Thanks to this saint, children all over the world now receive gifts for Christmas. As the legend says, this tradition initially appeared under the influence of the life of St. Nicholas the Pleasant, in particular one of the stories about his youth. In addition, he is considered a special protector of children, to whom, if necessary, the appropriate prayer is read.
A strong prayer to Nicholas the Wonderworker for children, as a rule, is done by adults in order to protect their own children from various adversities and guide them on the true path.
If we are talking about believers, then they pray like this regularly.
Prayer
O our good shepherd and God-wise mentor, Saint Nicholas of Christ! Hear us sinners, praying to you and calling for your quick intercession for help: see us weak, caught everywhere, deprived of every good and darkened in mind from cowardice: strive, servant of God, do not leave us in the sinful captivity of being, so that we may not joyfully be our enemy and we will not die in our evil deeds. Pray for us unworthy of our Creator and Master, to whom you stand with disembodied faces: make our God merciful to us in this life and in the future, so that He will not reward us according to our deeds and the impurity of our hearts, but according to His goodness He will reward us . We trust in your intercession, we boast of your intercession, we call upon your intercession for help, and falling to your most holy image, we ask for help: deliver us, saint of Christ, from the evils that come upon us, so that for the sake of your holy prayers the attack will not overwhelm us, and yes Let us not wallow in the abyss of sin and in the mud of our passions. Pray to Saint Nicholas of Christ, Christ our God, that he may grant us a peaceful life and remission of sins, salvation and great mercy for our souls, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Miraculous help through prayers to St. Nicholas the Pleasant
In 2013, Maria, a resident of Buryatia, was kept in hospital during her pregnancy. When she was seven months pregnant, an ultrasound showed that the fetus had not developed for several weeks. Bone size and other factors indicated pathology. The woman was sent to the regional center for artificial stimulation of labor. Someone gave her an icon of St. Nicholas. Mary began to ask the saint for help in her own words. Her prayer to Nicholas the Wonderworker for the health of the child was heard. The diagnosis was not confirmed; doctors referred to a device error. In due time, the woman gave birth to a healthy daughter.
In 2016, Moscow resident Lyubov got married and gave birth to a daughter. When the child was ten months old, the girl suddenly developed a high fever at night and began to experience seizures. The mother managed to lower the temperature for a while and the child fell asleep. The woman also dozed off. In her sleep, she continued to be tormented by concern for her child. She kept asking herself: “Who should I pray to with my troubles? I don't know…". Then she heard a soft female voice saying that a prayer to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker for the healing of the child would help her. Waking up, Lyubov remembered that St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children and began to pray to him. An unknown illness has disappeared from the child.
The power of a mother's prayer
The connection between a mother and her child is a kind of earthly projection of the relationship of the Mother of God with the Son. A mother’s love is as unconditional as Her love for the Divine Infant, and therefore a mother’s prayer is the most effective way to protect her child.
Useful materials
The lines of the Apostle Paul from the Holy Scriptures serve as confirmation. Of the three Christian virtues - faith, hope and love, it is the latter that he singles out as having enormous power. A mother's prayer is powerful because it is based on unconditional love for her children and grandchildren.
And we knew the love that God has for us and believed in it. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. (First conciliar letter of John the Theologian).
Who is Nicholas the Wonderworker
San Nicola was born and lived in the third century. The birthplace of the saint is the Lycian city of Patar. Nikolai's parents Feofan and Nonna were pious Christians and lived well.
Since childhood, the thaumaturge was interested in the Holy Scriptures, prayed a lot to Heavenly Father and observed fasting. The boy’s uncle, Bishop John of Patara, seeing his love for the Lord, decided to take him to serve.
The young man was made a lecturer. This position required special diligence. Nikolai's responsibilities included:
- interpretation of Holy Scripture during worship;
- preaching sermons;
- teach catechumens and children.
The young man did an excellent job with his duties. His kindness and wisdom, beyond his age, attracted parishioners to the young reader, who fell in love with the future saint. Nikolai's efforts were noticed. He was elevated to the priesthood, being first a deacon and then a cleric. Nikolai's parents died early. Having buried them, the Wonderworker distributed all their property to those in need.
The saint's service to the Lord coincided with difficulties. Emperor Diocletian, who ruled at that time, persecuted Christians. Nikolai, along with many brothers in faith, went to prison. But Nikolai did not lose heart, strengthening the faith of other prisoners. The prisoners were released a few years after Constantine the Great came to power.
Returning to Lycia, the saint completely devoted himself to serving the Lord and the people. In 325, the first Ecumenical Council took place, in which Nicholas participated. The thaumaturge opposed the heretical teachings of Arius. Unable to bear it, the saint hit the heretic in the face. For this he was defrocked, deprived of his liturgical habit - the omophorion, and then taken into custody.
