Who are the neighbors?
Let's talk about this very briefly. Neighbors are not only blood relatives. These are friends, acquaintances, work colleagues, neighbors and all the people who surround us. You need to pray for them both in church and at home. But if there may be a hitch with the first option, then with the second everything is much simpler.
Why are there problems with prayer in church? Actually this is not true. We can submit notes on the health of our baptized neighbors. But the unbaptized cannot be commemorated in church. But at home, in cell prayer, you can. That's the whole difference.
What prayer for the health of loved ones exists? We'll talk about this below.
Prayer for neighbors
Saint Mark the Ascetic writes: “It is good to help one’s neighbor with advice and deed, but better - with prayer.” Therefore, let us pray to the Lord in peace: “Thou, O Lord, preserve us and keep us from this generation.” Do not be carried away by the sorrows of this world, remembering the word of our Lord to the disciple who asked to bury his father... (Venerable Anatoly).
Answer regarding the commemoration of K. If he unfeignedly repented and brought before the Lord and before his confessor a sincere consciousness and confession of all his sins, then the word of G.A.P. is true that, without a doubt, he can be remembered, no matter how he is buried. The whole importance is not in the manner of the burial, but in the “spiritual mood” with which he departed from this life. If he only brought outward repentance for show and out of some human assumptions, then what benefit will he have from church commemoration? But we do not know at all whether he sincerely repented or not, and even whether he communed; let those who care about this find out, and then let them act in accordance with what they find out. And that he was deprived of burial and that he received the end of such a shameful death and the like - all this, with sincere repentance, can serve him to alleviate the grave guilt of the crime, while it will serve to admonish others so that they do not forget and do not extend their insolence so far. May the All-merciful Lord, willingly or unwillingly, enlighten us all and, with the message of destinies, may He have mercy on those who will (Venerable Ambrose).
You should not say that you pray (or will pray) for others. Father Anthony even says: “I commit myself to pray” (Venerable Ambrose).
It’s a pity for your sisters and brothers who have strayed from the good path. Pray for your brothers like this: “Organize, O Lord, for my brothers (names) what is beneficial and saving according to Your Holy Will” (St. Joseph).
To pray for the elder - always pray, but not in the same way as you prayed, but say: “O Lord, rest his soul and have mercy on me, a sinner, with his holy prayers.” You can turn to him with simple faith (St. Joseph).
The shortest prayer
Reading the morning rule, a Christian encounters this prayer. Those who go to church and regularly read the rule have guessed what it is about. For others, here is the text of this prayer:
Lord save and have mercy on my spiritual father (name), my parents (names), relatives, bosses, benefactors (names) and all Orthodox Christians.
This prayer for the health of relatives and friends (living) is read with a list of their names, as we can see. A similar prayer exists for repose.
Prayer against the Antichrist
Deliver me, Lord, from the seduction of the godless and evil Antichrist, who is near to come, and hide me from his snares in the hidden desert of Your salvation. Grant me, Lord, the strength and courage to firmly confess Your Holy Name, so that I will not retreat from fear for the sake of the devil, and may not renounce You, my Savior and Redeemer, from Your Holy Church. But grant me, Lord, day and night weeping and tears for my sins and have mercy on me, Lord, at the hour of Your Last Judgment. Amen, (Venerable Anatoly).
If a loved one is sick
Many of us associate health with health. In the literal sense of the word. That is, we are talking about physical health.
Is there a prayer for the health of a loved one? As much as you like, for all occasions. This is not irony, but a statement of fact. In any illness, they pray to one or another saint. We will give the most common prayers that are resorted to during illness.
This prayer is read by the sick person himself:
Lord God, Master of my life, in Your goodness You said: I do not want the death of a sinner, but that he should turn and live. I know that this disease from which I suffer is Your punishment for my sins and iniquities; I know that for my deeds I have deserved the heaviest punishment, but, O Lover of Mankind, deal with me not according to my malice, but according to Your boundless mercy. Do not wish my death, but give me strength so that I patiently endure the disease as a well-deserved test, and after healing from it I turn with all my heart, with all my soul and with all my feelings to You, the Lord God, my Creator, and live to fulfill Your holy commandments, for the peace of my family and for my well-being. Amen.
Prayer for spiritual children
In your letter you notified me that you would send me a whole cartload of sins, and therefore I have not answered you until now, and only ten days later, yesterday, your Nefed brought them. I don’t know myself what should I do first now? Should I thank you for your great zeal for me, the poor one? or weep bitterly over the countless multitude of your sins? You remember that one elder was forced to reap thorns - a great field - because he accepted only one piece of gold from a Christ-lover, and I took several dozen of them from you, which is why I must work very hard, that is, to cleanse your sinful great land. for a long time and a lot, making several hundred prostrations per day, and I have an abyss of sins, and besides, my strength has left me, and there is no healing in my flesh, and therefore I don’t know what I will do? Perhaps, according to the proverb, we will divide the sin in half, that is, we will pray together and ask the Lord for mercy and remission of sins (Venerable Anthony).
Prayer in Weakness
There is a prayer for every weakness of your neighbor. It is read as someone who is sick, relaxed, or suffering. The text goes like this:
Master Almighty, Physician of souls and bodies, humble and exalt, punish and again heal, visit our infirm brother (name) with Thy mercy, stretch out Thy arm, full of healing and healing, and heal him, restore him from his bed and infirmity, rebuke the spirit of infirmity, leave from him every ulcer, every disease, every wound, every fire and shaking. And if there is sin or lawlessness in him, weaken, forsake, forgive, for the sake of philanthropy.
Prayer to the Holy Trinity
If illnesses and illnesses do not leave your neighbors, you can turn to the Holy Trinity for protection and help with prayer for the health of your family. This is an effective prayer, but it must be said by the baptized and ask for help also from those baptized in the Orthodox faith.
O merciful God, Father, Son and Holy Soul, revered and glorified in the indivisible Trinity, look gracefully at your servant (name), overcome by illness; forgive him all his iniquities; give him healing from his illness; restore his health and physical strength; Give him a long and prosperous life, your peaceful and exemplary blessings, so that together with us he will offer grateful prayers to You, the Blessed God and my Creator.
