Every Orthodox person knows how important prayer is. When a person wakes up in the morning, he reads morning prayers. This helps him tune in to the new day, receive strength and blessings from God.
At what point in time should you read the morning and evening rules? This is clearly and clearly written in any Orthodox prayer book:
“Rising from sleep, before doing anything else, stand in reverence before the All-Seeing God and, making the sign of the cross, say...”
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And evening prayers should be read before bedtime, after any business. In these prayers, sleep is compared with death, bed with a deathbed. And it’s strange, after talking about death, to go watch TV or communicate with relatives...
Before going to bed, read the night prayer
But what kind of prayer should you read in the evening, before going to bed? After all, it is in the evening that we must thank God for the past day, and also pray for forgiveness of the sins we committed during the day.
There is a special night prayer for this. In another way, such prayers are called for the coming sleep.
This is what a page from a prayer book with prayers for the coming sleep looks like. Photo: hranitel.club
Who do they pray to before going to bed?
Evening prayer includes an appeal to God, the Most Holy Theotokos, and guardian angel. Also, individual prayers are addressed to the Holy Spirit, the Life-Giving Cross. Included are rules and prayers for every hour of the day and night, written by St. John Chrysostom, a memorial service, and confession of sins.
Before going to bed, they ask God for forgiveness of sins. Bad deeds deprive people of grace and drive away their guardian angel, since holiness and evil are incompatible. But if you have not yet succeeded in becoming saints, do not despair, because the Bible says: “There is no man who does not sin.” Daily prayers will help in working to improve your life, because the Almighty always meets you halfway, appreciating even one good intention.
God forgives those who sincerely repent, their soul is freed from the burden of sins, and a state of peace and hope for the best sets in. They ask God and their guardian angel for protection from evil, since the devil confuses a person and is the cause of falling into sin. The main note of nightly prayers is to become worthy of God’s grace, to be worthy of eternal life with God and His saints.
Requests to the Mother of God consist of instructions for good deeds and a sinless life. The rule contains one unusual prayer - the kontakion to the Virgin Mary, briefly called “The Chosen Voivode”. This prayer was written after the miraculous lifting of the siege of Constantinople, when the patriarch with the icon of the Mother of God walked around the walls of the city, and the danger had passed.
The Guardian Angel is asked and prayed to preserve our lives during sleep, to ward off bad dreams.
Orthodox night prayer is short and full
Orthodox night prayer is short and complete. Complete night prayers are usually read by people who have long believed in God.
Those who have just come to Orthodoxy will not be able to read large texts of prayers, as it will be very difficult. People who have just come to Orthodoxy recite a short prayer at night.
Any Christian prayer can be found in a special booklet called the “Orthodox prayer book.” It can be purchased in any Orthodox church behind the candle box.
The prayer book is not expensive, depending on the price stated in a given temple. The price varies from 100 rubles and above.
An Orthodox prayer book can be found in any Orthodox church. In the prayer book you can find morning and evening prayers. Photo: cdn1.ozone.ru
Many people believe that you cannot pray at night; you need to choose a specific time for prayer. In fact, you can read evening prayers at any time convenient for you, before going to bed.
During the day you can read any other Orthodox prayers. It is important to understand how much you need prayers, both morning and evening, and what you get from them.
Everyone must determine for himself whether he wants to be with God or not.
By reading sacred literature, reading holy prayers, we little by little become familiar with God.
It is also important to understand that things will seem difficult at first. The texts of the prayers are quite difficult for us to understand, which is why everything takes its time.
Over time, you will begin to understand the meaning of what you could not understand at all before. Gradually the Lord will help you understand and realize the meaning of everything. The main thing is to be patient.
