What time is the prayer read? How to read morning and evening prayers correctly

Each new day brings new difficulties, ups and downs. Without God's protection, we are more quickly overtaken by disappointment, despondency and troubles. It is very important to pray in the morning in order to enlist the support of the Almighty at the very beginning of the day.

Our Father

This prayer is not just universal, but obligatory for any believing Christian. It is read not only before meals or in difficult moments of life, but also in the morning. Opening your eyes and awakening from your sleep, devote one minute to reading this prayer to pay tribute to heaven, because they awakened you and gave you another day of life. The text of the prayer is familiar to everyone and everyone:

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.

Prayers for material well-being

Much has been said about prayers that can make our life better. But it is also important to go to meet God ourselves. After all, only with inner readiness and awareness of the true path does Heaven's help come.

If you are facing financial problems, you too can turn to Heaven for help. It is only important to do it right, not with greed in your soul, but asking God for the necessary. Learn about prayers for deliverance from poverty on the website of the Orthodox monastery.

Prayer to the Holy Trinity

To begin with, the text of the prayer itself is read:

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.

Then you can repeat three times: "Lord have mercy", and conclude the morning prayer with the words “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, both now and forever and forever and ever. Amen».

The Holy Trinity is the three incarnations of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each of these components is our helpers in earthly affairs. In aggregate, the Trinity is God, therefore, when reading this prayer, you ask our Creator to give his mercy and forgive you all your sins - those that were committed deliberately, and those with which you have not yet been able to cope.

Publican's Prayer

"God, be merciful to me, a sinner"- this is how the simplest of all protecting prayers sounds. It is good to read it not only in the morning, but also before any undertaking, before leaving the house and before a difficult task.

Do not underestimate these words and think that the more difficult and longer the prayer is, the better. This is absolutely not the case, because the most important thing is your spirituality and your faith, not your ability to remember.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

"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 defilement, and save, Blessed One, our souls."

This is a simple prayer - quite rare, difficult to understand, but very effective and ancient. It can be read before meals and in the morning.

Another simple prayer known to almost every Christian:

“Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, both now and forever and forever and ever. Amen."

First part before "... have mercy on us" it is better to read three times - as it is read in church according to the rules. This is a very light prayer text, and it is this that most believers read in the morning and before bedtime.

Remember that attitude is important. Do not read prayers when you are in a bad mood or when your mind is busy with something else. You need complete concentration, because you are communicating with God. Even simple prayer words for help will be heard if they are spoken from a pure heart. Good luck and remember to press the buttons and

25.04.2016 00:20

Everyone wants to cleanse their home of negativity and protect themselves from ailments and troubles in order to say with confidence: “my home is mine ...

Complete collection and description: morning and evening prayer for every day for the spiritual life of a believer.

Every person sometimes has anxiety and suffering in his soul for loved ones or for himself. In difficult moments of life, prayer to the Lord is simply necessary, because everyone who turns for help always receives it. But not all prayers are clear, some seem long, and some are difficult to read. If you find it difficult to read Church prayers, you can pray in your own words, that is, as your heart and soul suggest. You can also choose the simplest Orthodox prayers for yourself. The short Orthodox morning and evening prayer will allow you to be cleansed spiritually and always feel light and good.

What is prayer and how to read it correctly

Every believer should not only delve into the words of the prayer, but also reflect on them, and also do it correctly. The usual appeal to the Lord for help and with gratitude is prayer. God hears everyone, he sees everything we do and loves us. You need to pray only when there is no evil and resentment in your heart. If someone has greatly upset and offended you, first pray for his health and wish him well.

The correct reading of the prayer depends primarily on whether the believer is doing it. Reading time depends on closeness to the Lord. The priests assure that that soul, which during earthly life was not close to God, will be doomed to hellish torments. Believers will receive eternal bliss. We must turn to the Lord in both joy and sorrow, not only at times when we are in great need of something. If a person sincerely and with all his heart asks God for help, then the Almighty will surely hear him and help him.

What are the prayers

God gives every person what he needs: health, prosperity, abilities, sorrows. For this, we must thank him, and reading prayers is the only way to express gratitude.

If a person has some kind of misfortune and trouble, then you need to ask for help in order to solve the problem as soon as possible. For this, supplicatory prayers should be read.

Prayers of repentance are read at the moments when a person wants to rest before the Lord for the sins they have committed.

When to read morning and evening prayer

The exact times for reading prayers are clearly spelled out in the prayer book. The morning prayer should be read immediately after waking up, before the start of the day. Evening prayers are read at the end of the working day, and only after the person has done all the work. In the event that you are not going to sleep at night due to leaving for work, then you do not need to ask for a blessing for a future dream. The only thing you can read is other prayers or the Gospel.

Waking up in the morning, before any other business, cross yourself with reverence, imagining the Most High in your mind right in front of you, say: In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen. Further, bringing thoughts and feelings to complete agreement, rejecting earthly worries, finding inner peace, read the following: God, be merciful to me, a sinner. (The Gospel of Luke, ch. 28, verse 15) Having said such a short but very weighty appeal to the tax collector, bow down as if the Lord were in front of you.

To the Lord: 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 rule- daily morning and evening prayers that Christians perform. Their texts can be found in the prayer book.

The rule can be general - obligatory for everyone or individual, selected for the believer by the confessor, taking into account his spiritual state, strength and employment.

Consists of morning and evening prayers, which are performed daily. This rhythm of life 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 task, one “inspiration”, “mood” and improvisation is not enough.

Reading prayers connects a person with their creators: psalmists and ascetics. This helps to gain a spiritual attitude akin to their heartfelt burning. In praying in other people's words, the example for us is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. His prayer cries during the suffering of the Cross are lines from the Psalms (Psalm 21: 2; 30: 6).

There are three basic prayer rules:

1) The complete prayer rule, which is published in the "Orthodox prayer book";

2) A short prayer rule. The laity sometimes have situations when there is little time and energy left for prayer, and in this case, it is better to read a short rule with attention and reverence than hastily and superficially, without a prayerful attitude - the entire rule set as a whole. The Holy Fathers teach to treat your prayer rule with consideration, on the one hand, not giving indulgences to your passions, laziness, self-pity and others that can destroy the correct spiritual order, and on the other hand, to study without temptation and embarrassment to shorten or even slightly change the rule when there is a real need for it.

in the morning : "Heavenly King", Trisagion, "Our Father", "Virgin Mary", "Risen from sleep", "God have mercy on me", "Symbol of Faith", "God, cleanse", "To You, Master", "Holy Angela "," Most Holy Lady ", invocation of the saints, prayer for the living and the dead;

in the evening : "Heavenly King", Trisagion, "Our Father", "Have mercy on us, O Lord", "Eternal God", "Blessed Tsar", "Angel of Christ", from "Chosen Voevoda" to "It is worthy";

3) A short prayer rule of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov: three times "Our Father", three times "Virgin Mary" and once "Symbol of Faith" - for those exceptional days and circumstances when a person is in extreme fatigue or very limited in time.

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

The main prayers should be known by heart (with regular reading, they are gradually memorized by a person, even with a very poor memory), so that they penetrate deeper into the heart and so that they can be repeated in any circumstances. It is advisable to study the text of the translation of prayers from Church Slavonic into Russian (see "Explanatory Prayer Book") in order to understand the meaning of each word and not utter a single word meaninglessly or without precise comprehension. It is very important that those who begin prayer should drive out resentment, irritation, and bitterness from the heart. Without efforts aimed at serving people, fighting sin, and establishing control over the body and soul, prayer cannot become the inner core of life.

In the conditions of modern life, given the workload and accelerated pace, it is not easy for the laity to set aside a certain time for prayer. The enemy of morning prayer is haste, and evening prayer is fatigue..

Morning prayers are best read before starting any business (and before breakfast). As a last resort, they are pronounced on the way from home. Late in the evening it is often difficult to concentrate due to fatigue, so we recommend reading the evening prayer rule in your spare minutes before dinner or even earlier.

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

Before starting prayer, you should overshadow yourself with the sign of the cross and make several bows, belt or earth, and try to tune in to an internal conversation with God. The difficulty of prayer is often a sign of its true efficacy.

Prayer for other people (see memorial) is an integral part of prayer. Standing before God does not alienate a person from his neighbors, but binds him to them with even closer ties. We should not be limited only to prayer for people close and dear to us. Prayer for those who have caused us grief, brings peace to the soul, affects these people and makes our prayer sacrificial.

