Evening prayers In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, through the prayers of Your Most Pure Mother and all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen. Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee. Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, present everywhere and filling everything with Himself,

516. The essential side of prayer. Changeability of house rules. The gift of unceasing prayer The mercy of God be with you! D.M. The prayer that you perform is internal, from the soul, from yourself, according to the feeling of your spiritual needs, more than those of others, is real prayer. And if you please

895. The essence of prayer. How much attention should be given to external techniques when performing prayer? The mercy of God be with you! Prayer is an internal matter. Everything that is done externally does not belong to the essence of the matter, but is an external situation. Everything that happens seems to be good from

HOW TO READ MORNING AND EVENING PRAYERS CORRECTLY

Prayer there is a conversation or conversation between us and God. It is necessary for us just like air and food. We have everything from God and have nothing of our own: life, abilities, health, food and everything is given to us by God. Therefore, in joy and in sorrow, and when we need something, we must turn to God in prayer.

The main thing in prayer is faith, attention, reverence, contrition of heart and a promise to God not to sin. The reading technique should not obscure the meaning of what is being read. Prayers are usually read evenly and calmly, without any exaggerated intonation.

Saint Theophan the Recluse wrote in the article “How to Pray”: The work of prayer is the first task in Christian life. If in relation to the usual order of affairs the saying is true: “Live forever, learn forever,” then all the more does it apply to prayer, the action of which should not have an interruption and the extent of which has no limit.

The ancient holy fathers, greeting each other on a date, usually asked not about health or anything else, but about prayer: how, they say, prayer goes or how it works. The action of prayer was a sign of spiritual life for them, and they called it the breath of the spirit.

There is breath in the body - and the body lives; When breathing stops, life stops. So it is in the spirit: there is prayer - the spirit lives; no prayer - no life in the spirit.

But not every performance of prayer, or prayer, is prayer. Standing in front of an icon in a church or at home and bowing down is not yet prayer, but only an accessory to prayer.

Prayer itself is the emergence in our hearts of one after another reverent feelings towards God: self-abasement, devotion, thanksgiving, glorification, forgiveness, diligent prostration, contrition, submission to the will of God and others.

All our concern should be that during our prayers these and similar feelings fill our soul so that when the tongue reads prayers or the ear listens and the body bows, the heart does not remain empty, but that there is some kind of feeling directed towards God.

When these feelings are present, our prayer is prayer, and when they are not there, then it is not yet prayer.

It seems, what would be simpler and more natural for us, like prayer, or the aspiration of the heart to God? And yet it does not happen to everyone and does not always happen. It must be aroused and then strengthened, or, what is the same, cultivate a prayerful spirit in oneself.

The first way for this is reading or listening prayer. Do it properly, and you will certainly awaken and strengthen the ascent in your heart to God, and you will enter into the spirit of prayer.

Our prayer books contain the prayers of the holy fathers Ephraim the Syrian, Macarius of Egypt, Basil the Great, John Chrysostom and other great prayer books. Being filled with a spirit of prayer, they expressed what was inspired by this spirit in word and conveyed it to us.

In their prayers a great movement moves prayer power, and whoever immerses (looks closely - Ed.) into them with all his diligence and attention, he, by virtue of the law of interaction, will certainly taste the power of prayer, as his mood approaches the content of prayer.

In order for our prayer to become a valid means for us to cultivate prayer in ourselves, we must perform it in such a way that both the thought and the heart perceive the content of the prayers that make it up. Here are the three simplest techniques for this:

- do not start praying without preliminary, albeit brief, preparation;

- do not do it haphazardly, but with attention and feeling;

- do not immediately after finishing your prayers go on to your usual activities.

Prayer rule - daily morning and evening prayers that Christians do. Their texts can be found in the prayer book.

The rule can be general - mandatory for everyone, or individual, selected for the believer by the confessor, taking into account his spiritual state, strength and employment.

Consists of morning and evening prayers, which are performed daily. This vital rhythm is necessary, because otherwise the soul easily falls out of the prayer life, as if waking up only from time to time. In prayer, as in any big and difficult matter, “inspiration”, “mood” and improvisation are not enough.

Reading prayers connects a person with their creators: the psalmists and ascetics. This helps to gain a spiritual mood akin to their heartfelt burning. Our example in praying in other people’s words is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. His prayerful exclamations during the suffering of the cross are lines from the psalms (Ps. 21:2; 30:6).

There are three basic prayer rules:
1) a complete prayer rule, designed for spiritually experienced laity, which is published in the “Orthodox Prayer Book”;

2) a short prayer rule; in the morning: “Heavenly King”, Trisagion, “Our Father”, “Virgin Mother of God”, “Rising from sleep”, “God have mercy on me”, “I Believe”, “God, cleanse”, “To You, Master”, “Holy Angela", "Holy Lady", invocation of saints, prayer for the living and the dead; in the evening: “Heavenly King”, Trisagion, “Our Father”, “Have mercy on us, Lord”, “Eternal God”, “Good King”, “Angel of Christ”, from “The Chosen Governor” to “It is worthy to eat”;

3) a short prayer rule St. Seraphim Sarovsky: “Our Father” three times, “Virgin Mother of God” three times and “I Believe” once - for those days and circumstances when a person is extremely tired or very limited in time.

It is not advisable to completely omit the prayer rule. Even if the prayer rule is read without due attention, the words of the prayers, penetrating the soul, have a cleansing effect.

Basic prayers should be known by heart (with regular reading, they are gradually memorized by a person even with very bad memory), so that they penetrate deeper into the heart and so that they can be repeated in any circumstances.

It is advisable to study the text of the translation of prayers from the church Slavic language into Russian (see “Explanatory Prayer Book”) in order to understand the meaning of each word and not pronounce a single word meaninglessly or without precise understanding.

It is very important that those who begin to pray should expel resentment, irritation, and bitterness from their hearts. Without efforts aimed at serving people, fighting sin, and establishing control over the body and spiritual sphere, prayer cannot become internal rod life.

In the conditions of modern life, given the workload and accelerated pace, it is not easy for the laity to set aside a certain time for prayer. The enemy of morning prayer is haste, and the enemy of evening prayer is fatigue.

Morning prayers It is best to read before starting anything (and before breakfast). As a last resort, they are pronounced on the way from home. Late in the evening it is often difficult to concentrate due to fatigue, so we can recommend reading the evening prayer rule in the free minutes before dinner or even earlier.

During prayer, it is recommended to retire, light a lamp or candle and stand in front of the icon. Depending on the nature of family relationships, reading prayer rule together, the whole family, or each family member separately.

General prayer is recommended before eating food, on special days, before a holiday meal, and in other similar cases. Family Prayer- this is a type of church, social (the family is a kind of “home Church”) and therefore does not replace individual prayer, but only complements it.

