Prayer before bed - what and why to read

The spiritual necessity of the prayer rule

According to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, reading morning and evening prayers has an important influence on the soul of a Christian. In spiritual terms, prayer rules are designed to move a person away from night dreams and daytime worries. Regular prayers should tune a person to the desired spiritual “wave”. Otherwise, he will not be able to establish a connection with the Lord. The Holy Fathers say that with the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit, the believer is brought into the necessary state of repentance. Through prayer, and prayer before bed is no exception, a person receives inner peace and tranquility.

Evil spirits are driven away from a Christian, as stated in the Gospel of Matthew (17:21):

“This race is driven out only by prayer and fasting.”

The prayers included in the daily rule were written by generally recognized church authorities. Among them are Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostom, Saint Macarius the Great and others.

Prayer for the night

The simplest prayers for the coming sleep

If you don’t know what kind of prayer to read before going to bed, you can say the simplest of them, which can be read even while lying in bed.

“In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen! O Son of God, Jesus Christ. I pray to you for the sake of your Most Pure Mother, our Reverend Father and all the saints. Please, have mercy on us. Glory to You, Lord, glory, Heavenly King! Amen!".

But besides this shortest prayer, there is one more evening prayer for beginners, which should be said every time before going to bed, putting your heart into every word.

“Oh, King of all things, all-merciful God! I tearfully ask you, forgive me my sins that I have committed this afternoon in my thoughts, words or deeds, and cleanse me, Lord, my humble soul from all filth. And give me, I ask, a peaceful sleep at night, so that, rising from bed in the morning, I may serve Your Most Holy Name every day of my life. And deliver me, Lord, from evil lust and vain thoughts, so that I, the servant of God (full name), may only glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen!".

Compliance with the rules is the key to discipline

Success in any business requires diligence and consistency. This also applies to spiritual life. With constant work in prayer, Christians receive gracious help from the Lord. Therefore, the Holy Fathers do not advise making “stops” in the feat of prayer. For this reason, morning and evening rules were established.

“Rule! What an accurate name, borrowed from the very effect produced on a person by prayers called the rule! The prayer rule guides the soul correctly and holy, teaches it to worship God in Spirit and Truth (Gospel of John, 4:23). Meanwhile, the soul, left to itself, could not follow the correct path of prayer. Due to her damage and darkening by sin, she would constantly be seduced to the sides, often into the abyss, now into absent-mindedness, now into daydreaming, now into various empty and deceptive ghosts of high prayerful states, created by her vanity and voluptuousness.
Prayer rules keep the person praying in a saving disposition, humility and repentance, teaching him constant self-condemnation, feeding him with tenderness, strengthening him with hope in the All-Good and All-Merciful God, delighting him with the peace of Christ, love for God and for his neighbors" (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, 1807-1867) .

Prayer before bed: various traditions

Each Local Church has its own established traditions of morning and evening prayer rules for believers. For example, in the Greek Church the following order is established for the laity. Before going to bed, the abbreviated Compline with some elements of Vespers is read. The morning rule is composed of the prayers of the Midnight Office and Matins.

In the Russian Orthodox Church, the morning and evening rules are different from church services. The finally established norm of prayers for the laity, used now, appeared in the 18-19th century. But often Orthodox Christians have a question: is it possible to change these prayer rules? Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov gave the following advice to believers:

“Choose for yourself a rule that corresponds to your strengths. What the Lord said about the Sabbath, that it is for man, and not man for it (Gospel of Mark, 2:27), can and should be applied to all pious deeds, as well as to the prayer rule. The prayer rule is for the person, not the person for the rule. It should contribute to a person’s achievement of spiritual success, and not serve as an inconvenient burden (onerous duty), crushing bodily strength and confusing the soul. Moreover, it should not serve as a reason for proud and harmful conceit, for harmful condemnation of loved ones and humiliation of others.”

Prayer to Saint John Chrysostom

If it turns out that you do not know which prayer to read, then the clergy recommend that you first read the “Our Father”, and then say the Orthodox evening prayer of John Chrysostom, consisting of 24 lines equal to the number of hours in the day.

God, do not deprive us of Your blessings.
God, save me from terrible eternal torment.
God, if I have sinned in deed, word or thought, forgive me.
God, free me from insensibility, oblivion, ignorance and frivolity.
God, deliver me from the devil's temptation.
God, illuminate my heart, which has become darkened by unkind wishes.
God, I am a sinful man, but You, All-merciful, have mercy on me, because you see how weak my soul is.
God, do me good, so that I may glorify Your name.
God, please write me in the book of life and give me a good ending.
God, even though I haven’t done anything good before You yet, show me how to start doing good deeds.
God, sprinkle the dew of Your mercy upon my soul.
God, remember in Your Kingdom me, a sinner, unclean and filthy. Amen!
God, accept me repentant.
God, don't ever leave me.
God, don’t let me get into trouble and bad weather.
God, give me good thoughts.
God, grant me contrition, tears and memory of death.
God, grant me thoughts on how to confess my sins.
God, grant me the opportunity to become obedient, humble and chaste.
God, grant me the opportunity to become meek, tolerant and generous.
God, put in my heart the root of goodness - awe before You.
God, tell me how to love You with all my soul and heart and do Your will.
God, protect me from evil people, demons, passions and all sorts of indecent acts.
God, You do everything according to your own will, so let it be accomplished in me, for You are blessed forever and ever. Amen!

