If the feeling of guilt weighs heavily on the soul and does not give rest day or night, there is a need to find forgiveness. In the arsenal of beliefs of all peoples of the planet there are different versions of such secret words; Orthodox Christians turn to the Lord with prayers for repentance and forgiveness of sins.
I also had to face a situation where, having inadvertently offended the person closest to me, I was tormented by pangs of conscience even after I was forgiven. Only a repentant prayer to the Almighty helped me find peace of mind, so I want to share these miraculous words with you.
Healing the soul with prayer
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Sincerely performed prayer brings not only a feeling of great relief, frees the soul from a heavy burden, but allows you to see the path to a peaceful and happy life. After I asked for forgiveness, the person forgave me, but my consciousness did not let go of the feeling of guilt and immense melancholy about this, which led me to prayers of repentance.
The goal of life for deeply believers is to walk their life’s path in righteousness without committing sinful acts. Even the most pious Orthodox Christians, who keep God’s commandments, in everyday life have to commit actions for which they then have to ask for forgiveness from people and God.
Such acts will not become a grave sin if a person, having sincerely repented and realized what he has done, turns to the Almighty with prayers for the forgiveness of sins. The simplest words of repentance sound like this:
“Lord, forgive me, a sinner.”
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Prayer services performed in church or at home help bring people closer to God, healing the soul of the convert from the bitterness of sinful actions, filling him with the all-encompassing joy of liberation from the heavy burden of guilt. Two prayers helped me find the grace of forgiveness, which must be read daily for at least two weeks.
- Words addressed to the Son of God are among the most powerful prayers. The text is read early in the morning and late in the evening to get the most effective effect.
- Appeal to the Most Holy Theotokos, the intercessor of all believers, has incredible power, contributing not only to the atonement of sin. Thanks to sincere repentance, life changes for the better.
Remember simple texts about forgiveness of your sins:
During your daily prayer service, may you be filled with all-encompassing love, and may your heart be inflamed with boundless faith in the Lord. These bright feelings will strengthen prayer, help cleanse the soul of sinfulness, life will change for the better with the support of higher powers.
The prayer book for daily reading is one of the evening prayers. With words of praise addressed to the Heavenly Father, with a request for mercy to the Holy Trinity, you notify them that you will admit your sins every day, so as not to forget about the main goal - the salvation of your immortal soul.
Prayer of repentance to Jesus Christ, Psalm 50
The original Old Slavonic text of the fiftieth psalm of King David, if you have difficulty understanding it, below is the modern Russian version.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy!
and according to the abundance of Your compassions, cleanse my iniquity.
Wash me from my iniquity, cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my iniquity, and my sin is before me.
Only before You have I sinned and done evil before You,
So that you will be justified in your words and defeated when you come to judgment.
For I was conceived in iniquity, and My mother gave birth to Me in sins.
For You loved the truth, You showed me unknowable and hidden wisdom.
So You gave me the Spirit of God, so You gave me the power to make me clean.
Give joy and gladness to my ears; my humble bones will rejoice.
Turn Your face away from my sins and cleanse me from all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew the spirit of righteousness in my chest.
Do not take me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Grant me the joy of Your salvation and strengthen me with Your Holy Spirit!
I will teach the wicked in your way, and the wicked will turn to you.
Deliver me from blood, O God, God of my salvation!
My tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness.
Lord, answer my mouth, and my mouth will declare Your glory.
For if you desired the dead, you would give them, but you would not be content with a burnt offering.
The spirit of the dead is broken before God, the heart is contrite and humbled, but God will not humble himself.
Bless, O Lord, according to Your good pleasure, that the walls of Jerusalem may be erected.
The Lord created justice, edification and completion of all things:
The bullocks must then be placed on the altar.
Video: The Valaam Monastery Choir performs the 50th Psalm
To better understand the author’s words, it is worth reading the text of the prayer several times. It is written in Orthodox Slavic and contains many incomprehensible expressions. But the words of holy prayer always come from the heart. Having learned and felt this prayer, we can mentally transport ourselves to the past, to the time of King David, we can understand the pain of this man. And with the help of his wise and beautiful words, talk to God, ask Him for conversion with all your heart.
Turning to the Lord with repentance
A person must carry Christian prayer in his soul throughout his life as repentance for the original sin of Adam and Eve, who violated God’s only commandment. Throughout our lives, we cannot avoid the heavy burden of not only small, but also major sins, which, without sincere repentance, increasingly alienate people from God.
Such is the nature of man that in society he is unable to avoid sinfulness; only Christians who have gone into asceticism and completely devoted themselves to serving the Almighty are able to live in holiness.
For those who remain in worldly life, it is important to remember the need for liberation from sin, but asking a prayer for the forgiveness of their sins must be accompanied by:
- awareness of the sinfulness of one’s action;
- admission of guilt, wrongdoing;
- a firm decision not to repeat sinful acts.
In addition, to receive remission of one’s sins, the petitioner needs unconditional faith in God’s mercy and sincere repentance for what he has done, supported by the performance of good deeds. Then the repentant prayer of the sinner’s soul will be heard and accepted by God, and the believer will feel God’s grace protecting him from sinful thoughts.
