25.02.2021, 01:18
Morning and evening prayers are a set of prayers that a Christian should read twice a day: after sleep and immediately before it.
Morning and evening prayers are necessary in order to remember God, His love and commandments. They were written by saints who had spiritual experience and practice, and became widespread in the 18th-19th centuries. Morning and evening prayers can be read silently or aloud, in part or in full - each person makes his own decision (you can ask a priest or spiritual mentor for advice). You can pray at other times - this prayer book has a “universal” meaning.
Evening prayers for beginners
Evening time is the daily hours that we are given to rest after a hard day of work. Modern man lives in an information and high-speed age, with health overload and lack of time. And for new Christians, it is not so easy to find time to pray. But God endured and commanded us. The evening prayer rule in the prayer book is called “Prayers for the coming sleep” and consists of 27 texts. On average, no more than half an hour is spent on evening communication with God and the spiritual world. In addition, by setting priorities in life correctly: God, family, work. Even if you are very tired or busy, you can always set aside half an hour for the benefit of your soul by reading evening prayers. Prayer is not only a language of communication with the spiritual world. Prayer is help, and reading the evening rule will help you get rid of the negative aspects of the past day, analyze how you spent your precious time, evaluate your own actions, and see your sins.
Since the prayers are read in Church Slavonic, in order to better understand their meaning, it is better to start by reading the Orthodox evening prayers in Russian. As you strengthen your Christian experience and understand the language of the church, you yourself will become comfortable reading prayers in the traditional language of the church.
None of us knows where, how and when the last day, hour, minute will come. Often a person passes away suddenly, in his sleep. I don’t want to think about it, and it blithely seems that this doesn’t apply to us. Save me, God! Evening prayers also serve as protection from such a sudden death. We must remember this and trust in the mercy of God.
For new Christians, emphasis on words can be a challenge. Therefore, it will be good to listen to how the prayers sound when read by priests and monks. They can be found on Orthodox CDs or on the Internet. By listening to the prayers of the clergy, you will quickly understand and assimilate the evening prayers in Russian with the correct accents. It is recommended to listen to evening prayers for beginners, read by the brethren of the Optina Monastery.
Prayers said in private, separate from the evening rule
Prayer 1
Relax, let go, forgive, O God, our sins, voluntary and involuntary, committed in word and deed, consciously and unconsciously, day and night, in mind and in thought - forgive us all, as the Merciful and Humane One. Forgive those who hate and offend us, O Lord, Lover of Mankind! To those who do good, do good. To our brothers and relatives, graciously fulfill their requests in what leads to salvation, and grant eternal life. Visit the weak and give them healing. Help those at sea. Companion to travelers. Help Orthodox Christians in their struggle. Grant remission of sins to those who serve us and those who take pity on us. Have mercy on those who have entrusted us, the unworthy, to pray for them, according to Your great mercy. Remember, Lord, our fathers and brothers who have fallen before and rest them where the light of Your Face shines. Remember, Lord, our brothers who are in captivity, and deliver them from all misfortune.
Remember, Lord, those who bear the fruits of their labors and adorn Your holy churches. Give them, at their request, that which leads to salvation and eternal life. Remember, Lord, us, Your humble, sinful and unworthy servants, and enlighten our minds so that we know You, and guide us on the path of following Your commandments, through the prayers of our most pure Lady, the Eternal Virgin Mary, and all Your saints, for You are blessed forever and ever. Amen.
Confession of sins is everyday, pronounced in private.
I confess to You, my Lord God and Creator, in the One Holy Trinity, glorified and worshiped, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, all my sins that I have committed in all the days of my life, and at every hour, and at the present time, by deed, in word, thought, sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and all my feelings, mental and physical, with which I have angered You, my God and Creator, and offended my neighbor. Sinned: (hereinafter a list of individual sins). Regretting them, I stand before You guilty and want to repent. Only, Lord my God, help me, I humbly pray to You with tears. By Your mercy, forgive the sins I have committed and free me from them, for You are Good and Lover of Mankind.
