization of the saints and the Lord before whom he appears.
• The main thing in prayer is the desire to appear before God, to repent to him, to transfer your life consciously into his hands and to rely on your faith, if there is a desire, then everything will work out. There are different iconostases (Nicholas the Wonderworker, Matrona and others).
• More time to learn prayer, you need to devote to focusing your thoughts and souls on this action. Praying correctly means being overflowing with gratitude to God and filled with prayer.

Some people think - standing or sitting to have a conversation with the Almighty. In Orthodox churches, people are serving. Therefore, at home, you can also observe this tradition. It is permissible to speak the text out loud or silently. The main thing is that the words come from the heart and soul. Then the Almighty will surely hear them.

What is the right way to pray at home so that God will hear? Sometimes in life there are moments of overwhelming need for prayer. Most often, this need arises when you understand that there is no one else to ask for help. When friends, family, doctors are powerless and can no longer help. When you realize that you are alone with God. So it was with me.

But what if don't know a single prayer if you've never prayed? It was like this with me: I ran to the Temple, fell on my knees in front of the icon of the Virgin and began to pray in my own words.

At that moment, I had a clear, inexplicable conviction that God would save me, although before my illness I considered myself an atheist and never went to the Temple. "Incurable", from the point of view of medicine, the disease has receded. My zeal for prayer that "breaks out" of the heart and rushes straight to heaven gradually cooled down.

Everyday life has come, ordinary life. After healing, I became a church-going, believer, went to the Temple on Sundays. But I got the question of how to pray at home so that God will hear? I understood that now my prayer will not be a cry from the heart, but a daily work.

I asked my spiritual father how to pray correctly. Father's answer turned out to be simple:

Read morning and evening prayers from the Prayer Book. If it is difficult to read yourself - listen ( on that website You can download audio recordings of morning and evening prayers read by priests, deacons, monks). Listen until you get used to it or until you learn it by heart. When you get used to listening, start reading yourself. "

But what to do when there is not enough time in the morning, and often in the evening, before going to bed? After all, we are all in a hurry to work in the morning. And in the evening, after work, there is a lot to do. I will say this: when we have problems and we ask God for something, the time is always there. And as soon as everything is good, then for some reason there is not enough time.

I noticed that if you still find the time and read the morning prayers (right after sleep), then the day passes in a completely different way - joyfully and easily. Although reading prayers takes only 5-7 minutes. Agree that you can get up just 7 minutes earlier and still have time to read your morning prayer rule. And in the evening, before going to bed, also “give” 7-10 minutes to God and listen or read the evening prayer rule yourself.

As you read the prayers, you will notice how difficult it is to focus on their meaning. You will catch yourself thinking that your eyes are running along the lines, and thoughts are about something else. Do not think that you are scattered. Even the first Christians knew about this problem. Here is how accurately and vividly John Chrysostom wrote about it in one of his prayers: “ from mental wolf will be caught».

Here is one of the answers to the question of how to pray correctly? Try to drive away thoughts during prayer, fight with the mental wolf, ponder and delve into every word of prayer. If it is difficult to read all the morning prayers in full, it is better to choose 1-2 you like. And when you get used to reading them, it will be easy to read the whole morning rule.

Prayer rule of Seraphim of Sarov for laity

But if, nevertheless, circumstances develop in such a way that you do not have time, there is a lifesaver - the prayer rule of Seraphim of Sarov for the laity. It was established for us by Saint Seraphim of Sarov, beloved by all Christians.

About two hundred years ago, He foresaw how swift our world would be and how little time the laity would have for prayer. Therefore, He established a short rule instead of reading morning and evening prayers.

Here is the Seraphim rule: "Our Father" (three times), "Theotokos, Virgin, rejoice" (three times), "Symbol of Faith" (1 time)

It is better to memorize these prayers so that even without a prayer book you can always and everywhere, under any circumstances, be able to read them aloud or mentally.

But don't overuse the reading of the short Prayer Rule. Try to read this Rule only when there really is no time. Instead, listen to or read the entire evening and morning prayers from the prayer book. By the way, Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh (theologian of our days) in his small the book "Learn to Pray" gives practical advice on how to read morning and evening prayers, how to learn how to pray correctly.