How to ask for forgiveness for sins: 3 prayers to the Lord
How to ask Allah for forgiveness
The ritual of forgiveness among Muslims is called istigraf. It is important to do everything consistently and correctly:
- Before performing the ceremony, it is necessary to proclaim the greatness of Allah, using the words “alhamdulillah”, “Allah is Great” (Allah Akbar), “subhanallah”.
- Saying prayers (salavat) to the Messenger, the prophet is an important part of repentance to the Almighty. It is believed that Allah hears and accepts salawat automatically.
- Before asking for yourself, say a request for forgiveness for the Prophet Muhammad. Thus ask for all believers, and the effect of prayer will be stronger.
- The best words about greatness and forgiveness are from the verses of the Holy Quran, you must use them.
- Say salavat, bending to the ground, until satisfaction and purification comes.
You need to pronounce istigraphs consciously and thoughtfully. Everything must come from the depths of the heart, so that Allah does not consider conversion a lie.
Prayers for intercession to the Mother of God
You can always turn to the Most Holy Theotokos for help; she will hear your intercessory prayers and provide assistance not only in the most difficult life situations. For believers who sincerely repent of their deeds, the Virgin Mary will forgive their sins, provide support in a problematic situation, and help in finding the true path to faith in the Lord.
However, you should not think that you can sin with impunity, having the opportunity for remission of sins. If a sinner is fully aware of his bad deed and repents sincerely, and not formally, then after receiving the Lord's forgiveness, sinful thoughts will leave the mind forever.
How to contact the Virgin Mary: 3 prayers for the forgiveness of sins
It is important to remember that to receive forgiveness for your sins, just a daily prayer service at home is not enough. It is necessary to participate in Divine services, regularly attending church, adhere to righteous views, and have pure thoughts in which there is no place for any sinful acts.
Reading rules
By reading prayers with a sincere desire to repent, you can receive forgiveness of those sins that have long been forgotten. But this is only possible if you forgive the mistakes of your neighbors and do not hold a grudge against them.
It is best to read a prayer when we ask God for forgiveness for our sins in the temple. If you are doing this at home, stay completely alone and pray sincerely.
And remember that if you repent, you should try to sin as little as possible in the future. Here the principle “I’ll sin, and then I’ll pray” does not work. The Lord reads in our hearts and knows when we, not wanting to change, just want to ask for something. If you sincerely repent, then you need to not only read prayers, but also change your thoughts so that your life is pleasing to God.
Prayers for the forgiveness of sins of a kind
If you have set out on the path of your own purification and decided to resist evil intentions as the source of sinfulness, then in addition to daily sincere prayers for repentance for your sins, ask the Lord to forgive not only you. Forgiveness is necessary for all members of your family to achieve complete healing of the soul.
Reading penitential texts will help to pacify the souls of already departed family members, restore the balance of spiritual forces of living relatives, and for future generations it will be the bestowal of a better fate.
By sincerely repenting, you will be able to remove the spiritual burden of all generational sins, which in the material world become the cause of serious illnesses. You will do a godly deed and benefit future heirs, turning each time to Jesus Christ with a daily prayer for the forgiveness of the sins of your family:
Medicine of Immortality - Communion
The main place in the life of the Church and every Christian is occupied by the Sacrament of Communion. This is the greatest miracle given by God to man, incomprehensible even to the Heavenly Angels. By uniting in Communion with Christ Himself, a person is sanctified by Divine grace. He receives reinforcement of his strength to fight passions, and is washed from sinful impurity.
“Christians have this Heavenly Fire as food for themselves; he is peace for them, he cleanses and washes and sanctifies their heart, he leads them to growth, he is air and life for them” (Reverend Maximus of Egypt).
The Sacrament of Communion was established by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper, where, according to Old Testament custom, the Easter meal was eaten. Going to free suffering for the sins of all mankind, Christ fills the Old Testament Easter with new meaning. Having taught the disciples wine and bread, which became His Precious Blood and Most Pure Body, Jesus Christ commanded to continually perform this Sacrament:
“...do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). Pointing to the healing and saving power of Communion, the Lord said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:53-54).
Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt:
“The Holy Gifts contain great power, for they are the Body and Blood of the Lord God, the Word of the Almighty Jesus Christ, imparted at the Liturgy of bread and wine by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, they themselves correct, heal, sanctify everyone who approaches the great sacrament.”
A person becomes a true Christian precisely in the Sacrament of Communion, opening his body, soul and heart to Christ.
How to atone for your guilt before the Almighty
It is also not forbidden to address pleas for forgiveness to saints or great martyrs. Before you say a prayer, you should find the right mood - clear your mind of unnecessary thoughts that distract from the main task.
Repentance for deeds that burden the soul (unintentional or intentional) must be sincere, then daily prayers to the Lord will bring purification along with enlightenment of consciousness.