But at night, the holy fathers who participated in the Council saw in a dream how the Almighty himself, together with the Mother of God, returned the homophorus to Nicholas. The next morning the Wonderworker was released and his dignity was restored.
Saint Nicholas became famous for many miracles.
One day a rich merchant saw a saint in a dream. The thaumaturge turned to the merchant with a request to deliver a ship with grain to the hungry city of Mira so that the hungry inhabitants could bake bread. Waking up, the merchant found in his hands three gold coins left by the saints as collateral.
There is a legend that a thaumaturge helped a ship caught in a storm. The sailors, not hoping for salvation, nevertheless prayed to the saint asking for help. To the amazement of the ship's crew, Nikolai himself appeared at the helm, steering the ship through the storm. After the sea calmed down, the image of the Wonderworker disappeared. The sailors reached the shore safe and sound.
The saint helped the innocent, protected the disadvantaged, and healed the sick. The thaumaturge lived to be 70 years old and was buried in the cathedral of the city of Myra. Subsequently, the incorruptible relics of the saint were transported to Italy, to the city of Bari, where they remain to this day.
Life of a Saint
Nicholas was born in the second half of the 2nd century into a wealthy family. His parents were elderly and had already despaired of having children, but through the prayers of their old men a son was sent down. He was named Nicholas, which means “conqueror of nations.” His entire subsequent life became a confirmation of the mission that was assigned to him at birth.
The fact that he was God’s chosen one became clear from the first days of his life. So, during baptism, he stood for a long time in the font without support. From early childhood, Nikolai preferred lean food and was unpretentious in everyday life. He spent all his free time not in fun and pranks, but in comprehending the Teaching. He managed to master reading and writing early and bring the Word of God to the people.
At a young age he was ordained as a priest and served in his hometown of Patara in the Lycian region. After a short time, the bishop, his uncle, went to Palestine, appointing his pious nephew as successor. Having accepted the diocese, Nicholas took care of his flock, forestalling the fall and helping with deeds.
When it was his turn to go on a pilgrimage to Palestine, the ship was caught in a strong storm, but Nicholas, through the power of prayer, saved his companions from death. He also showed a miracle of resurrection when one of the sailors fell from a high mast and was already lying lifeless. Stopping in many cities along the way, Nikolai healed local residents, healing them from serious illnesses.
Upon arrival in Palestine, he visited all the holy places. Afterwards, when he wished to pray in the temple, its locked doors opened, and the saint was able to offer prayers to Christ in it. He wanted to stay in Palestine and live in solitude, but by the will of the Lord he heard the words that his destiny was not seclusion, but serving the people, not hiding his virtues, but instructing him on the path of faith by his own example.
St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
Returning to Lycia, he was elected bishop and began to serve. The Lord himself pointed out his chosen one in prophetic dreams to members of the episcopate. During the reign of Emperor Diocletian, persecution of Christianity began, and Nicholas, finding himself in prison, suffered for the faith, calling for humility and patience. With the coming to power of Constantine, the bishop was restored to his rights. His rank allowed him to zealously defend Christianity and fight opponents of the faith.
He could perform miracles during his life, by the power of prayers directing ships with provisions to a city exhausted by hunger, saving from disease and pestilence, and resurrecting with the power given to him by God. His intercession continued after his death in 345. His relics are still capable of providing healing to this day.
Serving Christ
The congregation was amazed at the wise sermons of the young man and respected him. After the death of his high-ranking uncle, the archbishop, he was elected bishop of Myra. But despite his high rank, the Saint remained a model of meekness, humility, mercy, respect and love.
During the Diocletian persecution of the church, the Saint of Christ, along with many Christians, was thrown into prison, where he spent many years. But while in prison, he did not stop preaching Christ among prisoners, helping his cellmates endure hardships and hardships, hunger and cold, torture and pain.
Life of Nikolai Ugodnik
After Constantine the Great came to reign, the prisoners were granted freedom and the Wonderworker returned to his beloved Believers.
Read about Saint Nicholas:
- Miracles these days
- What and who does Nikolai Ugodnik help with?
- Feast of St. Nicholas December 19
All his life the Saint was merciful. He gave the rich inheritance left to him after the death of his parents to those in need, and constantly gave gifts to poor families.
Why do they pray to St. for their son and daughter? pleaser?
The tradition of turning to Nicholas the Wonderworker for help with prayer for children goes back to the events described in the life of the saint. It tells how the saint saved three daughters of a layman from slavery. He was so poor that he did not have enough money to marry them off. The father, who prayed for a better fate for them, could not get out of poverty, so he planned to sacrifice their honor and make money from it.
