Gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins listed in the Commandments of God. A person needs good nutrition and healthy and tasty food is needed to maintain his health. And the point is not to eat deliciously, but to violate limits, indulge in one’s own weaknesses and justify them. Because sin does not go alone, and along with gluttony, other temptations come that corrupt a person’s morality, which is why a person is burdened with mental illnesses, which are much more difficult to treat. With the help of prayers and Orthodox rules, gluttony and gluttony can be overcome. The main virtues that must be observed are: fasting, humility, prayer, love, almsgiving, chastity, long-suffering.
Secret prayer for those who eat immoderately
(Read orally after prayer for eating)
Audio:
I also pray to You, Lord, deliver me from satiety and lust and grant me in peace of mind to reverently accept Your generous gifts, so that by eating them, I will receive strengthening of the strength of my soul and body to serve You, Lord, for the short remainder of my life on earth.
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How should one pray against gluttony and gluttony?
To fight the destructive passion that is gluttony, it is not effective only by exposing the excessive need of a person, which has already turned into a harmful dependence on food. Therefore, in the Christian tradition, there are fasts when a person reduces bodily food and must switch to spiritual food, strengthening his spirit with fasting and prayer. This is a holiday of the spirit, when as a result of fasting the fetters of bodily desires are weakened, and as a result of prayer the spirit soars to the Highest. It is in this vein that prayers against gluttony and gluttony should be read. Then a person automatically switches from a depressed state, as a punishment for his sins, to joy with the help of prayer to liberation from the shackles of a slave habit.
St. Alexis, man of God
Audio:
Oh, servant of Christ, holy man of God Alexie! Look mercifully upon us, servant of God (names), and stretch out your honest hand to the Lord God in prayer, and ask us from Him for forgiveness of our sins, voluntary and involuntary, for a peaceful and Christian life death and a good answer at the Last Judgment of Christ. To her, saint of God, do not disgrace our trust, which we place in you, according to God and the Mother of God; but be our helper and protector for salvation; and through your prayers, having received grace and mercy from the Lord, let us glorify the love of mankind of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and your holy intercession, now and ever and unto the ages of ages.
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Prayer of the Optina Elders
When starting prayers against gluttony and gluttony, you must first read the prayer of the Optina elders to strengthen your spirit and patience:
Lord, let me meet with peace of mind everything that the coming day will bring me. Let me completely surrender to Your Holy will.
At 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 the 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.
About gluttony
The Optina elders wrote about the passions of gluttony, wine drinking and smoking, and gave advice on how to combat these passions.
About gluttony
The Monk Leo instructed:
“Restrain yourself from food and drink as much as possible, and try to eat moderately light and well-known food.”
The Monk Anthony noted that the things that most hinder heartfelt tenderness are exaltation (magnification) and overeating:
“If you don’t have tenderness in your soul, understand: because the greatness of your soul is in your heart or you are overcome by overeating, these do not leave your soul to be touched.”
The Monk Ambrose wrote about abstinence and the three degrees of satiety:
“You write about food that it is difficult for you to get used to eating little by little, so that after lunch you are still hungry. The Holy Fathers established three degrees regarding food: abstinence - in order to be somewhat hungry after eating, contentment - in order to be neither full nor hungry, and satiety - in order to eat to the full, not without some burden.
Of these three degrees, everyone can choose any one, according to their strengths and according to their structure, healthy and sick.”
Sometimes Elder Ambrose would say briefly but aptly:
“Explaining lips are a pork trough.”
The Monk Joseph also warned against excessively pleasing the body:
“If you keep your belly from satiety and pleasure, and also your body from excessive rest, then the Lord will soon help you work more for your soul than for your body.”
A satiated belly demands more and more food, but it does not do any good. Elder Joseph ate very little food. Surprised by this, they once asked him whether it was difficult for him to achieve such abstinence or whether it was already given to him by nature. He answered with these words:
“If a person is not forced, even if he ate all the food of Egypt and drank all the water of the Nile, his belly will still say: I hunger!”
The Monk Barsanuphius emphasized that gluttony leads to excessive sleeping. He advised not to eat to the point of satiety:
“Sleep and the womb are connected. With a full stomach, the monk sleeps a lot and wakes up more than he should. I told you and I say: eat your fill, but not to the point of satiety. If you're full, put down a spoon. And another is already full, but still eats and eats; the eyes are not full - this is a sin.”
For people of different builds and having different physical activity, the amount of food will also be different. Reverend Nikon reminded:
“One pound of bread is enough for one person’s body, four pounds of bread is enough for another person’s body - he will not be satisfied with less bread. Therefore, Saint John Chrysostom says that a faster is not one who consumes a small amount of food, but one who consumes less food than what is required for his body. This is what abstinence is all about.”