Orthodox prayer read by believers at night
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The Holy Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Thessalonians says: “Pray without ceasing.” Prayer at night is necessary because, first of all, for a believer it is not a request, not repentance, and not even gratitude for everything, but a meeting with God in the soul. Of course, modern life is very busy and hectic, and only the inhabitants of monasteries have the opportunity to constantly pray in their minds. Nevertheless, it is quite possible for every Orthodox Christian to set aside a little time to meet with the Lord and pray at night and in the morning, after sleep. In the Orthodox Church there is a special collection for daily prayer; prayers for the night are called prayers for the coming sleep.
Daily prayer at night is necessary for all believers
Morning prayers and prayers for bedtime are collected in an Orthodox prayer book, which can be bought in an Orthodox online store or in any church or icon shop. Often, a person who picks up a prayer book for the first time in his life panics: such a huge number of prayers, am I really should I read them all? Indeed, daily evening prayers, if you do not jabber but read them thoughtfully, take at least half an hour. However, any competent priest will tell you that in the matter of prayer you should not chase quantity. If you see that you are unable to read so many Orthodox prayers at night - you are very tired, your attention is scattered, you cannot concentrate on the meaning of the prayers, then go to an Orthodox priest and agree with him on your daily prayer rule that is feasible.
After all, it is better to read three or four Orthodox prayers at night thoughtfully and slowly than to automatically “read” the entire prayer book for show. Even if you are very late, and on some day you do not have the opportunity to devote at least five minutes of quiet prayer to God, pray mentally on the way to work. Do not forget that for the Lord, content is more important than form.
The importance of reading your own bedtime prayer
Why is it so necessary to pray at night? For a whole day, full of events, worries, worries about daily bread, a person living in the world, his thoughts go very far from the divine, eternal, true. By the evening we are often irritated, upset by events at work, poor grades from children, careless subordinates or, conversely, nagging from superiors.
Daily prayer at night returns our mind to thoughts of God, gives us the opportunity to repent to Him of the sins we have committed during the day and thank Him for everything that He has given us: life, health, food, moments of joy. Evening prayers are very good to read with the whole family, together with the youngest members of the family. Such a ritual will unite you, give you a few quiet minutes, and become a good tradition.
Text of evening prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Merciful King, merciful Mother, most pure and blessed Mother of God Mary! Pour the mercy of Your Son and our God onto my passionate soul, and guide me with Your prayers to good deeds, so that I can live the rest of my life without sin and with Your help, O Virgin Mary, the only pure and blessed One, enter into heaven.
Text of the Orthodox prayer for the night to the holy Guardian Angel
Angel of Christ, my holy guardian and patron of my soul and body! Forgive me everything that I have sinned today, and deliver me from every insidious plan of the enemy coming against me, so that I do not anger my God with any sin. But pray for me, a sinful and unworthy servant, to present me worthy of the goodness and mercy of the Most Holy Trinity and the Mother of my Lord Jesus Christ and all the saints. Amen.
Listen to evening prayer on video
Evening prayers should be read before going to bed
How should the Orthodox prayer for the night be read correctly, how to pray in the evening? There are no special rules for reading prayers. In the evening, be sure to light the lamp and turn off the light a little.
You need to tune in to prayer and concentrate completely on it. Nothing should distract you at this time - not the noise of a playing TV, not the noise of crying children or someone's conversations. There should be complete silence while reading.
You need to tune in for evening prayer and light a lamp. At this moment, nothing should distract you. You need to read prayers while standing. Photo: hranitel.club
Then you need to take the prayer book and start reading. You need to pray while standing, the words should be read out loud, so you will better understand their meaning and meaning.
If at first you find it difficult to read everything at once, read a few prayers first. Every day adding more and more.
Mark yourself the level that you can do. This applies especially to those who have just decided to read prayers.
Also, don’t forget that you can always pray in your own words. The most important thing is that your words are sincere.
Causes of insomnia
It will be useful to determine the causes of insomnia. There may be several of them:
- Depression;
- Stress and anxiety;
- Overwork;
- Binge eating;
- Excessive coffee consumption;
- External stimuli: extraneous noises, bright light from the window;
- Uncomfortable bed or sudden change of environment;
- Chronic diseases;
- Abuse of alcohol, drugs or smoking.