Mirtopolit Anthony Surozhsky "Learn to pray"

I strongly advise you to read this small booklet (you can directly on this site). After reading it, your prayer will become not just a mechanical reading of texts, but will turn into a live conversation with God. Anthony Surozhsky often calls prayer a meeting with God

He lived in our time and there are many videos of his conversations with spiritual children. I highly recommend watching and listening to them in order to get a “different” attitude towards life, towards people, towards faith - light, joyful, inspiring.

Jesus Prayer - how to pray correctly?

You have probably heard many times about this wonderful prayer, that only a few saints were able to truly achieve perfection by continuously repeating the Jesus Prayer.

The secret of continuous prayer is learning to repeat the Jesus Prayer at times when your mind is not busy with some work, for example, when you are on the way to work or when you are doing some work with your hands (for example, the monks were repeating the Jesus Prayer, when the baskets were woven).

Here is this wonderful prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Repeat it continuously and very soon you will begin to notice that you are repeating it, as it were, independently of your consciousness.

VIDEO: Anthony Surozhsky about prayer

I wish everyone joy, faith, hope for salvation and love for all, without exception, people!

After all, in each of them there is a spark of God, they are all the creation of God!

God loves everyone equally, we ought to love not only friends, but also all people!

How to Pray for God to Hear?- the natural desire of any believer. The paradox is that GOD HEARS ALWAYS! But he often hesitates to fulfill our often selfish desire. 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 to correctly build our prayer activity, so that it is effective, that is, we will indicate the properties of prayer in the hope of their application by people who are praying, so that God really hears us in prayer.

Here are collected morning and evening prayers, the main canons - penitential to the Lord, prayer to the Mother of God, Guardian Angel and others. Here, a believer finds prayers during the day or for special occasions - in case of illness, for children, when applying for a job, for taking prosphora and holy water, for travelers, for a blessing for a new business, for business, prayers of thanks, etc. etc.

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 consecrate it in the near future. Here we will say that the sacrament is a union with the Lord Himself. And the more often we partake, the closer the Lord becomes to us, therefore. Our prayer is “dearer” to Him, He “hears” us.

1. An important property of prayer so that God will look upon us sinners is attentiveness during prayer... 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 and try to convince. Our future fate depends on the decision of the chief. We behave strictly and reverently, do not allow unnecessary words, we 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, it is good to know what we want to bring to the “ears of God”.

1. The heartiness of prayer also helps us to be heard! Surely you have met the phrase among believers that the LORD WILL RECEIVE PRAYER FROM THE HEART, and this is true. We must with our heart (soul) feel every word of the prayer, experience it.

With such a prayer, sooner or later, a state of affection will occur. It comes as a gift from God and testifies that we are heard. Affection is when we are inside our own prayer so deeply that nothing external interferes with us, does not distract us. Tears of devotion to the Lord flow spontaneously.

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 Jesus Christ was transformed on Mount Tabor. So we must also cultivate a personal Favor in ourselves by tenderness.

1. For prayer to be effective, so that God “hears” and wants to fulfill our request, there must be constancy in prayer... And this is natural. The Lord wants us to be saved in eternity, to be happy, pious, full of strength, to constantly do good deeds. And we all receive from the hands of God, figuratively speaking.

That is, if we set certain goals in life and wish to be successful, then we must also conform to the will of God, have constancy in prayer, which God will surely appreciate and “give good things to those who ask Him” without fail. Therefore, the one who prays daily, hourly, every minute, is always in advantage over the person who only sometimes comes to prayer and then complains, they say, why God does not hear me!

We pray for you!

1. And more for the effectiveness of prayer we should be grateful to the Lord for all his incessant blessings, explicit and implicit, felt by us and not felt. God gives us help all the time. 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 might not be saving, harmful to the soul.

A grateful heart needs nothing. It is enough for everyone. It is sure 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 to us straight from the sky! We say, Lord, for what? We are unworthy of Your favors! But for us humility goes even more. We are again grateful and are amazed at the Lord's generosity, we do not ask for anything. And to us, paradoxically, it is pouring from a cornucopia! So God always hears a grateful person.

