Prayer of the Optina elders at the beginning of the day
Lord, let me meet with peace of mind everything that the coming day will bring me. Let me completely surrender to Your holy will. For every hour of this day, instruct and support me in everything. Whatever news I receive during the day, teach me to accept it with a calm soul and a firm conviction that everything is Your holy will. In all my words and deeds, guide my thoughts and feelings. In all unforeseen cases, do not let me forget that everything was sent down by You. Teach me to act directly and wisely with each member of my family, without confusing or upsetting anyone. Lord, give me strength to endure the fatigue of the coming day and all the events during the day. Guide my will and teach me to pray, believe, hope, endure, forgive and love. Amen.
Prayer of the Optina Elders
Awakening - the beginning of asceticism, or why a regime is important for a Christian
The priceless time of life, a gift from God, is fleeting and must be spent wisely. We thought about the spiritual meaning of daily routine and time management for a believer and looked for the opinion of an experienced shepherd on the Internet.
On the Soyuz TV channel, as part of the series of programs “Conversations with the Father,” presenters and studio guests constantly discuss issues from the everyday life of an Orthodox Christian.
This time, the rector of the Optina Metochion in Moscow, press secretary of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism, Archimandrite Melchizedek (Artyukhin) is reflecting on how to properly organize the daily routine so that this day has spiritual and everyday benefits for us.
– Is there a certain algorithm for the ordinary day of a Christian, and if so, how should the day begin?
– Everything starts from the beginning. The day begins with waking up. Anatoly Optinsky once said beautifully about this time:
“If a person does not dare to get up in the evening, and does not have an internal mood, structure, mood, then put even the Optina bell tower above your head instead of an alarm clock, you still won’t get up.” That is, to get up on time in the morning, you need determination.
The day begins with simply getting up on time. The transmission began second by second, we arrive at the church - early liturgy at 7 am, late at 10, evening - somewhere at 5 o'clock, and somewhere at 6, and everything in the church goes according to schedule.
Church life is on a schedule, on TV - on a schedule, trains run on a schedule, trams are the same, clinics also work like that.
There is some order. Our universe itself is called cosmos - κόσμος, “cosmos” is translated as “order”.
And that’s why I tell people: “When I visit your house, your apartment doesn’t look like a temple. Have you seen something lying around somewhere in the church? Is it not right? You see, there is order and harmony in the temple, and this is how it should be in the house.” They say: “Well, in principle, yes.” And if it should be in the house, then it should be so in the soul.
Chekhov said: “Everything in a person should be beautiful: his face, his thoughts, his clothes.” Harmony is the normal state of a Christian. Therefore, we must also have order in our everyday life.
So, among the holy fathers it is customary to go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time.
– Always at the same time?
“That’s how it’s supposed to be—the appointed time then becomes a habit; it’s easier for you when everything is subordinated to order, and not just to some kind of trend or mood.” We start the service not according to our mood, but according to the schedule, and we also started the program.
By the way, once I was riding in a taxi, a Muslim gave me a lift, and I asked him: “I know about your certain rules of life, tell me: do you pray five times a day or on a schedule?” He says: “Listen, how do planes fly? Scheduled. And what - God will wait for me when I want?
No, we also do everything according to time: at sunrise, at 9.00 o’clock, at 12.00 o’clock, at 15.00 o’clock and at sunset, when the sun sets.” That is, everything is also subject to some kind of order. Why do we have morning and evening rules whenever we want? During the day - also according to my mood, but at a certain hour - this is basically not the case. But at least the beginning should be more or less fixed.
The beginning should be constant, if it depends on you. It’s right to put it all in order, then a habit arises, a schedule, you get used to it. Theophan the Recluse Vyshensky said: “Don’t rely on yourself if you’re planning to get up.”
Some say: “And I get up on a whim: when I tell myself, then I get up.” But these are rare talents, I, for example, cannot do this. I have two alarm clocks, and many others do too. Therefore, there must be an alarm clock.
Many holy fathers give advice, even the father of the fathers, John Climacus, says: “Where does asceticism begin? To get up immediately after waking up.”
It would seem: what does these few seconds have to do with it? What if not right away? But if not immediately, what happens here? There is a certain secret in this too.
You really need to get up right away. Why? Because as soon as we wake up, dark forces begin to act on our mind, consciousness, and thoughts. How? “Lie down for five minutes”, “my head hurts”...