Most Holy Theotokos, through Your almighty intercession, help me to pray to Your Son, my God, for the healing of God’s servant (name). All saints and angels of the Lord, pray to God for the sick servant (name). Amen.
Prayer for various ailments and illnesses
Find a prayer for the health of your loved ones and relatives, read for any illness. Contact Saint Spyridon of Trimythous for help. He is a famous miracle worker, and helps those who come to him with faith:
Oh, great and wonderful saint of Christ and wonderworker Spyridon, Kerkyra praise, bright luminary of the whole universe, warm prayer book to God and to all who come running to you and pray with faith, quick intercessor! You gloriously expounded the Orthodox faith at the Nicene Council among the Fathers, you showed the unity of the Holy Trinity with miraculous power, and you completely put the heretics to shame. Hear, O Saint of Christ, us sinners praying to you, and through your strong intercession with the Lord, deliver us from every evil situation: from famine, flood, fire and deadly plagues. For in your temporal life you delivered your people from all these disasters: you saved your country from the invasion of the Hagarians and from famine, you delivered the king from an incurable illness and brought many sinners to repentance, for the holiness of your life the angels invisibly sing in the church and You had fellow servants with you. Sitsa, therefore, glorify you, His faithful servant, Lord Christ, for you have the gift of understanding all the secret human deeds and denouncing those who live unrighteously. You diligently helped many who lived in poverty and lack, you nourished the poor people abundantly during famine, and you created many other signs through the power of the living Spirit of God in you. Do not forsake us either, Saint of Christ, remember us, your children, at the Throne of the Almighty, and beg the Lord to grant forgiveness of many of our sins, grant us a comfortable and peaceful life, a shameless and peaceful death, and eternal bliss in the future vouchsafe us, so that we may continually send glory and thanksgiving to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
How to ask the Mother of God for healing
In a huge number of prayer calls to the Intercessor of believers, there are prayers for healing and gaining health. In addition to a verbal request for help, it is important to visit the temple for personal communion with the sacrament of church services, ordering special prayers for the granting of healing. For help, you can turn to the Most Holy Theotokos with the following prayer:
It is important to remember that a prayer for healing can be read not only for yourself, but also for your sick relatives. To find help in healing from a specific disease, you should pray daily to the face of the Kazan Mother of God with morning prayer.
Every day there are more and more patients with oncology; no one knows why the disease overtakes a particular person. Adherents of official medicine make every effort to save the patient, and healing comes to believers with prayers. Prayers for help addressed to the Most Holy Theotokos should be offered according to certain rules:
- in the church they purchase an icon of the Virgin Mary called the All-Tsaritsa, order an akathist for a deadly disease;
- they say prayer at home in front of the image of the Mother of God, asking for patience and strength to withstand the difficulties of treatment;
- on the difficult path to healing, one should not give in to despondency, but firmly adhere to the course of treatment with persistent prayers for healing.
Despite the criticism of atheists, prayer words help direct the work of the mind towards healing and replenish the supply of mental strength necessary to fight a terrible illness. Cancer patients ask the Blessed Virgin Mary for help with the following prayer:
Prayers for the healing of mental illnesses
If we have dealt with prayer for the health of loved ones and relatives, now let’s talk about prayers for spiritual health.
We and our loved ones need them no less than those read for physical health. Nowadays there are no mentally healthy people; we are all affected by certain illnesses. Everyone has their own.
Have you noticed that a loved one is falling into despair? Pray for him to Saint John Chrysostom:
Oh, great saint John Chrysostom! You received many and varied gifts from the Lord and, like a good and faithful servant, you multiplied all the talents given to you for good: for this reason you were truly a universal teacher, as every age and every rank learns from you. Behold, you appeared as an image of obedience to the youth, a luminary of chastity to the young, a mentor of hard work to the husband, a teacher of kindness to the old, a teacher of kindness to the monk, a rule of abstinence to those who pray, an inspired leader from God to those who pray, an enlightener of the mind to those seeking wisdom, an inexhaustible source of living words to those who are kind-hearted, to those who do good. - the star of mercy, the ruler - the image of the wise, the zealot of truth - the inspirer of boldness, the righteousness for the sake of the persecuted - the mentor of patience: you were all, and you saved everyone. Above all of these you have acquired love, which is a bond of perfection, and with that, as if by the power of the Divine, you have united all the gifts in one person in one, and there you have preached the love shared reconcilingly, in the interpretation of the words of the apostles to all the faithful. We are sinners, we each have our own talent, we are not imams of unity of spirit in the union of peace, we are vain, annoying each other, envious of each other; For the sake of this gift, our being divided not into peace and salvation, but into enmity and condemnation was added to us. Moreover, we fall to you, the saint of God, overwhelmed by discord, and in contrition of heart we ask: with your prayers drive away from our hearts all pride and envy that divides us, so that in many places we may remain one church body without restraint, and according to your prayerful words we will love each other and with one mind we confess the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, Consubstantial and Indivisible, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
In our crazy world, it is very difficult not to fall into despair and despondency. It’s enough to look at what’s happening in the world, read the news, or face constant aggression from friends. But with the help of prayer you can fight all the adversities of life.
About the reconciliation of friends
The clergy believe that finding a good friend is not at all difficult. But it is very difficult to carry this relationship through the years, and even strengthen it. After all, it often happens that people quarrel, but then do not reconcile.
It happens that you just can’t make peace. In order not to delay reconciliation with a person close to you, use special prayers for true friends. Pray for your friend's health and always take care of this relationship.
The following prayer must be read for twelve days. You need to pray morning and evening.
For a friend, for good luck in a relationship, they turn to the Almighty with these words:
“Lord God, bless and help me, the servant of God (your name). The angel walked from the throne to the royal gates, to the church itself. The Archangel Michael and the Mother of God were waiting for him at the gate. They held a saber and a sword, they drove away evil spirits from the slave, with a saber and a sword they dispersed all quarrels, they stopped troubles. Bring back, O God, peace and tranquility between the servants of God (your names), Strengthen their friendship and tranquility, and close the gates more firmly, So that their friendship is not broken and does not cease. And the key with which you lock your friendship, put it away so that no one can find it. Amen!"