Before starting prayer, you should sign yourself with the sign of the cross and make several bows, either from the waist or to the ground, and try to tune in to an internal conversation with God. The difficulty of prayer is often a sign of its true effectiveness.

Prayer for other people (see memorial) is an integral part of prayer. Standing before God does not alienate a person from his neighbors, but binds him to them with even closer ties. We should not limit ourselves to just praying for people close and dear to us. Praying for those who have caused us grief brings peace to the soul, has an impact on these people and makes our prayer sacrificial.

It is good to end the prayer with thanksgiving to God for the gift of communication and contrition for one’s inattention. When getting down to business, you must first think about what you have to say, do, see during the day and ask God for blessings and strength to follow His will. In the midst of a busy day, you need to create a short prayer(see Jesus prayer), which will help you find the Lord in everyday affairs.

Morning and evening rules – this is just necessary spiritual hygiene. We are commanded to pray unceasingly (see the prayer of Jesus). The Holy Fathers said: if you churn milk, you will get butter, and so in prayer, quantity turns into quality. God bless you!

Every believer must be in contact with God every second of his existence. This should be his goal and daily work, expressed in prayer. Many holy elders said that every appeal to the Creator should be accompanied by three prayers. The first is read as given by the Almighty, the second as gratitude to the Mother of God, and the third - for support in faith and Christian morals.

In order to make the path to God easier for believers, some holy people created special prayer rules that indicated when and where it was appropriate to read a particular prayer. Also, thanks to this list, one could find out how many times a day it is necessary to contact the Creator. Particular attention was paid to the days of church holidays and sacraments, requiring special spiritual preparation from the laity. The most famous is the prayer rule of Seraphim of Sarov for the laity, which we will tell you about today. In addition to this, in the article we will touch on some additional nuances of turning to God.

Prayerful work of the soul

Christianity takes daily prayer very seriously. The clergy instruct the flock, explaining to them that it is necessary to move towards God in small steps, but without stopping for a minute. Immediately after baptism, you should not rush headlong into reading religious books and actively attend all services in the church. This way you will not gain spiritual purity, but will only become confused in your feelings and sensations.

It is worth starting your movement towards God by studying the prayer rule, which will help you correctly put into words your spiritual impulse. Moreover, every church minister will say that you need to accustom yourself to prayer. Despite daily rhythm life, mood and fatigue, you need to force yourself to turn to God with gratitude and a request for protection. At first it will be quite difficult to do this, but gradually prayer will begin to bring joy and spiritual enlightenment.

At this stage, the believer can already say all the prayers from the prayer rule. And this work gives him an incredible feeling of unity with the Creator, who pushes him to further self-improvement. And over time, prayer begins to evoke such happiness that a special state of peace and tranquility descends on a person. Filled with such sensations, a believer can leave everyday activities in order to immediately turn to God.

It is precisely such religious feelings that push people to go to a monastery, because within its walls prayer takes on a completely different meaning - transformed into a single impulse of several souls, it becomes a real purification. Many holy elders say that it is for prayer that people go to the monastery. It becomes their reward, because with other ideas about God, few people will be able to endure the difficult everyday life of a monastery.

More than once in the article we have used such a phrase as “prayer rule.” Let's look at this church term in more detail.

Prayer rule for the laity: a brief description

Since it is quite difficult for lay people who have just come to faith to accustom themselves to daily prayer, special collections have been compiled that help to correctly calculate their strengths and turn to the Creator with a certain spiritual message.

Prayer rules were not invented overnight. Sometimes they were created by holy elders at the request of the laity, while others appeared in connection with various church rituals. Be that as it may, every Orthodox believer must adhere to certain regulations that allow him to cleanse himself as much as possible from everything worldly and vain in order to open his heart to his Creator.

Prayer rule of Seraphim of Sarov for the laity

It is worth noting that the holy elder considered communication with the Creator to be the first necessity for a Christian. It should be more important to him than food, water and air. No believer can imagine his life without prayer.

The elder himself spent most of his time in this occupation and bequeathed similar pastime to your spiritual children. Sometimes he even demanded many hours of daily prayer from his followers, and therefore he composed a rule for them to help them with difficult spiritual work.

Morning

Seraphim of Sarov believed that the new day must be greeted with the sign of the cross and the fulfillment of the morning prayer rule. The elder argued that to pray, a Christian should stand near icons or in another place where nothing would distract him from communication with God.

The morning prayer rule includes three texts. Reading must be done in the following order:

• "Our Father";
• "Virgin Mother of God, rejoice";
• Symbol of faith.

Keep in mind that the first two texts must be read three times, but for the last prayer once is enough. After following the rules, a person can begin his daily activities and responsibilities.

Day

Seraphim of Sarov advised not to forget about the prayer rule during usual activities. In Russian, you can quietly read the Jesus Prayer. This allows you not to be distracted in your thoughts from communication with the Creator and makes it possible to correlate your thoughts with Christian virtues every second.

You should not start your lunch meal without repeating the morning ritual; only after it can you start eating.

Afternoon

According to the precepts of Seraphim of Sarov, an Orthodox believer cannot be distracted from prayer even after dinner. At this time it is better to read:

• “Lord Jesus Christ, through the Mother of God have mercy on me a sinner”;
• "Most Holy Mother of God, save me, a sinner."

The first of these texts is suitable for solitude, when you can completely devote yourself to turning to the Almighty. But the second one can be read while doing business until going to bed.

Prayers for evening time

Naturally, a Christian cannot calmly fall asleep without devoting time to his God. The evening prayer rule is identical to the morning one; all words must be said when you definitely will no longer be doing business. At the conclusion of the prayer, the believer makes the sign of the cross and can calmly go to bed.

It is interesting that it is customary for Christians to fall asleep only after turning to God, because in a dream a person can finish his life path, and there is nothing worse than appearing before the Creator unprepared. Therefore, believers end every day with prayer and repent of their sins. Only this characterizes the true relationship between the soul and the Almighty.

Communion: features of preparation

Communion is a special procedure that requires great labor and abstinence from the Orthodox. He must approach the sacrament prepared according to all the rules. They include a list of six points, which includes a prayer rule before Communion.

First of all, a Christian must keep himself physically and spiritually clean, and also observe fasting. Usually, preparation for the sacrament lasts several days; on the evening before Communion, it is necessary to take part in a church service, and read several prayers at night:

• penitential canon;
• prayer canon to the Mother of God;
• canon to the Guardian Angel;
• Follow-up to Holy Communion.

Do not forget that the listed texts are read several times in a row, and the Orthodox believer must be in an even mood and not harbor any grudges against anyone. Only in this state can one come to the sacrament.

