A prayer service is a required service that is performed at the request of one or more believers. The prayer service can be supplicative (performed with special requests to God, the Most Holy Theotokos and the saints), water-blessing (during which water is blessed) and thanksgiving. Usually prayer services are served in a church or on the street, and during them they pray for health (that is, for the living).
One of the types of church services is a thanksgiving prayer, during which believers praise the Savior for his good deeds. From the Gospel we know about ten lepers healed by the Lord, one of whom returned to Christ with gratitude and was thereby saved. This Gospel passage is read during such a prayer service. According to the Monk Ambrose of Optina, it is gratitude, together with love, that will follow us into eternal life.
Prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord God
We thank Thee, Lord our God, for all Thy good deeds, even from the first age to the present, in us, Thy unworthy servants ( names
), who were, known and unknown, about those revealed and unmanifested, even those that were in deed and in word: who loved us as and You deigned to give Your Only Begotten Son for us, making us worthy to be worthy of Your love.
Grant with Your word wisdom and with Your fear inhale strength from Your power, and whether we have sinned, whether willingly or unwillingly, forgive and not impute, and keep our soul holy, and present it to Thy Throne, having a clear conscience, and the end is worthy of Thy love for mankind; and remember, O Lord, all who call upon Thy name in truth, remember all who desire good or evil against us: for all are men, and every man is in vain; We also pray to You, Lord, grant us Your great mercy.
How to order a prayer service of thanksgiving to Our Lord
A prayer service is a special type of church service. They are divided into several types:
with the blessing of water, with an akathist, thanksgiving, forgiveness.
This type of service is read by the priest after the Liturgy. They can be ordered at the temple. To do this, you need to take a piece of paper, a pen and money to make a donation for reading. The liturgy with thanksgiving differs from others in that it is performed as a sign of gratitude for healing from an illness or help in any other matter. In order to submit this type of forgiveness, a believer must contact any nearest Orthodox church in an icon shop and leave a note with the names of people who want to thank the Almighty for the help provided.
Do you have a telegram? If yes, then you will like our Orthodox group: t.me/molitvaikona, come in, we are waiting for you!
Sometimes there is a special candle box at the temple, where you should send a note. After the priest reads the Divine Liturgy, he begins to pray, mentioning the names indicated in the notes. The end of the prayer service is accompanied by the anointing of those giving thanks with oil and sprinkling them with holy water.
Petitions are usually made in church on holidays. But you can also read them at home. But for this you need to receive a blessing from a clergyman. He will tell you in detail how to read it correctly.
Prayer of gratitude to the Almighty
The Cathedral of Saints Angel and Archangel, with all the heavenly powers, sings to Thee and says: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, heaven and earth are filled with Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. Save me, Who art thou King on high, save me and sanctify me, Source of sanctification; For from You all creation is strengthened, To You countless warriors sing the Trisagion hymn. Unworthy of you, who sits in the unapproachable light, whom everyone is terrified of, I pray: enlighten my mind, cleanse my heart, and open my lips, so that I may worthily sing to you: Holy, Holy, Holy art thou, Lord, always, now, and ever, and in endless centuries of centuries. Amen.
How to properly thank God?
Prayer 1
My many-merciful and all-merciful God, Lord Jesus Christ, for the sake of love you came down and became incarnate, so that you would save everyone. And again, Savior, save me by grace, I pray to You; Even if you save me from works, there is no grace and a gift, but more than a duty. He who is abundant in generosity and unspeakable in mercy! Believe in Me, O my Christ, you will live and will not see death forever. And I also have faith, I am in You, saves the desperate, behold, I believe, save me, For You are my God and Creator. Let faith instead of works be imputed to me, O my God, for you will not find works to justify me. But let that faith of mine prevail in place of all, that let it answer, that let it justify me, that let it show me to be a partaker of Thy eternal glory. Let Satan not kidnap me, and boast to the Word that he has torn me from Your hand and fence; But either I want, save me, or I don’t want, O Christ my Savior, I will soon foresee, I will soon perish: For you are my God from my mother’s womb. Grant me, Lord, now to love You, as I have sometimes loved that very sin; And again I worked for You without laziness, I worked for the skin first of the flattering Satan. Most of all, I will serve You, my Lord and God Jesus Christ, all the days of my life, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer 2
We thank Thee, Lord our God, for all Thy good deeds, even from the first age to the present, in us, Thy unworthy servants (names), who were, known and unknown, about those revealed and unmanifested, even those who were in deed and in word: who loved us as and You deigned to give Your Only Begotten Son for us, making us worthy to be worthy of Your love. Grant with Your word wisdom and with Your fear inhale strength from Your power, and whether we have sinned, whether willingly or unwillingly, forgive and not impute, and keep our soul holy, and present it to Thy Throne, having a clear conscience, and the end is worthy of Thy love for mankind; and remember, O Lord, all who call upon Thy name in truth, remember all who desire good or evil against us: for all are men, and every man is in vain; We also pray to You, Lord, grant us Your great mercy.