Even if you make peace with your friend very quickly, within a few days, you still need to complete this ritual. Read it for twelve days.
The best article for you, go: Psalm 26 text in Russian is a great protective prayer
In any case, turning to God will not harm you in any way, but on the contrary, it will even help strengthen your relationship. It might even make your friendship everlasting. If suddenly during this period reconciliation did not happen, then you need to take the initiative yourself and ask for forgiveness.
June 8 is considered the day of prayer for faithful friends. Believers claim that prayers to God on this day are especially strong.
May the Lord protect you!
Watch also the video prayer for friends:
The most common illness
This is drunkenness, which affects a large part of our men. And women who like to drink are not such a rare occurrence these days.
How to pray for them? Who to ask for help? Contact the martyr Boniface:
Oh, long-suffering and all-praised martyr Boniface! We now resort to your intercession; do not reject the prayers of us who sing to you, but graciously hear us. See our brothers and sisters, overcome by the serious illness of drunkenness, for the sake of their mother, the Church of Christ, falling away from eternal salvation. Oh, holy martyr Boniface, touch their hearts with the grace given by God, quickly raise them from the falls of sin and bring them to saving abstinence. Pray to the Lord God, for whose sake you suffered, that having forgiven us our sins, He may not turn His mercy away from His sons, but may He strengthen sobriety and chastity in us, and may His right hand help those who are sober to keep their saving vow to the end, day and night, in Him awake and give a good answer about Him to the terrible judgment. Accept, servant of God, the prayers of mothers who shed tears for their children; honest wives, weeping for their husbands, orphaned and wretched children, abandoned by the pianists, all of us, falling to your icon, and may this cry of ours come with prayers to the Throne of the Most High, granting to all through their prayers health and salvation of souls and bodies, especially the Kingdom Heavenly. Cover and protect us from the evil deception and all the snares of the enemy, in the terrible hour of our exodus, help us to pass through the airy ordeals without stumbling, and with your prayers deliver us from eternal condemnation. Pray the Lord to grant us unfeigned and unshakable love for our fatherland, before the enemies of the Holy Church, visible and invisible, so that God’s mercy will cover us for ever and ever. Amen.
And also - the akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos in front of Her icon “The Inexhaustible Chalice” has not been canceled.
Here we present a prayer before this image:
Oh, Most Merciful Lady! We now resort to Your intercession, do not despise our prayers, but mercifully hear us: wives, children, mothers and those obsessed with the serious illness of drunkenness, and for this, for the sake of our mother - the Church of Christ and the salvation of those who fall away, brothers and sisters, and heal our relatives. Oh, Merciful Mother of God, touch their hearts and quickly raise them from the falls of sin, bring them to saving abstinence. Pray to Your Son, Christ our God, to forgive us our sins and not to turn His mercy away from His people, but to strengthen us in sobriety and chastity. Accept, O Most Holy Theotokos, the prayers of mothers who shed tears for their children, of wives who weep for their husbands, of children, the orphaned and the poor, abandoned as lost, and of all of us who fall before Your icon. And may this cry of ours, through Your prayers, come to the Throne of the Most High. Cover and protect us from the evil trap and all the snares of the enemy, in the terrible hour of our exodus, help us to pass through the airy ordeals without stumbling, with Your prayers deliver us from eternal condemnation, may God’s mercy cover us for the endless ages of ages. Amen.
Texts of prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary for help
The creation of prayer cleanses the soul and the consciousness from sinful thoughts, the mercy of the Virgin Mary is limitless, she really helps those in need and those suffering in choosing the right path, realizing their mistakes. It is customary to approach the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, observing certain rules:
- say prayer daily in the morning;
- before the ritual, wash your face with holy water;
- clear your thoughts of disturbing thoughts;
- fill your soul with sincere faith in receiving help.
The miraculous face is venerated twice a year - in the summer on July 21 and in the fall on November 4. Having tuned in to a positive solution to a life problem, they light a church candle and kneel down to ask the Queen of Heaven for help in various endeavors.
Prayer for successful completion of affairs
When embarking on a work pleasing to God, Orthodox Christians ask the Lord to bless their labors with the words of a prayer call. However, we should not forget about our own contribution to achieving success, because problems cannot be resolved by themselves, but reading a prayer request to the Most Holy Theotokos will guarantee success:
About getting rid of despondency and despair
For an Orthodox person, despair is associated with sin, so even in the most difficult situations one should not lose heart. After all, a true believing Christian is under the protection of higher powers, under the intercession of the Most Pure Lady, we turn to her for help with the words:
For protection on the go
When setting out on a long journey, turn to Mother Theotokos with prayers for protective cover, so that dangerous situations will pass you by, and the road will be without trials and difficulties.
Finding love, help with marriage
For those who live alone for a long time and cannot find their soulmate, I advise you to offer a prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos. The Patroness of women's happiness, who will help create a family, is addressed with the words:
For protection from enemies and unkind people
Prayer books of this orientation will become a reliable barrier against the alien influence of evil individuals. Before reading the sacred prayer, you need to cleanse your own soul of anger, turning to the Most Holy Theotokos with a positive attitude:
You can pronounce the text of a short call for help loudly or read it silently; the Mother of God will hear a believer, but for non-believers the appeal will be only words. A short prayer can be done anywhere, even when it is not possible to retire for the sacrament of communion with the Mother of all Orthodox. A simple prayer is easy to remember:
Love of money
There is such a passion as love of money. This is when a person is not interested in anything other than money. All his thoughts and desires are related to making a profit. Moreover, someone overwhelmed by this passion can be poor, no matter how strange it may sound. Poor people love money just as much as rich people. But for them, crunchy pieces of paper are pleasant - something distant and unattainable. Like a beautiful woman for whom men sigh, realizing that she will never belong to them.