Bright Week: the first days of Easter

Many Christians who have recently come to God are interested in the prayer rule for Bright Week. Lay people are often confused in the numerous rituals and ceremonies that accompany this or that church festival.

During this period, Christians must completely change the order of their previous prayers, because the prayer rule for Bright Week includes a fairly wide list of canons and chants. So, on the eve of the holiday (on the night of Easter), Orthodox Christians should read:

• Easter hours;
• "Christ is Risen";
• “Seeing the Resurrection of Christ”;
• Easter troparia;
• "Lord have mercy";
• "Christ is Risen" (again).

Keep in mind that the first song is sung for at least seven minutes. The Orthodox claim that during this time incredible grace descends on them. The second and third prayers are read three times, but the fifth must be said at least forty times.

From Easter to the Ascension of the Lord

The prayer rule for Easter means starting and ending the day with the troparion of Easter. It must be read three times, however large quantity since it will not be a violation - such is the impulse of your soul in honor of the bright holiday.

Also, the prayer rule for Easter includes the Trisagion. This prayer must be read at least three times.

From Ascension to Trinity

If you are not good at church holidays, then keep in mind that all days from the beginning of Easter to Trinity are considered holidays. Therefore, special prayers are read during this period. Of course, if you start and end your day with the usual appeal to the Almighty out of ignorance, then this will not be a serious deviation from the rules. However, it is best to observe a special prayer rule after Easter.

Each holiday that comes, the order in which the prayers are read changes. We have already covered the period from Easter to Ascension in the previous section. Now we need to talk about the prayer rule after Easter until Trinity.

During this period, which lasts ten days, troparia to the Mother of God and the “Heavenly King, the Comforter” are not read. There is also a ban on bowing to the ground. Every day the clergy recommend starting with the Trisagion.

Optina elders

Many believers have heard about the prayer rule of the Optina elders. However, not every Christian understands who these holy people are and how effective their advice is in this or that life situation. Therefore, we decided to tell you a little about the Optina elders themselves.

So, Optina Pustyn is one of the most ancient monasteries in Russia. It is located near the Kaluga province, and the first mention of it dates back to the time of Boris Godunov.

Of course, the main value of the monastery were its monks, who quickly began to be called elders. All of them were not ordinary people, but possessed a number of characteristics that, during their lifetime, placed them on the same level as recognized Orthodox saints.

The following characteristics can be safely attributed to the peculiarities of the Optina elders:

• The gift of healing or predicting the future. Almost every one of the elders had some kind of gift received from above. But most often these holy people predicted the future or healed seriously ill people. There are cases when they were even called sorcerers, but all their deeds were only with the blessing of God.
• Faith. Each of the elders stood firmly in faith no matter what happened in his life. This condition was one of the main ones for acceptance into the monastery, because only a true believer can help other people.
• Service. The entire life of the Optina elders was aimed at serving the Creator and the people. For them there was no concept of fatigue; everyone who needed help received it from the monks.
• Repentance for the sins of others. The fact is that the Optina elders took a vow of repentance for all Orthodox Christians in this world. People often came to the monastery for confession, talking about all their sins. The elders spent long hours atone for people’s misdeeds and then let them go with a pure soul and heart.

It is worth noting that people went to Optina Pustyn regardless of their social status and financial situation. And for every misfortune, the elders found words of consolation; they advised many pilgrims on certain prayer rules that turned out to be very effective.

Prayers from the Optina elders

The monks of the Optina Hermitage spent most of their time in prayer. Therefore, they had accumulated a sufficient number of prayer rules, which they shared with pilgrims.

For example, in the morning twenty-seven texts were required to be read. Among them we can especially highlight:

• Trisagion;
• Symbol of faith;
• prayer for the living;
• prayer for the dead;
• prayer to Holy Trinity.

The Optina elders advised reading prayers once and in any order. The main attribute of turning to God is true faith and a thirst for communication with the Almighty. Only in this case will prayer be effective and bring purification.

The monks of the Optina Hermitage shared with pilgrims prayer rules for any occasion. For example, in case of temptation it was necessary to read a psalm to David. And if you cannot attend church services for one reason or another, then you should read the following texts at home during the day:

• morning - twelve psalms, prayer to the Mother of God, daily akathist;
• evening prayer rule - the canon to the Guardian Angel, twelve psalms, chapters from the Gospel, the prayer “Loosen, leave”;
• for the coming sleep - the prayer “Everyday Confession”.

It is interesting that the Optina elders allowed some deviations from these regulations. They believed that, for certain reasons, the laity could become completely immersed in everyday affairs. This may be due to some serious problems or illness. However, after all problems are resolved, a Christian must return to his previous religious behavior and again devote time to communication with the Creator.

Conclusion

We hope that our article will be useful to you and you will be able to choose for yourself some kind of prayer rule that will gradually bring you closer to God. Of course, the prayers we have listed are not the only ones, and if desired, every Christian can find other religious texts, the reading of which will give him a feeling of grace and spiritual joy. Remember that it is this feeling that accompanies your daily appeal to the Almighty that indicates that you are doing the right thing and your prayer is heard. Many Christians consider it work, but in fact there is no greater joy than working with the name of God on your lips and for His glory. Don’t forget about daily prayer in the bustle of everyday life, and perhaps then the Lord will change your life.

How to learn to understand prayers? Translation of the words of prayers from the prayer book for the laity from Church Slavonic, clarification of the meaning of prayers and petitions. Interpretations and quotes of the Holy Fathers. Icons.

Evening prayers (for bedtime)

Prayers for the future

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the sake of Your Most Pure Mother, our reverend and God-bearing fathers and all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen.

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Heavenly King...*

Trisagion according to Our Father.*

*For an explanation of the initial prayers, see " "

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.

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.

Open the doors of mercy for us, Blessed Mother of God, so that those who trust in You may not perish, but may be delivered from troubles by You: for You are the salvation of the Christian race.

They are perplexed by any answer - without finding any justification for themselves (to be perplexed - not to know what to do, to be inexperienced; the word answer here is a translation of the Greek word "defense", "justification" - cf. Russian: "to call to account").

We trusted in You - because we relied on You (as in the Greek text of the prayer; hope is the form of the 1st person plural of the past tense - aorist - the verb to trust; the Church Slavonic version means: we trusted in You). Zelo - strong. Below - and not. He is kind - because You are merciful. We - us. All the works of Thy hand - we are all the creations of Thy hands (a dash would shine through this expression: following the Greek original, the Slavic translation omitted a linking verb, in full form it would sound: all are the works of Thy hand; by Thy hand - the form gives birth to the case of dualities . numbers).

By You - meaning: through You.

These troparia are the creation of St. John of Damascus.