1. Always Orthodox prayer ends with praise, for example, as in OUR FATHER: as yours is the Kingdom and the power and glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit now and ever and forever and ever. Amen. In other prayers, praise is expressed in slightly different words, but it is always present.

This suggests that no matter what happens in our life, often completely useless, 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.

1. 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 is in conciliarity... It's one thing to read at home at least the entire Psalter of 20 chapters - kathisma, and this will be equal to one "LORD FORMATE", said by all believers during the divine service in the temple.

That is, frequent attendance at the church service is necessary. This is the great power of prayer. The Lord Himself leads the divine service and sends us accompanying Angels. Therefore, in the temple we cannot fail to be heard.

If for a number of reasons you cannot go to church due to illness, employment, or if the desired temple (monastery) is far away, then it is customary to order the service in absentia, that is, to submit (transmit) a note ON HEALTH and (or) REST at the proskomedia, Liturgy, moleben, panikhida, magpie, half-year and annual commemoration.

In this case, the Church of Christ, who loves us all of her 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 immense world Orthodoxy.

Use this.

Book a service in our St. Nicholas Church right now!

How to prepare yourself to attend the temple. The temple is the house of God, heaven on earth, the place where the greatest Sacraments are performed. Therefore, it is necessary, always preparing for the acceptance of shrines, so that the Lord does not condemn us for negligence in communicating with the Great. * Eating before visiting the temple is not recommended, it is forbidden according to the statute, it is always done on an empty stomach. Some retreats are possible with weakness, with the obligatory reproach of oneself.
Clothing is of great importance, the Apostle Paul mentions about this, commanding women to cover their heads. He notes that the covered head of a woman is a positive sign for angels, for it is a sign of modesty. It is not good to visit the temple in a short, bright skirt, in a defiant open dress, or in a tracksuit. Anything that forces others to pay attention to you and distracts from service and prayer is considered bad. A woman in trousers, in a temple, is also an unacceptable phenomenon. In the Bible, there is still an Old Testament prohibition for women to dress in men's clothes, and for men - in women's. Respect the feelings of believers, even if this is YOUR first temple visit.

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

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

How CORRECT TO BE BAPTIZED.
The sign of the cross is performed as follows.
We put the fingers of our right hand: thumb, index and middle - together (with a pinch), ring and little fingers - bending together, press them to the palm.

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

Then we bow down. Bows are belt and earth. The bow is the bowing of the upper body forward after the sign of the cross. With an earthly bow, the believer kneels, bending over, touches the floor with his forehead and then stands up.

There are extensive church rules regarding what obeisances should be performed and when. For example, prostrations are not performed during the period from Easter to the day of the Holy Trinity, as well as on Sundays and on the days of great holidays.

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

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

Baptized with an earthly bow:
1. In fasting at the entrance to the temple and at the exit from it - 3 times.
2. In fasting after each refrain to the song of the Mother of God "We magnify thee."
3. At the beginning of the singing "It is worthy and righteous."
4. After "We sing to you."
5. After "It is worthy to eat" or Zadostinik.
6. With the exclamation: "And make us worthy, Master."
7. When carrying out the Holy Gifts, with the words "With the fear of God and with faith, approach," and the second time - with the words "Always, now and ever."
8. In Great Lent, at Great Compline, while singing "Most Holy Lady" - at every verse; when singing "Virgin Mary, rejoice" and so on. three obeisances are performed at Lenten Vespers.
9. In fasting, during the prayer "Lord and Master of my life."
10. In fasting with the concluding singing: "Remember me, Lord, when you come in Your Kingdom." Only 3 earthly bows.

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

You are not supposed to be baptized.
1. During the psalms.
2. Generally while singing.
3. During the litany, to the choir who sings the litany refrains
4. It is necessary to be baptized and bow down at the end of the singing, and not at the last words.

Bowing to the ground is not allowed.
On Sundays, in the days from the Nativity of Christ to Epiphany, from Easter to Pentecost, on the feast of the Transfiguration and Exaltation (this day, three earthly bows to the Cross). The bows stop from the evening entrance on the day of the feast to "Grant me, Lord" at Vespers on the very day of the feast.