How to save a relative obsessed with the passion of love of money? Pray for him to the Venerable Martyrs Fyodor and Vasily of Pechersk:
Rev. Fathers Theodora and Vasily! Look upon us mercifully and raise us to the heavenly heights of those who are devoted to the earth. You are a mountain in heaven, we are on earth below, removed from you, not only by place, but by our sins and iniquities, but we run to you and cry: instruct us to walk your path, enlighten us and guide us. Your entire holy life has been a mirror of every virtue. Do not stop, saints of God, crying out to the Lord for us. By your intercession, ask our All-Merciful God for the peace of His Church, under the sign of the militant cross, agreement in faith and unity of wisdom, destruction of vanities and schisms, affirmation in good deeds, healing for the sick, consolation for the sad, intercession for the offended, help for the needy. Do not disgrace us, who come to you with faith. All Orthodox Christians, having performed your miracles and beneficent mercies, confess you to be their patrons and intercessors. Reveal your ancient mercies, and those whose father helped us all, do not reject us, their children, who are marching towards you in their footsteps. Standing before your most honorable icon, as you are living beings, we fall down and pray: accept our prayers and offer them to the altar of God’s mercy, so that we may receive grace and timely help for our needs. Strengthen our cowardice and confirm us in faith, so that we undoubtedly hope to receive all the good things from the mercy of the Master through your prayers. Oh, great saints of God! Help all of us who flow to you with faith through your intercession to the Lord, and guide us all in peace and repentance to end our lives and move with hope into the blessed bosom of Abraham, where you now rest joyfully in your labors and struggles, glorifying God with all the saints , in the Trinity glorified, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
PRAYER FOR NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE DECEASED
PRAYER FOR NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE DECEASED
Good afternoon, our dear visitors!
We bring to your attention the work of Nikolai Pestov, after reading which the meaning and necessity of our daily prayers for our neighbors becomes clear.
PRAYER FOR NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE DECEASED
Nikolay Evgrafovich Pestov
“ not so much for himself, but for his neighbors and those who suffer. The apostles call for prayer for others - “pray for one another,” writes St. Jacob (5, 16), and ap. Paul instructs the Ephesian Christians this way: “pray with all prayer and supplication at all times in the Spirit, and strive for this very thing with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18).
Abbess Arsenia writes: “It feels so good when you pray for the salvation of someone and give that person’s salvation into the hands of God.” Fr. advises the same. John S.: “When you see shortcomings in your neighbor, pray to God with all your heart for their correction.”
As Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow writes: “Doesn’t the soul of someone who prays intensely enter into communion with the one for whom he is praying? In this communication, does not sometimes a current of power extend to the soul seeking help! Archbishop John writes about the same thing: “Through prayer we connect with another person in a new and better way... Prayer cleanses past, present and future relationships.” And the righteous priest John from the city of Dara says: “Perhaps we think that we cannot change the hearts of our neighbors and lead them away from vice, passion and sin?
But St. the fathers say that in this very difficult matter we are not powerless. We can do a lot with the hearts of our neighbors if we pray intensely for them ourselves, ask the Church for this (giving prosphoras for them) and perform other feats pleasing to God. If we have not done all this, then we cannot think that we have done everything possible for us for the sake of our neighbors.”
It is quite obvious that the effectiveness of our petitions depends on our closeness to God - the feat for the sake of pleasing God and our presence of purity of heart and Christian virtues. As Rev. writes. Isaac the Syrian: “To the extent that someone has entered into a feat for the sake of God, to the extent that his heart accepts boldness in his prayer.”
Father John S. says about this: “If you live by faith and virtue, especially by meekness, humility and mercy, united with God, then ask Him for what you want - what the Holy Spirit will teach you to ask: and it will be done for you - or soon, in moment, in one hour, or after some time, at the discretion of the Wisdom of God.”
However, even when we feel our unworthiness, we cannot give up praying both for ourselves and for our neighbors, and no matter how poor in spirit we are, no matter how weak our prayer is, we still must believe that with our prayer we can help our neighbors a lot and this will be the most effective and reliable help.
Elder Silouan speaks about it this way: “I used to think that the Lord works miracles only through the prayers of saints, but now I have learned that the Lord will work a miracle for a sinner as soon as his soul humbles himself, for when a person learns humility, then the Lord listens to his prayers. Many, out of inexperience, say that such and such a saint performed a miracle, but I learned that it is the Holy Spirit, Who lives in man, who works miracles. The Lord wants everyone to be saved and to be with Him forever, and therefore listens to the prayers of a sinful person for the benefit of others, or the one who prays.”
Here we should recall the following story from the lives of the saints, to which the Rev. N.A. Motovilov drew attention. Seraphim (see conversation “On the purpose of Christian life”). One harlot, a Christian by baptism, met with a pagan woman who was in despair because of the death of her only son. In her terrible grief, the mother began to beg the harlot to pray for the resurrection of her son.
Knowing her unworthiness, the harlot was horrified in her soul by this mother’s request, but, seeing the latter’s despair and her faith and being unable to see her grief, she cried out to the Lord: “Not for my sake, a damned sinner, but for the sake of tears for the sake of my mother, who is desperately grieving for her son, but firmly confident in Thy mercy and omnipotence, Christ God, raise up, O Lord, her son.” And the Lord raised his son.
Every Christian will encounter occasions when he too will be asked to pray about something. Of course, one must always fulfill such requests, but at the same time, in humility, one must consider oneself unworthy to intercede in prayer for others. In such cases, one must follow this advice from Fr. John S.: “When you are asked to pray for the salvation of someone from some calamity, then say to yourself: “Blessed be your faith, according to your faith may the Lord grant the fulfillment of my unworthy, little-faith prayer and may He add faith to me.”
Life experience tells us that even in cases where we would like to correct the shortcomings of our neighbors, the most effective means for this is not admonishing them, but praying for them.
Exhortation can only work if we have meekness and great love for our neighbors, and also if our neighbors have our authority; We most often lack this, and therefore exhortations for the most part cause only irritation and hostility among our neighbors.