Lord have mercy. (12 times)

Prayer 1, St. Macarius the Great, to God the Father

Eternal God and King of every creature, who has made me worthy even at this hour, forgive me the sins I have committed this day in deed, word and thought; and cleanse, Lord, my humble soul from all filthiness of flesh and spirit. And grant me, Lord, to pass through this dream in peace at night, so that, having risen from my humble bed, I may please Your most holy name all the days of my life, and will trample the fleshly and incorporeal enemies that fight me. Deliver me, Lord, from vain thoughts that defile me, and from evil lusts. For Thine 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.

Even at this hour, to reach this hour - to live up to this hour (to reach this hour - to achieve). Even I created - which I created (made). Humble - here: pathetic, worthless (take care of yourself from the terrible danger of false humility and proud recognition of yourself as humble!). To pass this dream in the night - to sleep through this night, to “go the distance” of this night’s sleep. From my humble bed (in some prayer books: from my humble bed) - from my pitiful, meager bed (humble often means: “low, base” even just in physical sense). Popper - I will overcome, I will trample. The lusts of the evil ones are evil desires.

And deliver me, Lord, from vain thoughts that defile me, and from evil lusts. These words of the prayer are peculiarly echoed by other words from the teaching of the Monk Macarius on prayer: “The true basis of prayer is this: to be attentive to thoughts and to perform prayer in great silence and peace. A person praying must direct all his effort to thoughts and that serves as food for evil thoughts , then to cut off, but to direct one’s thoughts towards God and not to fulfill one’s desires, but to collect whirling thoughts from everywhere together, distinguishing natural thoughts from evil ones, the soul is, as it were, likened to sin. big forest on a mountain or a reed on a river, or some thicket of thorns and trees, therefore those intending to pass through this place must stretch out their hands forward and with effort and difficulty push the branches in front of them. Likewise, the soul is surrounded by a whole forest of thoughts inspired by a resistive force, which is why great diligence and attentiveness of the mind are required in order for a person to distinguish between alien thoughts inspired by a resistive force.”

Prayer 2, Saint Antiochus to Our Lord Jesus Christ

To the Almighty, the Word of the Father, the perfect One Jesus Christ, for the sake of Thy mercy, never leave me, Thy servant, but always rest in me. Jesus, good Shepherd of Your sheep, do not betray me to the sedition of the serpent, and do not leave me to the desires of Satan, for the seed of aphids is in me. Thou, O Lord God worshiped, the Holy King, Jesus Christ, preserve me as I sleep with an unflickering light, by Thy Holy Spirit, with whom Thou hast sanctified Thy disciples. Grant, O Lord, to me, Thy unworthy servant, Thy salvation on my bed; enlighten my mind with the light of reason of Your holy Gospel, my soul with the love of Your Cross, my heart with the purity of Your word, my body with Your impassive passion; Preserve my thought with Your humility, and raise me up in time like Your praise. For Thou art glorified with Thy Beginningless Father and with the Most Holy Spirit forever. Amen.

He himself is perfect - being himself perfect (he is the participle of the verb to be: appearing, existing). Sedition - excitement, turmoil, rebellion. To the desire of Satan - to the will of Satan (to the will of Satan). The seed of an aphid is the seed of destruction. Unflickering - unfading. Give it - give it. By the light of reason - here: by the light of understanding. Your passionless passion - Your suffering, alien to passion. The time is like - the appropriate time.

Prayer 3, to the Holy Spirit

Lord, Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of Truth, have mercy and have mercy on me, Thy sinful servant, and forgive me the unworthy, and forgive me all that I have sinned today as a man, and moreover, not as a man, but worse than cattle, my voluntary and involuntary sins , known and unknown; those who are evil from youth and science, and those who are evil from insolence and despondency. If I swear by Your name, or blaspheme in my thoughts; or whom I will reproach; or slandered someone with my anger, or saddened someone, or became angry about something; either he lied, or he slept in vain, or he came to me as a beggar and despised him; or made my brother sad, or married, or whom I condemned; or became proud, or became proud, or became angry; or standing in prayer, my mind is moved by the wickedness of this world, or I think about corruption; either overeated, or drunk, or laughing madly; or I thought evil, or saw someone else’s kindness, and was wounded in my heart by it, or dissimilar verbs, or laughed at my brother’s sin, but mine are countless sins; Either I didn’t pray for the sake of it, or I didn’t remember what other evil things I did, because I did more and more of these things. Have mercy on me, my Creator Master, Thy sad and unworthy servant, and leave me, and let me go, and forgive me, for I am Good and Lover of Mankind; May I lie down in peace, sleep and rest, the prodigal, sinful and damned one; and I will worship, and sing, and glorify Your most honorable name, with the Father and His Only Begotten Son, now and ever, and forever. Amen.

All, as many as You have sinned - everything in which I have sinned before You (all, as many as I have sinned - I have sinned). Today - today. Moreover - and moreover. Grief is worse, more bitter. Even - which. From youth - from youth, from a young age (and not “because of youth”). Evil comes from science - from evil teaching. From impudence - from shamelessness, insolence. Or else - if. I swore - I swore. Blasphemed e - blasphemed him (further in the prayer there follows a number of verbs in the form of the 1st person past tense - aorist; reproach - I reproached; slander - I slandered; saddened - I saddened, etc.). It's no good - it's not the right time. Svadih - excited quarrels, quarreled someone. I stand in prayer - when I stood in prayer. Moved by the deceit of this world, he rushed towards the worldly (towards the lies of this world). Evil - evil, bad. Having seen someone else's kindness - seeing someone else's beauty (or good qualities in general: kindness means both external beauty and perfection in general). I was wounded by that in my heart - I was wounded in my heart by it. Inappropriate verbs - said something inappropriate, obscene. My essence is countless sins - while my sins are countless. But all and more of these deeds - because I did all this and more.

At the beginning of the prayer and at the end of it, despondency is mentioned among the causes of numerous sins: ... Forgive all, O great One, those who have sinned ... from despondency ... Have mercy on me, my Creator Master, Thy sad and unworthy servant ... Dejection is one of the eight main passions, and the fight against this passion is inevitable for every Christian.

***

“To the one who comes to prayer, this evil spirit reminds necessary matters and uses every trick to distract us from our conversation with the Lord with some plausible pretext.”

Venerable John Larch

***

“The soul, wounded by the arrow of this ruinous passion, actually falls asleep for any striving for virtue and observation of its spiritual feelings... The main thing that produces in us the spirit of despondency is that it makes us lazy, discourages us from business and teaches idleness. He doesn’t think about anything else, like food and belly, until, having met somewhere a fellowship in some man or woman, numb in the same coldness, he gets involved in their affairs and needs... The main thing to counteract him will be: don’t give in, stay busy ".