ICONS IN THE HOUSE
Savior Not Made by Hands

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

The purpose of the icon
The main purpose of the icon is to help people rise above worldly vanity, to help in prayer. “The icon is prayer embodied. It is created in prayer and for the sake of prayer, the driving force of which is love for God, striving for Him as for perfect Beauty. "
The icon is called to awaken in what is before her the spiritual need to pray, to fall to God in repentance, to seek consolation in sorrows and prayers.

What icons should be in the home of an Orthodox Christian
At home, it is imperative to have icons of the Savior and the Mother of God. From the images of the Savior, for home prayer, a half-length image of the Lord Almighty is usually chosen. A characteristic feature of this iconographic type is the image of the Lord with a blessing hand and an open or closed book. Also, an icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands is often purchased for the home.
The icon of the Virgin is most often chosen from the following iconographic types:
"Tenderness" ("Eleusa") - Vladimirskaya, Donskaya, Pochaevskaya, Feodorovskaya, Tolgskaya, "Recovery of the dead", etc .;
"Guide" ("Odigitria") - Kazan, Tikhvinskaya, "Skoroposlushnitsa", Iverskaya, Georgian, "Three-handed" and others.
Usually in Russia it is customary in every home iconostasis to place an icon of St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in Lycia (Nicholas the Ugodnik). Of the Russian saints, the most common are the images of the Monks Sergius of Radonezh and Seraphim of Sarov; Of the icons of the martyrs, icons of St. George the Victorious and the healer Panteleimon are very often placed. If space permits, it is desirable to have images of the holy Evangelists, St. John the Baptist, the archangels Gabriel and Michael.
If you wish, you can add patron icons. For example: Patrons of the family - saints Prince Peter (in monasticism David) and Princess Fevronia
Saints Peter and Fevronia are an example of Christian marriage. Through their prayers, they bring down a heavenly blessing on those entering into marriage.
- Holy Martyrs and Confessors Gury, Samon and Aviv - are known among Orthodox Christians as patrons of matrimony, marriage, a happy family; they are prayed to “if the husband innocently hates his wife” - they are the protectors of a woman in a difficult marriage. PATRON OF CHILDREN. - the holy infant martyr Gabriel of Belostok.

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

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

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

If you are limited in time, then use the prayer Rule of Seraphim of Sarov:
After sleep, having washed, first of all, you need to stand in front of the icons and, reverently crossing yourself, read the Lord's Prayer * Our Father * three times. Then three times * Virgin Mary, Rejoice * and, finally, - the Symbol of Faith.

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

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

SYMBOL OF FAITH:
I believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, all visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, from the Father born to the beginning of time; Light from the Light, the true God from the true God, born, not created, consubstantial with the Father, through whom everything was created.
For us, for the sake of people and for our salvation, he came down from heaven and was incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became a man; crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and rose again on the third day, as the Scriptures predicted. And he ascended into heaven and reigns with the Father. And again coming in glory to judge the living and the dead, His kingdom will have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, Life-giving, proceeding from the Father, with the Father and the Son equally worshiped and glorified, who spoke through the prophets.
Into one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. I tea the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the century to come. Amen.
The Symbol of Faith is a summary of the foundations of the Orthodox Faith, compiled at the I and II Ecumenical Councils in the IV century; recited in the morning as daily prayer.

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

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

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

* A simpler prayer -
Most Holy Mother of God, pray to His Son and God for the revelation of my mind and for the blessing of my undertakings, and for the sending from above of help in my deeds, and for the forgiveness of my sins, and for the receipt of eternal blessings. Amen.

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

1. Lord, bless us and these Thy gifts, bounty we eat
Yours. In the name of Christ our Lord, amen.

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

3. Let us thank the Lord for the meal he has given us. Amen.

We present to you other options for prayers before meals:

1. Our Father ... Or: The eyes of all are turned to You, Lord, and You give food to everyone at the right time,
Thou openest Thy generous hand and feed all living things.

2. We thank Thee, Christ our God, for Thou hast filled us with Thy earthly goods. Do not deprive us and
Thy Heavenly Kingdom, but as he once came to Thy disciples, giving them peace, come to us and save us.