It is good to end the prayer with thanksgiving to God for the granted fellowship and contrition for your inattention. When getting down to business, you must first think about what you have to say, do, see during the day and ask God for blessings and strength to follow His will. In the midst of a working day, you need to create a short prayer (see Jesus Prayer), which will help you find the Lord in your everyday affairs.

Can a prayer rule be shortened?

This question worries many modern people. However, it seems that it is impossible to give an unequivocal answer to it, "yes" or "no", regardless of the circumstances.

On the one hand, the rule exists to observe it. The importance of the prayer rule is that it guides the Christian in the right direction.

The prayers included in the rules contribute to the formation of proper relations of the pilgrim with God, the saints and in general with neighbors, protecting him from the actions of evil forces and inner passions.

Many, if they did not have this saving rule, perhaps they would not even know exactly how, what exactly and with what regularity they should pray to God and His saints.

On the other hand, there are various situations in life when a believer, either because of bodily or spiritual weakness, or for other reasons (for example, in the case of especially responsible watches and shifts, guards, active hostilities), regularly read the entire prayer rule or it is extremely difficult, or almost impossible.

In such a case, it should be remembered that the prayer rule, although it is a rule that implies the appropriateness of its implementation, does not imply an absolute, unconditional need to comply with it.

Sometimes it is better to read fewer prayers, but sincerely and with zeal (from the heart) than everything (making up a complete rule), but “formally” (carelessly, pattering, jumping over lines, etc.).

There are, by the way, and abbreviated versions of the prayer rule.

But nevertheless, in case of doubt about this, it makes sense to turn for a specific recommendation from an experienced, spiritually wise pastor, confessor.

The morning and evening rules are only necessary spiritual hygiene. We are commanded to pray incessantly (see Jesus Prayer). The Holy Fathers said: if you churn milk, you will get butter, and in prayer, it turns from quantity into quality.

“In order for the rule to become not an obstacle, but a real motive force of a person towards God, it is necessary that it be proportionate to his spiritual powers, correspond to his spiritual age and state of mind. Many people, not wanting to burden themselves, deliberately choose too light prayer rules, which because of this become formal and do not bear fruit. But sometimes a great rule, chosen out of unreasonable jealousy, also becomes shackles, plunging into despondency and interfering with spiritual growth.

A rule is not a frozen form, during life it must necessarily change both qualitatively and externally. "

Saint Theophan the Recluse summarizes the advice for reading the prayer rule in the following way:

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

b) delve into every word and not only reproduce the thought of what is being read in consciousness, but also excite the corresponding feeling ...

c) in order to hook the urge for a hasty reading, put it down - not read this or that, but stand at the reading prayer for a quarter of an hour, half an hour, an hour ... how much you usually stand ... and then don’t worry ... how many prayers you will read - but how time has come, if not hunt to stand further, stop reading ...

d) putting this, however, do not look at the clock, but stand like this so that you can stand endlessly: the thought will not run ahead ...

e) in order to facilitate the movement of prayer feelings in your free time, re-read and change your mind all the prayers that are included in your rule - and feel them so that when you begin to read them on the rule, you know in advance what feeling should be aroused in your heart ...

f) never read without a break in prayer, but always interrupt them with your own personal prayer, with bows, whether in the middle of the prayers you have to do it or at the end. As soon as something falls into your heart, immediately stop reading and bow down. This last rule is the most necessary and most necessary for the cultivation of the spirit of prayer ... If any other feeling takes a lot, you and be with him and bow down, and leave reading ... so until the very end of the allotted time. "

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Morning prayers for every day

Each new day brings new difficulties, ups and downs. Without God's protection, we are more quickly overtaken by disappointment, despondency and troubles. It is very important to pray in the morning in order to enlist the support of the Almighty at the very beginning of the day.

This prayer is not just universal, but obligatory for any believing Christian. It is read not only before meals or in difficult moments of life, but also in the morning. Opening your eyes and awakening from your sleep, devote one minute to reading this prayer to pay tribute to heaven, because they awakened you and gave you another day of life. The text of the prayer is familiar to everyone and everyone:

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.

Prayers for material well-being

Much has been said about prayers that can make our life better. But it is also important to go to meet God ourselves. After all, only with inner readiness and awareness of the true path does Heaven's help come.

If you are facing financial problems, you too can turn to Heaven for help. It is only important to do it right, not with greed in your soul, but asking God for the necessary. Learn about prayers for deliverance from poverty on the website of the Orthodox monastery.

Prayer to the Holy Trinity

To begin with, the text of the prayer itself is read:

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.

Then you can repeat three times: "Lord have mercy", and conclude the morning prayer with the words “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, both now and forever and forever and ever. Amen».

The Holy Trinity is the three incarnations of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each of these components is our helpers in earthly affairs. In aggregate, the Trinity is God, therefore, when reading this prayer, you ask our Creator to give his mercy and forgive you all your sins - those that were committed deliberately and those with which you have not yet been able to cope.

Publican's Prayer

"God, be merciful to me, a sinner"- this is how the simplest of all protecting prayers sounds. It is good to read it not only in the morning, but also before any undertaking, before leaving the house and before a difficult task.

Do not underestimate these words and think that the more difficult and longer the prayer is, the better. This is absolutely not the case, because the most important thing is your spirituality and your faith, not your ability to remember.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

"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 defilement, and save, Blessed One, our souls."

This is a simple prayer - quite rare, difficult to understand, but very effective and ancient. It can be read before meals and in the morning.

Another simple prayer known to almost every Christian:

“Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, both now and forever and forever and ever. Amen."

First part before ". have mercy on us " it is better to read three times - as it is read in church according to the rules. This is a very light prayer text, and it is this that most believers read in the morning and before bedtime.

Remember that attitude is important. Do not read prayers when you are in a bad mood or when your mind is busy with something else. You need complete concentration, because you are communicating with God. Even simple prayer words for help will be heard if they are spoken from a pure heart. Good luck and remember to press the buttons and

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Prayer is our conversation with God. In it, we can talk with Him about our affairs, share our joy and experiences, we can thank Him, ask and apologize.

Prayer can be personal — when we pray ourselves, or collective — when we gather with others in the temple or with our family.

During the day we do a lot of things, there are many different chores. Sometimes we forget to do something. However, one should never forget about prayer.

Prayer is our most important occupation. It is very important to pray morning prayers and evening prayers.

Daily prayers

Daily prayers are those prayers that the Church teaches to pray every day, i.e. in the morning, evening or during the day.

In the morning, waking up from sleep, we thank God for a good night and ask for blessings for the whole day. We say daily and morning prayers.

In the evening, when we go to bed, thank you for the day we lived and pray for a good night's rest. We say daily and evening prayers.

Cross sign

We always begin and end each prayer with the sign of the cross. Making the sign of the cross

we reveal our faith, therefore we must be baptized very carefully. To make the sign of the cross, put together three fingers (thumb, index and middle) of the right hand (this symbolizes the Holy Trinity), and bend the ring finger and little finger to the palm (this means that Jesus Christ is both God and man). Therefore, raising our right hand to the forehead, we say: "In the name of the Father", then, putting this hand on the chest, "and the Son," then - on the right shoulder, "and the Holy Spirit," and putting it on the left shoulder, we finish - " Amen".

We begin the prayer like this:

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen (3).

Through the prayers of the saints, our Father, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us. Amen.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

The text of the prayer to the Holy Spirit.

Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of truth, Who is everywhere and filling everything, Treasure of the good and life to the Giver, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all defilement, and save, Good, our souls.

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (3).

Doxology

Prayer of the Holy Trinity

Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Master, forgive our iniquities; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name's sake.

Lord have mercy (3).

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

Lord's Prayer

Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, both in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.

Lord have mercy (12).

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

Come, let us worship our King - God.

Come, let us worship Christ, our King - God.

Come, let us worship and fall down to the very Lord Jesus Christ - our king and God.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy, and according to the multitude of Thy compassions.

Prayer text Psalm 50

cleanse my iniquity.

Wash me most of all from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my iniquities, and my sin before me is I will take out.

You alone have sinned and done evil to you, then you are right in your words, and you will overcome when you judge.

This is because in iniquity I was conceived, and in sin my mother gave birth to me.

This is why I loved the truth, it is unknown and revealed my secret wisdom to me.

Boil me with hyssop, and I will be clean, wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gaiety, the broken bones rejoice.

Turn away Thy face from my sins, and cleanse all my iniquity.

Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a spirit of rights in my womb.

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 the Spirit of the Lord, confirm me.

I will show the ways of the wicked. Your wicked will turn to You.

Deliver me from the blood, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue will glorify Thy righteousness.

Lord, open my lips, and my lips will declare Thy praise.

Therefore, if you wanted the sacrifice, I would give, and the burnt offerings are not dear to you.

Sacrifice to God - the spirit is broken, the heart of the broken and humble God will not despise. Bless, O Lord, with Thy good pleasure Zion, and may the walls of Jerusalem be built up.

Then favor the sacrifice of righteousness, the offering and burnt offerings, then they will lay calves on your altar.

Symbol of faith

I believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, of everything visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, of the Father born before all ages; Light from Light, true God from true God, born, uncreated, being with the Father, through whom everything happened.

For us, for the sake of man and for our sake, for the sake of salvation, he who came down from heaven and incarnated from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and came into being as a man.

Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures. And he ascended into heaven and seated at the right hand of the Father. And suddenly he will come with glory to judge the living and the dead, but his Kingdom will have no end.

And into the Holy Spirit, the living-creating Lord, from the Father [and the Son] comes out, with the Father and the Son equally worshiped and glorified, he 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.

Repentance Prayer

Weaken, forgive, forgive, Lord, our sins, voluntary and involuntary, in word and in deed, conscious and unconscious, in mind and in design, that day and night - forgive us all, as it is Good and Humanitarian.

Prayers to the Mother of God

It is truly worthy to magnify the blessed You, Mother of God, Ever-blessed and most blameless, in and the Mother of our God. The most honest Cherubim and the most glorious Seraphim, the corruption of the Word of God gave birth to the existing Mother of God, we magnify Thee.

We resort to Your mercy, Virgin Mary, do not despise our prayers in sorrows, but save us from troubles, the only pure and blessed one.

Honest Ever-Virgin Mother of God, accept our prayers and bring them to Thy Son and our God, so that our souls may be saved for Thee.

Prayer of angels

All heavenly powers, holy angels and archangels, pray to God for us sinners.

Prayer of all saints

Glorious and all-praised saints apostles, prophets, martyrs and all saints, pray to God for us sinners.

The Exaltation of the Most Holy Trinity

Our hope is the Father, our refuge is the Son, and our patron is the Holy Spirit. Holy Trinity, our God, glory to Thee.

Mitareva prayer

God, have mercy on me, a sinner (sinner).

God, cleanse my sins and have mercy on me.

I have sinned (sinned) without number, Lord, forgive me.

Morning prayer

Sweet child. When you wake up from sleep in the morning, first of all make the sign of St. Cross and in your soul smile at Jesus, thank Him for the night you lived and ask for a blessing for the whole day.

I thank You, God, for a good night and I give myself under Your care for the whole day. I sacrifice to You my training, my games, all the joys and failures that I can meet now. I always want to do this so that, my God, he would be pleased with me.

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen (3).

Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, both in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Virgin Mary, rejoice, blessed Mary, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you have given birth to Christ the Savior, the Redeemer of our souls.

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

The text of the morning prayer.

My Guardian Angel,

You all stand with me

Early in the evening, day and night,

Help me.

Prayer "My Angel"

My angel is holy

Heavenly friend of mine

Lead me to God

Always watch me

Save everything from evil

I want to live a holiday

The text of the prayer to the Angel.

My Guardian Angel, my good thoughts, let me be all focused on the mysteries of Jesus and never for a moment move away from Him. Amen.

Prayer of your Guardian

Prayer to St. Nicholas

Guardians are my beloved,

On the day of baptism I was given

I ask You whole heart,

Take me under the care of the little one.

Teach me to live the way it should be.

And lead me to the sky.

Evening prayers

Evening Prayer Text

End every day, dear child, with a prayer. In the evening prayer, thanks to the Heavenly Father for the affection received, place yourself under His care, do a short examination of your conscience, apologize for your sins committed during the day and make decisions for yourself to get better. Lay down to sleep, kneel down and think that God is with you, so tell Him:

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen (3).

Our Father ... the Virgin Mary ... I believe ...

Oh God, I sincerely apologize to You for all the unkind thoughts, words and actions with which I offended you so much and caused trouble to my relatives, teachers and neighbors.

Lay down to the bed, sprinkle yourself with holy water and say:

Lord, protect me by the power of the Honest Life-giving Cross tonight from all evil. Amen.

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In the morning, getting up from sleep, while still in bed, cross yourself with a 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 sleep, get up 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 the number of sinners, Lord, have mercy and forgive me, a sinner (bow).

(bow always to the earth).

(bow) (bow).

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

Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, prayers for the sake of Thy Most Pure Mother, by the power of the Honest and Life-giving Cross, and the holy Angel of my guardian, and for all for the sake of the saints, have mercy and save me a sinner, as it is Good and Humanitarian. Amen. (bow to earth, without the sign of the cross).

These prayers are called "beginning" or "incoming and outgoing bows" because they are performed at the beginning and after every prayer rule.

After that, repeat the prayer of the publican with bows:

God, have mercy, wake me a sinner (bow)... Create me, Lord, and have mercy on me (bow)... Without the number of those who have sinned, Lord, have mercy and forgive me, a sinner (bow).

And start your morning prayers reverently.

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

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

Further: God, cleanse me, a sinner, for I have done nothing better before You (bow), but deliver me from the evil one, and Thy will be done in me (bow) May I open my unworthy mouth without condemnation and praise Your holy name: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen (bow).

Outlined prayers are not read in the evening.

Heavenly King, Comforter, True Soul, Whoever is everywhere and fulfilling everything, Treasure of the good and life to the Giver, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save us, Beloved, our soul.

Holy God, Holy Strong, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (bow 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 ones, 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, Thou art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Our daily bread and give us this day. And leave us our debts, as we also leave 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 morning - reads:

Standing up from sleep, I thank Thee, the All-Holy Trinity, for for the sake of goodness and longsuffering I did not get angry with Thy sinful and lazy servant, and you did not destroy me with my iniquity, but love of mankind. And lying in non-willingness, raise me up to matinevate and glorify Thy invincible power. And now, O Lord, Most Holy God, enlighten the eyes of my heart and open my mouth to learn from Thy word, and understand Thy commandments, and do Thy will, and pet Thee in confession with the heart. Sing and glorify your most honorable and glorious name: Father and Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. 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 Tsar God (bow)... Come, let us worship Christ, the Tsar and our God (bow)... Come, let us worship and fall down to the very Lord Jesus Christ, the Tsar and our God (bow).

PSALM 50 (penitent)/>

Have mercy on me, God, according to Thy great mercy. And according to the multitude of Thy compassions, cleanse my iniquity. Wash me most of all from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my iniquity, and I will take out my sin before me. Thee, the only one, have sinned, and have done evil before thee. As if you were justified in your words and conquer, always to judge. Behold, in iniquity I am conceived, and in sin bore me my mother. Thou hast loved this truth; Thy unknown and secret wisdom Thou hast revealed to me. Sprinkle me with hyssop and I will be cleansed. Wash me and I'll whiten more than snow. To my hearing dasi joy and gladness: the bones of the humble will rejoice. Turn away Thy face from my sins, and cleanse all my iniquity. Create a pure heart in me, O God, and renew the spirit of rights in my womb. Do not open me from Thy face, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Give me the joy of Thy salvation and confirm me with the spirit of the Lord. I will teach the wicked in Thy way, and the wickedness will turn to Thee. Deliver me from the blood, O God, God of my salvation; my tongue will rejoice in Thy righteousness. O Lord, open my mouth, and my mouth shall declare Thy praise. As if he would have wanted the sacrifice, he would have given it; do not favor burnt offerings. Sacrifice to God - the spirit is broken: the heart is broken and humbled by God. Bless, O Lord, with Thy good pleasure Zion; and let the walls of Jerosalim be built up. Then favor the sacrifice of righteousness, the exaltation and the burnt offering. Then they will put a calf on your altar.

Shielding ourselves reverently with the sign of the cross, we pronounce the SYMBOL OF FAITH - the words of the saints fathers of the First and Second Ecumenical Councils (the 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, God is true from God, true, born, not created, consubstantial with the Father, who is all by Him. For us, for the sake of man, and for our salvation, descended from heaven, and incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, incarnate. Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried. And he rose again on the third day after the writing. And he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. And packs coming with glory to judge the living and the dead, His kingdom has no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the true and life-giving Lord, Who proceeds from the Father, who is like 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. Tea for the resurrection of the dead. And the life of the next century. Amen.

Virgin Mary, rejoicing, delighted Mary, the Lord is with You, blessed are You in women and blessed is the Fruit of Your womb, as if you gave birth to Christ the Savior, the Deliverer of our souls (bowing three times).

O! All-chanting Mother, who gave birth to all the saints, the most holy Word, accept the present offering, save everyone from every misfortune, and the coming izmi torment, crying Ti: Alleluia (three times, with earthly bows).

Invincible and divine power of the honest and life-giving Cross of the Lord, do not leave 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 in the exodus 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 as a sinner to the Lord God, and help me now, in this life, and in the exodus of my soul, and in the future eve (bow)... Angel of Christ, my guardian of holiness, have mercy on me and pray for me as a sinner to the Lord God, and help me now, in this life, and in the exodus of my soul, and in the future eve (bow)... Holy Great 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 in the exodus of my soul, and in the future ever (bow)... Saints of glory, apostles, prophets and martyrs, saints, reverend and righteous and all saints, have mercy on me, and pray for me as a sinner to the Lord God, and help me now, in this life, and in the exodus of my soul, and in the future. (bow).

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

Most Holy Trinity our God, glory to Thee. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Glory, Lord, to Thy Honest Cross. Most Holy Lady Theotokos, save me Thy sinful servant. To the Angel of Christ, the keeper of my holy, save me Thy sinful servant. Holy archangels and angels, pray to God for me as a sinner. Holy Great John, prophet and Forerunner, Baptist of the Lord, pray to God for me as a sinner. Holy glorious prophet Elijah, pray to God for me as a sinner. Holy forefathers, pray to God for me as a sinner. Holy prophets, pray to God for me as a sinner. Holy Apostles, pray to God for me as a sinner. Saints of glory to the apostles and evangelists: Matthew, Marko, Luko and John the Theologian, pray to God for me as a sinner. Holy glory of the supremacy of the Apostles Peter and Paul, pray to God for me as a sinner. Saints of Greatness Trio Saints: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom, pray to God for me as a sinner. Saint Nicholas of Christ, pray to God for me as a sinner. Venerable Father Sergius, pray to God for me as a sinner. Holy Hieromartyr and Confessor Avvakum, pray to God for me as a sinner. Holy Hierarch of Christ and Confessor Ambrose, pray to God for me as a sinner. Reverend and God-bearing our fathers, shepherd and teacher of the universe, pray to God for me as a sinner. All holy, pray to God for me as a sinner.

After that, pray to the saint whose name you bear, and to the saint celebrated on this date, as well as to other saints, whoever you want. Do not forget to pray and penance, which bows you have from your spiritual father.

Then pray for the health of the ruling bishop, spiritual father, parents, relatives and friends, bowing three times about health and salvation:

Merciful Lord, save and have mercy on your servant (bow) (name the names for whom you are praying)... Deliver them from all sorrow, anger and want (bow)... From any illness of mental and physical (bow)... And forgive them every sin, voluntary and involuntary (bow)... And create useful for our souls (bow).

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

Peace, Lord, the soul of the departed is Thy servant (bow) (name the names for whom you are praying)... And the tree in this life is like men have sinned, You, like a Humanitarian God, forgive them and have mercy (bow)... Deliver eternal torment (bow)... Participants in the kingdom of heaven (bow)... And create useful for our souls (bow).

Finishing your prayers, say:

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

It is worthy to eat, as truly blessed Theotokos, ever blessed and most blameless, and the Mother of our God. The most honest cherub and the most glorious truly seraphim, who gave birth to the Mother of God without corruption of God the Word, We magnify Thee (bow always to the earth).

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

And let go:/>

Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, prayers for the sake of Thy Most Pure Mother and the reverend and God-bearing father of ours and all saints, have mercy and save me a sinner, as it is Good and Humanitarian. Amen.

And, bending down to the ground, without overshadowing yourself with the sign of the cross, read forgiveness:

Weaken, leave, let go, O God, my sins, voluntary and involuntary, even in word and in deed, and even in knowledge and not in knowledge, even in mind and in thought, even in days and nights, forgive all of me, like The Lover of Man is also good. Amen.

Standing up, read this prayer with bows:

Forgive those who hate and offend us, Lord, Human-loving. Do good to those who do good, to our brethren and to all our relatives, like those who have retired, grant them all, even for salvation, petitions and eternal life (bow)... In the diseases of existence, visit and heal, in the dungeons of existing freedom, in floating waters, Wake up the ruler and others like him on the journey, correct and hurry (bow)... Remember, Lord, those who were captured by our brethren, of the same faith of the Orthodox faith, and deliver them from every evil of the situation (bow)... Have mercy, Lord, 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, have mercy on us and feed us, and grant them all, even for salvation, petitions and eternal life. (bow)... Remember, O Lord, before the fathers departed and our brethren and brought them in, where the light of Thy face is present (bow)... Remember, Lord, our weakness and poverty, and enlighten our mind with the light of reason of Thy holy Gospel, and guide us on the path of Thy commandments, with the prayers of Thy Most Pure Mother and all Thy saints, amen (bow).

These prayers end with the usual seven-bow beginning (see "incoming and outgoing bows" at the beginning).

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

Then kiss the cross.

And read the prayer to the Cross, crossing yourself:

May God rise again, and disdain Him, and let those who hate Him flee from the face of Him, as if the smoke disappears, let them disappear. As if wax melts from the face of fire, so may demons perish from the face of those who love God, and those who are marked by the sign of the cross, and let us rejoice in the river: rejoicing, the Cross of the Lord, driving out demons by the power of our God-soaked Lord Jesus Christ on You, who descended into hell, and the devil has stepped back from the power , and gave us His Honest Cross to drive out every adversary.

O! Blessed 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 forever and forever and ever. Amen.

HOW TO READ MORNING AND EVENING PRAYERS CORRECTLY

Prayer there is a conversation or conversation between us and God. It is necessary for us as much as air and food. We have everything from God and we have nothing of our own: life, abilities, health, food, and everything is given to us by God. Therefore, both in joy and in sorrow, and when we need anything, we must turn to God with prayer.

The main thing in prayer is faith, attention, reverence, contrition of heart and the promise to God not to sin. The reading technique should not obscure the meaning of what is being read. Prayers are usually read evenly and calmly, without any exaggerated intonation.

St. Theophan the Recluse wrote in his article "How to Pray": The work of prayer is the first work in Christian life. If, in relation to the usual order of affairs, the saying is true: "Live and learn," then all the more it goes to prayer, the action of which should not have an interruption and the degree of which has no limit.

The ancient holy fathers, greeting each other on a meeting, usually asked not about health or anything else, but about prayer: how, they say, does prayer go or how it works. The action of prayer was for them a sign of spiritual life, and they called it the breath of the spirit.

There is breath in the body - and the body lives; breathing stops - life also stops. So it is in the spirit: there is prayer - the spirit lives; if there is no prayer, there is no life in the spirit.

But not every practice of prayer, or prayer, is prayer. To stand in front of an icon in a church or at home and to bow down is not yet a prayer, but only a prayer.

Prayer itself is the emergence in our heart, one after another, of reverent feelings for God: self-abasement, devotion, thanksgiving, praise, forgiveness, zealous falling, contrition, obedience to the will of God and others.

Our whole concern should be that during our prayers these and similar feelings fill our soul so that when the tongue reads prayers or the ear listens and the body bows down, the heart does not remain empty, but that there is something in it. feeling directed towards God.

When these feelings are there, our prayer is prayer, and when they are not there, then it is not yet prayer.

It seems that what would be easier and more natural for us, like prayer, or the striving of the heart to God? And yet it is not for everyone and does not always happen. He must be aroused and then strengthened, or, what is the same, cultivate a prayer spirit in oneself.

The first way to do this is by reading or listening prayer. Do it properly - and you will certainly excite and strengthen your ascent to God in your heart, you will enter a prayer spirit.

Our prayer books contain the prayers of the holy fathers Ephraim the Syrian, Macarius of Egypt, Basil the Great, John Chrysostom and other great prayer books. Being filled with a prayerful spirit, they set forth what was inspired by this spirit in a word and conveyed it to us.

In their prayers, a great prayer power moves, and whoever creeps in (peers - Ed.) In them with all diligence and attention, by virtue of the law of interaction, he will certainly taste the power of prayer, as his mood comes closer to the content of prayer.

In order for our prayer to become a real means for us to cultivate prayer in ourselves, we must perform it in such a way that both thought and heart perceive the content of the prayers that make up it. Here are the three simplest tricks for doing this:

- do not start prayer without preliminary, albeit brief, preparation;

- do not do it somehow, but with attention and feeling;

- do not go back to your usual activities immediately after the end of the prayers.

Prayer rule - daily morning and evening prayers that Christians do. Their texts can be found in the prayer book.

The rule can be general - obligatory for everyone or individual, selected for the believer by the confessor, taking into account his spiritual state, strength and employment.

Consists of morning and evening prayers, which are performed daily. This rhythm of life 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 task, one “inspiration”, “mood” and improvisation is not enough.

Reading prayers connects a person with their creators: psalmists and ascetics. This helps to gain a spiritual attitude akin to their heartfelt burning. In praying in other people's words, the example for us is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. His prayer exclamations during the suffering of the cross are lines from the psalms (Psalm 21: 2; 30, 6).

There are three basic prayer rules:
1) a complete prayer rule, designed for spiritually experienced laity, which is published in the "Orthodox prayer book";

2) a short prayer rule; in the morning: "Heavenly King", Trisagion, "Our Father", "Virgin Mary", "Rise from sleep", "God have mercy on me", "I believe", "God, cleanse", "To You, Master", "Holy Angela "," Most Holy Lady ", invocation of the saints, prayer for the living and the dead; in the evening: "Heavenly King", Trisagion, "Our Father", "Have mercy on us, Lord", "Eternal God", "Blessed Tsar", "Angel of Christ", from "The Chosen Voevoda" to "It is worthy to eat";

3) a short prayer rule of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov: three times "Our Father", three times "Virgin Mary" and once "I Believe" - ​​for those days and circumstances when a person is in extreme fatigue or very limited in time.

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

The main prayers should be known by heart (with regular reading, they are gradually memorized by a person, even with a very poor memory), so that they penetrate deeper into the heart and so that they can be repeated in any circumstances.

It is advisable to study the text of the translation of prayers from Church Slavonic into Russian (see "Explanatory Prayer Book") in order to understand the meaning of each word and not utter a single word meaninglessly or without precise comprehension.

It is very important that those who begin prayer should drive out resentment, irritation, and bitterness from the heart. Without efforts aimed at serving people, fighting sin, and establishing control over the body and soul, prayer cannot become the inner core of life..

In the conditions of modern life, given the workload and accelerated pace, it is not easy for the laity to set aside a certain time for prayer. The enemy of morning prayer is haste, and evening prayer is fatigue.

Morning prayers it is best to read before starting any business (and before breakfast). As a last resort, they are pronounced on the way from home. Late in the evening it is often difficult to concentrate due to fatigue, so we recommend reading the evening prayer rule in your spare minutes before dinner or even earlier.

During prayer, it is recommended to retire, light an icon lamp or a candle and stand in front of the icon. Depending on the nature of the intra-family relationship, it is possible to recommend reading the prayer rule together, with the whole family, or each member of the family separately.

Common prayer is recommended before eating food, on solemn days, before a festive meal, and on other similar occasions. Family prayer is a kind of church, public prayer (a family is a kind of "home church") and therefore does not replace individual prayer, but only complements it.

Before starting prayer, you should overshadow yourself with the sign of the cross and make several bows, belt or earth, and try to tune in to an internal conversation with God. The difficulty of prayer is often a sign of its true efficacy.

Prayer for other people (see memorial) is an integral part of prayer. Standing before God does not alienate a person from his neighbors, but binds him to them with even closer ties. We should not be limited only to prayer for people close and dear to us. Prayer for those who have caused us grief, brings peace to the soul, affects these people and makes our prayer sacrificial.

It is good to end the prayer with thanksgiving to God for the granted fellowship and contrition for your inattention. When getting down to business, you must first think about what you have to say, do, see during the day and ask God for blessings and strength to follow His will. In the midst of a working day, you need to do a short prayer (see Jesus prayer), which will help you find the Lord in your everyday affairs.

Morning and evening rules- this is just the necessary spiritual hygiene. We are commanded to pray incessantly (see Jesus' prayer). The Holy Fathers said: if you churn milk, you will get butter, and in prayer, it turns from quantity into quality. God bless you!

How to pray and what mistakes to avoid
Prayer Rule
What prayers should the prayer rule of a layman consist of?
When to Practice Your Prayer Rule
How to prepare for prayer
How to make your prayer rule at home
What to do when scattering in prayer
How to end your prayer rule
How to Learn to Spend Your Day Prayerfully
How to force yourself to pray
What you need for successful prayer

How to pray and what mistakes to avoid.

In order to express to God our reverence for Him and reverence for Him, we stand during prayer, and do not sit: only the sick and the very old are allowed to pray while sitting.
Aware of our sinfulness and unworthiness before God, we, as a sign of our humility, accompany our prayer with bows. They are waist, when we bend to the waist, and earthly, when, bowing and kneeling, we touch the ground with our head *.
The law of god

[*] On Sundays, as well as from St. Easter until the evening of St. Trinity, as well as from the day of the Nativity of Christ to the day of Baptism, also on the day of the Transfiguration and Exaltation (on this day only three prostrations to the earth are supposed to be done before the cross), Sts. the apostles completely forbade kneeling and bowing to the ground ... for Sundays and other Lord's holidays contain memories of reconciliation with God, according to the apostle's words: "Bring a slave already, but a son" (Gal. 4: 7); it is not for sons to do slavish worship.

The sign of the cross, according to the teachings of the holy fathers, should be performed as follows: folding the right hand with three fingers, lay it on the forehead, on the belly, on the right shoulder and on the left, and then, putting the sign of the cross on themselves, they bend over. Chrysostom says about those who signify themselves with all fives, or bow before finishing the cross, or wave in the air or across their chest: “the demons rejoice at this frantic waving”. On the contrary, the sign of the cross, performed earnestly with faith and reverence, frightens demons, calms sinful passions and attracts divine grace. Orthodox prayer book

The first three fingers folded together (thumb, index and middle) express our faith in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, as the Consubstantial and indivisible Trinity, and two fingers bent to the palm mean that the Son of God after His descent to earth , being God, became a man, that is, His two natures mean - Divine and human.
Covering ourselves with the sign of the cross, we put our folded fingers on our forehead - to sanctify our mind, on the belly (belly) - to sanctify our inner feelings, then on our right and left shoulders - to sanctify our bodily powers.
It is necessary to overshadow oneself with the sign of the cross, or be baptized: at the beginning of prayer, during prayer and at the end of prayer, as well as when approaching all that is holy: when we enter the temple, when we kiss the cross, to icons, and in all important cases of our life : in danger, in grief, in joy, etc.
The law of god

When starting to prayer, one must always sober up one's thoughts, distract them from earthly affairs and interests, and for this one must calmly stand, sit or walk around the room. Then think about whom he intends to stand before and to whom to turn, so that there is a feeling of humility and self-abasement. After that, one should put a few bows and begin prayers, slowly, delving into the meaning of each word and bringing them to the heart. When you read, the holy fathers teach: cleanse us from all filth, - feel your filth; you read: forgive us our debts, as if we are leaving our debtors - forgive everyone in your soul, but with your heart ask yourself for forgiveness from the Lord, etc. the order of thoughts in prayer. This order was once revealed by an angel to a holy monk (Lev. 28, 7). The beginning of the prayer should consist of praising God, of thanksgiving for His innumerable blessings; then we must bring to God a sincere confession of our sins in contrition of heart and, in conclusion, we can express with great humility our petitions for the needs of the soul and body, leaving reverently the fulfillment and non-fulfillment of these petitions to His will. Each such prayer will leave a trail of prayer in the soul; its daily continuation will root prayer, and patience, without which nothing can be achieved in life, will undoubtedly instill a prayer spirit. Schmch. Met. Serafim Chichagov

Man looks on the face, God looks on the heart (1 Kings 16: 7); but in a person the disposition of the heart is most consistent with the position of his face, his appearance. And therefore, during prayer, put your body in the most reverent position. Stand, like a condemned man, with a drooping head, not daring to gaze at the sky, with your hands down ... Let the sound of your voice be the pitiful sound of crying, a groan wounded by a deadly weapon or tormented by a fierce disease. St. Ignatiy Bryanchaninov

When praying, do everything wisely. When you pour oil into the lamp, then imagine that the Life-Giver every day and hour, every minute of your life supports your life with His Spirit, and, as it were, every day through a bodily sleep, and through prayer and the word of God in a spiritual sense, he pours the oil of life into you. that burns your soul and body. When you put a candle in front of an icon, remember that your life is like a burning candle: it will burn out and go out; or that others make it burn faster than it should, with passions, food, wine and other pleasures. St. right. John of Kronstadt

Standing before the icon of the Savior, stand as if before the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, omnipresent in the Divine, and His icon present in the place where it is. Standing before the icon of the Mother of God, stand, as it were, before the Most Holy Virgin Herself; but keep your mind formless: the greatest difference is to be in the presence of the Lord and to stand before the Lord, or to imagine the Lord.
The elders said: do not want to see Christ or the angel sensually, lest you finally go mad, having accepted a wolf instead of a shepherd and worshiping your enemies, demons.
Only the holy saints of God, renewed by the Holy Spirit, ascend into the supernatural state. A person, before his renewal by the Holy Spirit, is incapable of communion with holy spirits. He, being still in the realm of the fallen spirits, in captivity and in bondage with them, is able to see only them, and they often, noticing in him a high opinion of themselves and self-deception, appear to him in the form of bright angels, in the form of Christ Himself, for the destruction of his soul.
St. Ignatiy Bryanchaninov

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

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

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

Do not be foolish in your petitions, so as not to anger God with your weakness: he who asks the King of kings for something insignificant humiliates Him. The Israelites, disregarding the miracles of God performed for them in the wilderness, asked for the wishes of the womb to be fulfilled - and I am still screaming at their mouths, the wrath of God is coming upon her (Ps. 77: 30-31). He who seeks in his prayer the perishable earthly blessings arouses the indignation of the Heavenly King against himself. Angels and archangels - these nobles of His - look at you during your prayer, looking at what you ask of God. They are surprised and rejoiced when they see an earthly person who has left his land and brings a petition to receive something heavenly; they grieve, on the contrary, over the one who has left heavenly things unheeded, and who asks for his earth and corruption. St. Ignatiy Bryanchaninov

When praying to the Lord, the Mother of God or the saints, always remember what the Lord gives according to your heart (the Lord will give you according to your heart - Psalm 19: 5), what is the heart, such is the gift; if you pray with faith, sincerely, with all your heart, without hypocrisy, then in accordance with your faith, the degree of fervor of your heart, you will be given a gift from the Lord. And vice versa, the colder your heart is, the less faithful it is, the more hypocritical, the more useless your prayer, moreover, the more it makes the Lord angry ... Therefore, whether you call on the Lord, the Mother of God, angels or saints, call with all your heart; whether you pray for any of the living or the dead, pray for them with all your heart, pronouncing their names with warmth of heart; whether you are praying for the bestowal of any spiritual good on yourself or another, or for the deliverance of yourself or your neighbor from any calamity or from sins and passions, bad habits - pray for this from the bottom of your heart, wishing with all your heart yourself or someone else the requested good, having a firm intention to lag behind, or wanting others to free themselves from sins, passions and sinful habits, and a gift according to your heart will be given to you from the Lord. St. right. John of Kronstadt

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

What is continuous prayer for? In order to warm up our cold, tempered hearts in a prolonged bustle with the duration of fervent prayer. For it is strange to think, all the more to demand that a heart matured in the bustle of life could soon be imbued with the warmth of faith and love for God during prayer. No, this requires labor and labor, time and time. St. right. John of Kronstadt

Dwelling in prayer for a long time, and not seeing the fruit, do not say: I have not gained anything. For being in prayer itself is already an acquisition; And what good is higher than this, to cleave to the Lord and to remain unceasingly in union with Him? Venerable John Climacus

At the end of the morning and evening prayers at home, call upon the saints: patriarchs, prophets, apostles, saints, martyrs, confessors, saints, abstainers or ascetics, unmercenaries, so that, seeing in them the fulfillment of every virtue, and himself become an imitator in every virtue. Learn from the patriarchs children's faith and obedience to the Lord; among the prophets and apostles - zeal for the glory of God and for the salvation of human souls; among the saints - zeal to preach the word of God and, in general, through the scriptures, contribute to the possible glorification of the name of God, to the establishment of faith, hope and love in Christians; among martyrs and confessors - firmness for faith and piety before unbelieving and wicked people; among the ascetics - the timetable of the flesh with passions and lusts, prayer and contemplation of God; among the unmercenaries - non-covetousness and gratuitous help to those in need.

When we call on the saints in prayer, then to pronounce their name from the heart means to bring them closer to our very heart. Then undoubtedly ask for their prayers and intercession for themselves - they will hear you and present your prayer to the Master soon, in the blink of an eye, like the Omnipresent and all Leading. St. right. John of Kronstadt

Once the brethren asked Abba Agathon: What virtue is the most difficult of all? He replied, “Forgive me, I think the hardest thing is to pray to God. When a person wants to pray, the enemies try to distract him, because they know that nothing opposes them as much as praying to God. In any heroic deed, no matter what a person undertakes, he receives comfort after intense labor, and prayer until the last minute of life requires a struggle. " Venerable Abba Agathon

Prayer rule.

What is a prayer rule? These are prayers that a person reads regularly, every day. The prayer rule is different for everyone. For some, the morning or evening rule takes several hours, for others, a few minutes. It all depends on the spiritual constitution of a person, on the degree of his rootedness in prayer and on what time he has at his disposal.
It is very important that a person fulfills the prayer rule, even the shortest one, so that there is regularity and constancy in prayer. But the rule should not turn into a formality. The experience of many believers shows that with the constant reading of the same prayers, their words fade, lose their freshness, and a person, getting used to them, ceases to focus on them. This danger must be avoided by all means.
I remember when I took the monastic tonsure (I was twenty years old then), I turned to an experienced confessor for advice and asked him what my prayer rule should be. He said: "You must read the morning and evening prayers every day, three canons and one akathist. Whatever happens, even if you are very tired, you must read them. And even if you read them hastily and inattentively, it does not matter, the main thing is - for the rule to be subtracted. " I tried. It didn't work out. The daily recitation of the same prayers led to the fact that these texts quickly became boring. In addition, every day I spent many hours in the church at the services that spiritually nourished, nourished, and inspired me. And the reading of the three canons and the akathist turned into some kind of unnecessary "appendage". I started looking for another piece of advice that was more suitable for me. And he found it in the works of St. Theophan the Recluse, a remarkable ascetic of the 19th century. He advised the prayer rule to count not by the number of prayers, but by the time that we are ready to devote to God. For example, we can make it a rule to pray in the morning and in the evening for half an hour, but this half hour must be completely devoted to God. And it is not so important whether we read all the prayers during these minutes or just one, or maybe we will devote one evening entirely to reading the Psalter, the Gospel or prayer in our own words. The main thing is that we are focused on God, so that our attention does not slip away and that every word reaches our hearts. This advice worked for me. However, I do not exclude that the advice I received from a confessor will be more suitable for others. Much depends on the individual's personality.
It seems to me that for a person living in the world, not only fifteen, but even five minutes of morning and evening prayer, if, of course, it is pronounced with attention and feeling, is enough to be a real Christian. It is only important that the thought always corresponds to the words, the heart answers to the words of the prayer, and the whole life corresponds to the prayer.
Try, following the advice of St. Theophan the Recluse, to set aside some time for prayer during the day and for the daily fulfillment of the prayer rule. And you will see that it will bear fruit very soon.

What prayers should the prayer rule of a layman consist of?

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

There are three basic prayer rules:
1) a complete prayer rule, designed for monks and spiritually experienced laity, which is published in the Orthodox Prayer Book;
2) a short prayer rule for all believers; in the morning: "Heavenly King", Trisagion, "Our Father", "Virgin Mary", "Rise from sleep", "Have mercy on me, God", "I believe", "God, cleanse", "To You, Master", " Holy Angel ”,“ Most Holy Lady ”, invocation of the saints, prayer for the living and the dead; in the evening: "Heavenly King", Trisagion, "Our Father", "Have mercy on us, Lord", "Eternal God", "Blessed Tsar", "Angel of Christ", from "The Chosen Voevoda" to "It is worthy to eat"; these prayers are contained in any prayer book;
3) a short prayer rule of the Monk Seraphim of Sarov: three times "Our Father", three times "Virgin Mary" and once "I Believe" - ​​for those days and circumstances when a person is in extreme fatigue or very limited in time.

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

You cannot completely omit the prayer rule. Even if the prayer rule is read without due attention, the words of the prayers, penetrating into the soul, have their cleansing effect.

Saint Theophan writes to one family person: “In case you need to be able to shorten the rule. You never know accidents in family life. When things do not allow you to complete a completely prayer rule, then do it in abbreviated form.

And you should never rush ... The rule is not an essential part of prayer, but only its outer side. But the main thing is - the prayer of the mind and heart to God, exalted with praise, thanksgiving and supplication ... and finally with surrender to the Lord entirely. When there are such movements in the heart, there is also prayer, and when not, there is no prayer, even if you have stood for whole days on the rule. "

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

During the retreat, the prayers are especially long, for, as the holy righteous John of Kronstadt writes, “in order to disperse our cold, tempered hearts in a long bustle with the duration of fervent prayer. For it is strange to think, all the more to demand that a heart matured in the bustle of life could soon be imbued with the warmth of faith and love for God during prayer. No, it takes work and time. The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and those who use force delight it (Matt. 11, 12). The Kingdom of God does not come to the heart soon, when people run away from it so zealously. The Lord God Himself has expressed His will so that we pray not briefly, when he presents as an example a widow who went to the judge for a long time and crawled (for a long time), bothering him with her requests (Luke 18, 2-6). "

When to practice your prayer rule.

In the conditions of modern life, given the workload and accelerated pace, it is not easy for the laity to set aside a certain time for prayer. You need to develop strict rules of prayer discipline and strongly adhere to your prayer rule.
Morning prayers are best read before starting any business. In extreme cases, they are pronounced on the way from home. Evening Prayer Rule Prayer teachers recommend reading in free minutes before dinner or even earlier - late at night it is often difficult to concentrate due to fatigue.

How to prepare for prayer.

The main prayers that make up the morning and evening rules should be known by heart so that they penetrate deeper into the heart and so that they can be repeated in any circumstances. First of all, in your free time, it is advisable to read the prayers included in your rule, translate the text of the prayers for yourself from Church Slavonic into Russian, in order to understand the meaning of each word and not utter a single word meaninglessly or without precise comprehension. This is advised by the Church Fathers. “Work hard,” writes the Monk Nikodim Svyatorets, “not at the hour of prayer, but at another, free time, to ponder and feel the prayers. Having done this, even during prayer you will not find any difficulty in reproducing the content of the prayer being read. "

It is very important that those who begin prayer should drive out resentment, irritation, and bitterness from the heart. Saint Tikhon Zadonsky teaches: "Before praying, you need not be angry with anyone, not be angry, but leave any offense so that God himself will forsake sins."

“When approaching the Benefactor, be yourself beneficent; approaching the Good, be good yourself; approaching the Righteous, be yourself righteous; when approaching the Patient, be patient yourself; when approaching the Humanitarian, be humane; and also be to everyone else, approaching the Good-hearted, the Benevolent, the Sociable in blessings, the Merciful of everyone, and if anything else is seen of the Divine, becoming like in all this willfulness, acquire thereby for yourself the boldness to pray, "writes St. Gregory of Nyssa ...

How to make your prayer rule at home.

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

Before starting prayer, you should overshadow yourself with the sign of the cross and make several bows, belt or earth, and try to tune in to an internal conversation with God. “Wait in silence, until the senses subside, put yourself in the presence of God up to His consciousness and feelings with reverent Fear and rise up in your heart a living faith that God hears and sees you,” reads the beginning of the prayer book. Saying prayers aloud or in an undertone helps many people to concentrate.

“Getting down to prayer,” advises St. Theophan the Recluse, “in the morning or in the evening, wait a little, or sit, or walk, and at this time take the trouble to sober up the thought, distracting it from all earthly affairs and objects. Then, think about who is the One to whom you will turn in prayer, and who you are, who now have to begin this prayer to Him - and awaken in your soul the corresponding mood of self-deprecating and reverential fear of the immersion in the heart of God. This is the whole preparation - to stand reverently before God - small but not insignificant. Here the beginning of prayer is supposed, but a good beginning is half of the work.

So having settled down internally, then stand in front of the icon and, after putting down a few bows, begin the usual prayer: "Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee", "Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth" and so on. Read slowly, grasp every word, and bring the thought of every word to your heart, accompanying it with bows. This is the whole point of reading a prayer that is pleasing to God and fruitful. Perceive every word and thought of a word to your heart, otherwise - understand what you are reading and feel what is understandable. No other rules are required. These two - understand and feel - properly performed, adorn any prayer with full dignity and impart to it all fruitful action. You read: "Cleanse us from all filthiness" - feel your filthiness, desire purity and seek it with hope from the Lord, You read: "Leave us our debts, as if we also leave our debtors" - and in your soul forgive everyone, and with a heart that has forgiven everyone, ask the Lord for your forgiveness. You read: “Thy will be done” - and in your heart completely surrender your fate to the Lord and express an unquestioning readiness to meet with complacency everything that the Lord will please you to send.

If you act in this way with every verse of your prayer, you will have proper prayer. "

In another of his exhortations, Saint Theophan summarizes the advice for reading the prayer rule in the following way:
a) never read hastily, but read as if in a chant ... In ancient times, all prayers read were taken from the psalms ... But nowhere do I find the word "read", but everywhere "sing" ...
b) delve into every word and not only reproduce the thought of what is being read in consciousness, but also excite the corresponding feeling ...
c) in order to hook the urge for a hasty reading, put it down - either to read it or to read it, but to stand at the reading prayer for a quarter of an hour, half an hour, an hour ... how much you usually stand ... and then don't worry ... how many prayers you will read, - and when the time has come, if there is no desire to stand further, stop reading ...
d) putting this, however, do not look at the clock, but stand like this so that you can stand endlessly: thought will not run ahead ...
e) in order to promote the movement of prayer feelings in your free time, re-read and change your mind all the prayers that are included in your rule - and feel them so that when you begin to read them on the rule, you know in advance what feeling should be aroused in your heart .. ...
f) never read without a break in prayer, but always interrupt them with your own personal prayer, with bows, whether in the middle of the prayers you have to do it or at the end. As soon as something falls into your heart, immediately stop reading and bow down. This last rule is the most necessary and most necessary for the upbringing of the spirit of prayer ... If any other feeling takes a lot, you and be with him and bow down, and leave reading ... so until the very end of the allotted time.

What to do when scattering in prayer.

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

It is very difficult to pray. Prayer is primarily a spiritual work, therefore one should not expect immediate spiritual delight from it. “Do not seek pleasure in prayer,” writes Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov), “they are by no means characteristic of a sinner. The sinner's desire to feel pleasure is already self-deception ... Do not seek prematurely high spiritual states and prayerful delights. "
As a rule, attention to words, prayer can be held for a few minutes, and then thoughts begin to wander, the eye slides over the words of the prayer - and our hearts and minds are far away.
If someone prays to the Lord, but thinks about something else, then the Lord will not listen to such a prayer, ”writes the Monk Silouan the Athonite.
At these moments, the Church Fathers advise to be especially careful. Saint Theophan the Recluse writes that we must prepare in advance for the fact that when reading prayers we are scattered, often mechanically read the words of a prayer. “When during prayer the thought runs away - return it. Run away again - return again. So every time. Every time, what will be read during the running away of thought and, therefore, without attention and feeling, do not forget to re-read. And even if your thought ran off several times in one place, read it several times until you read it with a concept and feeling. Once you overcome this difficulty, the next time it may not be repeated, or it will not repeat itself in such force.
If during the reading of the canon a prayer breaks through in your own words, then, as the Monk Nicodemus says, “do not allow this occasion to pass by for a fleeting moment, but stop at it”.
We find the same idea in St. Theophan: “Another word will have such a strong effect on the soul that the soul will not want to extend further in prayer, and although the language reads prayers, and the thought still runs back to the place that had such an effect on her. In this case, stop, do not read further, but stand with attention and feeling in that place, feed your soul with them, or with those thoughts that it will generate. And do not rush to tear yourself away from this state, so if time is pressing, leave the unfinished rule, and do not ruin this state. It will overshadow you, maybe all day, like a Guardian Angel! Such beneficial effects on the soul during prayer mean that the spirit of prayer begins to take root and that, therefore, the preservation of this state is the most reliable means of educating and strengthening the prayer spirit in us. "

How to end your prayer rule.

It is good to end the prayer with thanksgiving to God for the granted fellowship and contrition for your inattention.
“When you finish your prayer, do not immediately move on to your own activities, but also, at least a little, wait and think that this has been done by you and what it obliges you to do, trying, if it is given to feel something during prayer, to preserve it after prayers, ”writes St. Theophan the Recluse. "Do not immediately rush into everyday affairs," teaches the Monk Nicodemus, "and never think that having completed your prayer rule, you have finished everything in relation to God."
When getting down to business, you must first think about what you have to say, do, see during the day, and ask God for blessing and strength to follow His will.

How to learn to spend the day in prayer.

Having finished the morning prayers, we should not think that everything is fulfilled in relation to God, and only in the evening, during the evening ritual, should we return to prayer.
The good feelings that arose during the morning prayers will be drowned out in the hustle and bustle of the day. Because of this, there is no desire to stand for evening prayer.
We must try to do so that the soul turns to God not only when we stand in prayer, but also throughout the day.

Here is how St. Theophan the Recluse advises to study this:
“First, it is necessary during the day to often cry to God from the heart in short words, judging by the need of the soul and current deeds. You start by saying, for example, "God bless!" When you finish the job, say: "Glory to you, Lord!", And not only with your tongue, but also with the feeling of your heart. What passion will rise, say: "Save, Lord, I am perishing!" The darkness finds embarrassing thoughts, cry out: "Bring my soul out of prison!" Wrong deeds are coming and sin attracts them, pray: "Instruct me, Lord, on the way" or "Do not give my feet into confusion." Sins suppress and lead to despair, cry out in a publican's voice: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." So in any case. Or just often say: “Lord, have mercy; Lady Mother of God, have mercy on me. To the angel of God, my holy guardian, protect me, ”or in whatever other word call out. Only make these appeals as often as possible, doing your best to make them come out of your heart, as if squeezed out of it. When you do this, we will make frequent ascents from our hearts to God, frequent appeals to God, frequent prayer, and this increase will impart the skill of an intelligent interview with God.
But in order for the soul to cry in this way, one must first force it to turn everything to the glory of God, every work of its own, great and small. And this is the second way how to teach the soul to turn to God more often during the day. For if we make it a law to fulfill this apostolic commandment, so that we can do everything for the glory of God, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, you do everything to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31), then we will certainly remember about every deed. God, and remember not simply, but with caution, how not to act in any case wrong and not offend God in any way. This will cause fear to turn to God and prayerfully ask for help and admonition. As we almost incessantly do something, we will almost incessantly turn to God in prayer, and, therefore, almost continuously go through the science of prayer in the soul to God.
But in order for the soul to perform this, that is, doing everything for the glory of God, as it should, it is necessary to tune it to this from early morning - from the very beginning of the day, before a person leaves for his work and for his work until evening. This mood is produced by the thought of God. And this is the third way of teaching the soul to turn to God frequently. Divine contemplation is a reverent meditation on Divine properties and actions and on what their knowledge and their attitude to us obliges us, this meditation on the goodness of God, justice, wisdom, great power, omnipresence, omniscience, on creation and providence, on the dispensation of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ, about the goodness and word of God, about the holy sacraments, about the Kingdom of Heaven.
Which of these objects do not begin to ponder, this meditation will certainly fill the soul with a reverent feeling for God. Begin to reflect, for example, on the goodness of God, and you will see that you are surrounded by the mercies of God both physically and spiritually, and unless you are a stone, so as not to fall before God in an outpouring of humiliated feelings of thanksgiving. Begin to reflect on the omnipresence of God, - you will understand that you are everywhere before God and God is before you, and you cannot but be filled with reverential fear. Begin to reflect on the omniscience of God, - you will realize that nothing in you is hidden from the eye of God, and you will certainly put yourself to be strictly attentive to the movements of your heart and mind, so as not to offend the all-seeing God in some way. Begin to reason about the truth of God, and you will be convinced that not a single bad deed will remain without punishment, and you will certainly set aside to cleanse all your sins with heartfelt contrition and repentance before God. So, no matter what property and action of God you begin to argue about, any such meditation will fill the soul with feelings and dispositions reverent for God. It directs the whole being of man directly to God and is therefore the most direct means to accustom the soul to ascend to God.
The most decent, convenient time for this is morning, when the soul is not yet burdened with many impressions and business concerns, and that is after the morning prayer. Finish your prayer, sit down and, with a thought consecrated in prayer, begin to think now about one thing, tomorrow about another God's property and action, and create a disposition in your soul corresponding to this. “Go,” said Saint Demetrius of Rostov, “go, holy divine contemplation, and let us plunge into meditation on the great works of God,” and thought through the thought of either the works of creation and providence, or the miracles of the Lord Savior, or His suffering, or something else, touched those hearts his own and began to pour out his soul in prayer. Anyone can do this. There is not much work, only desire and determination are needed; but there is a lot of fruit.
So here are three ways, how, besides the prayer rule, to teach the soul to ascend prayerfully to God, namely: to devote a few time in the morning to contemplation of God, to turn every business to the glory of God and often turn to God with short appeals.
When the thought of God is done well in the morning, it will leave a deep mood for thinking about God. Thinking about God will force the soul to carefully perform every action, both internal and external, and convert it to the glory of God. Both will put the soul in such a position that prayer appeals to God will often come out of it.
These three are divine thinking, creation for the glory of God and frequent invocations are the most effective instruments of intellectual and heartfelt prayer. Each of them lifts the soul to God. Whoever has set out to exercise them will soon acquire the skill of ascending to God in his heart. This labor is like climbing a mountain. The higher someone climbs the mountain, the freer and easier it is to breathe. So here too, the more someone gets used to the shown exercises, the higher the soul will rise, and the higher the soul ascends, the more freely prayer will act in it. Our soul is by nature an inhabitant of the Divine heavenly world. There she should have been inanimate both in thought and in heart; but the burden of earthly thoughts and attachments attracts and burdens her down. The shown methods tear it off the ground little by little, and then completely tear it off. When they are completely torn off, then the soul will enter its realm and it will sweetly dwell in sorrow - here it is heartfelt and mentally, and afterwards, by its very being, it will be vouchsafed before the face of God to dwell in the faces of Angels and saints. Why may the Lord vouch for all of you with His grace? Amen".

How to force yourself to prayer.

Sometimes prayer does not come to mind at all. In this case, Saint Theophan advises to do this:
“If this is a prayer at home, then you can put it off a little, for a few minutes ... to bend over, they take him by the forelock and bend him down ... Otherwise, this is what might happen ... now there is reluctance - tomorrow there is reluctance, and then prayer is completely over. Take care of this ... and bother yourself with willing prayer. The labor of self-compulsion overcomes everything. "

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

What is needed for successful prayer.

“Desiring and seeking success in prayer work, adapt everything else to this, so as not to ruin with one hand what the other is creating.
1. Keep your body strictly in food, and in sleep, and in rest: do not give him anything just because it wants it, as the apostle commands: Do not turn cares for the flesh into lusts (Rom. 13: 14). Give no rest to the flesh.
2. Reduce your external intercourse to the most inevitable. This is for the time of teaching yourself to pray. After the prayer, acting in you, it will indicate what can be added without prejudice to it. Especially take care of feelings, and between them most - eyes, hearing, tie your tongue. Without observing this, you cannot even take a step forward in prayer. Just as a candle cannot burn in the wind and rain, so it is impossible to light up in prayer with a surge of impressions from outside.
3. Use all your free time after prayer for reading and meditation. For reading, choose mainly those books in which it is written about prayer and, in general, about the inner spiritual life. Think exclusively about God and the things of the Divine, about the Incarnate Economy of our salvation, and in it especially about the suffering and death of the Lord Savior. By doing this, you will immerse yourself in the sea of ​​Divine light. Add to this going to church as soon as you can. One presence in the temple will overshadow you with a prayer cloud. What will you get if you stand the entire service in a truly prayerful mood!
4. Know that you cannot succeed in prayer without prospering in the Christian life at all. It is imperative that not a single sin lay on the soul that has not been cleansed by repentance; and if during prayer work you do something that confuses the conscience, hurry to be cleansed by repentance, so that you can boldly look to the Lord. Keep humble contrition in your heart at all times. Do not miss a single upcoming opportunity to do any good or to show any kind disposition, especially humility, obedience and renunciation of your will. But it goes without saying that zeal for salvation should burn inextinguishable and, filling the whole soul, in everything, from small to great, should be the main driving force, with the fear of God and unshakable hope.
5. In such a mood, bother yourself in prayer, praying: now with ready-made prayers, now with your own, now with short invocations to the Lord, now with the Jesus prayer, but without missing out on anything that can contribute to this work, and you will receive what you are looking for. Let me remind you what Saint Macarius of Egypt says: “God will see your prayer work and that you sincerely desire success in prayer - and will give you prayer. For know that although prayer, both done and achieved by one's own efforts, is pleasing to God, but real prayer is that which dwells in the heart and becomes persistent. She is a gift from God, a work of God's grace. Therefore, while praying for everything, do not forget to pray for prayer too ”(Monk Nikodim Svyatorets).