When to read the evening rule

The very name of the prayer rule - evening - indicates that believers should pray to the Lord in the evening. However, this does not mean that it must be read immediately before bed. For example, abbot Nikon Vorobyov says that evening prayers can be read at a time convenient for everyone. It could be 6, 7, 8 pm. To do this, the prayer rule must be divided into two stages. First, read before the prayer of St. John of Damascus, “Lord, Lover of Mankind...” That is, end with the prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God... have mercy on us. Amen". Afterwards you can do household chores, spend time with your family, and drink tea.

Immediately before going to bed, you should continue reading the evening prayers with “Lord, Lover of Mankind...”. When reading the prayer “May God rise again,” a believer can cross not only his bed, but also his home on all four sides. This is a visible sign that he asks God to protect him and his family from all evil. With the words of the prayer “In Thy hands, O Lord...” one asks for the Lord’s blessing for a night’s rest after the day’s worries. Thus, a Christian entrusts his soul into the hands of the Creator.

Having said their prayers for the night, the Orthodox no longer eat anything, but go to bed.

Rules for saying evening prayer

It doesn't matter whether you pray out loud or say the words only in your thoughts. God will hear you in any case if your words are sincere and come from the heart. There is also no strict canon determining whether the entire prayer rule must be recited in full, or individual prayers must be read. Everyone decides this for themselves, listening to which words are most consonant with their current state. It is very good to seek advice from your spiritual mentor, telling him about your feelings when reading a particular prayer.

Despite the name “evening” prayer rule, you can turn to God with the words of these prayers at any time, since their power is constant. You can say them one at a time, several at a time, starting 2-3 hours before bedtime and ending just before going to bed.

Prayer

And further. You should not think that the prayer rule is a strict dogma, and you cannot appeal to God in your own words. You can pray with the words that are in your heart, but the rule of prayer in this case serves as a guiding star, showing the right path to your words, guiding them.

Don’t forget to make the sign of the cross over yourself (you can also use your place to sleep), which will block the way for all evil to enter your home.

Prayer before bed - power and meaning

Prayer before bed should not be perceived as a magic spell, thanks to which, for example, nightmares will not be tormented at night. The evening rule is not a ritual. Prayer for Orthodox Christians is like armor for a warrior who is about to go to fight the enemy. With the help of prayer, believers gain the necessary spiritual strength.

Saint John Chrysostom spoke about the power of night prayer:

“When we remain in prayer, the power and authority of the evil one does not act on us; when we stop praying, the enemy overcomes us.”

Causes of insomnia

Sleep disorder occurs due to physiological and psychological factors. The causes of insomnia may be increased night pain due to chronic diseases, as well as hormonal imbalances. Most often, people cannot sleep at night if they have diabetes or thyroid disease. Sleep problems can arise due to age-related hormonal dysfunctions (for example, due to menopause).

True, insomnia is not always a consequence of some disease. Sometimes a person cannot fall asleep due to a violation of the daytime routine. If you sleep for a long time during the day, it is difficult to fall asleep at night. Insomnia can occur due to stress, strong emotions, or depression. The quality of sleep is affected by eating late at night, watching horror movies, or doing active sports in the evening.

Listening to calm music, a cup of herbal tea or warm milk, or reading a prayer will help you fall asleep quickly. It is advisable to pray every evening before going to bed. Believers can read prayers to the Savior and the Mother of God, and also ask for help from God's holy disciples and followers of the teachings of Christ.

Night prayer: how to read it correctly

The Orthodox Church teaches that prayers and prostrations should be performed slowly and with attention. There will be more benefit for a person’s soul, even if he reads fewer prayers. It is important to do this carefully, without getting distracted by other things.

Therefore, for a Christian, reading prayers should become a creative process. So, any prayer from the evening rule can become a prayer for the night. For example, the last prayer from the rule or a prayer to the heavenly patron.

Saint Theophan the Recluse considered the main thing in the prayer rule to be the fight against coldness of heart. He even advised trying to sometimes replace standard prayers. The goal here should be not to read the entire rule overnight. The saint recommended repeatedly returning to the place where thoughts were distracted to the side. Thus, achieving extremely focused attention on the words and meaning of the prayer itself. And let only the initial prayers be read in the 15-20 minutes required to read all the prayers for the night. But they will be “real”.

“Explore yourself, your time, your capabilities, your strengths. Balance your prayer rule with your life so that it is not a burden, but a joy. Because it is better to read fewer prayers, but with heartfelt attention, than to read a lot, but thoughtlessly, mechanically. Prayer has power when you listen and read it with your whole being. Then a life-giving spring of communication with God will flow in our hearts” (Priest Andrei Chizhenko).

What is included in the evening prayer rule?

First you need to turn to God with a prayer of gratitude. Then - say words of repentance and bless the light given to us by the Lord. The obligatory part is God's Word and the prayers you have identified from the Holy Scriptures and the Gospel. After you are fully prepared, say prayers of gratitude and make requests, not forgetting the prayer words to the Guardian Angel and the Lord.

Regular reading is important

It doesn’t matter at all whether you pray in the bedroom, in the kitchen or in the bathroom. The main thing is that there is silence around you, no noise or extraneous sounds distract you from your conversation with God. It is good to light a candle; its soft light will help you and create an appropriate peaceful atmosphere in the place where you turn to the Almighty.

“Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit, bless me, have mercy and grant me eternal life” - going to sleep with these words, a person seems to place himself under God’s protection and mercy.

Scripture says that prayer drives out demons, but it is in our sleep that we are most defenseless and vulnerable. The protection created by repentance, the acquisition of harmony and inner peace, achieved by evening prayer, is reliable and durable.