Evening prayers Optina Pustyn (listen)
Using the Internet for the Glory of God, you can find a lot of useful information for an Orthodox Christian. Including audio recordings of the evening prayer rule. Optina Pustyn is the abode of the Lord on Earth, where monks have been serving for several centuries. This holy place shone with the holy saints of God. Therefore, listening to the prayers of the brethren of the Optina Monastery will be an introduction to this holy place. First of all, this is help for people with disabilities who cannot come to church for services, for people with limited time. But you should not practice simply listening to evening prayers, remaining indifferent. It is advisable to do this simultaneously with the recording, according to the prayer book, then the Lord Himself, according to your aspiration, will be your Mentor in this spiritual soul-saving exercise. By listening to evening prayers from Optina Pustyn, you will receive spiritual nourishment and practical experience in reading the prayers of the evening rule.
Read evening prayers for the coming sleep
From the practice of Christian life we know about the difficulty of finding even a little time for evening prayers. Therefore, it is necessary to seek advice and blessing from a priest. Ideally, a Christian should have a spiritual father - a permanent priest who will be your mentor and assistant in worldly life. Because the number of questions increases as we deepen into the Christian life. But if it is not there yet, contact any priest for advice.
Remember that prayer is spiritual food. And the soul will also be hungry, as if you had not eaten for several days. Even if you are very tired, force yourself to do spiritual work, for the Kingdom of God is taken with effort. But you should not read evening prayers for the coming sleep in a hurry. There is no benefit in this approach; it’s the same as speaking in an incomprehensible language and expecting that you are understood. The time of communication with God should belong only to Him. Reading evening prayers does not mean that you need to pray just before going to bed. When returning home from work, you spend a lot of time on the road: metro, traffic jams, long distances. This time can be used for prayer. The priests say that the road can be a good school in prayer practice. Nowadays there is a large selection of spiritual literature of various formats. And for convenience, you can purchase a travel prayer book.
If you make it a rule to communicate in prayer with God during the road, and do it with a pure heart, then your emotions and fatigue will subside and be transformed into positive feelings. This will be a sign that the communication was two-way, and the Lord is with you. If it is not possible to read prayers according to the prayer book, pray a short prayer: “Lord, have mercy.”
Count how many temporary losses there are in your day, and you will see that it is not so difficult to find time for yourself. Those who want look for opportunities; those who don’t want look for reasons. That is, the main problem in actions is laziness. But, remember, all actions of Christian life are aimed at saving the soul, so choose for yourself the degree of importance of the actions. Help you, Lord!
Short evening prayers
To prevent prayers from becoming cold and dry, and not to lose the desire for prayerful communication with God, you need to study the experience of spiritual fathers. The Holy Righteous Father John of Kronshdat says: “Be moderate in all religious matters, for virtue in moderation, according to one’s strengths, the circumstances of time, place, and previous labors, is prudence. It is good, for example, to pray from a pure heart, but as long as there is no correspondence between prayer and forces (energy), various circumstances, then it will no longer be a virtue.” In this case, short evening prayers or a short prayer rule are read.
You can take the advice of another ascetic, Saint Theophan the Recluse. It is especially suitable for new Christians. He says that the rule must be handled freely, that is, just in case, you must know how to shorten the evening prayers. It happens that you can only make bows in time, and that will be good. There is no need to try to read the entire evening prayer rule at once in half an hour if you feel that your thoughts are hovering somewhere and there is no concentration on prayer. It is better to return to the place where you were distracted and read it with concentration.
But you cannot pray like this all the time, but you need to alternate this mode of prayer with a full reading of the evening rule, taking into account the words of Father John of Kronshdat. It is important not to pray a lot and for a long time, but to learn to pray for real.
Lack of time, most often, is the inability to plan it and distribute one’s forces. The advice of the holy fathers is very practical to use, the main thing is to apply them in life.
The brief evening prayer rule includes several basic prayers: “Heavenly King”, Trisagion, “Our Father”, “Have mercy on us, Lord”, “Eternal God”, “Good King”, “Angel of Christ”, and from “The Chosen Governor” to “It’s worthy to eat.”
Brief evening prayer rule
Heavenly King
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.
Trisagion
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Thrice)
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
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, have mercy (Thrice). Glory, now and forever.
Our Father
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.