Father Silouan taught that “one must pray for an irritable and unkind boss, just as one prays for a sick person; You must also pray for your subordinates and for those who have offended you, so that there will always be peace and love in your soul.” You need to pray for your neighbors as fervently as if you were “shedding blood,” as the elder put it. The latter is confirmed from the prayer experience of Fr. John S., described below. “Nine times I went to pray for terminally ill babies with bold hope... that God would look upon my work, my walking, my prayers and kneeling, my boldness, my hope... I come for the tenth time - the babies are healthy.”
One Christian who observed the prayer, Fr. John near the bed of a hopelessly ill person, describes it this way: “He asked with irresistible force for love for his neighbor. He knocked louder and louder on the cherished, promised door. He was completely transformed, his facial features shone, his eyes sparkled mysteriously, trembling ran through his body, drops of sweat streamed down his forehead. Finally, his prayer was heard. He felt a bright, wondrous, powerful force flow into him. He had known this feeling for a long time. He rose from his knees and headed towards the bed... and put his hand on the patient’s head.
“Stand up and let’s pray together,” he said quietly.
- I can't move.
Father John once again laid his hand on him and repeated once again: “Stand up and let us pray together.” And the sick man got out of bed.”
Why are not all prayers for others fulfilled and what are the conditions for hope for the beneficial consequences of prayer? Elder Silouan answers this question this way: “When the Lord wants to have mercy on someone, he instills in others the desire to pray for him and helps in this prayer. Therefore, you should know that when the desire to pray for someone comes, it means that the Lord Himself wants to have mercy on that soul and mercifully listens to your prayers.
But one should not confuse the desire to pray, which the Lord inspires, with the desire that is born out of passion for the one for whom you are praying.” Obviously, in the latter case, prayer is not always fulfilled by the Lord as in the first case, when one prays according to inspiration from the Lord.
One of the monks asked the reverend. Barsanuphius the Great: “Can the prayers of saints alone ask for forgiveness of sins without the repentance of the sinner himself?” The monk answered: “If a person himself has not worked according to his strength, and does not add his own labor to the prayers of the saints, then no one will receive any benefit from the fact that the saints will pray for him.” When they fast and pray for him, and he indulges in voluptuous behavior and behaves disorderly, what benefit will prayer for him bring? For here is fulfilled what is said in Scripture: “When one builds and another destroys, what will they gain for themselves except weariness?” (Sir. 34, 23).
If it were possible that the person for whom the saints pray was saved without paying any attention to himself, then what would prevent the saints from saving all the sinners of this world in this way? Therefore, Bishop Theophan the Recluse writes: “The prayer of others for us is strong only when there is our own prayer.”
However, it should be noted that there are exceptions to the general rule. These exceptions occur when the ardor of the neighbor’s love and his persistence in prayer for the sinner are very strong. Here are some examples of this from the history of the Church of Christ:
Blessed Augustine was seduced in his youth into the heresy of monks and led a far from virtuous life. His pious mother Monica fervently prayed for the salvation of his soul and cried a lot for her son. “Such tears and prayers will not be rejected by God,” one bishop predicted to her. And, indeed, her prayers were heard, and Augustine became one of the great teachers of the ancient Christian Church.
Two monks lived in the desert. One of them could not bear the temptations and said: “I am going into the world.” The second monk cried and said: “I will follow you.” When the first was in houses of sin, the second tearfully prayed to God for the salvation of his brother’s soul. And then one night he saw an angel who told him: “For your ardent love and prayers for your dead brother, the Lord gives you his soul.” In the morning, the seduced brother said to the monk: “Brother, lead me into the desert.”
In the biography of the elder Fr. Alexey M. tells about a case when, through his prayers and through the persistent prayers of his spiritual daughter, the latter’s husband, who had not believed during his life, believed on his deathbed, repented and received Holy Communion. It should be said that this man had sympathy for the elder Fr. Alexei, accepted the prosphora sent to him, which he ate with tea.
The biography of the Italian righteous woman, Gemma Galgani, tells the following about her. Relatives of those who led sinful lives came to her. Gemma was asked to bring these lost souls to God. Gemma began to pray earnestly, adding the following to her prayer: “Convert them to faith and truth, and take from me, for the sake of their salvation, how many years of my life are needed.” These individuals truly repented and corrected their lives. Gemma died at an early age...
Sometimes a Christian may also have a question: is his prayer alone sufficient for any serious request to the Lord? Rev. answers this like this. Barsanuphius the Great: “Although the sinner has labored a little himself, he needs the prayer of the righteous. For the apostle says: “The fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). But when a saint and a righteous person pray for a sinner, then the sinner, according to his strength, must contribute to the prayer of the saints by repentance; being himself insufficient to pay his debts, he will bring little, but the prayers of the saints will bring much. For example, someone needs to carry ten measures of wheat, but he cannot carry even two, but he will find a God-fearing person who will bear ten measures for him, and leave only one for him, and thus give him the opportunity to be saved.”
Prayer for one’s neighbors brings great benefits: it attracts God’s help and mercy to them, and makes the one praying as if he were a friend of God. Father John S. says about this: “Do not be lazy to pray fervently for others at their request, either by yourself or together with them, - you yourself will receive mercy from God - the grace of God in your heart, delighting and strengthening you in faith and love for God and to your neighbor. You will be merciful to your neighbors, and God will be merciful to you, and so will all the angels and saints: you will pray for others, and all of Heaven will intercede for you.
Why does our sincere prayer for each other have great power on others? Because I cleave to God during prayer, I become one spirit with Him, and those for whom I pray, I unite with myself by faith and love, because the Spirit of God, acting in me, acts at the same time in them, as “who fulfills all things,” since “we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of one bread” (1 Cor. 10:17; Eph. 4:4).
As we see from the words of Fr. John, prayer not for oneself, but for neighbors who are suffering, those in trouble, as well as for the Church and Motherland, has an absolute advantage over prayer for oneself and one’s needs. The latter is dictated by self-care. Isn’t it better to entrust all care of yourself into the hands of our All-Wise and Most Merciful Heavenly Father, and devote all your strength to helping your neighbors? Of the types of help, isn’t prayer help the most accessible, reliable and wise?! And if we work like this, imitating the Lord Himself and His saints, then His mercy will pour out on us and, moreover, to an incomparably greater degree than when begging the Lord for mercy only for ourselves.