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

And, if you wanted to have a snack with an apple or a sandwich, for example, the clergy recommend that you simply cross yourself or cross the food you eat!

PRAYERS FOR THE FUTURE DREAM:
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the sake of Thy Most Pure Mother, venerable and God-bearing father of ours and all saints, have mercy on us. Amen.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
To the Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfill everything, Treasure of the good and life to the Giver, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save our souls, Beloved.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Three times)
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, both now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.
Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Master, forgive our iniquity; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name's sake.
Lord have mercy. (Three times)

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

* Prayer of Saint Macarius the Great, to God the Father
Eternal God and the King of every creature, who made me worthy even at this hour of age, forgive my sins, I have also done this day in deed, word and thought, and cleanse, Lord, my humble soul from all defilement of flesh and spirit. And grant me, Lord, in the night of this dream to pass in peace, and, standing up from my humble bed, delight in Thy holy name, all the days of my life, and I will overcome the fleshly and incorporeal enemies who fight me. And deliver me, O Lord, from vain thoughts that defile me, and the lusts of the wicked. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power and glory, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen.

* Prayer to the Holy Spirit
Lord, Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, have mercy and have mercy on me, Thy sinful servant, and let me go to the unworthy, and forgive all, the tree of Ti who have sinned today like a man, moreover, not like a man, but even more than cattle, my free sins and involuntary, knowing and unknown: even from youth and science are evil, and even the essence of arrogance and despondency. If I swear by Thy name, or swindled in my thought; or someone reproached; or slander someone with my anger, or grieved, or about anything you were angry; or lies, or useless spah, or a beggar came to me, and despise him; either they grieved my brother, or weddings, or whom they condemned; either puffed up, or puffed up, or outraged; or I stand in prayer, my mind has moved about the wickedness of this world, or the corruption of thoughts; or overeat, or overeat, or laughing madly; or evil thoughts, or seeing alien kindness, and with that he was wounded by his heart; or not like verbs, or laughing at my brother's sin, but my essence is countless sins; either they are not happy about prayer, or otherwise what evil things, I don’t remember, that’s all and great about these things. Have mercy on me, my Creator, Master, your despondent and unworthy servant, and leave me, and let me go, and forgive me, as I am Good and Humanitarian, but I will lie down in peace, sleep and rest, prodigal, sinful and accursed I, and I will worship and sing , and I will glorify Thy honorable name, with the Father, and His Only Begotten Son, now and forever and forever. Amen.

*Prayer
O Lord our God, those who have sinned in the days of this word, deed and thought, forgive me for the Good and the Lover of Man. Peaceful sleep and serene grant me. Send your guardian angel, covering and keeping me from all evil, as you are the keeper of our souls and our bodies, and we glorify Thee, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever. Amen.

* Prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, for the sake of your most honest Mother Thy, and Thy incorporeal Angel, the Prophet and Forerunner and Thy Baptist, the God-speaking apostle, the bright and virtuous martyr, the reverend and God-bearing father, and all the saints with prayers, save me the demon of the real situation. To her, my Lord and Creator, not even though the death of a sinner, but as if to turn and live to be him, give me a conversion to the accursed and unworthy; Take me out of the mouth of the pernicious serpent, which is gaping to devour me and bring me to hell alive. To her, my Lord, my consolation, I, for the sake of the accursed in corruptible flesh, encased myself, pull me out of accursedness, and give comfort to my soul cursed. Put in my heart to do Your commands, and abandon the crafty deeds, and receive Your blessedness: on You, Lord, hope, save me.

* Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos
Good King Mother, Most Pure and Blessed Mother of God Mary, pour out the mercy of Thy Son and our God on my passionate soul and with Thy prayers guide me to good deeds, so that the rest of my life will pass without blemish and I will find Paradise by Thee, Virgin Mary, one Pure and the Blessed One.

* Prayer to the holy guardian angel
To the Angel of Christ, my saint guardian and protector of my soul and body, all forgive me, the tree of those who sinned in this day, and save me from all cunning of the enemy, so that I will anger my God in no sin; but pray for me a sinful and unworthy slave, as if you are worthy of me showing the goodness and mercy of the All-Holy Trinity and the Mother of my Lord Jesus Christ and all the saints. Amen.