Venerable John Cassian the Roman

***

“In every task, set a measure for yourself and do not leave it before you finish; also pray wisely and intensely - and the spirit of despondency will flee from you.”

Venerable Neil of Sinai

***

This prayer of repentance contains a whole list of sins that we commit daily; In order for this daily repentance to be sincere, one must delve into the essence of the sins confessed here, in their connection and difference. Some of them deserve special mention.

...If I swear by Your name... These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself: Again you have heard what was said to the ancients: do not break your oath, but fulfill your oaths before the Lord. But I say to you: do not swear at all: not by heaven, for it is the throne of God; nor the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King; Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. But let your word be: yes, yes; no no; and anything beyond this is from the evil one (Matt. 5:33-37). Surely the words evening confession sins they talk not only about an immediate oath, but also about any violation of the 3rd commandment of the Law of God - about deification and taking the name of God in vain (note that violation of the same commandment includes catechism and inattention in prayer - like pronouncing the name of God in violation of reverence and deceitful).

...Or blasphemy in my thoughts... These words are used to confess blasphemous thoughts - disgusting, dirty thoughts and ideas that arise primarily during prayer and during divine services.

“Whoever is troubled by the spirit of blasphemy and who wants to get rid of it, let him know without a doubt that it is not his soul that is guilty of such thoughts, but an unclean demon... Therefore, we, despising him and imputing the thoughts he puts in for nothing, will say to him: Get away from Me , Satan: I will worship the Lord My God and serve Him alone (cf. Matthew 4:10);

“Whoever has won victory over this passion has cast aside pride.” “Let us stop judging and condemning our neighbor, and we will not be afraid of blasphemous thoughts: for the cause and root of the second is the first.” The prayer-confession also draws our attention to these sins against one’s neighbor, internally connected with blasphemy:

...Or I will reproach someone; or slandered someone with my anger, or saddened... Here we are talking about direct reproach (reproaches), about passionate unjust condemnation (slander of someone with my anger); finally, even “just” and not directly expressed anger in one way or another upsets our neighbors (the saddened). The prayer of repentance turns us to the root of these sins against our neighbor: ... or what we were angry about... Anger is one of the eight most important passions.

“Nothing hinders the coming of the Holy Spirit into us so much as anger.”

Venerable John Larch

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“It is not good to be angry, either without a reason or for a good reason; for this is rightly forbidden by the Lord (see: Matt. 5:22).”

Venerable Neil of Sinai

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Anger is permissible only at demons and at yourself: “Be angry at sin, that is, at yourself and at the devil, so as not to sin against God.”

Venerable Hesychius of Jerusalem

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...Or my brother was saddened... It would seem that this sin was just discussed; but above we were talking about sadness caused by manifestations of anger, and my brother can be saddened by inattention, unreasonableness, and simply my general sinfulness.

...Or svdih... Swaditi - to quarrel, to arouse discord.

...Or whom I condemn... Let us recall the words of the apostle: Whoever curses a brother or judges his brother, he is reviled by the law and judged by the law; and if you judge the law, then you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one Lawgiver and Judge, who can save and destroy; and who are you who judges another? (James 4:11-12).

...Either he became proud, or became angry, or became angry... But it was already said above: or about what he became angry; is this a repeat? Perhaps the prefix once indicates a different quality, a different level of professed passion: a fairly strong grip of anger (being angry can also refer to a fleeting feeling).

...Or seeing the kindness of someone else, and being wounded by it in the heart... Wounded by the heart - that is, he was wounded in the very heart, received a painful heart wound (ulcer). The ambiguity of the word kindness allows us to attribute this phrase both to the temptation of someone’s external beauty (voluptuous thoughts, burning and painful), and to envy, which is always painful; apply these words to your own mental ulcer.

...Or did you laugh at my brother’s sin, but my essence is countless sins... Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not feel the beam in your eye? Or how will you say to your brother: “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” but behold, there is a log in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye (Matthew 7:3-5).

The creator of this prayer is St. Ephraim the Syrian...

Prayer 4, Saint Macarius the Great

What will I bring to You, or what will I reward to You, O most gifted Immortal King, generous and philanthropic Lord, since you were lazy in pleasing me, and did nothing good, you brought the conversion and salvation of my soul to the end of this day? Be merciful to me, a sinner and naked of every good deed, raise up my fallen soul, defiled in immeasurable sins, and take away from me all the evil thoughts of this visible life. Forgive my sins, the only Sinless One, even those who have sinned this day, in knowledge and ignorance, in word, and deed, and thought, and with all my feelings. You Yourself, covering me, save me from every opposing situation with Your Divine power, and ineffable love for mankind, and strength. Cleanse, O God, cleanse the multitude of my sins. Deign, Lord, to deliver me from the snare of the evil one, and save my passionate soul, and overshadow me with the light of Your face, when You come in glory, and now make me sleep without condemnation, and keep the thoughts of Your servant without dreaming, and untroubled, and all the work of Satan take me away from me, and enlighten the intelligent eyes of my heart, so that I may not sleep into death. And send me an Angel of peace, guardian and mentor of my soul and body, that he may deliver me from my enemies; Yes, rising from my bed, I will bring you prayers of gratitude. Yes, Lord, hear me, your sinful and wretched servant, with your will and conscience; Grant that I have risen to learn from Thy words, and the despondency of demons is driven away from me, to be made by Thy Angels; may I bless Your holy name, and glorify, and glorify the Most Pure Mother of God Mary, Who hast given us sinners intercession, and accept this one praying for us; We see that He imitates Your love for mankind, and does not stop praying. By that intercession, and the sign of the Honest Cross, and for the sake of all Thy saints, keep my poor soul, Jesus Christ our God, for Thou art holy and glorified forever. Amen.

Greatly gifted - bestowing great gifts, generous. Like me being lazy to please You - like me being lazy to serve You. And having done nothing good, he has done nothing good. You brought it to the end - You brought it to the end. Past - past. Building - here: arranging. Naked of every deed is good - deprived of any good deeds (the image of grace, as well as good deeds, as clothing that clothes a person, is repeated repeatedly in the New Testament and very often in liturgical poetry and ascetic literature. Compare the words of God Almighty in the Apocalypse: Behold, I go like a thief: blessed is he who watches and keeps his clothes, lest he walk naked and lest they see his shame - Rev. 16:15).

Even those who have sinned - with whom I have sinned before You (even - who have sinned - I have sinned: the form of the 1st person singular of the past tense - aorist). From every adverse situation - from every onslaught of evil. Evil - here: Devil. Passionate - full of passions, subject to passions. When - when. Detel - business, activity. Drive away - drive away. To her - yes, truly. By will and conscience - In the meaning. : in the expression of my will and in my conscience (will - free will, free will - and conscience in this expression belongs to the one praying, comes from him). I will rise - I will when I rise. To learn from Your word - to learn from Your law (the same expression in morning prayer to the Most Holy Trinity). You already gave - which You gave. We know, because I know. Yako - what. Imitates - strengthens, appeals to (literally: pushes). Toya - Her.