Tropari
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us; Perplexed by any answer, we offer this prayer to You as the Master of sin: have mercy on us.
Glory: Lord, have mercy on us, for we trust in You; Do not be angry with us, do not remember our iniquities, but look upon us now as if you are gracious, and deliver us from our enemies; For Thou art our God, and we are Thy people; all works are done by Thy hand, and we call upon Thy name.
And now: Open the doors of mercy to us, blessed Mother of God, who trust in You, so that we may not perish, but may be delivered from troubles by You: for You are the salvation of the Christian race.
Lord have mercy. (12 times)
Prayer 1, St. Macarius the Great, to God the Father
Eternal God and King of every creature, who has vouchsafed me even at this hour to come, forgive me the sins I have committed this day in deed, word and thought, and cleanse, O Lord, my humble soul from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. And grant me, Lord, to pass through this dream in peace at night, so that, rising from my humble bed, I will please Your most holy name all the days of my life, and will trample the fleshly and incorporeal enemies that fight me. And deliver me, Lord, from vain thoughts that defile me, and from evil lusts. For Yours is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer 10, to the Most Holy Theotokos
Good Mother of the King, Most Pure and Blessed Mother of God Mary, pour out the mercy of Thy Son and our God on my passionate soul and with Thy prayers instruct me in good deeds, so that I may pass through the rest of my life without blemish and through You I will find paradise, O Virgin Mother of God, the only Pure and Blessed.
Prayer 11, to the Holy Guardian Angel
Angel of Christ, my holy guardian and protector of my soul and body, forgive me all who have sinned this day, and deliver me from every wickedness of the enemy who opposes me, so that in no sin I will anger my God; but pray for me, a sinful and unworthy servant, that you may show me worthy of the goodness and mercy of the All-Holy Trinity and the Mother of my Lord Jesus Christ and all the saints. Amen.
Morning prayers
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen
Publican's Prayer
God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Initial prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the sake of Your Most Pure Mother and all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen. Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
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. (2)
Trisagion
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (3) Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
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 have mercy. (3). Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. (3)
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.
Troparia Trinity
Having risen from sleep, we fall down to Thee, the Good One, and cry out to Thee, the Mightier, the angelic song: Holy, Holy, Holy art thou, O God, have mercy on us through the Mother of God. Glory: From bed and sleep You have raised me up, O Lord, enlighten my mind and heart, and open my lips to sing to You, Holy Trinity: Holy, Holy, Holy are You, O God, have mercy on us through the Mother of God. And now: Suddenly the Judge will come, and every deed will be laid bare, but we call with fear (4) at midnight: Holy, Holy, Holy art thou, O God, have mercy on us by the Mother of God. Lord have mercy. (12)
Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity
Having risen from sleep, I thank Thee, Holy Trinity, for for the sake of Thy goodness and long-suffering, Thou hast not been angry with me, lazy and sinful, nor hast Thou destroyed me with my iniquities; but you usually loved mankind and in the despair of the one who lay down, you raised me up to practice and glorify Your power. And now enlighten my mental eyes, open my lips to learn Thy words, and to understand Thy commandments, and to do Thy will, and to sing to Thee in heartfelt confession, and to sing Thy all-holy name, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages. centuries. Amen.
Come, let us worship our King God. Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ, our King God. Come, let us bow and fall down to Christ Himself, the King and our God.
Psalm 50
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy, and according to the multitude of Your mercies, cleanse my iniquity. Above all, wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin; for I know my iniquity, and I will take away my sin before me.
I have sinned against You alone and have done evil before You, so that You may be justified in Your words and triumph over the judgment of You. Behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and my mother gave birth to me in sins. Behold, you have loved the truth; You have revealed to me the unknown and secret wisdom of Yours. Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be cleansed; Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. My hearing brings joy and joy; humble bones will rejoice. Turn Your face away from my sins and cleanse all my iniquities. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my womb. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit away from me. Reward me with the joy of Your salvation and strengthen me with the Lord’s Spirit. I will teach the wicked Your way, and the wicked will turn to You. Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, God of my salvation; My tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness.