Prayer to the Honest Life-giving Cross:
May God rise again, and scatter him, and let those who hate him flee from his presence. Yako smoke disappears, yes disappear; as if wax melts from the face of fire, so let demons perish from the face of those who love God and who are marked by the sign of the cross, and in joy say: Rejoice, Most Honorable and Life-giving Cross of the Lord, drive away demons by the power of the prophesied Lord Jesus Christ on you, who descended into hell and corrected the power to the devil, and who gave us to you His Honest Cross to drive out every adversary. Oh, Most Honorable and Life-giving Cross of the Lord! Help me with the Holy Lady the Virgin Mary and with all the saints forever. Amen.
Or, in short:
Protect me, Lord, with the power of the Honest and Life-giving Your Cross, and save me from all evil.

*Prayer
Weaken, leave, forgive, God, our sins, voluntary and involuntary, even in word and in deed, even in knowledge and not in knowledge, even in days and nights, even in mind and in thought: forgive us all, as it is Good and Humanitarian.
*Prayer
Forgive those who hate and offend us, Lord, Human-loving. Beneficent beneficence. Grant to our brothers and kinsmen also petitions and eternal life for salvation. Visit the weak in existence and grant healing. Along the way, manage it. Travel travelers. Grant forgiveness to those who serve and have mercy on us sins. Those who have commanded us unworthy to pray for them have mercy according to your great mercy. Remember, O Lord, the father and our brethren before the dead and rest them, where the light of Thy face is present. Remember, Lord, our captive brethren and spare me from every situation. Remember, Lord, those who bear fruit and do good in Your holy churches, and give them petition and eternal life for salvation. Remember, Lord, and us, the humble and sinful and unworthy of Thy servant, and enlighten our mind with the light of Thy mind, and guide us on the path of Thy commandments, with the prayers of our Most Pure Lady of our Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary and all Your saints: as you are blessed forever and ever ... Amen.

* CONFESSING SINS EVERYDAY:
I confess to Thee to the Lord my God and Creator, in the One Holy Trinity, glorified and worshiped, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, all my sins, the same in all the days of my life, and for every hour, both now and in days gone by and nights, deed, word, thought, gluttony, drunkenness, secret eating, idle talk, despondency, laziness, disobedience, disobedience, slander, condemnation, negligence, pride, many acquisitiveness, embezzlement, untruthfulness, profanity, jealousy, jealousy , hatred, covetousness and all my senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and other my sins, both soulful and bodily, the image of my God and Creator to anger, and my neighbor's unjust: regretting about these, I am guilty of myself to my God I imagine, and I have the will to repent: to that, O Lord my God, help me, with tears I humbly pray to Thee: whoever passed away my sins by Thy mercy, forgive me, and permit me from all these, even the words before You, as Good and Humanitarian.

When you go to bed, be sure to say:

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

Save and save you LORD !!!

For God to answer prayer, it is very important to pray correctly. This does not mean the Pharisaical correctness and observance of all the small prescriptions: how to stand, in front of which icon, in what sequence to read prayers, how to bow down correctly. One should not be too afraid to do something wrong during prayer, and even more so because of this, refuse to pray. God sees our heart, and an accidental mistake will not make us criminals in His eyes.

Correct prayer consists in the correct state of mind and feelings.

Praying with a pure heart

So that God does not put our prayer into sin, you need to pray with a pure heart and with deep faith... As they say in Orthodoxy, with boldness, but without insolence. Boldness means believing in the omnipotence of God and that He can forgive the worst sin. Impudence is disrespect for God, confidence in His forgiveness.

For prayer not to be impudent, you need to be ready to accept the will of God, including when it does not coincide with our desires. This is called "cutting off your will." As the saint wrote, "unless a person is first purified by cutting off the will, then the true prayer action in him will never be revealed." This cannot be achieved all at once, but one must strive for it.

With what feelings they pray to God

According to the Holy Fathers, during prayer one should not seek special feelings, spiritual pleasures. Often, the prayer of a sinful person, as we all are, is difficult, bored and heavy. This should not frighten and embarrass, all the more you should not give up prayer because of this. Emotional exaltation is much more to be feared.

