“How to come to God and where to start?” - this question is asked by those who understand with their hearts and minds that the Lord exists, but do not yet realize what role he plays in Orthodoxy, do not know how to recognize God, read and understand the Holy Scriptures. For some, the issue of churching is very important.
After all, an inexperienced, church-inexperienced person, finding himself in a church for the first time, feels insecure; here it is new and incomprehensible to him. Therefore, you need to know some Christian aspects. More on this later.
What should you do first?
Here are the words addressed to a person who wants to find God (Sir. 17:21–23):
“Turn to the Lord and leave your sins; pray before Him and reduce your stumbling blocks. Return to the Most High, and turn away from unrighteousness, and greatly hate abomination.”
The beginning Christian should understand that spiritual life is an internal life. Therefore, the main thing is to understand that you need to develop internally. To do this, you must live according to God's laws - the commandments.
It is very important to learn to monitor your emotions and thoughts. God also teaches us to forgive everyone and not be offended by anyone.
So, where to start, how to come to God according to the laws of Orthodoxy?
- Go to church, confess and receive communion. Every day, pray to God to grant deep faith and salvation of the soul.
- Buy the New Testament, prayer book and all 4 Gospels from the church. You need to read at least one chapter every day. You should read carefully, with diligence and concentration. If the words from the New Testament are not clear, you can use the interpretation. There is, for example, a good book written by Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria. If this does not help, we recommend reading the Children's Bible. Everything is presented there in accessible language. There is another good book, “The Law of God,” written by Seraphim Slobodsky. From it you can learn about prayers, God’s commandments, rules of behavior in the church, and the basics of religious doctrine.
- Observe all fasts and church holidays, as well as days of remembrance of the dead.
- Take part in the Holy Sacraments - Communion and Confession. This needs to be done at least once a month. It can be done more often.
- Find yourself a spiritual father. Unfortunately, today this is quite difficult. But you shouldn't despair. And don’t forget to ask the Lord to grant blessings on your search for a spiritual mentor.
Build a relationship with God
The beginning of a relationship with Him comes from the fact that you need to return to Him - to your Creator. This requires forgiveness. Thus, a relationship with the Lord begins with prayer. It may look, for example, like this: “Lord God, I thank you that your son, Jesus Christ, died for my sins. I ask You to forgive me my sin. Please forgive me that I haven’t considered You yet.” It must be taken into account that He himself declared: “Draw close to God.”
When the prodigal son returned home, he returned to the relationship of son and father. Again, he respected his father’s authority. Therefore, it is important to continue further with prayer: “Lord God, I ask You to accept me. I want to follow You."
You need to take time to build a relationship with Him. And instead of watching the program “Thank God You Came” with the choir, you need to spend time communicating with the Lord.
There is a big difference between being a modern slave of someone and being owned by someone who saved a person from hell by his death. The next part of the prayer, therefore, may look, for example, like this: “Lord God, thank you that Your son, Jesus Christ, paid the ransom for me. I want Him to be my master, and I to be the one who will listen to Him.”
You can pray alone, but it is much better to pray gathered with one of the believers. This can help a person to begin communication with God, and at the same time the second person present will be a witness to the new decision.
Christian life
Before asking how to come to God, where to start (there are audio lectures on this issue that you can listen to online). The life of a Christian differs in many ways from the worldly life. In the morning, after waking up, a believer does not first have breakfast, but reads morning prayers in front of icons (the home iconostasis is usually located on the eastern side of the room) and a lit candle or lamp.
You need to not just read, but pass every word through your heart and soul. As the Apostle Paul said: “It is better to say one word thoughtfully to yourself than a thousand words just with your tongue.”
It’s better to start with one prayer. As awareness of what has been read comes, others are gradually added. In the process of pronouncing prayer words, you need to understand that the Lord is present nearby, that He sees and hears everything. We should not forget to bow before icons and protect ourselves with the sign of the cross.
Before leaving for work, a Christian eats prosphora and drinks some holy water. As for meals, they should also be accompanied by prayer. It is best to read “Our Father” before dinner, lunch and breakfast, then make the sign of the cross over the food. After eating there is a prayer of thanksgiving:
We thank Thee, Christ our God, for Thou hast filled us with Thy earthly blessings; Do not deprive us of Your Heavenly Kingdom, but as You came among Your disciples, Savior, give them peace, come to us and save us.
It is worthy to eat as you truly bless Thee, the Mother of God, the Ever-Blessed and Most Immaculate and the Mother of our God. We magnify You, the most honorable Cherub and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim, who gave birth to God the Word without corruption. (Bow.)
Throughout the day, a true believer thinks about God. When it’s hard for a Christian, he turns to the Mother of God with the words:
Virgin Mary, Rejoice, O Blessed Mary, the Lord is with You; Blessed are You among women and blessed is the fruit of Your womb, for You have given birth to the Savior of our souls.