Lord, open my mouth, and my mouth will declare Your praise. As if you had desired sacrifices, you would have given them: you do not favor burnt offerings. The sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God will not despise a broken and humble heart. Bless Zion, O Lord, with Your favor, and may the walls of Jerusalem be built. Then favor the sacrifice of righteousness, the offering and the burnt offering; Then they will place the bullock on Your altar.
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.
First prayer of Saint Macarius the Great
God, cleanse me, a sinner, for I have done nothing good before You; but deliver me from the evil one, and may Thy will be done in me, may I open my unworthy lips without condemnation and praise Thy holy name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages Amen.
Second prayer, of the same saint
Rising from sleep, I bring the midnight hymn to Ti, Savior, and falling down crying to Ti: do not let me fall asleep in a sinful death, but be gracious to me, crucified by will, and hasten me lying in laziness, and save me in standing and in prayer, and in sleep Rise up nightly for me a sinless day, O Christ God, and save me.
Prayer three, of the same saint
To You, Lord, Lover of Mankind, having risen from sleep, I come running, and I strive for Your works with Your mercy, and I pray to You: help me at all times, in every thing, and deliver me from all worldly evil things and the devil’s haste, and save me, and bring us into Your eternal Kingdom. For You are my Creator and the Provider and Giver of every good thing, and all my hope is in You, and I send up glory to You, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer four, of the same saint
Lord, Who through Your many goodness and Your great bounty has given me, Your servant, the passing time of this night without misfortune to pass away from all evil that is contrary to me; You Yourself, Master, the Creator of all things, grant me with Your true light and an enlightened heart to do Your will, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Fifth prayer, Saint Basil the Great
Lord Almighty, God of hosts and all flesh, living in the highest and looking down on the humble, testing the hearts and wombs and innermost parts of men, the fore-foreseen One, the Beginningless and Ever-Everlasting Light, with Him there is no change or overshadowing; Himself, Immortal King, accept our prayers, even now, boldly for the multitude of Your bounties, from the bad lips we create towards You, and forgive us our sins, whether in deed, word, and thought, knowledge, or ignorance, we have sinned; and cleanse us from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. And grant us with a cheerful heart and a sober thought to pass through the whole night of this present life, awaiting the coming of the bright and revealed day of Your Only Begotten Son, the Lord and God and our Savior Jesus Christ, in which the Judge of all will come with glory, to whom he will give to each according to his deeds; May we not fall and become lazy, but be watchful and raised up for the work that is to come, and prepare for the joy and Divine palace of His glory, where those who celebrate the unceasing voice and the ineffable sweetness of those who behold Your face, the ineffable kindness. For You are the true Light, you enlighten and sanctify all things, and all creation sings to You forever and ever. Amen.
Prayer six, of the same saint
We bless you, O highest God and Lord of mercy, who always does great and unexplored, glorious and terrible things to us, countless in number, giving us sleep for the repose of our weakness, and the weakening of the labors of the arduous flesh.
We thank Thee, for Thou didst not destroy us with our iniquities, but Thou didst usually love mankind, and in desperation, Thou didst raise us up to glorify Thy power. In the same way, we pray for Your immeasurable goodness, enlighten our thoughts, our eyes, and raise our minds from the heavy sleep of laziness: open our lips, and fulfill Your praise, so that we can unwaveringly sing and confess to You, in all, and from all, to the glorified God, To the Beginningless Father, with Your Only Begotten Son, and Your All-Holy and Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Seventh prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos
I sing Thy grace, O Lady, I pray to Thee, my mind is filled with grace.
Go right and teach me the path of Christ’s commandments. Strengthen your children to songs, driving away despondency and sleep. Bound by the captivity of the Falls, allow me through Your prayers, Bride of God. Preserve me in the night and in the day, delivering me to those who fight against the enemy. She who gave birth to God, the life-giver, was killed by my passions and revived. Who gave birth to the non-evening Light, enlighten my blind soul. O wondrous Lady of the Palace, create for me the house of the Divine Spirit. You who gave birth to a doctor, heal my soul of many years of passion. Worried by the storm of life, guide me towards the path of repentance.