The thoughts immediately begin: “How am I feeling?” Wait, you first get up, start the day, go, wash yourself, then you will figure out how you feel. “No, I’ll lie down a little longer.” Remember how much time or incidents you lost through this “I’ll lie down a little more.”
– Why is morning time the most precious?
– It’s not busy yet, that is, if you have to leave the house at 7 o’clock to go to work or start having breakfast, but set the alarm for 6 o’clock, then this hour is yours. In general, any hour before the start of the day is yours, even if it’s half an hour, it’s yours.
And we spent this time, which we could devote to our souls, in vain. You have to jump up, wash your face, prepare breakfast, run to work and start your work day without starting it spiritually. Therefore, Climacus says that asceticism begins with getting up instantly.
By the way, I read one very scary thing (in my opinion, by Paisius of Athos). He says: “If we lie down again after waking up, a demon falls on us.” And why? This is some kind of personal experience, that is, you still need to start the day courageously.
Saint Theophan the Recluse of Vyshensky has this advice: “Immediately throw off the blanket.” And I do this: I set the alarm clock farther away so that my hand won’t reach it. To turn off the alarm, you need to get up. This is already some kind of action.
And then, I don’t live alone, with my mother, and in order not to wake her up, I don’t have to wait until it rings so loudly that I get tired of it, I have to turn it off right away. And just in case, an alarm clock in your phone. But Elder Anatoly Optinsky said: “In the evening there must be a determination that you get up.”
I was asked the question: “Father, is it hard to get up early in the morning?” Of course it's hard. Now, with age, it has become easier. When I was young, when I was in Optina, I always wanted to sleep. Now it’s about old age, there is little time left, and old people complain that they are developing insomnia.
Insomnia is the grace of God, it extends the time of your life. There is less time left to live, so the Lord gives less sleep and more wakefulness. Whatever you think, whatever you remember - both good and bad.
If it’s bad, you’ll repent, but if it’s good, you’ll thank you, remember the kind people you’ve met in life (doctors, teachers, relatives), pray for someone, cry for someone, lament for someone, it happened so, ask for forgiveness - at least mentally.
Insomnia is a time of some kind of summary, a look at your life. Therefore, it is very important to have attitude and determination.
Is it difficult to get up? Hard. But the thought must go ahead (I always forced myself to get up with one thought, because getting up was always hard, and it’s hard now): “The Kingdom of God is in need; and women in need delight her.”
That is, it will never be easy. When I say the words that the Kingdom of God is in need, it motivates me to get up right away. And again: “To whom much is given, from him more will be required.”
Do you know that you can’t sleep through this morning time? You know. To whom much is given, more will be required: the first will be last, and the last first, and that servant who knew the will of his master and did not do it will be beaten more than the one who did not know and did not do it.
These thoughts instantly flashed through my head, and I forced myself to get up through these thoughts: as soon as we wake up, in a split second this or that thought appears in my head. One day we had a Sunday conversation in church with parishioners about how to help someone with getting up early.
...In winter, I went to services - there was almost not a single luminous window, that is, people were sleeping off, I went into the temple - the temple was full. Are people reluctant to sleep? Hunting. Are they made from other cells, molecules? No, they're the same.
What drove them? What led the way was thought, soul, concern for one’s inner state. Was it difficult to get up? Of course it's hard. If this were common, then all the windows would be on fire. This means that any early getting up is still a certain amount of work and compulsion.
I asked parishioners for advice: “How do you manage to get up early and drag yourself out of bed?” One grandmother said: “You know, when I wake up, I put my foot on the carpet from under the blanket, it gets cold, and then I understand that I have to get up
Therefore, of course, the feat of compulsion is important, but it must be with a specific thought: the day begins, prayer begins, you will go to work later, and a Christian’s day begins with gratefully getting up, washing his face - and immediately, before all breakfasts and other things, of course, morning prayers.
Question from a TV viewer:
- I work in a kindergarten. When the children and I sit down to eat (and I eat with them, and my colleagues eat), I am somehow embarrassed that I reluctantly cross the plate, although they know, of course, that I am a believer.
But I don’t know what to do at this moment, or really get baptized as expected and say a prayer... But when so many eyes are looking at you, you don’t know what to do; or not eat at all then?..
- There is no need to be embarrassed. Before sitting down at the table, you must read “Our Father” to yourself, and when you have already sat down, make the sign of the cross with a spoon in a plate. But you shouldn’t be baptized deliberately: then because of this there may be some kind of temptation.