Deign, Lord, to deliver me from the snare of the evil one... and to drive away all the work of Satan from me. Let us supplement these words of the prayer of St. Macarius the Great with words from his teaching: " Visible world, from kings to beggars, all in confusion, in struggle, and none of them knows the reason for this... The sin that came, as a certain rational force and essence of Satan, sowed all evil: it secretly acts on the inner man and on the mind and fights with with his thoughts; people do not know that they are doing this prompted by some alien force; on the contrary, they think that it is natural and that they are doing this according to their own reasoning. But in their very minds, those who have the peace of Christ and the illumination of Christ know where all this comes from.”

Prayer 5

Lord our God, who have sinned in these days in word, deed and thought, as He is Good and Lover of Mankind, forgive me. Grant me a peaceful and serene sleep. Send Your guardian angel, covering and keeping me from all evil; for You are the guardian of our souls and bodies, and we send glory to You, to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

What I have sinned - what I have sinned. Yako - how. Mi - to me. Because You are - because You are.

Prayer 6

Lord our God, in the worthlessness of faith, and we call upon His name above every name, grant us, who are going to sleep, a weakening of soul and body, and keep us from all dreams and dark pleasures except; calm the desire of passions, extinguish the kindling of bodily rebellion. Grant us to live chastely in deeds and words; Yes, a virtuous life is receptive, Your promised good things will not fall away, for Blessed are You forever. Amen.

More than that. When I weaken, it’s a relief. Dark sweets except - unaffected by unclean lust (sweetness - sensual pleasure, lust; except - outside). Stop it - stop it. Receptively - accepting, receiving back (note that the word itself indicates a return to an undefiled way of life!). Promised - promised. Good - good.

This evening prayer is all directed towards chastity, towards the confrontation of lust - dark sweetness. Expressions such as: the desire of passions and the incitement of bodily rebellion should not be translated into modern Russian: in Church Slavonic they are more understandable, because they indicate a whole worldview imprinted in them. Modern Christians live in a world literally gripped by fornication madness, so even for a married layman striving to live with God, the struggle to live chastely in deeds and words is in its own way no less intense than for a monk. Prayer is an indispensable weapon in this fight.

Prayer 7, St. John Chrysostom (24 prayers, according to the number of hours of the day and night)

Lord, do not deprive me of Your heavenly blessings. Lord, save me from eternal torment. Lord, whether I have sinned in mind or in thought, in word or in deed, forgive me. Lord, deliver me from all ignorance and oblivion, and cowardice, and petrified insensibility. Lord, deliver me from every temptation. Lord, enlighten my heart, darken my evil lust. Lord, as a man who has sinned, You, as a generous God, have mercy on me, seeing the weakness of my soul. Lord, send Your grace to help me, that I may glorify Your holy name. Lord Jesus Christ, write me Your servant in the book of animals, and grant me a good end. Lord my God, even if I have done nothing good before You, grant me, by Your grace, to make a good beginning. Lord, sprinkle the dew of Your grace in my heart. Lord of heaven and earth, remember me, Thy sinful servant, cold and unclean, in Thy Kingdom. Amen.

I have sinned - I have sinned (past tense - aorist). Ezhe darkened - which darkened (pomrachi is also an aorist, but the form of the 3rd person). Below the animals - in the book of life. Even though I have done nothing good, I have done nothing good. Studnago - vile (literally: shameful; stud - shame).

Lord, accept me in repentance. Lord, don't leave me. Lord, do not lead me into misfortune. Lord, give me a good thought. Lord, give me tears, and mortal memory, and tenderness. Lord, give me the thought of confessing my sins. Lord, give me humility, chastity and obedience. Lord, give me patience, generosity and meekness. Lord, plant in me the root of good things, Thy fear in my heart. Lord, grant me to love You with all my soul and thoughts, and to do Your will in everything. Lord, protect me from certain people, and demons, and passions, and from all other inappropriate things. Lord, consider that you do as you will, that your will be done in me, a sinner, for blessed are you forever. Amen.

The root of the good is the root (that is, the basis) of all good, all good. Vesi - You know (You know). As You do, as You will - that You do what You want.

The great teacher of prayer, St. Theophan the Recluse, attached great importance to these prayers and recommended them to many of his spiritual children as the basis of the prayer rule, as a school of unceasing contemplation of God. Here are some excerpts from his letters:

"How to read the prayers of St. Chrysostom (24 in evening prayers for bedtime)? Read them before the prayer book so that your attention is concentrated... But repeat mentally at all times. This is the best way to accustom yourself to remembrance of God, and this remembrance is the basis of spiritual life "Bows from the waist, and sometimes to the ground." - “You can use the prayers of St. Chrysostom instead of your home rule in the morning. Memorize them and think about each one... In them, the whole spiritual life is remembered... Determine how many times each one is commemorated so that you stand in prayer for the same amount of time as you usually stand for the rule. You can also add your prayers to it - choose from the psalms: whichever verse suits your heart, write it down... Using these prayers with attention, you will soon become accustomed to standing in prayer without being distracted. Insert the Jesus Prayer into their midst, for example, saying ten times: “Lord. , do not deprive me of Your heavenly blessings,” add: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” - “The purpose of short prayers is to promote the collection of thoughts and sobriety. Strength is not in words, but in feeling for God. It will soon be formed among those who work on prayer. This is mental prayer. The mind, standing in the heart, sees God and intelligently confesses to Him by calling upon Him... Feeling for God is unceasing prayer without words.”

Prayer 8, to our Lord Jesus Christ

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, for the sake of Thy Most Honest Mother, and Thy disembodied Angels, Thy Prophet and Forerunner and Baptist, the God-speaking Apostles, the bright and victorious martyrs, the reverend and God-bearing fathers, and all the saints through the prayers, deliver me from my present demonic situation. To her, my Lord and Creator, do not want the death of a sinner, but as if he were converted and live, grant me conversion, the accursed and unworthy; take me away from the mouth of the destructive serpent, who yawns to devour me and bring me to hell alive. To her, my Lord, is my consolation, who for the sake of the accursed one has clothed himself in corruptible flesh, pluck me from accursedness, and grant consolation to my more accursed soul. Plant in my heart to do Thy commandments, and forsake evil deeds, and receive Thy blessedness: for in Thee, O Lord, have I trusted, save me.

The present situation of demons - the current environment of demons, the demonic siege. Not wanting - not wanting. But as if he were to turn and live, so that he would turn and live. Gaping to devour me - opening my mouth to devour me (gaping - opening my mouth). Izhe...clothed - clothed.