Deliver me from eternal fire, and from evil worms, and from tartar. Do not show me joy as a demon, who is guilty of many sins. Create me again, having promised to be insensible, Immaculate, without sin. Show me the strangeness of all kinds of torment, and implore the Lord to all. Heavenly grant me joy with all the saints. Most Holy Virgin, hear the voice of Your indecent servant. Give me a stream of tears, Most Pure One, cleansing the filth of my soul. I bring lamentations from my heart to You continually, be zealous, Lady. Accept my prayer service and bring it to the blessed God. Transcending Angel, create me above the fusion of the world. Light-bearing heavenly Seine, direct spiritual grace in me. I lift up my hand and my lips to praise, defiled by filth, O All-Immaculate One.
Deliver me from the dirty tricks that are strangling me, diligently begging Christ; To Him is due honor and worship, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Prayer eight, to our Lord Jesus Christ
My most merciful and all-merciful God, Lord Jesus Christ, for the sake of love you came down and became incarnate for many reasons, so that you would save everyone.
And again, Savior, save me by grace, I pray to You; Even if you save me from works, there is no grace and no gift, but more than debt. Hey, abundant in generosity and ineffable in mercy! Believe in Me, you say, O my Christ, you will live and will not see death forever. Even if faith in You saves the desperate, behold, I believe, save me, for You are my God and Creator.
Let faith instead of works be imputed to me, O my God, for you will not find works to justify me. But may my faith prevail instead of all, may it answer, may it justify me, may it show me to be a partaker of Your eternal glory. Let Satan not kidnap me, and boast to the Word that he has torn me away from Your hand and fence; but either I want, save me, or I don’t want, O Christ my Savior, let me soon, I will soon perish: For you are my God from my mother’s womb. Grant me, O Lord, now to love Thee, as sometimes I have loved that same sin; and again work for You without laziness, just as you worked before the flattering Satan. Above all, I will serve You, my Lord and God Jesus Christ, all the days of my life, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Ninth prayer to the Guardian Angel
Holy Angel, standing before my accursed soul and my passionate life, do not leave me, a sinner, nor depart from me for my intemperance.
Do not give room to the evil demon to possess me through the violence of this mortal body; strengthen my poor and thin hand and guide me on the path of salvation.
To her, holy Angel of God, guardian and patron of my accursed soul and body, forgive me everything, I have offended you so greatly all the days of my life, and if I sinned this past night, cover me on this day, and save me from every opposite temptation May I not anger God in any sin, and pray for me to the Lord, that He may strengthen me in His passion, and show me worthy as a servant of His goodness. Amen.
Prayer tenth, to the Most Holy Theotokos
My Most Holy Lady Theotokos, with Your saints and all-powerful prayers, take away from me, Your humble and accursed servant, despondency, oblivion, foolishness, negligence, and all the nasty, evil and blasphemous thoughts from my accursed heart and from my darkened mind; and extinguish the flame of my passions, for I am poor and damned. And deliver me from many and cruel memories and enterprises, and free me from all evil actions. For Thou art blessed from all generations, and glorified is Thy most honorable name forever and ever. Amen.
Prayerful invocation of the saint whose name you bear
Pray to God for me, holy servant of God (name), as I diligently resort to you, a quick helper and prayer book for my soul.
Hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos
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.
Troparion to the Cross and prayer for the fatherland
Save, O Lord, Thy people, and bless Thy inheritance, granting victories to Orthodox Christians against resistance, and preserving Thy residence through Thy Cross.
Prayer for the living
Save, Lord, and have mercy on my spiritual father (name), my parents (names), relatives (names), bosses, mentors, benefactors (their names) and all Orthodox Christians.
Prayer for the departed
Rest, O Lord, the souls of Your departed servants: my parents, relatives, benefactors (their names), and all Orthodox Christians, and forgive them all sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.
End of prayers
It is worthy to eat as truly to bless Thee, Theotokos, Ever-Blessed and Most Immaculate and 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. (5) Glory, and now: Lord, have mercy. (3) Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the sake of Thy Most Pure Mother, our reverend and God-bearing fathers and all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen.
Powerful Evening Prayers
If your work involves people and heavy physical activity, this will require corresponding energy expenditure, and at the end of the working day we feel a loss of strength. And if the day was ruined by a negative situation, then shattered emotions will not take long to appear. And as a result, we come home in a bad mood, from which we suffer not only ourselves, but also our loved ones.