Nikolai found out about his intentions and secretly threw a bag of money into the townsman’s house over and over again. Thanks to them, the daughters were able to get worthy people as husbands and avoid the Fall. The poor man did not know who was helping him and was sure that this was God’s providence.
However, the third time I was able to see Nicholas, who had left such a huge fortune, and fell to his knees in front of him. Foreseeing the Fall, the saint saved the townsman’s children from inevitable shame. The described incident became an example of Nicholas’s intercession for children.
Any prayer to a saint is an appeal to God, and the fulfillment of what is desired is His will. Nikolai Ugodnik, preaching the Teachings of Christ and defending it in hard times, received the special protection of the Lord. Just as he once sacrificed his wealth for the sake of saving the defenseless daughters of a parishioner, so now he acts as a petitioner before the Lord, turning to Him through the prayers of believers.
Interesting fact
In folklore, Nicholas the Wonderworker appears in the image of the kind Father Frost, who grants wishes and carries gifts for children in a bag. This fabulous image also goes back to the hagiographic description of the saint’s act, who saved the daughters of a townsman from a brothel by giving them bags of gold.
How to correctly pray to the holy saint for children
They begin to ask God's Pleasant for help from the very birth of a child. Prayers to St. Nicholas for children are very powerful and help in many life situations. But before you begin the prayer service, you need to familiarize yourself with some rules for reading Orthodox texts:
- Before starting the prayer service, you need to ask for forgiveness and forgive everyone you are offended by. There should be complete peace and tranquility in your soul.
- Read the prayer in privacy in a room so that no one can interfere or interrupt the prayer service.
- It is advisable to pray in front of the icon of the Wonderworker, placing a lighted candle in front of the holy image and kneeling.
- Read the prayer text with sincere faith in the help of the saint and the Lord.
- At the end of the prayer, you must definitely thank the saint for your help and sign yourself with the cross.
It must be remembered that the use of magical spells is considered a great sin. This can only harm yourself and your children. It is advisable to pray for children every day - morning and evening. Prayers of thanksgiving ordered in the church help to strengthen the effect of prayer.
About the gift of a child
Childless couples who are desperate to get pregnant often turn to God in prayer. Before this, it is important to talk with the clergyman in the temple: the church has its own canons that prohibit having close relationships on days of fasting and church holidays.
Often the absence of children in the family is the Lord’s punishment for some sins, so the spouses need to confess and ask for forgiveness from the Lord. Sometimes he imposes on the couple the obligation to adopt a stranger, and bestows his own son or daughter.
About helping children
A child's illness is a terrible test for any mother, even if it is the simplest ailment. You always want your child to recover quickly. A rare and powerful prayer for children to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker can help you with this, which can give spiritual strength, and the child physical for a speedy healing from any, even the most terrible, ailments.
“Oh, Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. I fall at your feet and ask for the recovery of the sick child. Send a miracle from heaven and help him cope with a serious illness. Intercede before the Lord God for my sins and ask him for generous and merciful forgiveness. Let it be so. Amen."
Rules for reading a prayer for a child
Even the most unpleasant symptoms of the disease will subside if there is a loving mother next to the sick person, who will support her child and can choose the right words of prayer.
The greatest effect for the healing and health of the child will be achieved if the prayer appeal is carried out within the walls of the temple. The most powerful prayer is the one that is read sincerely, from the bottom of your heart. Every word of hers must be passed through the soul and find a response in it. And then the disease will quickly recede, especially if both the mother and the sick child are baptized.
It is advisable to reinforce the prayer ritual with a magpie for the health of a sick person - it is ordered in the church. It’s good if the mother goes to church, puts candles in front of the icons of the Lord and saints, and draws holy water - you can add it to the sick child’s food and drink, just give it to him, wash his face and hands. If the mother is unable to leave the bedside of the sick person, relatives or friends can go to church.
Orthodox prayers for health can be said even if the child is not baptized. Praying is allowed at home, but for these purposes it is recommended to buy icons of those saints to whom a petition for health has been sent . Higher powers are merciful to the sincere prayer of a mother, for whom there is nothing and no one more valuable than her child.
Prayers for health should be wisely combined with traditional medical care. When the symptoms of the disease worsen, you should definitely contact a doctor, and when the child’s condition improves, say prayers.
Priests recommend reading prayers for health as often as possible, and doing this not only during illness, but also when the child is healthy - in this case, prayer will serve a preventive function. The words of the petition should be memorized, and during the reading process, do not be distracted by extraneous factors, and fully concentrate on the main goal. Visualization will also help speed up the recovery of a sick child. The mother should concentrate on the image of happy and joyful children, and most importantly, completely healed of their illness.