Passion for drinking wine: how to deal with it
The Monk Leo wrote about the passion of drinking wine: it brings “great grief and illness.” He also noted that in order to heal a suffering person, in addition to prayers for him, his own will is necessary, without which the prayers of other people may be unsuccessful:
“I express my heartfelt condolences about the illness... of your dear son Z. I know that this great grief and illness brings you and those close to his heart. We, according to our strength, oblige ourselves to pray to the Lord to deliver him from this passion, but it is necessary that there is also his voluntary desire to leave this and compulsion, and without this our sinful prayers are not able to keep up. When “the prayer of the righteous is hastened” only through the efforts of others, how much more cannot our sinful prayer act without good will.”
The elder wrote this about the fate of those subject to the passion of drunkenness:
“What fate do those subject to this weakness have? They are beset by bodily illnesses, a miserable life, premature old age and death; and sinful impulses that alienate the soul from God and deprive Him of His grace are the most dangerous of all!.. The soul is eternal; You need to take care of her most of all!”
The Monk Leo explained that the passion of drunkenness is tolerated for pride and arrogance or “violation of conscience against holy matrimony,” that is, for violation of marital fidelity. The monk advised forcing oneself to humility and resorting to confession:
“And from the fullness of my heart I wish for your brother to be delivered from drunken passion; but as soon as this passion is tolerated either for pride and arrogance, or for a violation of conscience against holy matrimony, then he is forced, firstly, to humble himself in every possible way or make a confession - to truly repent before a skilled confessor... And then the Lord will help him.”
The Monk Ambrose instructed:
“The spiritual remedy is for your friend to pay attention to the spiritual anguish, from the impatience of which she is plunged into the infirmity of drinking wine.”
In general, the Optina elders paid attention to the obligatory confession of all those suffering from a passion for drinking wine, since the cause of wine drinking is often spiritual anguish, and it comes from unconfessed sins. The Monk Ambrose paid special attention to the fact that in order to combat the passion of drunkenness, full confession is necessary, starting from childhood:
“And for this matter to be firm and lasting, it requires sincere and complete confession and repentance throughout your entire life, starting from the age of 6.”
The elder also advised those suffering from spiritual anguish and passion for drinking wine, when melancholy and despondency appeared, to read prayer and the Gospel with bows:
“One man, who suffered from both melancholy and wine drinking, was delivered in the following way: when he felt melancholy, he retreated to a secret place and made 33 bows with the prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” and the melancholy receded. And when melancholy appeared again, he did the same thing again, and with such prayer, when melancholy appeared, he completely got rid of drinking wine and from melancholy itself. Another person got rid of both melancholy and wine drinking by reading the Gospel.”
Elder Joseph advised:
“May the Lord deliver Constantine from drunkenness. Let him talk and partake of the Holy Mysteries. And then he will serve a prayer service to the Mother of God and earnestly ask Her for help.”
Fighting smoking cravings
To one suffering from a passion for smoking, the Monk Ambrose wrote:
“You write that you cannot stop smoking tobacco.
The impossible with man is possible with the help of God, you just have to firmly decide to leave it, recognizing the harm it causes to the soul and body, since tobacco relaxes the soul, multiplies and intensifies passions, darkens the mind and destroys bodily health with a slow death. Irritability and melancholy are consequences of the morbidity of the soul from smoking. I advise you to use spiritual healing against this passion: confess in detail all your sins, from the age of 7 and throughout your entire life, and partake of the Holy Mysteries and read the Gospel every day, standing, a chapter or more; and when melancholy strikes, then read again until the melancholy passes; will attack again - and read the Gospel again. Or instead, make 33 large bows in private, in memory of the earthly life of the Savior and in honor of the Holy Trinity.”
Thus, all the Optina elders saw the spiritual causes of gluttony, drunkenness and smoking and advised seeking healing through frequent confession, communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, prayer and reading the Gospel, forcing oneself to humility and non-judgment, and following the commandments of God.
Reading rules
Excess weight often forces people to get rid of gluttony. But this is not the most important thing when turning to the saints. In the first place there should be a true desire to achieve harmony between soul and body.
- When reading a prayer, attention is very valuable. You cannot be distracted by extraneous thoughts.
- Hypocrisy must not be allowed during prayer and this holy act must not be turned into a habit. Hypocrisy lies in the fact that a person prays superficially, pronouncing the call with his lips, but without opening his heart. Such a prayer will be empty.
- A conversation with a saint must remain secret. Lighting candles, aromas of incense or other incense will help you get into the right frame of mind.
- Often those who pray expect instant results when turning to Heavenly helpers to get rid of gluttony. If no change occurs, then they give up the practice of prayer and continue to suffer. In fact, communication with Higher powers is not a temporary action, like, for example, taking pills. It should become a part of life, a need of the soul.
Not only prayers, but also the earthly life of the saints is an example for us in achieving a prudent attitude towards food and other material needs. Moderation in everything - from the expression of feelings and emotions to reasonable food consumption - makes our life easy and happy.