Another new disease of our time is depression. This is when a bad mood becomes permanent and chronic. Medicines have even been invented that supposedly help with this problem. But for an Orthodox person, life has already proven many times that the cause of any physiological disease, as well as mental illness, is in the realm of the spirit, which means that help must be sought in the spiritual world of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thoughts, words, and actions are closely interconnected. An evil thought gives birth to the same word and the same action. And vice versa. To a kind greeting, a kind answer.
Prayers are power, which means spiritual energy. To restore your mental balance and maintain prayer protection, remember that evening prayers are strong “antidepressants.” Experienced Christians are also susceptible to sins, passions, and unclean thoughts, but they know how to “heal” themselves. And they not only believe, but without diminishing the importance of medicine, they know that the most important doctor is God.
The evening prayer rule can be supplemented with your favorite prayers to the holy saints of God. Evening prayers gain strength not due to their number, but because of a sincere spiritual desire to serve the Lord, to please Him with godly deeds and to rejoice with Him.
In order for the quantity of experienced Christian life to turn into quality and serve the salvation of the soul, one must begin with the basics of Orthodoxy. One of them is morning and evening prayers. God help you!
The meaning of prayer before bed
We spend more than a third of our lives sleeping, and sometimes even more. It has been proven that sleep after prayer is much more restorative and brings wisdom, invisibly connecting reality and the world of dreams. It’s not for nothing that there is a proverb: “The morning is wiser than the evening.” But if you do not pray, then a person can be especially vulnerable to sinful desires and the influence of evil forces.
No matter what happens, it is important to come to God before going to bed. Open your heart, reveal all your sorrows and joys, even if your strength is running out. Evening prayer has a calming and protective effect. It serves as an excellent addition to the end of any day - work or weekend. You can pray in the form of petition, thanksgiving or doxology.
Prayers before going to bed are very important for Orthodox Christians. They include cycles of petitions to the saints, psalms, and doxologies. We thank the gentlemen for the day we lived and the unforgettable experience we gained. They apologize for sins – imaginable and unthinkable. After getting rid of the burden of daily life and bad influences, the quality of sleep improves greatly.
What it is advisable to pray for:
- about forgiveness of sins;
- about obedience and instruction;
- about the message of an angel;
- on protection and preservation;
- about sending wise and good thoughts;
- about patience;
- about the salvation of soul and body;
- about getting rid of the actions of enemies and ill-wishers.
Many believers note that if you do not pray, it is very difficult to fall asleep, and the sleep itself can be intermittent and restless. You need to read sacred words every day, and not occasionally. Then you will be able to avoid many of the problems and misfortunes that many face on the path of life. In turning to the Lord, they ask for protection in dreams and at night from fears, and ask for the advent of a new joyful day, filled with happiness and meaning.
Prayer always helps believers, regardless of whether a person is awake or asleep. With the help of the words with which we turn to God and Heavenly intercessors, we can ward off trouble, prevent troubles, and receive miraculous help.
What evening prayers are recommended to be read before bed:
- coming to bed;
- troparia;
- Saint Macarius;
- Saint Antiochus;
- to the Holy Spirit;
- Saint Macarius the Great;
- John Chrysostom;
- to Jesus Christ;
- to the Blessed Virgin Mary;
- to the Guardian Angel;
- To the Honest Cross.
It is also important to read prayers for the coming sleep over babies. Especially if the child is restless and often wakes up during the night. The following petitions will help cope with the nightmares and fears of toddlers and older children:
- to Saint Martha;
- to the Kazan Mother of God;
- at the Guardian Angel of a baptized baby;
- to Matrona of Moscow;
- for the blessing of a child.
To read, stand at the head of the bed and quietly pray. In the morning, you can notice that fidgets wake up well-rested, joyful and less capricious. While children are small, mothers or fathers pray for the salvation of their souls. When your children grow up, you can begin to teach them to pray on their own.
Ask God and Heavenly protectors with faith and love for help before going to bed, and your prayer will never go unheeded.
Sincere and earnest appeal will overshadow with divine grace and send effective help. Dreams will be kind and joyful.