If there is any important matter ahead, you need to turn to the Lord and ask for his blessing. If it is large, then a prayer service is ordered in the church.
A true Christian sanctifies everything that is in his home and beyond. They create an atmosphere of holiness around them. It should be located not only outside, but inside – in the heart.
Before going to bed, believers read prayers for the coming sleep. Every Christian will devote at least a little time to reading the Holy Scriptures, the Gospel, and the book of the Acts of the Apostles.
All believers must observe the fasts indicated in the Orthodox calendar. There are 4 of them in total - Petrov, Velikiy, Rozhdestvensky and Uspensky.
Sunday and Saturday evening are always busy for Christians. At this time they stay in church and pray.
It is necessary to take communion once a month. Before the Holy Sacrament, you should fast for at least 3 days and read the prayers “Following to Communion.” On Saturday evening, Christians confess, and on Sunday morning, on an empty stomach, they come to the service and receive communion.
Also, every Christian should have a spiritual father. He explains exactly how to come to God, where to start, how to read and understand the Holy Scriptures, and will always give practical advice.
№6 (83) / 12 •June• '09
Ksenia Vozgrivtseva The Path to God
“Truly I tell you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3-6).
When you read these gospel words, you involuntarily think: how can we learn to believe as children believe, how to be sincere, pure, bright, trusting, harmless, creative and kind? But we are called to this by Christ. One can only be happy for people who know how to be like that. Today we will talk about such a person, about a creative, cheerful parishioner, mother of two (and in the near future, three) children - Irina Yagovkina.
First prayers
Prayer to the Holy Spirit:
Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, Treasure of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Good One, our souls.
Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity:
Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Master, forgive our iniquities; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name's sake.
Lord's Prayer:
Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors; and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Symbol of faith:
I believe in one God the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten, who was born of the Father before all ages; Light from Light, true God from true God, born, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, to Whom all things were. For our sake, man and our salvation came down from heaven and became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became human. She was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried. And he rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father. And again the coming one will be judged with glory by the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-Giving One, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who spoke the prophets. Into one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. I hope for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the next century. Amen.
Virgin Mary:
Virgin Mary, Rejoice, O Blessed Mary, the Lord is with You; Blessed are You among women and blessed is the Fruit of Your womb, for You have given birth to the Savior of our souls.
Worthy to eat:
It is worthy to eat as you truly bless Thee, the Mother of God, the Ever-Blessed and Most Immaculate and the Mother of our God. We magnify You, the most honorable Cherub and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim, who gave birth to God the Word without corruption.
Reading the Word
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).
God's words, thoughts and deeds are recorded in the Bible. By reading it, we become closer to its divine author. We gain His wisdom and understanding. This reproduces the inner desire to live in obedience to His Word.
We have seen God showing His care for this world since its creation. We are reminded of His power as a Protector. As a wise Teacher, He is patient and kind. As a righteous Judge, He desires to right all that is wrong. As we read the Word, we hear God speaking to our hearts regarding our families, His creation, and regarding every area of our lives. This is how we get to know Him better.
How to behave in church
Before entering the temple, you need to cross yourself 3 times (forehead-stomach-right shoulder-left shoulder). Then you should bow.
They usually come to the service early and do not leave until the end of the Liturgy. The first thing to do in the church is to go up to the Holy Icon, which is located in the middle of the temple on the lectern, cross yourself twice, bow the same amount, then kiss it. After this, you need to cross yourself and bow again.
Women must wear a headdress and a skirt below the knees. Men, on the contrary, remove their hats upon entering. You cannot talk, greet, or make noise within the walls of the church.
When leaving the temple, you need to repeat the same steps as when entering. While bending over, the following prayer should be said:
“God be merciful to me, a sinner,” “God, cleanse me, a sinner, and have mercy on me,” and “He who created me, Lord, forgive me.”
Next, you can go to the church minister and order a note about your health or for the repose of your soul. Only those names that were given at Baptism are written in them. A person must be baptized in the Orthodox Church.
In the temple you can pray for your loved ones. To do this, you should go to the icon, light a candle in front of it and say:
“Holy Father (name of the saint), pray to God for us.”
Standing with a lit candle, you need to silently say a prayer, a troparion to the saint.
You should mark yourself with a cross and bow your head when the priest overshadows the parishioners with the Gospel, the Cross. If the holy father blesses with his hand or censes, then there is no need to be baptized - just bow your head down.
Prodigal son
Beginning a relationship with Him can best be compared to the prodigal son returning home. The Bible (Luke) tells the story of a young man who left his father to enjoy life according to his wishes. When he gradually lost all his property that his father gave him (inheritance), he realized that he was best off at home. After all, his ideas about life led to complete ruin.
He went to his father asking for forgiveness and that he would be glad if he was given the opportunity to be one of his workers. He knew he didn't deserve to be a son because of what he did. After all, he left his home. However, his father accepted him. This prodigal son never ceased to be a son for him. He was glad that he returned home.