...I do not want the death of a sinner, but rather to turn and live to be him... The prayer quotes the words of the Lord from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel: I do not want the death of a sinner, but to turn the wicked from his way and live to be him (Ezek. 33:11). Here is this verse in the Russian translation of the Bible: Tell them: As I live, says the Lord God, I do not want the death of the sinner, but that the sinner should turn from his way and live. Turn yourselves, turn from your evil ways; Why should you die, O house of Israel?

Prayer 9, to the Most Holy Theotokos, Peter of Studium

To Thee, O Most Pure Mother of God, I fall down and pray: Behold, O Queen, for I am constantly sinning and angering Thy Son and my God, and many times when I repent, I find myself lying before God, and I repent in trembling: will not the Lord strike me down, and again every hour? I do: to these leaders, my Lady, Lady Theotokos, I pray, have mercy, strengthen me, and grant me good deeds. Believe me, my Lady Theotokos, for the Imam is by no means in hatred of my evil deeds, and with all my thoughts I love the law of my God; but we do not know, O Most Pure Lady, from where I hate, I love, but I transgress what is good. Do not allow, O Most Pure One, my will to be fulfilled, for it is not pleasing, but may the will of Thy Son and my God be done: may He save me, and enlighten me, and give me the grace of the Holy Spirit, so that I may cease from here from filthiness, and so on may I live as commanded Your Son, to Him belongs all glory, honor and power, with His Originless Father, and His Most Holy and Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Vesi - You know. And many times when I repent, I find myself lying before God - and although I repent many times, I turn out to be unfaithful to God (I deceive God). Every time I do something, I do the same thing again. These leaders know this. Do good things and give them to me - do good things and give them to me. As if the imam is not at all in hatred - which I absolutely hate. My evil - my evil. We don’t know - I don’t know. From where I hate, I love - why what I hate is what I love (literally: from where [those things] that I hate are the same things I love). Good - good. May I cease from now on my evil deeds - so that from now on I will stop evil deeds. Other things - in the future. If only I had lived, I would have lived.

This prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos is the cry of a man who has learned how little his will to good can resist sin. And repentance, completely sincere, and love with all one’s thoughts for the law of God, and hatred of evil deeds in themselves are not capable of saving a person from slavery to sin. The words of this prayer are close to the words of the Apostle Paul: ... I am carnal, sold under sin. For I don’t understand what I’m doing: because I don’t do what I want, but what I hate, I do. If I do what I do not want, then... it is no longer I who do it, but the sin that lives in me. For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; because the desire for good is in me, but I don’t find it to do it. I don’t do the good that I want, but I do the evil that I don’t want. If I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin living in me. And so I find the law that when I want to do good, evil belongs to me. Because according to to the inner man I find pleasure in the law of God; But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members (Rom. 7:14-23). It is possible to overcome and defeat the law of sin only God's help, by the power of God's grace, for which we cry out in our prayers.

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; Yes, I will 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 One.

Passionate - 1) subject to passions; 2) unhappy, suffering; both meanings are combined here. My belly is my life. By You - here: With Your help, through You. I will find it - I will find it.

Prayer 11, to the holy Guardian Angel

To the 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 all the wickedness of the enemy who opposes me, so that I may not anger my God in any sin; 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.

All, as many as I have sinned - everything in which I have sinned (elika - how much). Today's - current. From all deceit - from all lies, all cunning. Opposite to me - opposing, opposing me. In no sin - no sin. Show me worthy - you will show me worthy.

Kontakion to the Blessed Virgin Mary

To the chosen Voivode, victorious, as having been delivered from the evil, let us write thanks to Thy servant, the Mother of God, but as having an invincible power, free us from all troubles, let us call Thee: Rejoice, Unmarried Bride.

Mounted Voivode - invincible Voivode (mounted - invincible in battles). Victorious - victorious (singing, that is, a victorious song). As if they got rid of the evil ones - because they got rid (literally: as if they got rid of) from evil (from troubles). Thanksgiving - thanksgiving (thanksgiving song). Let us sing to You - we sing praises (literally: we write) to You. As one who has power - (You), as one who has strength. Unbrided - not married (literal translation of the Greek word).

The Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos, which begins with this kontakion, was written in the 7th century in Constantinople. This is the first (and most beautiful) of the akathists, which became a model for all subsequent ones. All 12 ikos of the akathist end with multiple "rehash" of the Archangel's greeting Holy Virgin- “Rejoice!”, the final of which is Rejoice, Unbrided Bride! We magnify the heavenly purity of the Unworn Virgin, who inexpressibly gave birth to Christ our God, and in Her purity, the “Most Honest Cherub” Bride of the Unbride appears before us as the greatest warrior with the forces of evil - the Chosen Voivode, possessing an invincible power.

Rejoice, Unbrided Bride! If we turn to the Greek language in which the akathist was written, we will see that all these three words, literally translated into Church Slavonic and entered into our religious consciousness, should have been perceived by the Greeks somewhat differently than we perceive them.

Rejoice - the greeting of the Archangel Gabriel, brought to us by the Gospel - both before the Nativity of Christ and after it was a common greeting in Greek - the same as our “hello”. In the appearance of the Angel, in his wondrous and mysterious words, the inner meaning of the greeting, forgotten in everyday life, of course, was renewed and shone with all its strength; Akathist to the Most Holy Theotokos (and every later inspiredly composed akathist), all permeated with this “Rejoice!” and sparkling with the joy of majesty, also resurrects the dormant meaning of the Greek word in everyday language. But in the Russian (and Old Russian) language they greeted each other not with the word “rejoice”, but with the word “hello” (in which we usually forget wishes for health). “Rejoice” remains for us a word that is always richer, more special - a conscious word about joy, a unique greeting for of the Most Pure Virgin Mary and the saints of God.

Bride Unbride is a direct, literal translation of two Greek words. The Church Slavonic word for bride corresponds to the Greek word “nymph,” which means not only a girl-bride, but also a newlywed wife and a young woman. New Testament(and the Greek translation of the Bible) gave this word enormous mystical depth: The Bride of the Lamb in the Revelation of John the Theologian (Rev. 19:7; 21, 22, 17) is not only destined for Him, but also stands with Him in a mysterious marriage; this is the image of both the Mother of God and the Church (in her we recognize the bride of the Song of Songs and other books of Scripture). And the Greek word translated by the Slavic word nevestnaya is the negative form of the first word, meaning “not married”; this word was quite common for Greek language. For Greek, but not for Slavic! Indeed, in Slavic, a bride is precisely an unknown, unknown (that is, exactly what the Greek non-bride corresponds to) girl who has not entered into marriage, although destined for it; the word itself carries the meaning of purity. Within the Slavic language, the word nevestnaya is difficult to explain. It introduces a new shade of meaning into the expression of the akathist: Pure Bride, but not bride-like, not ordinary, not comparable to any other bride.