Great words of prayers of repentance addressed to the Lord, Our Lady and other saints can change a person’s inner world for the better:
- a repentant Christian becomes kinder to the people around him;
- the secrets of the hidden nature of good and also evil are revealed to him;
- a believer himself does not commit sinful acts and does not allow others to do so.
According to church canons, in order to gain the Lord's mercy and forgiveness of all one's sins, in addition to reading sacred texts at home, one must attend church. The Orthodox are required to regularly confess to the priest, who is destined to play the role of mediator between God and the laity.
After the ritual of listing your unsightly deeds and your sincere repentance, the priest, by the will of the Lord, will forgive the sins you have committed, and you will feel great relief. By participating in the sacrament of communion, the final ritual of confession, you will be cleansed of sinful acts in order to be resurrected into holiness.
Rules for daily prayers
According to a brief prayer rule compiled by Seraphim of Sarov, the creation of daily prayers (morning and evening) begins with reading the following prayers - Our Father (3 times), Virgin Mary, Rejoice (3 times), and the Creed (1 time).
This is followed by repentant prayer texts, and the prayer service ends with the reading of the main psalm - Our Father.
You need to ask for forgiveness not only for the wrong action you have already committed, but also for sinful thoughts about it. After all, the Almighty and the army of his holy helpers see not only our outer shell, but also the most hidden corners of the inner world of every believer.
Therefore, the Holy Gospel prescribes to repent of committed sinful actions and thoughts every day, and not to postpone repentance until the dying minutes. Even short appeals asking for mercy to a sinner reach the heavenly palaces, especially those pronounced within the walls of God's temple.
I want to share with you the text of the daily prayer of repentance, which I read at night after all the evening prayers. Wonderful words remove the burden of all voluntary or involuntary sins committed during the day, and the high intensity of sincere repentance allows you to fall asleep with a feeling of God's mercy through forgiveness.
For your own sins you need not just ask for forgiveness, but pray for your fall from grace for a long time, depending on the severity of the sin. Jesus sacrificed himself for the remission of our sins, he was crucified for his mercy towards us, which is why His forgiveness has such great power and works miracles.
How to Confess Sins
There are ten sins, everything else is a variation of these sins. Therefore, when preparing for confession, prepare with an emphasis on the brevity of the Ten Commandments, but at the same time you must be prepared that the priest may ask the question: how many times have you fallen? Who did you fall with? Was there any feeling of remorse from the one you fell with? It is up to the priest whether he wants to clarify something or not.
Sacrament of Repentance
Sometimes it is very difficult for a person to tell about some of his sins. This especially happens when you are friends with a priest, and you are afraid that when you name your sins, this will change the priest’s good attitude towards you, he will look at you negatively. But in reality this is false shame.
A priest, when he feels that a person is behaving insincerely during confession, he may be offended by such distrust. And when the clergyman sees that you call sin by its name, he feels your trust in him and will treat it with understanding. Adapt to the priest, his questions, his reaction.
Attention! Confession is not made before a priest. Prayers are read: “Behold, Christ stands invisibly, accepting your confession.” The priest is only a witness to confession and the priest forgives sins not by the power of his piety, not by the power of his dignity, but by the power given to him by Jesus Christ.
Therefore, confession is made before Christ, and the priest is a witness. And at the Last Judgment, it is the priest who will testify to the sincerity of your confession.
There is penance - this is not a punishment for sin, but a period during which a person heals his sin with repentance. To then proceed to the cup of the Eucharist.
Sometimes, for serious mortal sins, the priest recommends abstaining from communion for a while. Strengthen repentance with prayer, fasting, reading the Holy Scriptures, patristic literature, or other positive actions. In order to heal your soul through repentance, and then proceed to the Chalice of Christ. The natural state is a feeling of sorrow from a sin committed. It is natural to feel pain and heaviness. But while experiencing sorrow, the soul learns to humble itself and is reborn.
The purpose of confession is to get you to blame yourself! What happens in confession when a person begins to blame himself? God begins to justify him. The task of the penitent is to blame himself. After all, in everyday life we are engaged in constantly justifying ourselves.
But there is no need to bring into church elements of your ordinary life, when we disguise ourselves, try to justify ourselves, and refuse some accusations against us. Through false modesty, you become your own enemy.
Parting words
With miraculous prayers for forgiveness and intercession addressed to the Lord and Mother of God, you heal the soul like medicine. Therefore, pray daily if you feel guilty before someone and are internally ready to receive healing by wholeheartedly repenting of your actions.
Although the power of sincere prayer works wonders, do not expect quick results, sin happens quickly. To gain forgiveness for unintentional harm, one will have to pray for a long time, and for a deliberate sinful act - even longer.
Another version of the prayer of repentance
Heavenly Father! I come to You in prayer, aware of my sinfulness. God, in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, forgive me all my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I don't want to live anymore. I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins and rose again on the third day for my justification. Lord, please come into my heart, sanctify me, be my Shepherd and guide my whole life. Thank you for hearing my prayer and accepting me as I am. Right now, by faith, I accept Your forgiveness and salvation of my soul for eternal life. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen!
