How to pronounce correctly in Russian
Before praying, it is recommended to understand how to do it correctly. There are several common rules that must be followed when reading prayer texts:
- A prayer service is a personal appeal to God, and not a mechanical reading of words. The Lord is a person who must be approached sincerely.
- Prayer represents aspiration towards the Lord and an expression of one's love for him. In the process of reading a prayer text, a person communicates with God. For dialogue with the Lord to be successful, it is necessary to learn in advance to listen to Him and understand what He is trying to tell us.
- In order for the spoken prayer to be truly heard, it is necessary to make an effort and be sincere when reading. This is an important rule that must be followed.
- The only serious enemy of the prayer service is formalism. Therefore, it is recommended to pronounce all prayer words confidently. To do this, they are read carefully, diligently and slowly. Before pronouncing the text, you need to prepare your mind and soul in advance. Only after this the prayer read out will be sincere.
- You cannot constantly pray only for yourself. Therefore, it is recommended to periodically pray for other people, so that the Lord will help them and cleanse them of their sins.
- When praying in the morning, you must have hope that the Lord will hear the words spoken. If you pray without faith in help, the prayer will remain unheard.
- The prayer service should be conducted in perfect silence so that extraneous sounds do not distract from communication with the Lord.
Common Beginner Mistakes
There are several mistakes that are made during the recitation of prayer books. These include the following:
- Hasty reading of prayer words. Sometimes people do not have free time, and they begin to pray hastily. You shouldn’t do this; it’s better to find free time to fully read the prayer service. For example, you can stop watching TV and devote this time to turning to God. When reading the prayer book, small abbreviations can be made, but only with the permission of the confessor.
- Lack of repentance. It is known that prayer must come from the right spiritual mood. However, some people do not prepare themselves for prayer in advance and conduct it in a bad mood. This should not be done, as this will destroy the result of the prayer read.
- Using the imagination. Often, people who pray begin to use their imagination and imagine those to whom the prayer is addressed. However, the holy fathers say that the reading of prayer words should occur without sight. Therefore, it is recommended to completely turn off your imagination so that it does not distract from reading the prayer text.
Interpretation in Orthodoxy
Each prayer has an interpretation that every Orthodox person should become familiar with.
Publican
The Gospel says that the prayer of the lay Publican is said to atone for the sinful deeds of people who humiliate others or boast.
No person has the right to independently judge his own righteousness, based only on personal ideas.
Pre-initial
This prayer text is said to awaken from sleep and realize one’s sinful deeds. By pronouncing the words, a person asks for forgiveness from the Mother of God and our Savior for the sins he has committed.
Holy spirit
There are obligatory prayers that are said in the morning, and this is one of them. In this case, the prayer words are addressed to the Holy Spirit, the King of Heaven, who reigns over us. When praying, a person asks to be cleansed of past sins and other bad actions. Also in the prayer service, people turn to the spirit to save their souls from punishments that may be due to sinful deeds.
Trisagion
The prayer text is read three times a day. In Christianity, it began to be used after 400, when there was a strong earthquake in Constantinople. When saying a prayer service, a person does not ask the Lord for anything, but only glorifies him.
To the Most Holy Trinity
This is a prayer service, during the reading of which a person addresses each Person of the Trinity:
- To cleanse sins, they turn to God the Father.
- For forgiveness of committed iniquities - to God the Son.
- For the healing of infirmities - to the Holy Spirit.
God's
This prayer service is called the Lord’s prayer because it was given to people by Jesus Christ himself. He passed it on when His disciples asked to be taught how to pray correctly. That is why this prayer text is considered the most important.
Troparia Trinity
The Trinity Troparion is a hymn relating to the Most Holy Trinity and addressed to Her. Each of the troparions pronounced ends with a doxology to the Trinity, which is repeated three times. When pronouncing this doxology, a person calls on the Mother of God to have mercy on him.
Psalm 50
This psalm was created by the prophet David when he began to repent of his terrible sin - the murder of Uriah the Hittite. This prayer text is called repentant, since the person who pronounces it asks for mercy. After reading the prayer, the Lord grants salvation to the person and forgives him for his sins.
Symbol of faith
This prayer contains precise and concise statements of Christian truths, which were compiled and approved at the Ecumenical Councils. If a person refuses these truths, he ceases to be a Christian. By saying such a prayer service, a person confirms that he sincerely believes in God.
Macarius the Great
Each of the prayers of Macarius the Great has its own interpretation, which you need to familiarize yourself with.
First
When saying the first prayer, people ask the Lord to cleanse them from their sins. Also in prayer they ask for protection from the insidious and evil devil. The second part of the prayer service is dedicated to praising the holy name of God, the Holy Spirit, the Son and the Father.
Second
The second prayer of the Great Macarius is often said by people who have committed sins during their lives. The man asks the Savior not to let him die a sinful death and to take pity on him, forgive him for his sinful deeds and save him. At the end of the prayer service, Christ of God is asked to give a sinless and clear day.
Third
By pronouncing this prayer text, a person speaks of his desire and readiness to do the things that have been assigned to each of us by the Lord. People also ask God for help to encourage them to do these things and save them from committing sins.
At the end of the prayer, a praise to the Lord must be pronounced.
Fourth
Reading the fourth prayer service of Macarius the Great, a person speaks of readiness to serve God and fulfill any of His will. Prayer is said in the morning.
Saint Basil the Great
There are two prayers of St. Basil the Great, which have their own interpretations.
First
The first prayer is read by people who doubt their faith. In it they ask Saint Basil the Great to help them maintain their faith until the end of their lives and deliver them from their lack of faith. At the end of the prayer text, the saint is asked for a blessing.
Second
The second prayer is read to the saint so that he can help correct his life and direct him on the true path. Also, when reading a prayer, a person asks to protect him from temptations and sin. At the end of the prayer service, St. Basil the Great is asked to give spiritual strength in order to strengthen faith and make it unshakable.
To the Blessed Virgin Mary
In prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos, people ask her to drive away evil and nasty thoughts from them and cleanse their minds from sin. Also, a person who turns to the Mother of God in prayer wants to be freed from atrocities and unpleasant memories.
To our Lord Jesus Christ
By praying to the One God Jesus Christ, a person accepts his committed sins and repents of them. He asks for forgiveness for what he has done and hopes for God's mercy.
To the guardian angel
Every person has a guardian angel who invisibly protects a person from troubles and evil. It is necessary to pray to him daily so that he will have mercy on us and preserve us. In the spoken prayer, a person asks to protect him from evil and troubles that he may encounter on his life’s path.
Prayerful invocation of the saint whose name you bear
In addition to praying to his guardian angel, a person should pray to the saint after whom he was named. He, too, like a guardian angel, protects from troubles and misfortunes. Christians are given this name by church ministers during baptism. When praying to a saint, a person asks him to protect him from misfortunes and problems encountered on earth.
Hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos
The original text of the song to the Virgin Mary is as follows:
“Virgin Mother of God, 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.”
Some phrases from the prayer service are part of the greeting of the Archangel Gabriel when he told Mary that the Son of God would be born to her. We are talking about the phrase “Hail, full of grace Mary, the Lord is with you.” The next part of the prayer says that Mary is considered more glorified among women.
Troparion to the Cross and prayer for the fatherland
These prayer words are said to help Orthodox Christians get rid of misfortunes and troubles. Also, when pronouncing prayer words, they ask for well-being in life and help in defeating violators of state security and peace.
About the living
When people pray for the living, they ask God for mercy on their spiritual father, sisters and brothers, parents and other close relatives.
About the deceased
This prayer is necessary to ask God to place your deceased friends, relatives and other loved ones in the Kingdom of Heaven along with the saints, where there is no suffering and misfortune.
Recommendations for selection
Before you start praying, you need to familiarize yourself with the recommendations for choosing a morning prayer text. To choose it, you need to familiarize yourself with the main types of prayer services:
- Prayer texts can be both personal and combined. Most often, people use personal prayers to repent of sins and ask for forgiveness. However, public prayers are read in which people pray not only for themselves, but also for other people.
- Prayer services may differ in who they address. For example, the texts refer to the Holy Trinity, Guardian Angel, One God, saints or the Virgin Mary.
- A prayer book may have different contents, in which they also differ. They can be forgivable, repentant or grateful.
- Depending on the quality, there are heartfelt, mental and oral prayers, which are pronounced out loud.
- Prayer words may differ in the time they are performed. They are continuous and periodic.
- According to the method of pronouncing, prayers are divided into contemplative and verbal. The first is spoken silently.