When you are among your family and friends, this is one thing, but when you are at work, especially in a social setting, it is another; this is usually not accepted there. Always read the prayer silently to yourself, both before and after meals, and cross the plate with a spoon or make imperceptible movements of the sign of the cross.
Or, as they also do, they first reached for the bread (forward), then for the fork (backward), then moved the glass (to the right) and reached for another plate (to the left) - you got a wide sign of the cross across the entire table.
But even if this doesn’t work, just cross your plate with a spoon. This will already be the sign of the cross for you, and the food will be blessed, and the prayer that you read will also be a blessing to you and those people who are with you.
By the way, food after prayer (mental or vocal) is no longer food, it is medicine, blessed for the benefit of soul and body.
So, let's return to the morning prayers, with which a Christian's day should begin. The question is often asked: “Are these prayers the same for everyone or not?” The fact is that we have morning prayers in our prayer book, and they can be different (according to the state of a person’s soul).
For example, a beginner should discuss with his confessor what rule he should have. Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov) says about this: “A small rule, but constantly followed, has no price.”
Therefore, if people are beginners, it should be a little shorter. Gradually it is added: after a week I added one thing, after another week - another, after a month - a third, and in the end we need to go to full morning prayers, which make up the beginning of our day.
Bishop Theophan the Recluse advises: after you have prayed according to the prayer book, in your own words ask God for blessings for the coming day and, mentally imagining the affairs during the day, ask for God’s help, admonition, inspiration, teaching or warning, if you know that the day will be difficult.
Another important point. We all have a cross: priests have a priestly cross, monks also have a monastic cross, but every Christian wears a cross. I remember the instruction of one of the elders, who said: as soon as you wake up, immediately cross yourself and kiss your pectoral cross.
That is, all these tiny, purely physical (not only mental) movements will help to overcome the most difficult moment, about which for some reason Climacus says: “Asceticism begins with instantly getting up.”
Some will say: “Yes, I wake up very easily.” Well, then you are a happy person if you wake up easily, most of us still like to sleep and through this we wake up half of our lives.
Wise advice comes to mind. The teacher kept dragging the young man so that he would get up early and not be late for school, but he kept oversleeping. Then one day he came up to him, tapped him on the shoulder and said: “You know, son, those who sleep a lot see only dreams, but you and I should also see life.”
He who sleeps a lot sees only dreams, and then the kind of dreams when he has to read the prayer of St. Basil the Great for excessive sleep (let the one who reads or watches understand what I’m talking about).
– What should be the spiritual result of the morning rule, and why is it so important to read it before starting all business?
– This is a blessing from God, we greeted the Lord, prayed: thanked (the first prayers are thanksgiving), confessed and asked.
Basil the Great teaches us this algorithm: all of our prayer should approximately consist of the following - gratitude, confession and petition.
The result of these prayers is the mood of the algorithm: like an alarm clock was set, or, if we are driving a car, the road (navigator) was paved. So, morning prayers are a navigator for the whole day.
Since we are believers, we understand that this is God’s blessing at the beginning of every day - the one who started the day with God will spend it with God. And when he started in a hurry, that’s how the day will be. Therefore, morning prayers are the foundation of the whole day.
We have just talked about morning prayers, which make up the beginning of the day, and many holy fathers advise us to make this spiritual time in the morning as large as possible - but we must start gradually.
By the way, regarding the amount of sleep, many holy fathers and devotees of piety, our Optina saints, said that 6 hours of sleep is enough for a healthy person, 7 for a sick or infirm person, and what is more than this, then with repentance.
They said this in the 19th century, now you can add another hour due to hassle and poor environmental conditions.
But in Optina Pustyn there is a spiritual oasis, there is a forest, vegetable gardens, and the spring of Paphnutius Borovsky. Now people from Optina, my friends, are watching us. The ecology there is different, in the fresh air and with normal nutrition you can sleep there less, but on average it turns out like this: 7–8 hours.
If on average a person goes to bed at 10–11, then when you get up at 6:00 in the morning you get 7 hours of sleep - you can easily get up. And if you have to leave for work by 9.00, at 8.00, then you get two whole free hours if the person doesn’t sleep until he stops.