In addition to neighbors, there is another category of people for whom a Christian must always pray. These are the people with whom we can no longer meet for some reason, but before whom we remain guilty - either of offending them, insulting them, injustice, or perhaps even of tempting them to sin and unbelief. All of them will testify to our unworthiness at the Last Judgment. And the only way to mitigate our guilt towards them is to pray for them, to pray for the salvation of their souls.
In equal measure, we must pray earnestly for those who insulted us, persecuted us, reviled us, or harmed us in one way or another. As the Sezonovsky recluse John said, such people “are not enemies, but our benefactors, for by the will of God they help us to succeed in patience and receive heavenly rewards.” And according to the instructions of Abba Zinov: “Whoever wants God to hear his prayer, before any other prayer, let him bring a prayer for his enemies, for this sake God will hear every prayer.”
The departed have a special need in our prayers. In church history there is numerous evidence of the great importance for those who have died in the body from the prayers of the living for them. At the same time, with fervent prayer for the dead, the latter themselves become intercessors to God for the living.
In the description of the life of Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow there is such a case. A document was submitted to the Metropolitan for signature prohibiting the priesthood from serving as a priest who abused wine. For some reason, Metropolitan Filaret was slow to sign this paper. At night he sees a dream that some strange, ragged and unhappy people surrounded him and asked for the guilty priest, calling him their benefactor. This dream was repeated three times. In the morning, the Metropolitan called the culprit and began to question him about his life and asked for whom he was praying. “There is nothing worthy in me, Vladyka,” the priest humbly answered. The only thing that lies on my heart is a prayer for all those who accidentally died, drowned, died without burial and are homeless. When I serve, I try to pray diligently for such persons.”
“Well, thank them,” Metropolitan Philaret said to the guilty one and, tearing up the paper prohibiting service to the guilty priest, he released him only with exhortations to leave his weakness.
As mentioned above, we should always prefer prayer for others to prayer for ourselves. So Elder Silouan had an abundant gift of tears while he prayed for the dead. On the advice of one ascetic, he began to become more involved in “crying for himself.” But then the tears stopped. They returned again when he again began to fervently pray for the dead.
This is how Archbishop John Shakhovskoy speaks about the meaning of prayer for the departed: “Prayer for those who have left this earth cleanses the heart of the person praying from all unnecessary sediments regarding these departed.”
Prayer for those living on earth can be both selfish and self-willed. Prayer for the departed does not happen like this; it always exudes heavenly, purified love, the true air of eternity.”
Prayer for parents
Prayer by agreement - For the sick
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Dejection
Another sin that is mortal. In its meaning it is close to despair.
Despondency pushes people to various terrible acts. Including suicide, harming your neighbors. What to do if you see that a loved one is depressed and does not want or cannot get out of this state for some reason?
Ask for help from St. Ephraim the Syrian. Contact Tikhon of Zadonsk and King David.
Prayer to Ephraim the Syrian:
O saint of Christ, our Father Ephraim! Bring our prayer to the merciful and all-powerful God and ask us, God’s servants (names), from His goodness for everything that is for the benefit of our souls and bodies: rightful faith, undoubted hope, unfeigned love, meekness and kindness, courage in temptations, patience in suffering , prosperity in piety. Let us not turn the gifts of the All-Good God into evil. Do not forget, miracle-working saint, this holy temple (house) and our parish: preserve and protect them with your prayers from all evil. To her, Holy One of God, grant us a good end and inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, so that we may glorify the wondrous God in His saints, to Him belongs all glory, honor and power, forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer to Tikhon of Zadonsk:
Oh, all-praised saint and saint of Christ, our Father Tikhon! Having lived like an angel on earth, you, like a good angel, appeared in your wondrous glorification. We believe with all our souls and thoughts that you, our merciful helper and prayer book, with your honest intercessions and grace, abundantly bestowed on you from the Lord, are constantly contributing to our salvation. Accept therefore, blessed servant of Christ, even at this hour our unworthy prayer: free us through your intercession from the vanity and superstition that surrounds us, the unbelief and evil of man. Strive, speedy representative for us, to beg the Lord with your favorable intercession, may He add His great and rich mercy to us, His sinful and unworthy servants, may He heal with His grace the incurable ulcers and scabs of our corrupted souls and bodies, may He dissolve our petrified hearts with tears of tenderness and contrition for our many sins, and may He deliver us from eternal torment and the fire of Gehenna: may He grant to all His faithful people peace and silence, health and salvation, and good haste in everything, and a quiet and silent life after living in With all piety and purity, let us be worthy, together with the angels and with all the saints, to glorify and sing the All-Holy Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer to King David:
Oh, most praiseworthy and wonderful prophet of God, David! Hear us, sinners and indecent ones, who at this hour stand before your holy icon and diligently resort to your intercession. Pray for us, the Lover of Mankind, God, may He give us a spirit of repentance and contrition for our sins and, by His omnipotent grace, may He help us to leave the paths of wickedness, may we excel in every endeavor, may He strengthen us in the fight against our passions and lusts; may the spirit of humility and meekness, the spirit of brotherly love and kindness, the spirit of patience and chastity, the spirit of zeal for the glory of God and the salvation of our neighbors, implant into our hearts. Abolish with your prayers, prophet, the evil customs of the world, and especially the destructive and pernicious spirit of this age, infecting the Christian race with disrespect for the Divine Orthodox faith, for the statutes of the Holy Church and for the commandments of the Lord, with disrespect for parents and those in power, and casting people into the abyss of wickedness , corruption and destruction. Turn away from us, most wonderfully prophesied, by your intercession the righteous wrath of God, and deliver all the cities and towns of our kingdom from rainlessness and famine, from terrible storms and earthquakes, from deadly plagues and diseases, from the invasion of enemies and internecine warfare. Strengthen Orthodox people with your prayers, prosper them in all good deeds and undertakings for the establishment of peace and truth in their power. Help the All-Russian Christ-loving army in battles with our enemies. Ask, prophet of God, from the Lord for our shepherds holy zeal for God, heartfelt concern for the salvation of the flock, wisdom in teaching and management, piety and strength in temptation, ask the judges for impartiality and selflessness, righteousness and compassion for the offended, for all those in authority to care for their subordinates, mercy and justice, while for subordinates submission and obedience to authority and diligent fulfillment of their duties; Yes, having lived in peace and piety in this world, we will be worthy to partake of eternal blessings in the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to whom honor and worship are due, with His Beginning Father and the Most Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
Fight for your relative or friend who has become depressed. This struggle can be quite difficult for both of you. But you can't give up. If you give up, your loved one will be even worse off than at the moment.