Other Slavic epithets of the Mother of God, corresponding to the word Unmarried, are Unartificial, Unartfully married.

To the elected Voivode, victorious... Almost all of us are accustomed to hearing these words as a single whole, so we do not feel the structure of the phrase (quite simple): (to whom?) To the elected Voivode (we) sing (what?) a victorious thanksgiving, that is, a victorious song of gratitude, (why?) as if they got rid of the evil ones - because they got rid of troubles.

Glorious Ever-Virgin, Mother of Christ God, bring our prayer to Your Son and our God, may You save our souls.

I place all my trust in You, Mother of God, keep me under Your roof.

Virgin Mary, do not despise me, a sinner, who requires Your help and Your intercession, for my soul trusts in You, and have mercy on me.

By You - here: through You, by Your intercession. Under the roof - under cover.

The prayers “Glorious Ever-Virgin...” and “All my hope...” are the creations of St. John of Damascus.

Prayer of Saint Ioannikios

My hope is the Father, my refuge is the Son, my protection is the Holy Spirit: Holy Trinity, glory to Thee.

The creator of this prayer, Saint John the Great, repeated it after each verse of the psalms he read according to the rule, thus constantly raising the mind to the Most Holy Trinity.

End of prayers

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, the real Mother of God.

Glory, and now:

Lord have mercy. (Thrice)

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.

We see that after those prayers that in the section “Morning Prayers” are final and are marked with the words “End of prayers”, in the section “Prayers for the future” (in most prayer books) there are some more prayers that more directly relate to going to bed (the prayer of St. John of Damascus is supposed to be read, pointing to the bed; when reading the prayer “May God rise again,” both the bed and the four cardinal directions are overshadowed with the sign of the cross). One consequence of this is that we can adapt more flexibly general rule to your own living conditions, to your inner state. So, for some people (or in some life circumstances) it is more convenient to read the first part of the prayers for bed the next evening, quite early - perhaps before all the affairs are completely completed - and immediately before going to bed, already near your bed, read the remaining prayers. The joint reading of bedtime prayers for the future - for example, in a family - can be completed with “It is worthy to eat...” and a general blessing, and prayers starting with the prayer of St. John of Damascus can be read to everyone... at their bedside.

This practice existed in Ancient Rus'. Under Ivan the Terrible in the 16th century, there was a custom to add a few more prayers, literally going to sleep and to his bed (the composition of these prayers did not coincide with ours). /Addition by Archpriest Sergius Pravdolyubov.

Prayer of Saint John of Damascus (read it pointing to your bed)

Lord, Lover of Mankind, will this grave really be my bed, or will you still enlighten my damned soul during the day? For seven the grave lies ahead, for seven the death awaits. I fear Your judgment, Lord, and endless torment, but I do not stop doing evil; I always anger the Lord my God, and Your Most Pure Mother, and all the heavenly Powers, and my holy Guardian Angel. We know, Lord, that I am unworthy of Your love for mankind, but I am worthy of all condemnation and torment. But, Lord, whether I want it or not, save me. Even if you save a righteous man, nothing great; and even if you have mercy on a pure person, nothing is marvelous: you are worthy of the essence of Your mercy. But surprise me, a sinner, with Your mercy; about this, show Your love for mankind, so that my malice does not overcome Your unspeakable goodness and mercy; and as you wish, arrange a thing for me.

Here you go. Mi - to me. Well - so, I know. Yako - here: what. If only you save the righteous - because if you save the righteous. Nothing great - there is nothing great in it (great - great). And if you have mercy on a pure person, nothing is surprising - and if you have mercy on a pure person, there is nothing surprising in that. They are worthy, because they are worthy. About this - here: in this, by this. Unspeakable - unspeakable.

Enlighten my eyes, O Christ God, so that not when I fall asleep into death, and not when my enemy says: “Let us be strong against him.”

Be the protector of my soul, O God, as I walk in the midst of many snares; deliver me from them and save me, O Blessed One, as a Lover of Mankind.

Let us silently sing to the Glorious Mother of God and the Most Holy Angel with our hearts and lips, who confess this Mother of God as having truly given birth to God incarnate, and who continually prays for our souls.

I have strengthened myself - I have strengthened myself (past tense - aorist). We are, of course, talking about the invisible enemy - the devil.

Those who confess this Mother of God - confessing (openly proclaiming) that She is the Mother of God.

Enlighten my eyes, O Christ God, so that not when I fall asleep into death, and not when my enemy says: “Let us be strong against him.” These are the words from the psalm: Look, hear me, O Lord my God, enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep into death, lest my enemy say: I will be strong against him (Ps. 12:4-5).

Mark yourself with a cross and say prayer to the Holy Cross

May God rise again, and may His enemies be scattered, and may those who hate Him flee from His presence. As smoke disappears, let them disappear; as wax melts in the presence of fire, so let demons perish from the face of those who love God, and those who sign themselves with the sign of the cross, and who joyfully say: Rejoice, Most Pure and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, drive away the demons by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, who descended into hell, upon you, and who trampled down the power of the devil, and who gave us His Honest Cross to drive away every adversary. O Most Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord! Help me with the Holy Virgin Mary, and with all the saints forever. Amen.

If they are wasted, they will be scattered. Enemies - enemies. Yako - how. From the person - meaning: in front. Verbal - speaking. Drive away - drive away. Propyatago - crucified. Honest - worthy of honor, glorious. Adversary - enemy.

May God rise again, and may His enemies be scattered... The beginning of the prayer is taken from the psalm: May God rise again, and His enemies may be scattered, and may those who hate Him flee from His face. As smoke disappears, let them disappear; as wax hides from the presence of fire, so let sinners (sinners) perish from the presence of God (Ps. 67:1-2). These same verses of the psalm are sung in Easter service, interspersed with the troparion of Easter. The words about the Lord Jesus Christ, who descended into hell and trampled upon the power of the devil, also remind us of the troparion (trampling death by death) and other Easter hymns. The power of the Cross of the Lord is inseparable from the Resurrection of Christ; the death and Resurrection of Christ make the Cross a “sign of victory,” which is why this prayer, pronounced with faith and love for the Honest Cross, is so powerful to drive away the forces of evil from us.

Or briefly a prayer for the Cross

Protect me, Lord, by the power of Your Honest and Life-giving Cross, and save me from all evil.

Prayer

Weaken, forgive, forgive, O God, our sins, voluntary and involuntary, even in word and in deed, even in knowledge and in ignorance, even in days and nights, even in mind and in thought: forgive us everything, for it is good and Lover of Humanity.