Prayer 3
The Cathedral of Saints Angel and Archangel, with all the heavenly powers, sings to Thee and says: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, heaven and earth are filled with Thy glory. Hosanna in the highest, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. Save me, Who art thou King on high, save me and sanctify me, Source of sanctification; For from You all creation is strengthened, To You countless warriors sing the Trisagion hymn. Unworthy of You, who sits in the unapproachable light, of whom all things are terrified, I pray: enlighten my mind, cleanse my heart, and open my lips, so that I may worthily sing to You: Holy, Holy, Holy art thou, Lord, always, now, and ever and to endless ages of ages. Amen.
4 Song of praise to St. Ambrose of Milan
We praise God to you, we confess the Lord to you, the whole earth magnifies the eternal Father to you. To You all the angels, to You the heavens and all the powers, to You the unceasing voices of the cherubim and seraphim cry: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts, the heavens and earth are full of the majesty of Your glory. To you is the glorious apostolic face, to you the prophetic number of praise, to you is praised by the bright martyr’s army, to you throughout the entire universe the Holy Church confesses, the Father of incomprehensible majesty, the worship of your true and only begotten Son, and the Holy Comforter of the Spirit. You, the King of Glory Christ, You are the ever-present Son of the Father: You, having received man for the deliverance, did not disdain the Virgin’s womb. Having overcome the sting of death, you have opened the Kingdom of Heaven to believers. You sit at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father, the Judge is confident to come. We therefore ask you: help your servants, whom you have redeemed with your honest blood. Make it worthy to reign with Your saints in Your eternal glory. Save Thy people, O Lord, and bless Thy inheritance, I will correct and exalt them forever: we will bless Thee all the days, and we will praise Thy name forever and ever. Grant, Lord, that on this day we may be preserved without sin. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us: may Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, as we trust in Thee: in Thee, O Lord, do we trust, that we may not be ashamed forever. Amen.
5 Prayer of thanksgiving for all God’s blessings, St. John of Kronstadt
God! What will I bring to You, how will I thank You for Your constant, greatest mercies to me and to the rest of Your people? For behold, every moment I am enlivened by Your Holy Spirit, every moment I breathe the air You have diffused, light, pleasant, healthy, strengthening, I am enlightened by Your joyful and life-giving light - spiritual and material; I feed on sweet and life-giving spiritual food and the same drink, the holy Mysteries of Your Body and Blood and material sweet food and drinks; You dress me with a bright, beautiful royal robe - with Yourself and material clothes, you cleanse my sins, heal and cleanse my many and fierce sinful passions; You take away my spiritual corruption in the power of Your immeasurable goodness, wisdom and strength, and fill me with Your Holy Spirit - the Spirit of holiness, grace; You give my soul truth, peace and joy, space, strength, boldness, courage, strength, and you endow my body with precious health; You teach my hands to fight and my fingers to fight with the invisible enemies of my salvation and bliss, with the enemies of the holiness and power of Your glory, with the spirits of wickedness in high places; You crown with success my deeds done in Your name... For all this I thank, glorify and bless Your all-good, fatherly, all-powerful power, O God, our Savior, our Benefactor. But be known by Your other people as You appeared to me, O Lover of Mankind, so that they may know You, the Father of all, Your goodness, Your providence, Your wisdom and power, and glorify You, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer 6
I thank Thee, Lord my God, for giving me existence, for giving me birth in the Christian faith, for the Most Pure Virgin Mary, Intercessor for the salvation of our race, for Thy saints praying for us, for the Guardian Angel, for public worship that supports us faith and virtue, for the Holy Scriptures, for the Holy Sacraments, and especially Your Body and Blood, for the mysterious grace-filled consolations, for the hope of receiving the Kingdom of Heaven and for all the blessings You have given me.
Prayer 7
Glory to Thee Savior, Almighty Power! Glory to Thee Savior, Omnipresent Power! Glory to Thee, most merciful Womb! Glory to Thee, ever-opening Hearing to hear the prayer of the accursed me, to have mercy on me and save me from my sins! Glory to Thee, brightest Eyes, I will look upon me with kindness and insight into all my secrets! Glory to Thee, glory to Thee, glory to Thee, Sweetest Jesus, my Savior!
Prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord Jesus Christ
Lord Jesus Christ our God, God of all mercy and generosity, whose mercy is immeasurable and whose love for mankind is an immeasurable abyss!