Therefore, we must start gradually. For example, at 8.00 a person should start having breakfast, getting dressed and going to work, but let the day begin first half an hour before, then 40 minutes, 50 minutes, an hour before this time.
That is, we must gradually get used to getting up early so that there is as much time as possible before the start of the working day: you can then add the Holy Scripture to your morning prayers, which is also the foundation of our spiritual life.
Elder Ambrose of Optina gave the following advice: “Be sure to read the Holy Scriptures in the morning, so that later those thoughts with which you are fed will feed you throughout the day.
Look, the cow first eats grass, and then chews the cud, which she has been fed with since the morning. So you, Christian, listen to the word of God, because when we pray, we talk with God, and when we read the Holy Scriptures, God talks with us.”
We want, for example, during the program to hear something bright, kind, edifying, useful from us, ordinary people. And here the Lord Himself speaks through the lines of Holy Scripture.
Moreover, how many times have I noticed: when you don’t know what to do during the day, what to say, what to do, how to answer, you begin to remember at least something from the Gospel you read in the morning, and you will definitely find the answer from what you read, because it is the Lord Himself I wanted to tell you something this morning through specific lines.
Over time, Holy Scripture should become our daily “breakfast” for the soul. We don't run to work without breakfast.
If someone is not on a diet, then they have breakfast. Why? This is food for the body, but there must also be food for the soul: morning prayers and at least one chapter from the Gospel, which, by the way, is read in 5 minutes if it is a short chapter, and 7 minutes to read a long chapter.
That is, it’s only 5 minutes, but it’s breakfast and food for the soul, because we must nourish everything – both soul and body...
The conversation took place on the Soyuz TV channel
Sob. inf.
Other prayers of the Optina elders
Prayers of St. Anthony of Optina
About the beginning of every business
God, come to my help, Lord, strive for my help. Rule, Lord, everything I do, read and write, everything I think, speak and understand, for the glory of Your Holy Name, so that all my work may begin from You and end in You. Grant to me, O God, that I may anger Thee, my Creator, neither by word, nor by deed, nor by thought, but may all my deeds, advice and thoughts be for the glory of Thy Most Holy Name. God, come to my help, Lord, strive for my help.
About family
In the hands of great mercy, O my God, I entrust: my soul and much-painful body, the husband given to me from You, and all my beloved children. Thou shalt be our Helper and Patron throughout our life, in our exodus and at death, in joy and sorrow, in happiness and misfortune, in illness and health, in life and death, in everything may Thy holy will be with us, as on heaven and earth. Amen.
For the enemies
Forgive those who hate and offend us, Thy servants (names), O Lord, Lover of Mankind: for they do not know what they are doing, and warm their hearts to love us, the unworthy.
Prayer of St. Macarius of Optina
In carnal warfare
O Mother of the Lord my Creator, You are the root of virginity and the unfading color of purity. Oh, Mother of God! Help me, the one who is weak with carnal passion and painful, for one is Thine and with Thee is the intercession of Thy Son and God. Amen.
Prayer of St. Joseph of Optina
When thoughts invade
Lord Jesus Christ, drive away from me all inappropriate thoughts! Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am weak... For You are my God, support my mind, so that unclean thoughts do not overcome it, but in You, my Creator, let it delight, for Your Name is great for those who love You.
Prayer of St. Nikon of Optina Confessor
In grief
Glory to Thee, my God, for the sorrow sent to me, I now accept what is worthy of my deeds. Remember me when you come into Your Kingdom, and may all Your will be one, good and perfect.
Prayer of St. Anatoly of Optina (Potapov)
From the Antichrist
Deliver me, O Lord, from the seduction of the god-hating, evil, cunning Antichrist of the coming, 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 deny You, my Savior and Redeemer, from Your holy Church. But grant me, O Lord, day and night weeping and tears for my sins and have mercy on me, O Lord, at the hour of Your Last Judgment. Amen.
Prayer of St. Nektarios of Optina
From the Antichrist
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, who is coming to judge the living and the dead, have mercy on us sinners, forgive the fall of our entire lives and through their own destinies hide us from the face of the Antichrist in the hidden desert of Your salvation. Amen.
protection from evil, enemies and damage
A big prayer, but very strong.
If you have any trouble from people, I advise you to read it. Merciful Lord, You once through the mouth of the servant Moses, Joshua the son of Nun, delayed the movement of the Sun and Moon all day long while the people of Israel took revenge on their enemies. With the prayer of Elisha the prophet, he once struck the Syrians, delaying them, and healed them again.