Reading prayers for sleep to adults brings the necessary peace and tranquility, which often becomes a solution to the problem. Internal experiences very often affect our health; stress and constant anxiety cause loss of appetite and sleep, which is why the skin becomes gray, the sparkle in the eyes disappears, and hair becomes discolored and falls out. Nervous exhaustion is no less dangerous than any other disease, and it must be combated.
Before going to bed, people also read a short prayer.
For those who find it difficult to read large and complex prayers, there are short prayers.
The text of short prayers is presented below.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the sake of Your Most Pure Mother, our reverend and God-bearing fathers and all saints, have mercy on us. Amen.
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.
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.
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Correct behavior when praying
The prayer appeal of the Orthodox is performed while standing, but there are exceptions for the elderly and sick people; they can perform the church rite while sitting. Some Christians pray on their knees, but the Saints are against this, this is due to the fact that only slaves kneel.
The sign of the cross is done as follows:
- The little finger and ring finger are pressed against the palm - this means that Christ was God and, in essence, a man.
- The thumb, index and middle fingers are put together - this is a symbol of the unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
When making a cross in the air, they touch the middle of the forehead with folded fingers, then the hand drops below the navel, and then moves to the right, then to the left forearm. Only after this action comes a bow. The wrong sign of the cross will lead to the joy of demons, so it is worth remembering this when performing a church ceremony.
Prayer before bed
Prayers to the following saints are popular for insomnia:
- Nicholas the Wonderworker;
- Venerable Alexander of Svirsky and Irinarch of Rostov;
- the Youths of Ephesus, who are most often approached to put small children to sleep.
These seven martyrs are the defenders of humanity. When the emperor found out that the young people were Christians, he demanded that they renounce their faith, but they refused. For this they were buried alive in a cave. According to legend, the Lord gave the young men lethargic sleep and saved them from death. Therefore, this prayer helps well with sleep disturbances in infants.
The Virgin Mary - patroness of mother and child
Every mother with a small child needs to take her responsibilities responsibly.
In order to find a restful sleep for yourself and your baby, pray to the Mother of God - she is the protection and merciful patroness of the child and his mother. When covering your child in the crib, read over him any short canonical prayers that the prayer book contains. Turning to the Queen of Heaven, call goodness into the child’s sleep, so that his uniform sniffling will not be overshadowed by anything and will be the subject of maternal tenderness, for the Mother of God will comfort him in the night. There is no better care from a mother for a child than a blessing for sleep.
- Rejoice, Virgin Mary.
- To the Deliverer.
- The good of the King Good Mother.
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos the Deliverer
The Orthodox beginning of the day - what should it be like? How and how should the day end?
After waking up, you need to read the morning rule (a collection of prayer texts). You should turn to God with a request for blessings and words of gratitude. The prayer is also read in the evening, but it is different. This is also a prayer rule, only in the evening. Considering that it is recommended not to turn to God too late, after reading the sacred text you can spend the evening with loved ones.
you should remain alone with yourself, rushing to the Lord, praying.
Causes of sleep disturbances
The reasons for insomnia are different and depend on the psychological state of a person. Sleep is a physiological need that gives rest to brain activity. During rest, the human brain, like a computer, reboots. At this time, the brain improves the functioning of all organs of the body. Therefore, if a person does not sleep for a long time, this is a serious mental disorder. Of course, you can take sleeping pills, but these are pure chemicals that are harmful to the body.
The main factors of lack of sleep:
- Mental strain, such as working at a computer.
- Mental disorders, diseases of the nervous system.
- Anxiety and agitation in the thought process.
- Change of usual environment.
- Addictions: alcohol, smoking, drugs.
Many people drink alcohol to fall asleep. Yes, at the initial stage, alcoholic drinks help you fall asleep, but the sleep will be short-lived and restless.