To lose weight, you need to pray to 6 personalities
Excess weight is sent to a person so that he can cope with his weaknesses and infirmities. It is very difficult to cope with such sin. It is necessary that your prayers for weight loss come from a pure heart.
You need to read prayers every day at any time. Who to pray to for weight loss?
- Gabriel Zyryanov;
- Jesus Christ;
- John of Kronstadt;
- Saint Alexei the man of God;
- Optina elders;
- Irinarhu.
How to pray correctly? You need to pray in front of the icon of the saint to whom this prayer is read. First you need to ask for forgiveness for your sins, for gluttony. It is necessary to read prayers in silence, concentrating on a plea for help.
Third Orthodox prayer - John of Kronstadt
Prayer against overeating to John of Kronstadt:
Lord, our sweetest Food, which never perishes, but arrives in the eternal belly. Cleanse Your servant from the filth of gluttony, all that is created by flesh and alien to Your Spirit, and grant him to know the sweetness of Your life-giving spiritual meat,
He is Thy Flesh and Blood and Thy holy, living and active Word.
Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt is the patron saint of those who want to be healed of gluttony and gluttony
The saint always helped people during his lifetime and granted healing. With words of consolation, he changed a person’s life and gave them hope. Hopelessly ill people recovered.
All this happened because the saint always trusted in God and trusted him in everything. Therefore, there is no need to even doubt that the prayer of the righteous John of Kronstadt will be heard.
First prayer to Gabriel Zyryanov for weight loss
The boy was named after the Archangel Gabriel. As a child, he was sick very often. His parents made a promise to God that if the boy recovered, they would never eat meat or drink alcohol. And he recovered, God saved him through the prayers of his parents.
Archangel Gabriel, after whom St. Gabriel Zyryanov was named
At a young age he took monastic vows. Reverend Gabriel Zyryanov was a very plump man, but he always joked about his weight. Still, I tried to adhere to a healthy lifestyle and taught others to do the same.
Having become the abbot of one of the monasteries in Kazan, he helped the suffering. People turned to him in moments of great sorrow and asked for help in business. He blessed not only the bodies, but also the souls of people for recovery. It is to him that the Orthodox prayer was written.
Prayer to Gabriel Zyryanov:
O reverence and God-bearing Father, all-honorable Elder Gabriel, glory to the fathers and praise to the righteous! During the days of your earthly life in the monasteries of the Savior and the Mother of God, you taught many on the right path, giving a helping hand to the fallen, a merciful and compassionate former father to all and raising new martyrs of the Holy Church!
You are now, the all-blessed elder, residing in the heavenly monastery, even more so, multiplying your love for us, your sinful and unworthy children, tempted by malice, despondency and untruth.
For this reason, we fall before your wholesome power and humbly pray to you: do not be silent for us to the Lord and do not despise us, who honor you with faith and love and remember your holy memory, be a quick helper for us in all sorrows,
troubles and misfortunes, protect us from all visible and invisible enemies, drive away the cloud of passions from us and enlighten our eyes of the heart,
intercede for us mental and physical health, do not forget us even at the hour of our death, when we humbly demand your intercession.
Ask the Lord our God to end our lives in peace and repentance, to be delivered from ordeals and eternal torment, and to be honored with the Kingdom of Heaven with you and your spiritual children,
through their suffering they received incorruptible crowns, and with all the saints, who from all eternity have pleased our Lord and God Jesus Christ, to whom is due all honor and worship,
with His Beginningless Father and with the Most Holy and Good and His Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Icon of Gabriel Zyryanin. The date of his memory is June 17 (movable) - in the Cathedral of Pskov Saints
From personal experience
I myself am a terrible gourmet, my grandmother, a former pastry chef, cooks the most delicious food in the world. Previously, when she lived on the other side of the country, when I came to her, I tried to eat for the future, and stuffed myself with five chebureks instead of the two that I could handle. As a student, going to restaurants became my hobby, it got to the point that I was tired of going to the same places, and when meeting with friends, the main criterion was to look for new items.
I convinced myself that I had a healthy relationship with food and gluttony and that I was not sinning, but then I ate stress, joy, and anxiety. When I wanted to reward myself, I ordered delicious food and cakes. Only a couple of years ago I realized that I was completely mired in gluttony. And from that moment I have been trying to control myself. This doesn’t mean that I stopped eating delicious food, not at all. It’s all the same when I go somewhere, I look for interesting and tasty places. But food is no longer the main thing. Some time ago I switched to intermittent fasting, and then I realized how dependent I was on food. I felt sad because I had lost something important. But, realizing my addiction, I realized that I didn’t want to be in it. As they say, admitting addiction is the first step towards getting rid of it. This path is difficult, but if you return God to the center of life, then anything is possible.