You once told the prophet Isaiah: behold, I will return back ten steps the shadow of the sun, which passed along the steps of Ahaz, and the Sun returned ten steps along the steps on which it descended. You once, through the mouth of the prophet Ezekiel, closed the abysses, stopped the rivers, and held back the waters. And You once stopped the mouths of the lions in the den through the fasting and prayer of Your prophet Daniel.
And now delay and slow down until the time is right all the plans around me about my removal, dismissal, displacement, expulsion. So now, destroy the evil desires and demands of all those who condemn me, block the lips and hearts of all those who slander, are angry and growl at me and all who blaspheme and humiliate me. So now bring spiritual blindness into the eyes of all those who rise up against me and against my enemies.
Didn't you tell the Apostle Paul: Speak and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will harm you. Soften the hearts of all those who oppose the good and dignity of the Church of Christ. Therefore, let not My mouth be silent to reprove the wicked and glorify the righteous and all Your wondrous works. And may all our good undertakings and desires be fulfilled. To you, the righteous and prayer books of God, our daring representatives, who once, by the power of their prayers, restrained the invasion of foreigners, the approach of the haters, who destroyed the evil plans of people, who stopped the mouths of lions, now I turn with my prayer, with my petition.
And You, the venerable great Elius of Egypt, who once fenced the place of your disciple’s settlement in a circle with the sign of the cross, commanded him to arm himself with the name of the Lord and from now on not to be afraid of demonic temptations. Protect my house, in which I live, in the circle of Your prayers and save it from fiery ignition, thieves’ attacks and all evil and fear.
And You, Reverend Father Poplie of Syria, who once with your unceasing prayer kept the demon motionless for ten days and unable to walk either day or night; Now, around my cell and this house, keep behind its fence all the opposing forces and all those who blaspheme the name of God and those who despise me.
And You, reverend virgin Piama, who once with the power of prayer stopped the movement of those who were going to destroy the inhabitants of the village where she lived, now stop all the plans of my enemies who want to expel me from this city and destroy me: do not allow them to approach this house, stop them with the power of prayer his: “Lord, Judge of the Universe, You, who are displeased with all unrighteousness, when this prayer comes to You, may the Holy Power stop them at the place where it befalls them.”
And You, blessed Lavrenty of Kaluga, pray to God for me, as having the boldness to intercede before the Lord for those suffering from the wiles of the devil. Pray to God for me, may He protect me from the wiles of Satan.
And You, Reverend Vasily of Pechersk, perform your prayers of prohibition over those who attack me and drive away all the devil’s machinations from me.
And you, all the Holy Lands of Russia, with the power of your prayers for me, dispel all the demonic spells, all the devilish plans and intrigues - to annoy me and destroy me and my property.
And You, great and formidable guardian, Archangel Michael, cut with a fiery sword all the desires of the enemy of the human race and all his minions who want to destroy me. Stand inviolably on guard over this house, all those living in it and all its property.
And You, Lady, not in vain called the “Indestructible Wall,” be for all those who are hostile against me and plotting dirty tricks on me, truly a kind of barrier and an indestructible wall, protecting me from all evil and difficult circumstances.
God bless!
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My prayer “My story of petition”
“When my brother fell ill, our entire large family came to the rescue. He was diagnosed with cancer, and they said that it was already one of the last stages. We thought that the end would soon come, we asked the doctor not to inform so abruptly, to give time to prepare his brother, otherwise he would not have survived, he could have killed himself. He is a handsome guy, but he has no family, even though he is already over 40 years old.
Larisa, 38 years old, St. Petersburg:
Soon I had a dream that he was dying. And I have known since childhood that the meaning in this case is the opposite. We started looking for doctors, but it would take a lot of time, and we need to save our brother right now or even yesterday. When I met the priest from the temple, he advised me to make a request through prayer. You can go to the Optina elders. I then gave all our relatives instructions on what to read. We prayed day, night and morning in shifts, our mother – the strongest. Moreover, laziness never showed itself - I wanted to get my brother out.
We then diligently read the Optina Elders’ prayer for every day for about a week, as well as the morning and evening prayers. Perhaps the mass appeal (there were more than 20 of us relatives), listening to the songs of the church choir or saying a prayer individually had an impact - I don’t know. But one morning we heard the news: my brother was in remission.” .