Insurance in Prayer
In Kazan, when I was still in military service, the current Metropolitan of St. Petersburg Anthony sent me a book that had just been published: “Frank Stories of a Wanderer.” I read it and said to myself: “Yes... here is another way of salvation, the shortest and most reliable - the Jesus Prayer. We must take this into account." I got myself a rosary and began the Jesus Prayer. Soon various sounds began, rustling, swaying, banging on the wall, window and similar phenomena. Not only I heard them, but also my orderly. I became afraid to spend the night alone, so I began to call my orderly. But these insurances did not stop, and after four months I could not stand it and quit practicing the Jesus Prayer. Then he asked about. Ambrose about this, he told me that I shouldn’t have quit. Here, in brief, is the condition for my admission to the monastery: the enemy did not allow me to practice the Jesus Prayer in the world, so I thought I would do it in the monastery. And here he raised all the brethren against me, even if you leave the monastery. That's how he hates prayer. But now I don’t see it. Everything is dismantled there (the priest pointed to the female half). Of course, I babble a prayer in time. I don’t know whether the Lord will remove me from this post or whether I’ll have to die here... That’s it, the whole move is written down in my diary. And then I already had visions. Once I saw clouds rushing in the form of a Turk sitting cross-legged, that is, with his legs under him. Then I saw Fr. Adriana in church. I see Fr. standing by the wall. Adrian looks at me, and his appearance was terrible: all black, an evil look. I say: “Lord, Lord, have mercy!..” Then I look: Fr. Adrian walks from the altar or to the altar, and “that one” has disappeared. What was the enemy’s purpose in introducing himself to me in the form of Fr. Adriana, I don't know. Maybe he wanted me to hate him... Then I saw Fr. Moses as he entered the closet through the locked door. To be completely sure, I looked - he was in his cell. I went to Fr. Benedict and I say: “I have something to tell you.” - "Tell". I told everything. Father Benedict said that this is the effect of the Jesus Prayer... (Venerable Barsanuphius).
The Jesus Prayer is the most necessary weapon in the matter of our salvation. But whoever takes it up must expect temptations and prepare for an internal struggle, for a struggle with thoughts. Demons do not like the Jesus Prayer and take revenge in every possible way on the person who hits them with this sword. They begin to whisper all sorts of doubts to him: “How can I prove this? What's the point of this? It is not true! Nobody believes this. This is deception,” etc. How can an ascetic fight these thoughts? By not accepting them? But is it easy to say - not to accept thoughts! It is so difficult to accomplish this task that the Lord takes the struggle with thoughts as martyrdom. But although the Jesus Prayer gives a person work, it also brings with it great consolation (St. Barsanuphius).
The Jesus Prayer is of enormous importance in the life of a Christian. This is the shortest path to achieving the Kingdom of Heaven, although this path is long, and having embarked on it, we must be prepared for sorrow. True, other prayers are also of considerable importance, and a person who goes through the Jesus Prayer listens to prayers and hymns in church, performs the obligatory cell rules, but the Jesus Prayer, more likely than others, brings a person into a repentant mood and shows him his weaknesses, therefore, it is more likely to bring him closer to God . A person begins to feel that he is the greatest sinner, and this is all God needs... The enemy is trying in every possible way to turn a Christian away from this prayer; he fears and hates it most of all. Indeed, the power of God keeps a person who always makes this prayer unharmed from the snares of the enemy, but when a person is completely imbued with this prayer, it opens the gates of heaven for him and, even if he did not receive special gifts and grace on earth, his soul will boldly cry out : “Open the gates of righteousness for me” (Ps. 117:19). And so the enemy instills various thoughts to confuse the foolish, saying that prayer requires concentration, tenderness, etc., and if this is not the case, then it only angers God; some listen to these arguments and abandon prayer to the delight of the enemy. ...You should not listen to tempting thoughts, you must drive them far away from yourself and, without being embarrassed, continue your prayer work. Even if the fruit of this labor is unnoticeable, even if a person does not experience spiritual delight, tenderness, etc., prayer cannot remain ineffective. She silently accomplishes her work (Venerable Barsanuphius).
When I felt erratic movements in my body, without paying special attention, I was saying the Jesus Prayer, and I asked, “Are you doing that?” - This is so... (Venerable Hilarion).
I wrote, you force yourself to call on the name of Jesus, you feel the benefit, although you do not have such contrition as you would like to have. Do you think it is the enemy who represents the benefits of prayer? Prayer is always useful and can drive away all sorts of thoughts. And if, against your will, your mind becomes captivated, then continue the prayer, and not contradict, contradict not yet your measure (Venerable Hilarion).