We, falling before Your greatness, with fear and trembling, like unworthy slaves, bring thanks to You for the mercies shown to us. As the Lord, Master and benefactor, we glorify You, praise You, sing and magnify You and, falling down, thank You again! We humbly pray to Your ineffable mercy: just as now You have accepted our prayers and fulfilled them, so in the future, let us succeed in love for You, for our neighbors and in all virtues. And make us worthy to always thank and glorify You, together with Your beginningless Father and Your all-holy, good, and consubstantial Spirit. Amen. Order a prayer service
How to order a prayer service in a temple
The Holy Gospel speaks of Christ’s healing of a dozen people with leprosy. One of them, having become healthy, returned and thanked the Savior, for which he was acquitted, but the Lord condemned the others. In order not to fall in line with the condemned, the Church advises following the pious example of a recovered person and giving thanks for every good deed of God.
More about prayers of thanksgiving:
Prayer of thanks to St. Nicholas the WonderworkerPrayer on New Year's DayAkathist to the Sweetest Jesus
To order a prayer of thanksgiving to the Heavenly Father, you must:
come to the temple, write a note with the name of the prayer service and the names of the thanks; they should be written down in a column, in the genitive case (that is, from whom: Irina, Svetlana, Vasily) and in no case from Volodya, Mashenka, Seryozha; the names of the baptized are indicated in Orthodoxy of people; it is allowed to attach “statuses” to the names: sick, youth, baby, idle, warrior; give the completed form to the candle holder and make the recommended donation; the reason for gratitude does not need to be indicated; it is advisable to purchase a candle and place it before the prayer service in a candlestick placed in front the face of Christ.
Annual prayer services
- The New Year is a special celebration celebrated in the church on the civil New Year, on the New Year according to the old style.
- Thanksgiving prayer for the Nativity of Christ - served in memory of the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812
- The Great Blessing of Water is the feast of the Epiphany. The main one of the water-blessing prayers.
- Thanksgiving on the first Sunday of Great Lent (Triumph of Orthodoxy) - in honor of the restoration of the veneration of icons in the 9th century. Christians owe this event many miraculous icons and the opportunity to pray in front of the images of the house.
- Consecration of honey (Honey Savior) is a prayer service held on August 14, in memory of the “removal of the Trees of the Cross of the Lord.” During epidemics raging in the summer in the 7th and 8th centuries in Byzantium, it was customary to go around cities with a shrine - particles of the Cross of the Lord, asking the Lord for deliverance from the disease. This event has nothing to do with honey, but since honey harvesting began in Rus' by mid-August, the first fruits of the harvest were brought for blessing and donation to the church. At the water blessing service held on this day, a prayer is read for the blessing of honey.
- Consecration of fruits (Apple Savior), August 19 - refers to the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. On this day, a water-blessing prayer service is served with the reading of prayers for the consecration of fruits. A separate prayer is read for the consecration of grapes; this fruit is especially revered in the Church; wine for Communion is made from it.
- Nut Savior is a holiday in memory of a miracle performed by the Lord at the request of King Abgar. Wanting to have a portrait of Christ, the king sent a painter to paint Him. Taking the canvas from the artist, the Lord applied it to his face and the Most Pure Face was displayed on it. On this day, on the occasion of the ripening of nuts, the consecration of the first harvest takes place.
- The beginning of the youths' teaching is a special prayer service held on the occasion of the beginning of the school year. Notes with the names of schoolchildren and students are submitted. Such prayer services are also performed in educational institutions.
You can submit health notes at any of the listed prayer services.
The difference between a prayer service and home prayer
A prayer service is a short service that includes prayers and requests from a specific person or group of people for a specific undertaking. In the church, the prayer service is otherwise called “treba”, from the word “need”, “necessity”. Prayers can only be performed for living people baptized in the Orthodox faith. The prayer for the departed is called Panikhida.
Prayer service in the church.
Important! You can order a prayer service only on those days when the Church allows them to be performed. Petitionary requests are not served during the days of Great Lent, with the exception of Saturday and Sunday.
Why perform services in church when God hears sincere prayer anywhere?
By gathering for prayer in church, praying for each other, believers show Christian love and overcome mutual grievances, if any. The invoked saints invisibly stand next to those praying. God's grace present in the temple strengthens the unanimous petition and makes it pleasing to God. This is the meaning of conciliar (church) prayer.
To perform church prayer, a person has to put in effort and make sacrifices, albeit small ones. And any work for your neighbor and your own soul is pleasing to the Lord. Home prayer only prepares a person for church prayer. It is also necessary and audible to God, but has less power.
About the temple:
- How to behave correctly in church for children
- How to properly place candles in a temple
- About the altar of an Orthodox church