According to St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, the only feelings that are permissible when praying are feelings of unworthiness and reverence for God, in other words, the fear of God.

What words should be used to address the Almighty

In order to make it easier to pray and ask God for the right things, saints and just pious people made up. They are sanctified by authority, the very words of these prayers are sacred.

The Holy Fathers compared the prayer composed by the saints with a tuning fork, by which the soul of a person is tuned during prayer. That's why statutory prayer is more soulful than prayer in your own words... However, to her you can add your requests.

What language should you pray in church and at home?

Most Orthodox prayers are read in Church Slavonic, with the exception of some prayers composed in the 19th century and written in Russian. There are Orthodox prayer books in which prayers are given with a Russian translation. If it is difficult to pray in Church Slavonic, you can read the translation.

Unlike home prayer, worship in the church is always performed in the Church Slavonic language. To better understand worship, you can keep the text in front of your eyes with a parallel translation into Russian.

How to pray to the saints correctly

Every day, during morning prayer, the believer turns to his patron saint - in whose honor he was praying.

In other Orthodox traditions, not Russian, at baptism, the name of the saint is not called, and the patron saint is either chosen by the person himself, or is the patron saint of the whole family. On the day of the celebration of the memory of "your" saint, you can read the main prayers to him - the troparion and the kontakion.

Some saints are prayed for with special needs. Then the troparion and kontakion to this saint can be read at any time. If you constantly pray to some saint, it is advisable to have his icon in your house. If you want to pray to some saint in particular, you can go to the temple for prayer, where there is his icon or a particle of his relics.

How to start and stop praying

• Before you start your prayer, you need to be in silence and mentally concentrate.
• When you finish praying, you need a little be in a prayer pose and comprehend a perfect prayer.
• At the beginning and end of the prayer, you need sign the sign of the cross.

Home prayer, like church prayer, has a statutory beginning and ending. They are given in the prayer book.

Prayer rule in Orthodoxy

Most people find it difficult to determine for themselves: some are lazy and pray a little, and some take on excess work and strain.

There are prayer rules to guide the believer.

The main and obligatory are the morning and evening prayer rules.

What is a prayer rule

The prayer rule (aka private) is a well-defined sequence of prayers, intended for daily reading... Prayer rules are read to believers at home outside of worship, in the mornings and evenings. These rules include basic Orthodox prayers, as well as special morning and evening prayers, in which we ask God to forgive our sins and keep us safe throughout the day and night.

The complete prayer rule, morning and evening, is contained in the prayer books. Those who cannot read the complete prayer rule can, with the blessing of the priest, read an abridged one, which does not include all prayers.

Brief Prayer Rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov

If desired, in addition to morning and evening prayers, you can read akathists to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Mother of God and the saints.

On Bright Week (the first week after Easter), morning and evening prayers are replaced by reading the text of the Hours of Holy Easter.

How to Fulfill a Prayer Rule

Prayer Rule occurs... It read standing or kneeling, in case of illness, you can read while sitting.

Many people learn the morning and evening prayers by heart over the years in the church, but more often than not they have to pray from the prayer book.

Before reading the rule, you need to cross yourself. Prayer words need to be said slowly, delving into their meaning... The prayers that make up the rule can be alternated with personal prayers, especially if such a need arose during the reading of the rule.

After finishing the rule should thank God for fellowship and be in a prayer mood for some time, reflecting on your prayer.

Orthodox prayer book

Orthodox prayer books usually contain

• the main prayers used in worship and outside of it
• morning and evening prayer rule
• canons (penitent, Mother of God, Guardian Angel) and adherence to Holy Communion, prayers for different occasions

Also, a Psalter can be attached to the prayer book.

How not to be distracted during prayer

Many churched and even churched people complain that during prayer their mind scatters, extraneous thoughts come to mind, old grievances come to mind, blasphemy and obscene words come to mind. Or, conversely, instead of prayer, there is a desire to indulge in theological reflections.

These are all temptations that are inevitable for a person who has not yet achieved holiness. God allows this to happen in order to test faith in a person and to strengthen the determination to resist temptation.

The only remedy against them is resist, don't give in to them and keep on praying, even if it is hard to pray and you want to interrupt it.