The temptation you described comes from the devil’s envy. In the “Philokalia” - in the chapters of Mark the Ascetic, about those who think they will be justified by works, in chapter 88 it is said: “when the devil sees that the mind has prayed from the heart: then he inflicts great and evil temptations.” Just to say, the enemy has risen up against you for your heartfelt prayer and wants to turn you away from it, but you do not submit to him. This temptation will pass with the mercy and help of God, just don’t present evidence against the enemy’s thoughts, because, according to the Climacus, the enemies are evil and can, on their part, present you with many objections, but just continue to pray, trying not to listen to the enemy’s thoughts and despise them, repeating the sweetest name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Saint Climacus writes that in the name of Jesus he beat the warriors. There is no stronger weapon either on earth or in heaven. Do not oppose your enemies, but think to yourself that the Holy Son of God, during His earthly life, ate and drank with sinners, and did not refuse to dine in the house of Simon the leper, and allowed the harlot reported in the city to touch and kiss His most pure nose. If the light of the sun, passing through unclean places, dries up many and is not damaged, how much more will the great mercy of God greatly consume all the unclean sins of every repentant Christian soul. Only those who, out of pride, do not want to repent will go to hell. If Manasseh, who committed so many iniquities and corrupted many people, received forgiveness, then let all sinners who repent dare to dare, and especially since Manasseh, bound with iron chains and thrown into a copper ox, as if involuntarily repenting, unable to bend his bodily knees, bowed only the knee of the heart. In a word, to put it briefly, do not answer your enemies, but just pray and pray, calling for help and mercy on the sweetest name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who came into the world to save sinners. But the enemy’s stupid talk, there’s nothing to do, just be patient and bear it, through this one gains spiritual experience. Know and firmly remember and believe that the All-Good Provider the Lord does not allow temptation to anyone beyond measure and beyond strength, and if anyone is allowed temptation, then in moderation, and at the same time, help is sent from above from the Lord, Who must be called on at all times. In your illness, you received some freedom from monastic activities and were forced to often pronounce the sweetest name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now the enemy has armed himself and rebelled against you. However, know and remember that if, by the grace and help of God, the enemy stops fighting, he will stop only for a while, so that he can attack again by accident with greater force, as is said about this in the 3rd part of the Philokalia, in the 2nd to the chapter of Saint Isaiah the hermit: “If you resist enmity and see it running away from you, exhausted, let your heart not rejoice. There is still the malice of the spirits behind them. They prepare to fight the evil one first, and leave it behind the city, and command it not to move. And if you resist, in opposition to them, they flee from your face out of weakness: if your heart is lifted up, as if you drove them out, and leave the city, they rise up behind you, and they stop in front, and leave the accursed soul in their midst, having no refuge. The city is prayer, the insistence is the opposite of Christ Jesus, the procession is fury.” You see, the mistake on our part consists in offering and abandoning prayer. “And if,” according to the Climacus, “your mind confines you in the stronghold of humility, then you only hear the trampling and games of these thieves, and you cannot be tempted by any of them.” The Monk Isaiah spoke above about contradiction, but for the weak and beginners, on the advice of other fathers, it is more convenient to pray for thoughts, contradicting them as little as possible or not heeding them at all. If you take up the task, sister, do not be faint-hearted, but be courageous, arming yourself with faith and hope, and you will clearly feel God’s help, understanding in action what was said by the Apostle: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and authorities and to the ruler of the darkness of this world” (Eph. 6:12). What your enemies say is not true is that you previously prayed a lot and were not heard. She was heard, but she abandoned proper care and relied on herself, and perhaps she condemned someone, and for such reasons the previous temptation was renewed. And if we act according to the Old Testament commandment, “do and keep,” then the Lord is strong to preserve us (Rev. Ambrose).
One brother asked another: “Who taught you the Jesus Prayer?” And he answers: “Demons.” - “How can that be?” - “Yes, so,” they bother me with sinful thoughts, but I did everything and said prayer, “I’m used to it” (Venerable Ambrose).
And when you start to dig (that is, when irritability towards someone begins to bother you during prayer), pray like this: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us sinners! (Venerable Ambrose).
One brother complained to the elder that during prayer there were many different thoughts. The elder said to this: “A man was riding through the bazaar, there was a crowd of people around him, talking, noise, and he kept riding on his horse: but, but! but-but! - so little by little, little by little, I drove through the entire bazaar. So you too, no matter what your thoughts say, do all your work - pray!” (Venerable Ambrose).
What is the power of the appearance of the Virgin Mary
In the Christian pantheon, the image of the Mother of God is one of the most revered holy faces, capable of working miracles and fulfilling the most cherished desires. For a long time, people offered prayers to the intercessor of Christians for help in various matters, asked for cure for all illnesses, and turned for support in despair. But most often mothers turn to the holy form, asking for help for their children.
The words of prayer offered to the Mother of Christ will always be heard, no matter in front of which face of the Blessed Virgin you perform the prayer service. For me, the icon of the Kazan Mother of God became significant, to which I turned in a difficult current situation with the following words of special power:
If you are a deeply religious person, even the text of the short appeal “Most Holy Theotokos, save us!” will become a talisman for you in godly deeds. If it is difficult for you to understand church prayers, contact the Virgin Mary in your own words, the main thing is that they are sincere, coming from the heart, then you will find help.
Briefly about the icon of Our Lady of Kazan
The historical path of the icon painting began in the 16th century, when in the town of Kazan, after a fire that devastated almost the entire city, the icon was found by a nine-year-old girl, Matrona. The image of the Mother of God that came in a dream commanded the child to find the iconographic face. Its discovery came out of the ashes on which the foundations of the Mother of God nunnery and church were laid. Throughout the history of our country, in difficult times for it, the Most Holy Theotokos becomes the leader of the people, and its intercessors pray before the Kazan face, going into battle.
Until the beginning of the twentieth century, the original icon painting was kept in storage within the walls of the Mother of God Monastery in Kazan, but in the summer of 1902 the icon was stolen, and its original was lost forever. But in the summer of 2004, a copy of the painting was discovered; the premises of the Holy Cross Church, built on the site of a convent, became the storage place for the Kazan view. There are many copies of the miraculous face, which are kept with honor in almost all Russian churches.
Mom's prayers for her own children
A mother's prayers for her own children have gigantic power, which increases many times when the words of prayer are addressed to the Most Holy Theotokos. For children, the consequences of sincere prayers are invaluable; they become a maternal shield, the mercy of the Lord, sent down at the request of the Mother of all on earth. Prayers for children addressed to the icon of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, the day of veneration of which falls on October 14, will become stronger.
The prayers created this day acquire great power, cover children with a protective omophorion, help in early marriage, the onset of pregnancy, and the birth of a healthy baby. Prayer to the Queen of Heaven in honor of the celebration of the Intercession:
