In prayer books and liturgical books, some frequently used prayers and even small rows of prayers are not given in full each time, but are indicated in abbreviations. Such abbreviations - for example, the abbreviation "Glory, and now:" - are found in almost all prayer books. This not only saves space, but is also very convenient for experienced reciters and singers. However, the beginning prayer book can sometimes be confused by abbreviations that are not yet familiar to him. Therefore, we present for our readers a list of the most common abbreviations that can be found in prayer books.

In liturgical books, abbreviations of this kind are much more: they are designed for a solid knowledge of the reader of a very wide range of prayers and hymns. In the Church Slavonic tradition, the colon (:) serves as an indicator of such a contraction - it plays here a role similar to the role of the ellipsis (...) in modern Russian writing.

"Glory, and now: (or: "Glory: And now:" ) - Glory to the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.

"Glory:"- Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

"And now:"- And now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.

Attention! In the Psalter, each of the kathisma - twenty parts into which the Psalter for reading is divided - is divided into three parts, after each of which it is usually written: "Glory:"(these parts are therefore called "Glories"). In this (and only this) case, the notation "Glory:" replaces the following prayers:

(Three times)

Lord have mercy. (Three times)

Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, both now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

Alleluia (Three times) - Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, God.(Three times)

“Trisagion. By Our Father" or "Trisagion. Holy Trinity ... Our Father ... " - prayers are read consecutively:

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Three times)

Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.

Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Master, forgive our iniquity; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for your name's sake.

Lord have mercy.(Three times)

Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we also leave our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Reduction "Come, let us bow ..." should read:

Come, let us worship our Tsar God. (Bow)

Come, let us worship and fall down on Christ, our King God. (Bow)

Come, let us worship and fall down on Christ Himself, the Tsar and our God. (Bow).

Instead of Bogorodichen we usually say: Holy Mother of God, save us and instead of Trinity : Most Holy Trinity, our God, glory to Thee, or Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Prayers that will definitely help.

Prayers Every Orthodox Christian Should Know: Our Father, to the Heavenly King, Prayer of thanks, Invocation of the help of the Holy Spirit for every good deed, to the Most Holy Theotokos, May God rise again, the Life-giving cross, to the Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon, the Most Holy Theotokos, To the pacification of the hostile, About the sick, Alive to help, Reverend Moses Murin, Creed, other daily prayers.

If you have anxiety in your soul and it seems to you that everything in life does not work out as you wish, or you lack the strength and confidence to continue the work you have begun, read these prayers. They will fill you with the energy of faith and prosperity, surround you with heavenly power and protect you from all adversity. They will give you strength and confidence.

Prayers that every Orthodox Christian should know.

“Our Father who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done both on earth and in heaven; Give us our daily bread for this day; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one; for yours is the kingdom and power and glory forever. Amen".

Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfilling everything, Treasure of good and life to the Giver, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, Better, our souls.

Thanksgiving prayer(Thanksgiving for every good deed of God)

From time immemorial, believers have read this prayer not only when their deeds, through prayers to the Lord, have ended successfully, but also glorifying the Almighty, and thanks to Him for the very gift of life and constant care for the needs of each of us.

Thank Thy servant unworthy creature, O Lord, for Thy great benefits that were upon us, glorifying Thee, praise, bless, thank, sing and magnify Thy benevolence, and slavishly love with the cry of Ty: Our Benefactor, our Savior, glory to Thee.

Your blessings and gifts to the tuna, as a servant of indecency, become worthy, Master, to You diligently flowing, we bring thanksgiving in strength, and as a Benefactor and Creator to You, glorifying, crying: glory to Thee, O All-Blessed God.

Glory and now: Mother of God

The Mother of God, the Christian Helper, Thy intercession has acquired Thy servant, I am grateful to Thee by crying: Rejoice, Most Pure Virgin Mary, and always save us from all troubles with Thy prayers, One who is soon present.

Invocation of the help of the Holy Spirit for every good deed

To the Creator and Creator of all, O God, the works of our hands, begun to Your glory, hastily correct them with Your blessing, and deliver us from all evil, for there is only one omnipotent and Man-lover.

Swift to intercession and strong to help, present yourself with the grace of Thy strength now, and blessing, strengthen, and in the accomplishment of the intention of the good deed of Thy servants, do it: all the things that are good, like a mighty God, you can do.

“O Most Holy Lady Theotokos, heavenly Queen, save and have mercy on us, Thy sinful servants; from vain slander and any misfortune, misfortune and sudden death, have mercy in the daytime hours, morning and evening, and at all times save us - standing, sitting, walking on every path, sleeping in the night hours, supply, intercede and cover, protect. Mistress Theotokos, from all enemies visible and invisible, from all evil circumstances, in every place and at all time, be us, Mother Abiding, an invincible wall and strong intercession always now and ever and forever and ever. Amen".

“May God rise, and His enemies be scattered, and may flee from His presence. As the smoke disappears, let it disappear; as wax melts from the face of fire, so may demons perish from the face of those who love God and who are marked by the sign of the cross, and in joy saying: Rejoice, Most Holy and Life-giving Cross of the Lord, drive away demons by the power of the rooted Lord Jesus Christ on You, who descended into hell and corrected power the devil, and who gave us Himself, His Honest Cross to drive out every adversary. O Honorable and life-giving Cross of the Lord! Help me with the Holy Lady Virgin Mary and with all the saints forever. Amen".

“Protect me, Lord, with the power of Your Honest and Life-giving Cross, save me from all evil. Weaken, leave, forgive, God, our sins, voluntary and involuntary, as in word and in deed, as in knowledge and not in ignorance, as in days and nights, as in mind and in thought, forgive us all, as it is Good and Humanitarian. Forgive those who hate and offend us, Lord, Human-loving. Create good for those who are beneficial. Grant to our brothers and relatives also forgiveness and eternal life for salvation. In the infirmities of those who are, visit and grant healing. Manage the sea. Travel travelers. Grant absolution to those who serve and have mercy on our sins. Those who have commanded us unworthy to pray for them have mercy on your great mercy. Remember, O Lord, before the departed fathers and our brothers and rest them, where the light of Thy face dwells. Remember, Lord, our captive brothers, deliver them from every situation. Remember, Lord, those who bear fruit and do good in Thy saints churches, give them the path to salvation of petition and eternal life. Remember, O Lord, and us, humble and sinful, and unworthy of Thy servants, and enlighten our mind with the light of Thy mind, and force us on the path of Thy commandments, with the prayers of our Most Pure Lady of our Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary and all Your saints, as you are blessed forever centuries. Amen".

Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon

“O Great Christ saint and glorious healer, the great martyr Panteleimon. Soul in heaven to the Throne of God face His triple glories enjoy, but in the body and face of the saints on earth in divine temples, rest and various miracles given to you by the grace given to you from above. Look with your merciful eye on the people ahead and more honest to your icon praying and asking for healing help and intercession from you, stretch out your warm prayers to our Lord God and ask our souls for forgiveness of sins. Behold, below, lift up a voice of prayer to Him, in the Divine of unapproachable glory with a contrite heart and a humble spirit for you, mercifully intercessor to the Lady, and we call upon sinners for our sinners. As you have received grace from Him to drive away ailments and heal passions. We ask you, do not look down on us unworthy who pray to you and demand your help; be a comforter for us in sorrows, a physician in grieving ailments, a giver of enlightenment, with beings and infants in sorrows the most ready representative and healer, intercede to all, all useful to salvation, as if by your prayers to the Lord God, having received grace and mercy, we will glorify all good sources and the Giver of One God in the Trinity of the Holy Glorious Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen".

“My Most Holy Lady Theotokos, by your holy and all-powerful prayers, drive away from me, your humble and accursed servant, despondency, oblivion, foolishness, negligence and all nasty, crafty and blasphemous thoughts.”

To pacify the warring

“Master of Humanity, King of the ages and Giver of the good, who destroyed the enmity of the mediastinum and gave peace to the human race, grant peace to Thy servants now, instill in them Thy fear, affirm love for each other, quench all strife, take away all differences, temptations. As you are our world, we send you glory. Father and Son and Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen".

Master, Almighty, Holy King, punish and not mortify, affirm those who fall and erect the overthrown, correct bodily people of sorrow, we pray to You, our God, Your servant. visit the non-existent with Thy mercy, forgive him every sin, voluntary and involuntary. To Him, O Lord, Thy healing power from heaven sent down, touch the body, extinguish the fire, steal the passion and all lingering infirmity, be the doctor of Thy servant, raise him from the sick bed and from the bed of malice whole and all-perfect, grant it to Thy Church, pleasing and creative Thy, Thine is, to be merciful and to save us, our God, and to Thee we glory, to the Father and to the son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen".

“Alive in the help of the Most High, in the roof of the Heavenly God, will settle down. He speaks to the Lord: My intercessor is my refuge, my God, and I trust in Him. Yako will rid you of the snare of the hunters and the words of the rebellious; His splash will overshadow thee, hoping under His wings; His truth will go round thee with arms. Not a refuge from the fear of the night, from an arrow that flies in days, from a thing in darkness, from a cracker and a midday demon. A thousand will fall from your country, and darkness is at your right hand, but it will not come close to you, both behold your eyes and behold the reward of sinners. Like Thou, Lord, is my hope; Thou hast put the Highest as your refuge. Evil will not come to you, and the wound will not come close to your body, like His angels command about you, keep thee in all your ways. They will take you in their arms, but not when you knock your foot on a stone, step on an asp and a basilisk, and cross the lion and the serpent. For I will trust in Me, and I will deliver, and I will cover, and, as if knowing My name, he will call on Me and I will hear it; I am with him in sorrow, I will scourge him and glorify him, with long days I will fulfill him, I will show him my salvation ”.

To the Monk Moses Murin

Oh, great power of repentance! O immeasurable depth of God's mercy! You, the Monk Moses, were before a robber. You were terrified of your sins, grieved about them and in repentance came to the monastery and there, in great lamentation over your iniquities and in difficult deeds, you spent your days until death and was rewarded with Christ's grace of forgiveness and the gift of miracles. Oh, saint, from grave sins he achieved wonderful virtues, help the slaves who pray to you (name), who are being drawn to destruction because they indulge in an immeasurable, harmful use of wine for the soul and body. Incline your merciful gaze on them, do not reject or despise them, but listen to them who come running to you. Pray, holy Moses, the Lord of Christ, so that He, the Merciful, does not reject them, and may the devil not rejoice at their death, but may the Lord spare these powerless and unfortunate (name), who have been possessed by the pernicious passion of drunkenness, because we are all God's creatures and are redeemed by the Most Pure By the blood of His Son. Hear, Venerable Moses, their prayer, drive away the devil from them, grant them the strength to overcome their passion, help them, stretch out your hand, take them out of the bondage of passions and deliver them from wine drinking, so that they are renewed, in sobriety and a bright mind, to love temperance. and piety and forever glorified the All-good God, always saving his creatures. Amen".

“I believe in the One God, the Father, the Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, Visible to all and invisible, in the One Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only Begotten, Who was born of the Father before all ages; Light from Light, from God, truth and from God, truth, born, not created, consubstantial with the Father, who was all by Him. For us for the sake of man and for our sake for the sake of salvation, he descended from heaven and incarnated from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became human. Crucified for us under the Pontic Pilate and suffered and was buried. And he rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven, sitting at the right hand of the Father. And the pack of the coming with awakens the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Life-giving Lord, who is like the outgoing Father. Alike with the Father and the Son we are worshiped and glorified, who spoke the prophets. Into the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. Tea of ​​the Resurrection of the Dead and the Life of the Age to Come. Amen".

Prayer of spouses who have no children

“Hear us, Merciful and Almighty God, that Thy grace be sent down by our prayer. Be merciful, Lord, to our prayer, remember Thy law about the multiplication of the human race and be a merciful Patron, so that Thy help will preserve what You have established. You, by Your power of power, created everything out of nothing and laid the foundation for everything in the world that exists - you created man in Your image and, with a high secret, sanctified the union of matrimony in prediction of the mystery of the union of Christ with the Church. Look, Merciful, upon us, Thy servants, united in conjugal union and begging for Thy help, may Thy mercy be upon us, may we be fruitful, and may we see our sons' sons even to the third and fourth generation, and will live to the desired old age and enter into The Kingdom of Heaven is by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom all glory, honor and worship are due with the Holy Spirit forever. Amen."

When you wake up in the morning, mentally say the following words:

“In the hearts is the Lord God, in front is the Holy Spirit; help me start, live and end the day with you ”.

Going on a long journey or just on any business, it is good to mentally say:

"My angel, come with me: you are in front, I am behind you." And the Guardian Angel will help you in any endeavor.

To improve your life, it is good to read the following prayer daily:

“Lord, merciful, in the name of Jesus Christ and by the Power of the Holy Spirit, save, save and have mercy on me, the servant of God (name). Take away the spoilage, evil eye and bodily pain from me forever. Lord, merciful, cast out the demon from me, the servant of God. Lord merciful, heal me, the servant of God (name). Amen".

If you have anxiety for loved ones, say the following prayer until calmness comes:

“Lord, save, save, have mercy (names of loved ones). Everything will be fine with them! "

Other popular prayers:

What a believer needs to know. First steps in the temple

Holidays of the Russian people, celebrated and revered in Russia

Akathists recited in sickness and sorrow

Other prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos and saints for the healing of bodily ailments

About prayer: Why it is necessary to pray according to the prayer book, What prayers are included in the prayer book, What books relate to church services, Orthodox prayer book, How to pray for other people, How to pray for offenders and enemies

The death of a man and prayers for the dead

Tropari E-Z. Troparion to the Most Holy Theotokos. Troparion to the holy reverend saints

Prayers of pregnant women for a safe resolution and the birth of healthy children

Prayers of women who have had an abortion (after the abortion)

Prayers for the elimination of family troubles

Prayer for travelers

Strong prayers for all sorts of troubles, misfortunes, spells and witchcraft, as well as for good luck

Other prayers for family well-being

Orthodox informers for websites and blogs All prayers.

Short prayers. Prayer of praise to the Lord God. The Publican's Prayer. Prayer to the Lord Jesus. Prayer to the Holy Spirit. Trisagion. Glorification of the Most Holy Trinity. Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity. Lord's Prayer

Part two. PRAYERS

Short prayers

Every Orthodox Christian is obliged to pray daily, morning and evening, before and after eating food, before the beginning and at the end of any business (for example: before teaching and after teaching, etc.).

In the morning we pray to thank God for keeping us last night, to ask for His Fatherly blessing and help for the day that has begun.

In the evening, before going to bed, we also thank the Lord for a safe day and ask you to keep us during the night.

In order for the work to be done successfully and safely, we must also, first of all, ask God for blessings and help for the work ahead, and at the end, thank God.

To express our feelings for God and for His saints, the Church has given us various prayers. Here are the most commonly used ones:

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

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

- in name, in honor, in glory: Amen- the truth, the truth.

This prayer is called the initial prayer, because we say it before all prayers, at the beginning of the prayers.

In it we ask God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, that is, the Most Holy Trinity, to invisibly bless us for the work ahead in His name.

QUESTIONS: What is the name of this prayer? Whom do we call in this prayer. What do we desire when we say (say) a prayer: In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit? What does it mean: amen?

We say this prayer at the beginning of every business.

QUESTION: What do we ask of God in this prayer?

- be merciful, forgive.

This prayer is the most ancient and common among all Christians. A small child can easily remember it; we pronounce it when we remember our sins. For the glory of the Holy Trinity, we Christians say this prayer three times. We also recite it 12 times, asking God for a blessing for every hour of the day and night; we say 40 times, for the sanctification of our whole life.

Praise to the Lord God

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.

Praise to Thee, our God, praise to Thee.

In this prayer, we do not ask God for anything, but only praise Him. It can be said in short: Thank God... It is pronounced at the end of the case as a sign of our gratitude to God for His mercy to us.

Publican's Prayer

God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

God, be merciful to me a sinner.

Pharisee and publican in the temple at prayer

This prayer is for the publican (tax collector) who repented of his sins and received forgiveness. It is taken from the parable of the Savior, which He once told people for their admonition. Here is the parable. Two people entered the temple to pray. One of them was a Pharisee, and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee stood in front of everyone and prayed to God like this: I thank You, God, that I am not as sinful as that tax collector. I give a tenth of my property to the poor, I fast twice a week. And the publican, realizing that he was a sinner, stood at the entrance to the temple and did not dare to raise his eyes to heaven. He hit himself on the chest and said: God, have mercy on me, a sinner! To God, the prayer of a humble publican was more pleasing and more pleasing than that of a proud Pharisee.

QUESTIONS: What is the name of this prayer? Where did it come from? Tell this parable? Why is the prayer of the publican more pleasing to God than the Pharisee?

Prayer to the Lord Jesus

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the sake of Thy Most Pure Mother and all saints, have mercy on us. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, through the prayers of Thy Most Pure Mother and all saints, have mercy on us. Amen.

- be merciful to us, forgive us. Jesus- Savior; Christ- The Anointed One; prayers for- for the sake of prayers, or for prayers.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God - the second Person of the Holy Trinity. As the Son of God, He is our true God, just like God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

We call Him Jesus, that is Savior because He saved us from sins and eternal death. For this, He, being the Son of God, took possession of the most immaculate Virgin Mary and, with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, incarnated and incarnate from her, that is, he took a human body and soul - was born from the Blessed Virgin Mary, became the same person as we are, but only was sinless - became a God-man... And instead of us suffering and tormenting for our sins, He, out of love for us, sinners, suffered for us, died on the cross and rose again on the third Day - conquered sin and death and gave us eternal life.

Realizing our sinfulness and not relying on the power of our prayers, in this prayer we ask to pray for us sinners, before our Savior, all saints and the Mother of God, who has the special grace to save us sinners by her intercession for us before His Son.

Lord jesus christ

Our Savior is called the Anointed One (Christ) because He fully possessed those gifts of the Holy Spirit that kings, prophets and high priests received through the anointing in the Old Testament.

QUESTIONS: Who is the Son of God? What else do we call Him? Why do we call Him Savior? How did He accomplish our salvation?

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

To the Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Soul of truth, who is everywhere and fulfill everything, the treasure of the good and life to the Giver, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all defilement, and save, Beloved, our souls.

Heavenly King, Comforter Spirit of truth, who is everywhere and fills everything, the source of all good and the Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all sin and save, O Good One, our souls.

- Tsar; To the comforter- Comforter; To the soul of truth- Spirit of truth, Spirit of truth; Izhe- Which the; Syy- existing, being; do everything- all filling; treasure of the good- a treasury, a repository of all goods, all goods; life to the Giver- Giver of life; come and move in- come and get in us- in us; from all filth- from all impurity, that is, from all sins; Closer- good, kind.

In this prayer we pray to the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Holy Trinity.

We call her the Holy Spirit King of Heaven because He, as true God, equal to God the Father and God the Son, invisibly reigns over us, owns us and the whole world. We call him Comforter because He comforts us in our sorrows and misfortunes, as He also comforted the apostles on the 10th day after the ascension of Jesus Christ to heaven.

We call him By the spirit of truth(This is what the Savior Himself called Him), because He, like the Holy Spirit, teaches everyone only one truth, truth, only that which is useful for us and serves to our salvation.

He is God, and He is everywhere and fills everything with Himself: like, everywhere and do everything... He, as the ruler of the whole world, sees everything and, where needed, gives. He is treasure of the good, that is, the keeper of all good deeds, the source of all the good that only we need to have.

We call the Holy Spirit life by the Giver because everything in the world lives and moves by the Holy Spirit, that is, everything receives life from Him, and especially people receive from Him spiritual, holy and eternal life beyond the grave, being cleansed through Him from their sins.

If the Holy Spirit possesses such wondrous properties: it is everywhere, it fills everything with His grace and gives life to everyone, then we turn to Him with the following requests: Come and live in us, that is, abide constantly in us, as in your temple; cleanse us from all filth, that is, sin, make us holy, worthy of Your stay in us, and save, good, our souls from sins and those punishments that are for sins, and through this grant us the Kingdom of Heaven.

QUESTIONS: To whom do we turn with this prayer? What is the Holy Spirit of the Holy Trinity? What is He called in this prayer? Why - the Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, who is everywhere, filling everything? What are we asking Him for? What does it mean: come and dwell in us? and cleanse from all filthiness? and save, Blazhe, our souls?

Angelic song to the Most Holy Trinity, or "Trisagion"

Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.

- strong; immortal- undying, eternal.

it is called because it is sung by the holy angels, surrounding the throne of God in heaven. People who believe in Christ began to use it 400 years after the birth of Christ. There was a strong earthquake in Constantinople, from which houses and villages were destroyed. Frightened, Tsar Theodosius II and the people turned to God in prayer. During this common prayer, one pious youth (boy), in full view of everyone, was lifted to heaven by invisible power, and then unharmed again to earth. He told the people around him that he had heard in heaven how the holy angels sang: Holy God, holy Mighty, holy Immortal... The moved people, repeating this prayer, added: have mercy on us and the earthquake stopped.

In this prayer By god we call the first Person of the Holy Trinity - God the Father; Strong- God the Son, because He is as almighty as God the Father, although in humanity He suffered and died; Immortal- the Holy Spirit, because He is not only eternal Himself, like the Father and the Son, but also gives life and immortal life to people to all creatures.

The youth lifted into the sky by an invisible force

during a general prayer in Constantinople

Since in this prayer the word saint repeated three times, then it is also called "Trisagion".

QUESTIONS: To whom do we pray in this prayer? How many times is it supposed to be repeated? What is it called? Why is it called an angelic song? What is known about the origin of this prayer? Why is it also called "trisagion"?

Glorification of the Holy Trinity

Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.

Praise be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now, always and forever. Amen.

- praise; now- now; ever- always; till the end of time- forever, or forever.

In this prayer, we do not ask God for anything, but only glorify Him, who appeared to people in three Persons: the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, to whom now and forever belongs the same honor of glorification.

QUESTION: Whom do we praise or praise in this prayer?

Prayer to the Holy Trinity

Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Master, forgive our iniquity; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for your name's sake.

Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord (Father), forgive us our sins; Master (Son of God), forgive our iniquities; Holy (Spirit), visit us and heal our diseases, to glorify Your name.

- eminently holy; Trinity- Trinity, three Persons of the Deity: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit; sins and iniquities- our deeds, contrary to the will of God; visit- come; heal- heal; infirmities- weakness, sins; for your name- to glorify Your name.

This prayer is supplicatory. In it, we turn first to all three Persons together, and then to each Person of the Trinity separately: to God the Father, so that He would atone for our sins; to God the Son, that He might forgive our iniquities; to God the Holy Spirit, so that He may visit and heal our infirmities.

And the words: for your name refer again to all three Persons of the Holy Trinity together, and since God is One, then His name is one, and therefore we say “Your name” and not “Your names”.

QUESTIONS: What is this prayer? Who do we turn to in it? What do the words mean: cleanse our sins, forgive our iniquities, visit and heal our infirmities? To whom do we turn when we say: for Thy name's sake? What do these words mean?

Lord's Prayer

Our Father, Who art in heaven!

1. Hallowed be Thy name.

2. Thy kingdom come.

3. Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth.

4. Give us this day our daily bread.

5. And leave us our debts, as we also leave our debtors.

6. And do not lead us into temptation.

7. But deliver us from the evil one.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

Our heavenly Father!

1. Hallowed be Thy name.

2. Thy kingdom come.

3. Thy will be done on earth, as in heaven.

4. Give us this day our daily bread.

5. And forgive us our sins, as we also forgive those who have sinned against us.

6. And don't let us be tempted.

7. But deliver us from the evil one.

For to You belongs the kingdom, power and glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

- Father; Izhe- Which the; Like Thou in Heaven- Which is in heaven, or heavenly; Yes- let be; holy- glorified: like- how; in heaven- in the sky; vital- necessary for existence; give- give; today- today, today; leave- sorry; debts- sins; debtor to our- to those people who have sinned against us; temptation- temptation, danger of falling into sin; sly- everything that is cunning and evil, that is, the devil. An evil spirit is called the devil.

This prayer is called The Lord's because the Lord Jesus Christ Himself gave it to His disciples when they asked Him to teach them how to pray. Therefore, this prayer is the most important prayer of all.

In this prayer we turn to God the Father, the first Person of the Holy Trinity.

It is divided into: invocation, seven petitions, or 7 requests, and praise.

Invocation: Our Father, Who art in heaven! With these words we turn to God and, calling Him Heavenly Father, call to listen to our requests, or petitions.

When we say that He is in heaven, we must understand spiritual, invisible sky, and not that visible blue vault, which is spread over us, and which we call "the sky."

1st petition: Hallowed be thy name, that is, help us to live righteously, holy and glorify Your name by our holy deeds.

2nd: Thy kingdom come, that is, reward us here on earth with your kingdom of heaven, which is truth, love and peace; reign in us and rule us.

3rd: Thy will be done, like in heaven and on earth, that is, let everything be not as we want, but as You please, and help us obey this Your will and fulfill it on earth as unquestioningly, without murmuring, as it is performed, with love and joy, by the holy angels in heaven ... Because only You know what is useful and necessary for us, and You wish us well more than we ourselves.

4th: Give us this day our daily bread, that is, give us for this day, for today, our daily bread. Bread here means everything that is necessary for our life on earth: food, clothing, shelter, but most important of all, the most pure Body and honest Blood in the sacrament of holy communion, without which there is no salvation, there is no eternal life.

The Lord commanded us to ask ourselves not for riches, not for luxury, but only for the essentials, and hope in everything in God, remembering that He, like a Father, always cares - takes care of us.

5th: And leave us our debts, as we also leave our debts, that is, forgive us our sins as we ourselves forgive those who have offended or offended us.

In this petition, our sins are called “our debts”, because the Lord gave us strength, abilities and everything else in order to do good deeds, and we often turn all this to sin and evil and become “debtors” to God. And now, if we ourselves do not sincerely forgive our "debtors", that is, people who have sins against us, then God will not forgive us either. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself told us about this.

6th: And don't lead us into temptation... Temptation is a state when something or someone pulls us into sin, tempts us to do something lawless and bad. Here, we ask - do not allow us to the temptation, which we do not know how to endure; help us overcome temptations when they happen.

7th: But deliver us from the evil one, that is, deliver us from all evil in this world and from the culprit (chief) of evil - from the devil (evil spirit), who is always ready to destroy us. Deliver us from this cunning, crafty force and its deceptions, which are nothing before You.

Glorification: Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen.

Since you, our God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, belong the kingdom, and power, and eternal glory. All this is true, truly so.

QUESTIONS: Why is this prayer called the Lord's? Who do we turn to in this prayer? How does she share? How to translate in Russian: Who art in heaven? How to convey in your own words the 1st petition: Hallowed be Thy Name? 2nd: Thy kingdom come? 3rd: Thy will be done, like in heaven and on earth? 4th: Give us this day our daily bread? 5th: And leave us our debts, as if we also leave our debtors? 6th: And do not lead us into temptation? 7th: But deliver us from the evil one? What does the word amen mean?

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I will pray in spirit

“I will pray with the spirit, I will also pray with the mind” 1 Cor. 14:15

Prayer is a holy and God's sacrament, intended to be performed both publicly and secretly; a sacrament that brings those with a spirit of forgiveness to the greatest intimacy with God. In addition, prayer is so powerful that God does great things for both those who are praying and for those for whom they are praying. Prayer opens access to the heart of God and is the means through which the empty soul is filled with God's presence. Through prayer, a Christian opens his heart to God as a friend, and also receives clear evidence of God's friendship. I could say a lot about the difference between public and private prayer, and between prayer out loud and prayer in my heart. You can also talk about the difference between the gift and grace of prayer; but in this book I will try to show the heart of prayer, without which neither the raised hands, nor the eyes raised to heaven, nor the voice raised in exclamations will have any effect.

In this work, I want to show you the following:

First, what is true prayer.

Second, what it means to pray in the Spirit.

Third, what does it mean to pray in the Spirit, to pray with the mind.

Fourth, how to use and apply what has been said.

1. What is true prayer

Prayer is a sincere, conscious and trusting outpouring of the heart, or soul, to God, performed through Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and with His help lifted up; it is a petition that God has promised, what is consistent with His Word and what leads to the good of the church; it is an outpouring of the heart, committing itself with faith to the will of God.

There are seven points in this definition. Prayer is an outpouring of the soul to God through Christ (1) sincere, (2) conscious, (3) confidential, (4) by force or with the help of the Spirit, (5) what God has promised or what is consistent with His Word, (6 ) with the good of the church, (7) from the heart, with the faith of one who surrenders himself to the will of God.

1. First of all, it is a sincere outpouring of the soul to God.

Sincerity is the good that abides in us thanks to God's grace, manifests itself and reveals itself in all the actions of a Christian, otherwise these actions are not from God. Speaking about prayer, David points, in particular, to sincerity: “I called to Him with my mouth and exalted Him with my tongue. If I had seen iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have heard me ”(Psalm 65: 17,18). The quality that determines the truth of prayer is sincerity, without which God will not perceive it as prayer (Psalm 15: 1-4). “And call to Me, and go and pray to Me, and I will hear you; and you will seek Me and find Me, if you seek Me with all your heart ”(Jer. 29: 12,13). And therefore, the Lord rejects the prayers of those about whom Hose speaks. 7:14: "And they did not cry to Me with their hearts," that is, sincerely, "when they cried out on their couches." In this case, we are talking about a hypocritical appeal to God, about the desire to show off in front of people and receive praise from them for their prayers. It was the sincerity that Christ saw in Nathanael when he stood under the fig tree. “Behold, truly an Israelite, in whom is no guile” (John 1:47). Perhaps this kind man under the fig tree poured out his soul to the Lord in sincere prayer and genuine spirit. Prayer, one of the main components of which is sincerity, is the prayer that "God will see." Therefore, “the prayer of the righteous is His delight” (Prov. 15: 8).

But why is sincerity one of the essential elements of prayer that is pleasing and accepted by God? Because it is sincerity that leads the soul in all its simplicity to open its heart to God and tell Him about everything directly and without equivocation, in order to obey Him in everything without hiding, in order to cry out before God from the bottom of our hearts and without making excuses. “I hear Ephraim crying:“ You punished me - and I am punished like an indomitable calf ... ”(Jer. 31:18). Sincerity is the same both in a secluded corner and in front of the whole world. She does not accept the mask of duplicity, she does not appear with one face in public, and with another - for herself. In sincerity, God Himself is present, and in the act of prayer, she unites with God. She does not listen to what our lips say, for sincerity, like God, listens to the heart of a person, because it is from the heart that prayer flows, if this is true prayer.

2. It is a sincere and conscious outpouring of heart and soul.

Prayer should not consist, as some think, of a few empty and meaningless phrases that include compliments; it should become a reflection of the conscious state of the heart. Prayer contains an awareness of several dissimilar concepts: sometimes the awareness of sin, sometimes the awareness of God's mercy, and sometimes the readiness of God to show mercy.

(1) Awareness of the need for mercy comes from a sense of the danger of sin. The soul, I would say, feels, and having these feelings, it sighs, groans and beats against the heart. For true prayer is poured out of the heart when it is overflowing with bitterness and sorrow, so blood flows out of the flesh upon which an enormous burden has been placed (1 Samuel 1:10; Ps. 68: 4). David weeps and weeps in the torment of his heart, the light in his eyes goes out and his throat dries up from his cries (Psalm 37: 9-11). King Hezekiah is in anguish like a dove (Isa. 38:14). Ephraim weeps for himself (Jer. 31:18). Peter weeps bitterly (Matt. 26:75). Christ also had groans and tears (Heb. 5: 7). And all this comes from the awareness of the justice of God, from the awareness of sin, the horrors of hell and eternal torment. “Mortal diseases have seized me, hellish torments have befallen me; I met tightness and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: Lord! Deliver my soul ”(Psalm 114: 3-4). And elsewhere: "My hand is stretched out at night, and does not fall" (Psalm 76: 3). And again: "I am bowed down and completely drooped, I walk around mourning all day" (Psalm 37: 7). In all these cases, one can see that prayer carries in itself an awareness, and first of all, an awareness of one's sinfulness.

(2) Sometimes there is a sweet feeling in her from the received mercy - inspiring, comforting, soothing, strengthening, life-giving and enlightening. For example, David pours out his soul in prayer to bless, praise and express admiration for the great God for His generous love for such weak and sinful souls. “Bless, my soul. Lord, and all my interior is His holy name. Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His blessings. He forgives all your iniquities, heals all your ailments; He delivers your life from the grave, crowns you with mercy and compassion ”(Psalm 102: 1-4). Likewise, the prayer of the righteous sometimes turns into praise and thanksgiving and still remains prayer. And this is a mystery. God's people pray with words of praise, as it is written: “Do not be anxious about anything, but always in prayer and petition with thanksgiving reveal your desires to God” (Phil. 4: 6). Conscious gratitude for the favors shown is a powerful prayer in the eyes of God; such a prayer undoubtedly carries great weight.

(3) Sometimes, during prayer, a feeling arises in the soul that the expected Grace is about to come. This sensation also ignites a fire in her. “Since you, Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have revealed to your servant, saying: 'I will build a house for you,' then your servant has prepared his heart to pray to you with such a prayer” (1 Samuel 7:27). This also prompted Jacob, David, Daniel, like others, not to turn to God with idle talk of doubts, but to cry powerfully, passionately and persistently to the Lord about everything that exists, in the awareness of their needs, their weakness and in the awareness of God's willingness to pour out His mercy on them ( Gen. 32: 10,11; Dan. 9: 3,4).

3. Prayer is a sincere, conscious and trusting outpouring of the soul before God.

(1) 0, how much fire, strength, life, will and trust in true prayer! "As a deer desires for streams of water, so my soul desires for You, O God!" (Psalm 41: 1). “Behold, I have longed for Thy precepts” (Psalm 119: 40). “I trust in your salvation” (Ps. 119: 1 66). “My soul is exhausted, longing for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh delight in the living God ”(Psalm 83: 3). “My soul is exhausted by the desire of Thy judgments at all times” (Psalm 119: 20). Oh, how much love can be seen in such a prayer!

We find the same in Daniel: “Lord! hear; God! sorry; God! listen and do, do not delay for your own sake, my God, for your name is called on your city and on your people ”(Dan. 9:19). Each syllable carries a powerful charge. And again: "And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly" (Luke 22:44). The soul of the one praying stronger and more strongly feels God's attraction and rushes to Him, looking for help in Him. Oh, how many, many people are far from such a prayer! Alas! The vast majority of people do not even realize the need for this kind of prayer, and I fear that many of them do not know this sincere, conscious and trusting outpouring of their hearts, or souls, before God. They content themselves with moving their lips and kneeling "" while muttering a few so-called prayers. But when true feelings participate in prayer, then the whole person is present in it, and in such a way that the soul itself would sooner cry out and be poured out than be able to do without the much-needed and desired communion and pacification in Christ. And it was to this kind of prayer that the saints gave all their strength and were ready to perish, just not to be left without a blessing (Ps. 68: 4; 37: 10-11; Gen. 32: 24,26).

All that has been said with particular clarity reveals that ignorance, wickedness and a spirit of envy that reigned in the hearts of people who so passionately stand up for the form, but not for the power and essence of prayer. Few of them know what it means to be reborn and to have fellowship with the Father through the Son, which means to feel the power of grace that sanctifies human hearts. But, despite all their prayers, they still live the same cursed, drunk, lascivious and vile life, full of anger, envy, deceit and persecution directed at the righteous children of God. Oh, what a terrible judgment awaits them! Such a judgment, from which all their hypocritical congregations with all their prayers can never deliver, help or protect.

(2) Prayer is an outpouring of the heart, or soul. Prayer is the extermination of the essence and essence of a person himself from his insides, this is a heart open to God, this is a loving outpouring of the soul in petition, sighing and groans. "God! all my desires are before you, says David, and my sighing is not hidden from you "(Ps. 37:10). And again: "My soul longs for a strong, living God: when I come and appear before the face of God ... Remembering this, I pour out my soul" (Ps. 41: 3,5). Note, "I pour out my soul." This expression means that in prayer, life itself and all the strength of man are poured out to God. As elsewhere: “Trust in Him at all times; pour out your heart before him ”(Psalm 61: 9). Such a prayer is promised to deliver a poor soul from slavery and imprisonment. “But when you seek the Lord your God there, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deut. 4:29).

(3) And again: prayer is an outpouring of the heart, or soul, to God. This reveals the exclusiveness of the spirit of prayer - it is directed precisely towards God: "We all stand before God." There is no doubt that the soul praying in this way sees emptiness in the entire heavenly world and only in God alone finds peace and tranquility. “A true widow and a lonely woman trusts in God and abides in prayer and prayer day and night” (1 Tim. 5: 5).

David says the same: “In You, Lord, I trust; may I not be ashamed forever. In Thy righteousness, deliver me and free me; incline Thy ear to me, and save me. Be me a firm refuge where I could always hide; You commanded to save me, for my rock and my fortress are You, my God! Deliver me from the hand of the wicked, from the hand of the wicked and oppressor. For Thou art my hope, O Lord God, my hope from my youth ”(Psalm 70: 1-5). Many talk about God; but only true prayer makes God a hope, a refuge. True prayer sees no strength and hope in anything, it seeks nothing but God. And all this, as mentioned earlier, happens sincerely, consciously and with deep trust.

(4) And yet, prayer is a sincere, conscious and trusting outpouring of the heart, or soul, to God through Christ. This "through Christ" must be fulfilled, otherwise the question will arise, is our appeal to God, despite its significance and sublimity, a prayer?

Christ is the way through which the soul has access to God and without which no petition, no one of our desires can reach the ears of the Lord of hosts (John 14: 6). “If you ask anything in my name, I will do it”; “And if you ask the Father anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13, 14). And so Daniel prayed for the sake of the people of God, prayed in the name of Christ: "And now, our God, hear the prayer of Thy servant and his supplication, and behold Thy face with a bright face at Thy desolate sanctuary, for Thy sake, Lord" (Dan. 9:17) ... And here is the prayer of David: "For the sake of Thy name, Lord, forgive my transgression, for it is great" (Psalm 24:11). But the whole point is that not everyone who mentions the name of Christ in his prayer truly and in reality prays to God in the name of Christ or through Him. This approach to God through Christ is the hardest part of prayer. A person can be aware of his position and sincerely desire and ask for mercy for himself and yet be unable to come to God through Christ. A person who comes to God through Christ must first have a knowledge of Him; “For it is necessary that he who comes to God should believe that He is” (Heb. 11: 6). Therefore, the one who comes to God through Christ must be able to know Christ. “Lord,” said Moses, “open Thy way to me, so that I may know You” (Ex. 33:13).

No one can reveal this Christ to man, except the Father (Matt. 11:27). To come to God through Christ means for the sinner the permission of God to hide under the shadow of the Lord Jesus, as a man hides to hide from danger (Matt. 16:16). That is why David so often calls Christ his shield, stronghold, refuge, strength of his life and rock of salvation (Ps. 17: 3; 26: 1; 27: 1). Not only because with Christ he overcame his enemies, but because through Him he found favor with God the Father. Thus, God says to Abraham: "Do not be afraid ... I am your shield" (Gen. 15: 1). Therefore, a person who comes to God through Christ must have such faith, thanks to which he relies on Christ and in Him appears before God. Then the one who has faith is born again in God and thus becomes one of the children of God; By his virtues he unites with Christ and becomes a member of Christ (John 3: 5,7; 1:12). And therefore, as a member of Christ, he comes to God; I speak as a member of Christ, because God looks at such a person as a part of Christ Himself, a part of His body, His flesh and bones, a part united to Him through election, conversion, enlightenment, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit into the heart of such a person by Himself God (Eph. 5:30). So, now he comes to God in the vestment of the merits of Christ, in His Blood, in His righteousness, in His victory, intercession, and so stands before Him, being “blessed in the Beloved” (Eph. 1: 6). And since this poor creature thus becomes a member of the Lord Jesus and only under this condition has access to God, then by the grace of such a union the Holy Spirit is also poured into him, and with His help a person receives the ability to pour out his Soul before God.

4. Prayer is a sincere, conscious and trusting outpouring of the heart, or soul, to God through Christ by power or with the help of the Spirit.

All these components are so dependent on each other that prayer becomes impossible without the coordination of all the components, and although it is sometimes an example of eloquence, without all of the above, it will remain such a prayer that will be rejected by God. For without a sincere, conscious and trusting outpouring of the heart before God, prayer will become a simple movement of the lips; if it does not flow through Christ, it will remain a quiet whisper that does not reach God's ear. Likewise, if prayer is not filled with the power or support of the Spirit, it is like sacrificing someone else's incense to God, as the Aaronic sons did (Lev. 10: 1,2). But more on that later. In the meantime, I want to say that something that is not consistent with the teaching and does not have the support of the Spirit cannot be according to the "will of God" (Rom. 8: 26,27).

5. Prayer is a sincere, conscious and trusting outpouring of the heart, or soul, to God through Christ in the power and with the help of the Spirit that God Himself has promised (Matt. 6: 6-8).

Prayer is only true when its content is within the confines of God's Word; it is blasphemy or, at best, meaningless mumbling when the prayer of the supplicant is not in line with Scripture. This is why David always kept the Word of God in view in his prayers. “My soul,” he says, “is thrown into the dust; quicken me according to your word. " And again: "My soul languishes with sorrow: strengthen me according to Your word" (Psalm 119: 25-28. See also verses 41, 42, 58, 74, 81, 82, 107, 147, 154, 169, 170 ). And further: "Remember Thy word to Thy servant, in which Thou hast commanded me to trust" (v. 49). Indeed, the Holy Spirit never awakens a response movement in the heart of a Christian without God's Word, but, on the contrary, only with him, only through him and only with the help of this Word, carrying it and opening his heart when a person longs to turn to the Lord and tell Him what is in his soul when he is ready to persistently pray for what is consistent with the Word of God. This is exactly what happened to Daniel, this powerful prophet of the Lord. He, having understood from the books of Holy Scripture that the captivity of the sons of Israel was coming to an end, in accordance with this Word turns to God with a prayer. “I, Daniel,” he says, “figured it out from the books [ie. e. according to the writings of Jeremiah] the number of years, about which the word of the Lord was to Jeremiah the prophet, that seventy years will be fulfilled over the desolation of Jerusalem. And I turned my face to the Lord God with prayer and supplication, in fasting and sackcloth and ashes ”(Dan. 9: 2-3).

When a soul prays in accordance with the will of God, the Spirit is its mighty helper and guide in prayer, and His guidance occurs through and in accordance with the Word of God and its promises. That is why the Lord Jesus Himself, our Christ, also in His obedience did not flee, although He knew what was ahead of Him. “Or do you think that I cannot now beg My Father, and He will present to Me more than twelve legions of Angels? How will the Scriptures come true, that it should be so? " (Matt. 26: 53,54). If the Scripture had said even a word about this, I would have been immediately freed from My enemies, Angels would have come to my aid; but there is no Scripture promise to fulfill this kind of request, God's Word speaks of Me in a completely different way.

So, prayer must be consistent with the Word and its promises. The Holy Spirit, through the Word, is to guide both the actions and the prayer of the believer. “I will pray with the spirit, I will also pray with the understanding” (1 Cor. 14:15). But prayer with the mind, a conscious understanding of the essence of prayer, cannot be without the Word. For if people reject the Word of the Lord, "where is their wisdom?" (Jer. 8: 9).

6. Prayer is a sincere, conscious and trusting outpouring of the heart, or soul, to God through Christ in power and with the help of the Spirit about what God Himself has promised and for the good of the Church.

This phrase concerns both the glory of God and the growth in Christ and the good of His children. For God, Christ, and His children are so closely linked that if you pray for the good of one of them, the needs of others will inevitably be included here. As Christ is in the Father, so the saints are in Christ; and the one who mentions the saints is pleasing to God. Therefore, if you pray for peace in Jerusalem, you are doing the right thing, for Jerusalem will never find perfect peace until it reaches the Highest Jerusalem; and there is nothing that Christ desires more than that. And this is the place that God Himself has prepared for Jerusalem through Christ. This means that the one who prays for peace and good for Zion, that is, the Church, brings in his prayer petitions for what Christ redeemed with His Blood, as well as for what God gave Him as payment. This means that the one who prays for this prays for an abundance of grace for the Church, for help in overcoming all temptations, so that God does not allow anything beyond her strength, so that everything works for her good, so that God keeps His children clean and blameless for His glory. in the midst of a wicked and depraved world. This is the main meaning of the prayer of Christ Himself in the Gospel of John 17. All of Paul's prayers are also filled with this spirit, as one of his prayers clearly demonstrates: “And I pray that your love will grow even more and more in knowledge and in every feeling, that knowing the best, you were pure and unstained in the day of Christ, filled with the fruits of righteousness by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God ”(Phil. 1: 9-11). A short prayer, as you can see, and how many good wishes it contains for the Church from beginning to end; wishes that she would be strengthened and grow in the spirit of truth, in purity and holiness until the coming of the Day of the Lord and despite the temptations and persecutions that may come her way (Eph. 1: 16-21; 3: 14-19; Col. 1 : 9-13).

7. And since, as I said, prayer obeys the will of God and says, "Thy will be done," as Christ taught (Matt. 6:10), then the children of God should bow their heads in humility and lay down their prayers and all that have, at the feet of the Lord, so that He Himself disposes of them at His own discretion, not in the least doubting that God will answer their prayers and petitions in the best way for their own good and glory.

When the saints pray, leaving themselves to the will of God, they certainly should neither doubt nor question God about His love and mercy. But since people at all times were not distinguished by wisdom, Satan exerted and exerts his influence on them, tempting them to pray that he will not serve either the glory of God, nor the glory or good of His children. “And now, what boldness we have towards Him, that when we ask for what according to His will, He listens to us, and when we know that He listens to us in everything we ask, we also know that we receive what we ask for. from Him, ”that is, when we ask in the Spirit of the grace of petition (1 John 5: 14,15). For, as already mentioned above, that petition that does not take place in the Spirit and without His mediation will not receive an answer, because it will not correspond to the will of God, since only the Spirit knows the will of God and therefore, accordingly, knows how to pray by the will of God. “For who among men knows what is in a person, besides the human spirit that lives in him? Likewise, no one knows God except the Spirit of God ”(1 Cor. 2:11). We will talk about this in more detail later.

2. What it means to pray in the spirit

"I will pray in the spirit." Praying in the Spirit means (we are talking about the one who prays, whom God accepts), as has already been said, sincerely and consciously, with love and trust, to come to God through Christ, and this sincere, conscious and trusting approach must be the action of the Spirit of God himself.

There is no church or person in the whole world who could come to God with prayer, bypassing the help of the Holy Spirit. “Because through Him, both of them have access to the Father, in one Spirit” (Eph. 2:18). Then Paul says:

“… For we do not know what to pray for, as we ought to, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings unspeakable. He who tries the heart knows what the spirit has, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God ”(Rom. 8: 26,27). Since this passage of Scripture most fully reflects the revelation of the spirit of prayer and the inability of a person to pray without this spirit, I will comment on this statement in a few words.

"For we are." First of all, let's remember who wrote these lines. Paul, and in his person all the Apostles. Paul says: “We, the Apostles; we, specially appointed ministers, are wise builders, some of whom have already been caught up to paradise (Rom. 15:16; 1 Cor. 3:10; 2 Cor. 12: 4). We don't know what to pray for. " Although there is not a single person who would doubt that Paul and his brothers-apostles could do any work of God no worse than any pope or any proud prelate of the Roman church. He could have compiled the Book of Common Prayers in the same way as the first compilers, having been gifted with grace or spiritual gifts no less than they.

"For we do not know what to pray for." We do not know what we can pray for, we do not know the One to whom we are praying, we do not know with the help of which we pray; we cannot know anything without the help and mediation of the Spirit. Should we pray for fellowship with God through Christ? Should we pray and ask for faith, for justification by grace, and for a truly sanctified heart? We do not know any of this. “For who among men knows what is in a person, besides the human spirit that lives in him? Likewise, no one knows God except the Spirit of God ”(1 Cor. 2:11). But alas! The apostles talk about internal and spiritual things that the world has no idea about (Isa. 29:11).

And again, since they do not know what to pray about without the help of the Spirit, just as they do not know without His help how to pray; and therefore he adds: "For we do not know what to pray for as we ought to"; but here the Spirit strengthens us in our weaknesses and intercedes for us with groanings unspeakable. Note, the Apostles themselves could not have successfully fulfilled this responsibility, but there are Christians today who are absolutely confident in their ability! The apostles at the highest moments of their ministry, that is, when the Holy Spirit helped them in a certain way, were forced to rely on His intercessions with sighs inexpressible, themselves not being able to properly express their needs.

"For we do not know what to pray for as we should." Note: "as it should." Lack of attention to this phrase, or at least a lack of understanding of it in spirit and truth, led some people to the fact that, like Jeroboam, they began to invent new ways of worship, new both in essence and in form, which is completely inconsistent with what revealed in the Word of God (1 Kings 12: 28,29). But, says Paul, we must pray as we should, and this cannot be achieved by skill, skill, cunning, or the inventions of people or angels. “For we do not know what to pray for, as we should, but the Spirit Himself,” that is, the Spirit Himself strengthens us in our weaknesses, but not the spirit and human lusts. What a person can invent with his mind and imagination is one thing, but what people are commanded and what they should do is another matter.

Many ask and do not receive, because they ask for the wrong, and therefore never come one iota to what they ask for (James 4: 3). Random petitions in prayer will not lead to God's answer. When a prayer is said, God tests the heart of the person praying: from which root and spirit comes that prayer (1 John 5:14). "He who searches the hearts knows" what the Spirit has, because He [the Spirit] intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. " For God hears only what is in accordance with His will, and nothing else. And only the Spirit of God can teach us how to ask as we should; and only He has the knowledge of everything and can know the innermost thoughts of God. And without the Holy Spirit, if we have at least a thousand "Books of Common Prayer", we will never be able to know what to pray for, as we should, and all our weaknesses will remain with us, which make us incapable and incapable of true prayer. Our infirmities, although it is very difficult to list them all, are as follows:

1. Without the Holy Spirit, a person is so weak that he is not able to have saving thoughts about God, about Christ and about the blessed one, and therefore God speaks of the wicked as follows: "... in all his thoughts: there is no God!" (Ps. 9:25). Moreover, people begin to imagine God as they are (Ps. 49: 20,21). For "the thoughts and thoughts of their hearts were evil," and their evil was "at all times" (Genesis 6: 5; 8:21). Not being able to know the God whom they pray, or Christ through whom they pray, not knowing what to pray for, as it was shown earlier, how they can turn to God without the mediation of the Spirit, which alone is able to help them in their weaknesses ? The Spirit Himself opens these questions to poor souls and helps us to understand them, therefore Christ says to His disciples, promising to send them the spirit of the Comforter: “... He will take from Mine and declare to you,” as if saying: “I know you truly do not understand that I try to explain it one way or another, but your misunderstanding will remain with you, and your heart will be covered with a veil; no one can remove this veil and give you spiritual insight except the Spirit. " True prayer, both in external expression and in internal experiences, must flow in the illumination of the Spirit, otherwise such prayer is futility and defilement, because the heart and tongue do not work, and they cannot work together, unless the Spirit reinforces us in our weaknesses (Mark 7; Prov. 28: 9; Isa. 29:13). David was well aware of this, and that is what made him cry out, “Lord! Thou shalt open my mouth, and my mouth shall declare Thy praise ”(Ps. 50:17). I believe David spoke perfectly and could express himself, like many others and like any of us, as is evident from his psalms and deeds. And nevertheless, when this person, this prophet comes to worship God, then God Himself comes to his aid, otherwise the person will not succeed. "God! open my mouth, "and only then" will my lips declare Thy praise. " He himself could not utter a single correct word, unless the Spirit allowed him to speak. "For we do not know what to pray for, as we should, but the Spirit Himself strengthens us in our weaknesses."

2. Our prayer must be in the Spirit, that is, it must be effective, because without the Spirit, people cannot make prayer consciously; they are hypocritical, cold and obscene in their prayers, and therefore, with their prayers, they are filthy in the eyes of God (Matt. 23:14; Mark 12:40; Luke 18: 11,12; Is. 58: 2,3). In prayer, prayer does not come from the sonority of the voice, not from ostentatious decency and grandeur, for this is not what God looks at. Man, being only a man, is so wicked that he cannot keep his word or thought, and even more so a prayer or a part of a prayer in purity and righteousness, so that God can receive it through Christ; for this reason the Pharisees with all their prayers were rejected. There is no doubt that they could perfectly express themselves in words, and in flowery and verbose expressions; but they did not have the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and therefore they said what they said, remaining with all their weaknesses and vices and not being able to sincerely, consciously and trustingly pour out their souls to God with the help of the power of the Spirit. Prayer reaching heaven is prayer sent there in the power of the Spirit.

3. Only the Spirit can show a person clearly and distinctly his natural insignificance and thus confront him with the need to pour out his heart in prayer. Words are just words, as they say, and prayer turns into worship of idle talk if there is no sense of its insignificance in it. Oh, the accursed hypocrisy that reigns in many hearts, accompanying many thousands of prayers of people to be judged for not realizing their insignificance! But when the Spirit acts in a person, He gently points out to the soul its miserable state, where it will be and what will become with it in its present state, as well as the inadmissibility of such a state. It is the Spirit who persistently convinces a person of his sinfulness and insignificance of his life without Jesus Christ, confronting the soul with the need to turn to God in sweet, sincere, conscious and confidential prayer in accordance with His Word (John 16: 7-9).

4. Even if people see their sinfulness, they cannot pray without the help of the Holy Spirit. They will flee from God along with Cain and Judas, they will be completely deprived of God's mercy, if there is no help from the Spirit. When a person truly realizes his sin and God's curse for sin, it is difficult to convince him to pray to God, because his heart says: "Do not hope, no!" It is in vain to seek God (Jer. 2:25; 18:12). There is so much evil in me, so much wickedness, I am a cursed creature, and there will be no forgiveness for me! But then the Spirit appears and descends on a sinful soul, helps her to raise her face to God, sending down His mercy to a desperate heart in order to inspire her to turn to God. That is why the Spirit is called the Comforter (John 14:26).

5. Conversion must be in the Spirit, or with the Spirit; without Him, a person cannot know how to approach God correctly. People will easily answer that one can come to God through the Son, but this is an incredibly difficult task - to come to God by one's own way, bypassing the Spirit. After all, it is “the Spirit that permeates everything, and the depths of God” (1 Cor. 2:10). It is the Spirit that shows us the way to God and what is desirable for us in God. “I pray,” says Moses, “open Thy way to me, so that I may know You” (Ex. 33:13). And: "... He will take of Mine and declare it to you" (John 16:14).

6. Without the Holy Spirit, even if a person sees all his insignificance and learns the right path to God, he will never be able to claim the will of God in receiving his share in God, Christ and His mercy. Oh, how difficult such a task is! It is so difficult for a poor soul, who realizes his sinfulness and understands the inevitability of anger and the righteous judgment of God, to say this one word with faith: "Father!" I tell you that, contrary to the claims of the hypocrites, it is indeed difficult for a Christian to pronounce this word; he cannot say that God is his Father. "O! he says, “I dare not call Him Father”; and for this reason the Spirit has been sent down into the hearts of God's people so that the children of God may cry out, "Abba, Father." To say this without the help of the Spirit with faith and understanding is too much of a task for any person (Gal. 4: 6). When I say “with understanding,” I mean the ability to be aware of what it means to be born again and to be a child of God. When I say “with faith,” I mean a believing soul whose faith stems from the grace working in it. This gives the right to call God Father; the right to say the Lord's Prayer from the heart as it is conveyed to us in Scripture, and not as many do, pronouncing these words formally. No, there is life in prayer only when the Spirit is in it or with it, when a person realizes his sin and understands how to come to the Lord for mercy. And he comes, I say, in the power of the Spirit and cries out to the Father. This one word, spoken in faith, is better than thousands of prayers written and then recited by a person formally, coldly and indifferently.

Oh, how far people are from understanding this, when they consider it sufficient to learn and teach children to read the Lord's Prayer, the Creed and various sayings from Scripture, while God knows that they do not realize their position, their poverty and do not understand that means to come to God through Christ! Oh poor souls! Study your position and cry out to God to show you your errors and ignorance before you dare to call God your Father, and teach your children the same. And know that to call God Father in prayer and communion, without having the effect of grace in your souls, is to call yourself a Jew, being a non-Jew, that is, to lie. You are Jews, that is, true Christians; God says: you are lying! “Behold, I will make that of the satanic congregation, of those who say about themselves that they are Jews, but they are not such, but lie, - behold, I will do what they will come and bow before your feet” (Rev. 3 :nine). “I know your deeds ... and the backbiting from those who say about themselves that they are Jews, but they are not like that, but are a congregation of Satan” (Rev. 2: 9). And the greater sin is when sinners boast of this with feigned piety, as the Jews boasted before Christ (John 8), which made Christ unambiguously predict what was in store for them for all their hypocritical pretense (vv. 41-45). A cursed fornicator, a thief and a drunkard, a swearing man and an oath-breaker - such were people not only in the past, they remain so now - some are considered the only honest, and all because they come to church and say with their blasphemous lips and hypocritical hearts: “Father our!" In fact, every time such people cry out to God, calling Him Father, they commit a vile blasphemy. And since others of a more humble disposition doubt the truth of such traditions, they are regarded as the only enemies of God and His people: whereas the superstitions of the hypocrites placed the great God in the position of their enemy and forced the Almighty to regard them as His enemies (Isa. 63:10). And they boast, I mean these unfortunates - although there is nothing wrong with keeping their traditions - that they are good parishioners and honest citizens, while God's people, as always, are considered rebels, rebels. and schismatics (Ezra 4: 12-16).

Therefore, let me speculate a little with you, poor, blind, ignorant fool.

(1) Perhaps your main prayer is “Our Father who art in heaven,” etc. Do you understand the meaning of the very first words of this prayer? Can you, along with other saints, cry out: "Our Father"? Are you truly born again? Have you received the Spirit of adoption? Do you see yourself in Christ and can you appear before God as a member of Christ? Or do you not understand these things and still dare to say “Father” to God? Isn't your father the devil? (John 8:44). Are you not fulfilling the lusts of your flesh? And do you dare to call God your Father? Are you not the reckless persecutor of the children of God? Have you not cursed them in your heart many times? And yet you squeeze these words out of your blasphemous throat and refer them to our Father? He is the Father of those you hate and persecute. But just as Satan placed himself among the sons of God (Job 1: 6-7) when they appeared before the Father, our Heavenly Father, so it is now. And if the children of God are allowed to say "Our Father", then should every blind and ignorant crowd in the world repeat these words: "Our Father"?

(2) And do you really repeat "Hallowed be Thy name" from the heart? Are you striving to proclaim the name, holiness, and glory of God in all honest and legal ways? Do the state of your heart and the content of your speeches correspond to this phrase from the prayer? Do you strive to imitate Christ in all works of righteousness according to the commandments of God and according to His will? You will answer “yes” if you are one of those to whom God has given the right to call Him Father. Or do such thoughts never occur to you all day long? And do you not show clearly that you are a notorious hypocrite, confirming your hypocrisy by the deceitful prayer of your feigned tongue?

(3) Do you really want the Kingdom of God to come and for the will of God to be on earth as in heaven? No, purely formally you repeat: "Thy kingdom come," but these words do not make you worry and be ready to run to hear the sound of the trumpet and see the dead resurrected and appear before God to give an account of all your deeds. which you did while in the body. Isn't the very thought of it unpleasant for you? And if the will of God will be on earth, as in heaven, will not this be your contrition for you? There is never a rebellion against God in heaven, and if the same happens on earth, will you not fly straight to hell? The same applies to all your other petitions in prayer. Oh, how sad such people would look, and with what horror they would rush back and forth, if only they knew how much lies and blasphemy emanate from their lips in their very hypocritical holiness! The Lord awakens you, poor souls, and with humility teaches you to take your time and give an account of the thoughts of your heart, and even more so to the words of your tongue! When you stand before God, as the wise man says, “do not rush with your tongue, and let your heart be in no hurry to utter a word before God” (Ecclesiastes 5: 2).

7. If you want your prayer to be accepted, you should pray in the Spirit, because nothing but the Spirit can lift up the soul to God in prayer: “The assumptions of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue belongs to the Lord” (Prov. 16: 1). That is, in every action for God, and especially in prayer, only the Spirit of God can prepare the heart so that it speaks in one voice with the tongue. Indeed, the tongue itself is very disposed to act without fear and wisdom, but when the tongue utters the answer of the heart, and besides, the heart prepared by the Spirit of God, then the tongue speaks as God commands and desires.

There are powerful words from David that he lifts his heart and soul to God (Psalm 24). Without the power of the Spirit of God, this is too difficult a job for any person, and, I believe, that is why the Spirit of God is also called the Spirit of grace (Zech. 12:10), when He helps the heart, if it really asks for it; and therefore Paul says: “With all prayer and supplication, pray at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18). So I say: "I will pray in the spirit." Prayer until the heart is in it is like a lifeless sound; and the heart, unless it is lifted up by the Spirit, will never pray to God.

8. The heart should not only be lifted up by the Spirit for prayer to be true, but also to remain in an exalted state with the help of the Spirit for prayer to be true. I don't know how things are with other hearts, whether they are exalted by the Spirit of God and whether they are there, but I am sure, firstly, that all the prayer books in the world, written by people, cannot prepare and lift up the heart, for this is the action of God Himself. Secondly, I am sure that they are not able to maintain the exalted state of the heart, even if it is ascended. And this is the vital function of prayer - to maintain constant communication of the heart with God. It was extremely important for Moses to keep his hands up in prayer to God; so how much more important it is to keep the heart uplifted! (Ex. 17:12).

The need for this arises from the fact that, as God complains about it, people are near Him with their lips and know Him in words, but their hearts are far from Him (Isa. 29:13; Ez. 33:31), and they fulfill basically the commandments and traditions of men, as they say about them in the Gospel of Matthew 15: 8,9. Let me tell you from my own experience how difficult it is to pray to God the way it should. This testimony will cause unflattering thoughts about me in poor, blind, carnal people. When I go to pray, my heart is very reluctant to go to God, and when it is with God, it reluctantly remains with Him, and therefore so many times in my prayers I have to first pray to God that He would take my heart and bring it closer to Him. in Christ, and when it is there, that He may keep it with Himself. And many times I didn’t know what to pray for, I’m so blind, I’m so ignorant, I don’t know how to pray; and it is only for the sake of blessed grace that the Spirit helps me in my weakness (Psalm 85:11).

Oh, how many ways of escape the heart invents during prayer! No one knows how many dark alleys and paths leading to the side of the heart, on which it can hide from the presence of God. And how much pride, if you put it in words! How much hypocrisy before others! And how little (unless the Spirit of petition helps) they understand how to make prayer a secret communion between the soul and God. When the Spirit enters the heart, then real prayer is born, and not before.

9. A soul that prays faithfully must pray in the Spirit and with the help of the power of the Spirit; it is impossible for a person to express himself in prayer without Him. I mean that the heart is not able, without the Spirit, to pour out itself in a sincere and trusting manner before God with those sighs and groans that come from a truly praying heart. It is not the mouth that is the protagonist in prayer; if the heart in prayer to God is filled with deep and serious feelings, it is impossible for him to express himself in all fullness and sincerity, for when a person truly loves, when his feelings are strong, deep and persistent, then no words become impossible, no tears and groans of the heart can to be pronounced: "The Spirit strengthens us in our weaknesses and intercedes for us with groanings unspeakable" (Rom. 8:26). How poor is prayer when it consists of words alone! A sincerely praying person cannot express in words of his lips the inexpressible desires, feelings, love and longing that are turned to God in prayer. The best prayer books moan more in prayers than they say, and the words they say are only a dim reflection of the state of their hearts, life and spirit of prayer. You will not find the words of the prayer uttered by Moses when he left Egypt, followed by Pharaoh; then he made the heavens ring with his cry (Ex. 14:15). But those were the inexpressible and inexplicable groans and weeping of his soul in the Spirit and with the Spirit. God is a God of spirits, and His eyes see beyond the outside of our responsibilities (Num. 16:22). However, this is little thought of by many of those who are considered great prayer books (1 Samuel 16: 7). The more accurately a person wants to do what is commanded by God and is consistent with His will, the more difficult and difficult it is for him to do it; the reason is that a person is not able to do it at all. But prayer, as has already been said, is not only a person's duty, but one of his main duties and, therefore, a particularly difficult job; therefore, Paul knew what he was saying when he wrote, “I will pray in the spirit.” He was well aware that it was not the words and writings of others that inspired him to pray; nothing but the Spirit could help fulfill it.

10. Prayer must be in the Spirit, otherwise, since the very act of prayer will be unsuccessful, waiting for an answer to prayers will also be unsuccessful. Prayer is the command of God, which the soul must fulfill all the days of being on this side of the glory of God. But as it was said earlier, it is impossible for a person himself to raise his heart to God in prayer. “It is also difficult to keep the heart lifted up without the help of the Spirit. And if so, then the presence of the Spirit is absolutely necessary for prayer to God.

Christ says that a person should always pray and not lose heart (Luke 18: 1). And again He tells us that a hypocrite is defined by the fact that something does not constantly pray, or in prayer does not abide in the power of the spirit, that is, in the spirit of prayer, but prays only formally, in pretense (Job 27:10; Matt. 23:14). It is easiest for people to fall away, moving away from the power of the Spirit to keeping the form, but it is very difficult in any business, and especially in prayer, to be able to preserve life, spirit and strength; prayer is a matter where, without the help of the Spirit, a person can pray only once, but he will no longer be able to continue constant deep and sincere communication; and only with the Spirit of his prayers will they reach the ears of the Lord of hosts. Jacob not only began, but continued the work of prayer: “I will not let you go until you bless me” (Gen. 32:26). The rest of God's godly people did the same (Hos. 12: 4). But that was impossible without the spirit of prayer. It is only through the Spirit that we have access to the Father (Eph. 2:18).

Judas has a wonderful passage where he talks about the coming judgment of God over the unrighteous and calls to be established and preserve the gospel faith as the only means of salvation, without which, as he knew, the believer's strength is impossible. He speaks of firmness in faith, "building himself up on the most holy faith ... praying in the Holy Spirit" (Jude 20). He seems to be saying, brothers, since eternal life is prepared for those who hold on to confession, you cannot receive it unless you constantly pray in the Spirit. The greatest deception with which the devil and the antichrist carry away the world is seducing people to the path of strict observance of the form, to formal preaching and prayer. Such are the people who “have a form of piety, but have renounced its strength. With such depart away ”(2 Tim. 3: 5).

3. What does it mean to pray with the spirit, pray and mind

The Apostle draws a clear line between prayer with the spirit and prayer with the mind; therefore, when he says: "I will pray with the spirit," he adds: "I will also pray with the mind." The need for such a distinction arose because the Corinthians did not realize their duty - to pray for the edification of themselves and others, and did it for the sake of self-glorification. Many of them, having great gifts (for example, speaking in tongues), had to take care of these gifts and use them to edify their brothers; that's why Paul wrote this chapter so that they would understand that more excellent than their gifts are works for the edification of the church. For “when I pray in an unfamiliar tongue, although my spirit prays, my mind remains without fruit,” but the mind must also be edified by the understanding of what the lips confess (1 Cor. 14: 3,4,12,14,19 , 24.25). Therefore, "I will begin to pray with the spirit, I will also pray with the mind."

It is very important that this understanding be present in prayer, as well as in the heart and on the lips: "I will begin to pray with the spirit, I will also pray with the mind." What is done with understanding, consciously, UMOM is more effective than what is done formally; therefore, the Apostle asked God in his prayers for the Colossians that they "be filled with the knowledge of His will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding" (Colossians 1: 9). He prayed for the Ephesians that God would give them "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to know Him" ​​(Eph. 1:17). Also for the Philippians, so that their "love grows even more and more in knowledge and all feeling" (Phil. 1: 9). In any matter, be it secular or spiritual, a person needs understanding, and therefore all those who pray should wish for themselves such a conscious approach. Next, I will show you what it means to pray with understanding, that is, with the mind. Comprehension should be present both in speech in the native language and in all sorts of matters. I will not talk about the language, but I will focus on the second question. To pray faithfully, the person praying needs to have a spiritual understanding of prayer:

1. To pray with the mind means to pray as the Holy Spirit edifies in the awareness of the needs for which the soul prays. For if a person does not have understanding, then he will never experience the need for forgiveness of sins and deliverance from the coming judgment, which means he will not want this, or he will be so cool in his petition that God will hate even the spirit in which a person asks about it. This happened with the church of Laodicea. They lacked spiritual understanding: they did not realize that they were poor, miserable, blind and naked. For this reason, they themselves and their prayers became so hateful to Christ that He threatened to pluck them out of His mouth (Rev. 3: 16,17). People can repeat the same words in their prayers, but if there is spiritual understanding in one and not in the other, then a huge difference arises between their identical words! One speaks from the spiritual awareness of what he is asking for, while the other speaks with just words and that's it.

2. Spiritual awareness instills in the heart of God the willingness and desire to give what the soul needs. David's spiritual vision divined the very thoughts of God in relation to himself (Ps. 39: 7). It was the same with the Canaanite woman; with her faith and deep understanding behind the external refusal, she guessed in the heart of Christ the mercy and the readiness to save, which made her insist and ask without retreating; and she asked until she received the mercy she needed (Matt. 15: 22-28). The soul will only then seek God, pray to Him for forgiveness, when it realizes that God is ready to forgive the sinner.

If a person sees in a ditch a pearl worth a lot of money and does not know that it is a very valuable thing, he will easily pass by; but if he knows her value, he will do everything possible to get her. It is exactly the same in the spiritual world: if a person understands the value of the spiritual and God's, then his heart and soul will strive with all his might to them, and he will not stop praying and asking for them until he receives what he wants. Two blind men from the Gospel knew for sure that Jesus passing by could and wants to heal them of their illness; therefore they shouted, and the more they were rebuked, the more insistently they shouted (Matt. 20: 29-31).

3. Spiritually enlightened understanding is thus the way the soul can come to God, and it gives it the courage to go that way. A poor soul can be compared to a person who will be in trouble if he does not fulfill the task entrusted to him, or a great reward if the task is done. However, a person, not knowing where and how to start, despite fears and confusion, still gets down to business.

4. Enlightened understanding sees great opportunities in the promises of God, and this also inspires prayer, which, in turn, gives it even greater strength. When people are promised something, especially if it is known that the promised will be fulfilled, then such a promise gives the courage to go and ask.

5. Enlightened understanding is the way in which a person comes to God with different needs, sometimes with exhortation, like Jacob (Gen. 32: 9). Sometimes with a petition, and not only expressed in words, but also expelled from the heart by the Spirit Himself due to a person's awareness of this need, and such petitions do not leave the heart of God indifferent. When Ephraim receives a correct understanding of his wicked behavior before the Lord, then he begins to weep for himself (Jer. 31: 18-20). But, mourning himself, he uses words that touch the heart of the Lord, giving birth in Him a willingness to forgive, and make Ephraim himself, through Jesus Christ, pleasing in the eyes of God: “I hear Ephraim crying,” says God. “You punished me - and I am punished like an indomitable calf; turn me, and I will turn, for you are the Lord my God. When I was converted, I repented, and when I was enlightened [that is, I received a correct understanding of my condition], I beat myself on the thighs; I was ashamed, I was embarrassed, because I bore the disgrace of my youth. " Able to melt any heart: “Isn't my dear son Ephraim? Isn't it a beloved child? For, as soon as I start talking about him, I always remember him with love; My bowels are indignant for him; I will have mercy on him, says the Lord. " This is how, as you can see, one should pray in the spirit, for it is this kind of prayer that is prayer and intelligence.

This can be illustrated by the following comparison: Imagine that two beggars came to your door: one poor, lame, beaten, dying of hunger, another healthy and strong man; both say the same words, begging for alms from you; one says he is dying of hunger, the other says the same; but the beggar and the crippled speaks with greater conviction, with a greater feeling and understanding of his misfortune than the other, and this is evident from his very manner of speaking and lamenting himself. Pain and poverty force him to express himself in a spirit of crying, which is lacking in another, and he is more likely than another to be pitied by those in whom there is compassion or pity. It is the same with God: there are people who simply out of habit and form go and pray; there are others who go to pray, driven by a spirit of bitterness; one prays out of a sense of duty and understanding of his duties, and from the other words pour out, driven by the cruel pain of his soul. Of course, it is precisely such a person that God will look at, “the humble and contrite in spirit and trembling at His word” (Isa. 66: 2).

6. Enlightened understanding miraculously finds words to pray and helps to pronounce them. A person who possesses such an understanding, who knows how to distinguish between good and evil, to feel both human poverty and the mercy of God, such a person does not need the writings of other people who will teach him the form of prayer. Just as a person who feels pain does not need to be taught to scream, so one to whom understanding was revealed by the Spirit does not need to be taught prayers invented by other people, for he can pray without their help. His present position, his feelings and understanding, as well as the pain that the soul of this person suffers, lead to tearful pleas and groans in his petitions before the Lord. When David was overtaken by the hellish torments and sorrows of the underworld, he did not need a bishop with an stichera in his hands, who would teach him to say: "Lord, deliver my soul!" (Psalm 114: 3,4). He did not have to look in books for the form in which he could clothe before God the pain of his suffering heart. The heart of the grieving person in its pain and crampedness will itself find a way out to relieve the torment in groans and complaints. So it was with David, as Ps. 37: 1-12. The same thing, blessed be the Lord, happens to everyone on whom the grace of God rests.

7. It is necessary that this enlightened understanding abide in a person to the very end, so that the soul incessantly cries out to God in prayer and petition. God's people do not suspect how much deceit, temptation and deceit Satan uses in relation to that poor soul who sincerely strives for the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is allowed by Christ, because this is how the soul is tested in its striving to seek the face of God; Satan is trying to instill in her the idea of ​​the futility of such attempts and to convince her that God does not want to be merciful to her. “Ah,” says Satan, “you can pray, but nothing will come of it. Your heart is cold, hardened and dead; you do not pray in spirit, you do not pray sincerely, your thoughts are constantly scattering, you only pretend in your prayers to God. Away, you hypocrite, don't try any more, you won't succeed anyway! " And if the soul does not possess spiritual understanding, then it will soon exclaim: "The Lord has left me, and my God has forgotten me." (Isa. 49:14). At the same time, the Soul, enlightened with understanding, says: “Well, I will continue to seek the Lord and WILL wait; I will not give up my attempts, although the Lord remains silent and does not speak words of comfort to me ”(Isa. 40:27). God loved Jacob very much, but He made him fight before giving him a blessing (Gen. 32: 25-27) God's apparent delay is not a sign of His displeasure; He can hide His face from His dearest saints (Isa. 8:17). He loves when His people pray and when He knocks at the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven. “Maybe,” says the soul, “the Lord is testing me, or He wants me to cry out my pain before Him.”

The Canaanite woman did not accept the refusal, for she knew that the Lord is merciful and that He saves His chosen ones, although He can delay (Luke 18: 1-6). The Lord has been waiting for me longer than I have to wait; it was the same with David. “I firmly trusted in the Lord,” he says (he had to wait a long time before the Lord answered), “but finally“ He bowed down to me and heard my cry ”(Ps. 39: 2). Enlightened understanding is what man needs.

4. Answers to questions and objections

First question ... But what are we poor people who don't know how to pray? The Lord knows that I do not know how and what to pray.

Answer ... Poor creatures! You complain that you don't know how to pray. Can you see your poverty? Has God shown you that by nature you are under the curse of His law? If so, then there is no doubt that you are moaning and moaning bitterly. I am sure there is little you can do for your calling, but prayers are pouring out of your heart. Aren't moans directed towards the heavens coming from every corner of your house? (Rom. 8:26). I know that it is; your grieving heart also bears witness to your tears and a calling you forgot. Isn't your heart full of desires, with such force striving for another world that sometimes you forget about this world? I pray you read the following scripture: Job. 23:12.

Second question. Yes, but when I go to a hidden place and want to pour out my soul before God, I cannot find the right words.

Answer ... Oh! Poor soul! God is not looking at your words, and not at you at all. His eyes are fixed on the broken heart, it is this heart that arouses His compassion. “O God, you will not despise a broken and contrite heart” (Ps. 50:19). Too much anxiety in your heart can lead to your lack of words. David sometimes felt such anxiety that he could not speak (Psalm 76: 4.5) But although the agony of your spirit does not allow, all grieving hearts can be comforted by the fact that the Holy Spirit in their hearts indefatigably intercedes for them with sighs unspeakable: the lips can be sealed, but the spirit is free. As already mentioned, Moses made the heavens to ring with his prayers, although we cannot read a single word from his prayer (Ex. 14:15).

If you want to more fully express yourself before the Lord, first study your fallen state, then God's promises and, finally, the heart of Christ, which you can know or guess by the fact that He came down to us and shed His blood for us, as well as the mercy that He had shown sinners before. Confess your own wickedness, mourn for yourself, invoke the blood of Christ as an exhortation; and may by your prayers abide in your heart the mercy which He showed to other great sinners, along with the generous promises of His grace. However, let me warn you not to be content with words alone, lest you think that God only looks at words. May your heart ascend to heaven with your words; in your search for God, you will find Him when you seek Him with all your heart (Jer. 29:13).

First objection.You oppose any established form of prayer other than prayer in the spirit, but you yourself instruct how to pray.

Answer ... We should tell each other how to pray, but we should not give each other a particular form of prayer. To inspire to Christian prayer is one thing, but to establish rigid forms of prayer, binding this form of the Holy Spirit, is another. The Apostle does not give Christians any specific forms of prayer, but only directs them to prayer (Eph. 6: 8; Rom. 15: 30-32). It does not follow from this that by giving edification and directing to prayer, we assert the right to establish the forms of prayer for one another.

Second objection.But if we don't use specific forms of prayer, how can we teach our children to pray?

Answer ... I believe that people are teaching children incorrectly by giving them prescribed forms of prayer, as is usually done. It seems to me that it would be better if the children were explained that they are creatures under the curse, and that they are subject to the wrath of God because of the original and real sin, that they were told about the nature of the wrath of God and the duration of punishment; and if children are told about this, they will learn to pray much sooner. People begin to pray because of the awareness of their sin, and our children should be led to the same. The opposite way - teaching children the forms of prayer before they realize anything else - is the way of educating hypocrites filled with pride. Therefore, teach your children to be aware of their terrible condition and situation; tell them about hell and eternal fire, about damnation and salvation, about the only way to avoid damnation and find salvation, and this will fill their eyes with tears, and their hearts with a groan. You can tell them Who they should pray to, you can tell them about God's promises and His past favors to great sinners according to His promises.

O poor, dear children! The Lord opens their eyes and makes them holy Christians! David says: “Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord” (Ps. 33:12). He does not say: I will limit you to a rigidly defined framework of prayer, but “I will teach you the fear of the Lord,” which means: I will teach you to realize and see your fallen state and give edification in the truth of the Gospel, which through the Spirit puts prayer into the mouth of everyone who really comprehends it. And the more you teach them, in this way, the more their hearts rush to God in prayer. God did not consider Paul to be a praying man until he believed and was converted; the same happens to other people (Acts 9:11).

Third objection.But we see that the disciples asked the Lord to teach them how to pray, just as John taught his Disciples, and Jesus taught them what we know as the Lord's Prayer.

Answer ... Not only they wanted to receive edification from Christ, but we also want the same. But since He is not with us now, the Lord teaches us by His Word and Spirit, for He sent the Spirit instead of Himself when He left us (John 14:16; 16: 7) As for the form, I do not think that Christ, giving prayer , strictly obliged to observe its form. He Himself gives it in different ways, as can be seen from the comparison of the 6th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew with the 11th chapter of the Gospel of Luke. If He had in mind its rigid forms, He would not have given it in different versions. We will not find anywhere examples of the Apostles very rigidly observing the form of prayer and obliging others to follow any form whatsoever. Review all of their writings; and yet, by the gift of discerning of spirits and in their practical faith, they were no less than those who later began to insist on form.

By the way, Christ in the prayer "Our Father" teaches people the rules that should be observed when praying to God: they must pray in faith, calling out to the Heavenly Father that according to His will, etc. Pray that way.

Fourth objection.But Christ says that people ask for the Holy Spirit, which means that without the Spirit people cannot pray and hope that they will be heard (see: Luke 11: 9-13).

Answer ... Christ's words refer to His own statement in verse 1 that God will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask for Him, and Jesus means an even greater measure of the Spirit; we are talking about disciples who already have the Spirit, for He says: "When you pray, say: Our Father" (v. 2); in st. 8: "I tell you"; in st. 9: "And I will tell you." In Art. 13: "So, if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him." Christians must ask for the Spirit, that is, for an even greater Spirit-filling, even though God has already poured out the Holy Spirit on them.

Question ... Does this mean that only Christ's disciples can pray?

Answer . I answer:

1. Let every soul that desires salvation pour out itself to God, although because of temptations it may not consider itself a child of God.

2. I know that if the grace of God rests on you, it will be perfectly natural for you to cry out about your condition in the same way that a baby screams for him to be given a BREAST. Prayer is one of the earliest hallmarks of a Christian (Acts 9:12). But to be correct, it must be like this:

(1) Desire to draw near to God through Christ in His name, in His holiness, in His love, wisdom, and glory. For faithful prayer strives to God only through Christ, its center is Christ, and only He is one. “Who is in heaven for me? and with You [that is, apart from You] I want nothing on earth ”(Psalm 72:25).

(2) To have constant fellowship with Him both in this life and after. “And I will behold thy face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied with Thy image ”(Ps. 16:15). “That is why we groan” (2 Cor. 5: 2).

(3) Faithful prayer is accompanied by constant labor, as a result of which prayer actually arises. “My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning” (Psalm 129: 6). “I will arise ... and I will seek the one whom my soul loves” (Song 3: 2). Point out, please, that there are two things that cause a person to pray. One is hatred of sin and the works of this world; the second is an agonizing desire to commune with God in a holy and non-contaminated state and to follow Him. Compare only one of these conditions with the prayers of most people and you will see that there is one pretense and desecration of prayer, the breath of an abomination spirit; for many people either do not pray at all, or their prayer is a mockery of God and the world. One has only to compare their prayers and the life they lead, and you will see that something for which they pray with their lips takes no more place in their life than last year's snow. O unfortunate hypocrites!

5. Use and application

Now I will say a few words about the application of what we talked about, and I will end first with a word of edification, then with a word of encouragement, and finally with a word of reproach.

(a) Word of edification

Since prayer is obligatory for every child of God and the soul is prompted to prayer by the Holy Spirit, so everyone who begins to pray must have the fear of God, as well as hope in God's mercy through Jesus Christ.

Prayer is the will of God, and a person in prayer comes very close to God, and therefore even more of God's grace is required here to help the soul to remain deceitfully in God's presence. Conducting ungodly before a king will dishonor a person, and it is sin to behave in an inappropriate manner before God. And if a wise king cannot be content listening to inappropriate speeches, seeing inappropriate gestures, so neither can God; be pleased with the sacrifice of a fool (Ecclesiastes 5: 1). It is not long speech and eloquence of tongue that please God, but a broken and humble heart (Ps. 50:19; Isa. 57:15). Therefore, know that there are five points that can hinder prayer and even make the prayers of the prayer unanswered.

1. When, while praying to God, a person sees his relics. “If I had seen iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have heard me” (Psalm 65:18). There may be a secret love in your heart for this vice, against which your feigned lips speak in prayer. For such is the heart of man that it can love and be attached to what his lips condemn in prayer. Such are those who praise God with their lips, but whose hearts are far from Him (Isa. 29:13; Ez. 33:13). Oh, how disgusting would look in our eyes that beggar who, having asked for alms from us, would then throw it to the dogs! Or the one who says in one breath: "I pray you, give me this," and immediately asks: "Oh, please, I don't need this!" Such are these people too, with their lips they say: "Thy will be done," but their hearts are silent at this time. With their lips they say: "Hallowed be Thy name," but with their hearts and all their lives, they dishonor Him all day long. Such prayers become sin (Psalm 108: 7), and although these prayers are often recited, the Lord will never answer them (2 Samuel 22:42).

2. When people pray for show, wanting to be heard, to be considered believers. They will also not receive an answer from the Lord regarding eternal life. There are two types of people who like to pray for show.

(1) A freeloader priest who comes into the family of a big man and pretends to worship God, while his only deity is his own stomach. This was denounced by the prophets of kings Ahab and Nebuchadnezzar, who, demonstrating feigned devotion to God, in fact served only their lust and stomach, this was their only goal.

(2) Also those who seek praise and applause in response to their eloquence and above all else, and seek to please the ears of their audience. These are the ones who pray, first of all, to be heard by people. They are already receiving their reward (Matt. 6: 5). Such people are distinguished as follows: (a) they only look at the reaction of the audience to their words; (b) they expect praise for what they do; (c) their hearts either fly up or down in response to praise or condemnation; (d) they enjoy the length of their speeches, and to make the speech longer, they repeat the same thing over and over in their vanity (Matthew 6: 7 ). They seek exaltation, but do not look at the state of the heart; they are looking for praise, but this is just applause from the people. Therefore, they do not like to pray in secret, but they pray among people, and if sometimes their conscience still drives them into the room, hypocrisy pushes them out into the street in order to be heard. When their lips finish speaking the words, the prayer ends there, for they no longer listen to what the Lord wants to tell them (Psalm 83: 9).

3. The third type of prayer that God will not accept is when a person asks not for the good, but if for the good, then in order to use it for his desires. James says that people do not have, because they do not ask, while others ask and do not receive, because they ask not for good, but in order to use them for their lusts (James 4: 2-4). If a person's purpose is not in line with God's will, God will never satisfy him. That is why many ask for one thing and then another and do not get it. God answers them with silence; for they work only in word.

Objection ... However, God hears some people whose hearts do not strive for the fulfillment of His will, as, for example, it was with Israel when he received the quail (Psalm 105: 14).

Answer ... If so, then God gives what is asked as a sentence of His judgment, and not as mercy. He really fulfilled their desire, but it would be better if they did not receive it, for He “sent a plague on their souls” (Psalm 105: 15). Woe to those to whom God answers in this way!

4. There is a fourth type of prayers that God does not answer, and these are the prayers that come from people and ascend to God only by themselves, without the presence of the Lord Jesus. God Himself commanded to pray and promised to hear the prayers of His creatures, but not those who come to Him not through Christ Jesus. “And if you ask anything in my name” (John 14: 13-14; 15:16; 16: 23-26). “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). “And if you ask anything in my name,” then even if you cannot be faithful, sincere, zealous and constant in your prayer, in Christ you will be heard and accepted. But alas! Many people still do not know what it means to come to God in the name of our Lord Jesus, and therefore their life lies in evil, and they pray not for good, but die in evil; if they strive for something, then only for what a person can strive for by his sinful nature, and they want to be faithful only for this world, between people, and only in the righteousness of the law do they want to stand before God.

5. And the last thing that can hinder prayer is its form without the power of the Spirit. It is very easy for people to advocate for the form of prayer that is presented in the books, but for some reason they forget to ask themselves if they have the Spirit and the power of prayer. Such people are like dummies, and their prayers are false. They are a portrait of a hypocrite, and their prayers are an abomination to God (Prov. 28: 9). When they say that they are praying to God, God says that they cry out on their couches (Hos. 7:14).

Therefore, when you want to turn to the Lord of earth and heaven, seriously consider what you want. Do not do, as many who in their own words just shake the air and ask for what they really do not need, and do not see what they really need. When you see your real need, ask for it and do it consciously.

Objection ... But I don't have any strong feelings; So, in your opinion, I shouldn't pray at all?

Answer 1. If you find that you are not aware of your sinfulness, then even here you cannot complain about your insensitivity, because at least you feel and realize this insensibility. If you realize the need for something, pray for this (Luke 8: 9), and if you feel your insensibility, then ask the Lord to give you the realization of what your heart does not feel. This is what the holy people of God did. “Tell me, O Lord, my end” (Ps. 38: 5). "What would this parable mean?" - asked the Lord His disciples (Luke 8: 9). This includes the promise: “Call to Me - and I will answer you, I will show you the great and inaccessible, which you do not know” (Jer. 33: 3).

Answer 2. Make sure that both your heart and your lips turn to God. Don't let your mouth run ahead of your heart's aspirations. David lifted his heart and soul to the Lord, for if the mouth of a man lifts his words to God, and his heart is silent, then this is only the labor of human lips; and although God calls to sacrifice and accepts the sacrifice of the mouth, yet a mouth without a heart reveals not only our insensibility and senselessness, but also shows a lack of understanding of this insensibility. Therefore, if you want to grow in prayer before God, your heart must participate in it.

In conclusion, I want to make two caveats.

Warning 1 ... Beware lest you give up praying if you suddenly decide that you do not have the Spirit and therefore there is no point in praying. The devil makes every conceivable effort to thwart even the great companions of prayer. He will flatter you, paint pictures of your spiritual perfection (victories), while in reality your prayers are hypocrisy, abomination and defilement before God. Satan stands there next to Christ to resist Him, and assures you that God does not heed your prayers. Therefore, beware of misleading conclusions and baseless disappointments; and although such thoughts will take possession of your spirit, do not let them overcome you, but use them in order to aspire to God with even greater burning and tirelessness of spirit.

Warning 2 ... With such temptations, do not stop your prayers, do not stop pouring out your soul before God, let the evil that is in your heart be able to overcome the pass. Perhaps you will find in yourself everything that has just been said; perhaps it will interfere with your prayers. Therefore, your task is not to fall into despair and disappointment, but to condemn these temptations, ask in prayers to free you from them, tirelessly fall at the feet of God in the awareness of your insignificance and confess before God all the filthiness and corruption of your heart in order to pray to Him, asking Him justifying and sanctifying grace. David did just that. “Forgive my transgression, for it is great” (Psalm 24:11).

(b) A word of encouragement

I want to say a few words for the poor, tempted and fallen souls to encourage them to more boldly turn to God through the mediation of Christ. Although all prayers concerning eternal life and therefore accepted by God must be in the Spirit - for this is the only way that intercession for us comes to God, according to the will of God (Rom. 8:29) - yet many had the Holy Spirit working in them , which encourages them to cry to the Lord with a prayer for mercy, do not pray because of unbelief, because they lack the power to believe that they are children of God, in whom He is well pleased. And although the truth of grace resides in them, I still want to encourage them by saying a few words to them.

1. The promise given in Luke 11: 8, encourages poor souls who yearn to be in Jesus Christ. The Lord tells a parable about a man who came to his friend to borrow three loaves of bread. But the friend, who had already gone to bed, refused him; however, the man did not back down and continued to persistently ask, and the friend was forced to stand up and give what was asked. This parable makes it clear that those of little faith, although due to the weakness of their faith and do not see that they are friends of God, still should not stop, but continue to ask, seek and knock at the door of God's mercy. Pay attention, says Christ, "if ... he does not get up and give him out of friendship with him, then by his persistence" (or by the insistence of his desire), "he will get up and give him as much as he asks for." Poor heart! You scream that God does not hear you. But you do not want to understand that you are not a friend, but rather an enemy of Him, since you are inclined to your evil deeds (Col. 1:21). You seem to hear how God says to you: “Don't bother Me, I can't give you,” as it is said in that parable. But I tell you - keep knocking, screaming, moaning and crying. I tell you, if He does not get up and give you out of friendship, then according to your persistence He will get up and give you what you need. We find the same result in the parable of the unrighteous judge and the poor widow: her persistence prevailed (Luke 18). And truly, my own experience tells me that nothing brings what I want, only persistence in petition and prayer. Isn't it the same with the beggars at your door? If you have no intention of giving them alms at their first request, then by their persistence, by their persistent groans and requests, you will give them alms, for you will hear their prolonged groans. And you will get up and give what you ask, even if there is no compassion in your heart for the one asking, for his requests will prevail over you. And you do the same: go and ask. This is the main motive, it is dictated by life experience - for He will stand up and give you as much as you need (Luke 11: 8).

2. Another consolation for poor trembling souls will be the discourse on the place, or throne, on which the great God sits to hear the petitions and pleas of poor creatures. And this is the "throne of grace" (Heb. 4:16), in Ex. 25:22 it is called the throne of mercy, where God revealed himself and spoke to His people. In New Testament days, God sat on this throne to give mercy and forgiveness; from there He listens to sinners and communicates with them. As stated in Ex. 26:22: "There I will open myself to you, and speak with you, - there, above the ark of the revelation." Poor people! They come up with strange thoughts about God and about His attitude towards them: they suddenly conclude that God does not hear them; yet He is still there, on the same throne of mercy, or the throne of grace, to hear the prayers of each of His creatures. If He had said that He would speak to us from the throne of judgment, then we should tremble and fear and flee from the face of the great and glorious Almighty. But when He says that He will open up and speak with souls from the throne of grace and mercy, this should encourage and inspire you, give you hope, no, not hope, but the courage “to come boldly to the throne of grace in order to receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need ”(Heb. 4: 1).

3 ... There is another factor that can cheer you up and give you courage so that you can turn to God relentlessly in your prayers.

If there is a throne of grace, from where God wants to speak with poor sinners, then Jesus Christ sits next to this throne, constantly sprinkling this throne with His blood. Therefore, His blood is called “the blood of the sprinkling” (Heb. 12:24). When the Old Testament high priest was to enter the Holy of Holies, where the ark of the covenant was and where God revealed himself and spoke to people, he had to enter “not without blood” (Heb. 9: 7).

Why? God sits on the throne of mercy, but He is a just, albeit merciful God, and the blood was supposed to stop the just judgment of God over people through the mediation of the high priest, as Leo says. 16: 13-17; this means that your unrighteousness does not prevent you from coming closer to God in Christ to receive mercy. You shout that you live in evil, and therefore God does not hear your prayers. And this is true if you receive joy from your evil deeds and come to God in the pretense of your heart. But if, realizing your insignificance and filth, you come to God in order to pour out your heart before Him in contrition, desiring to be saved and cleansed from wickedness - do not be afraid, your sins will not prevent God from hearing this prayer. The blood of Christ, which He will sprinkle on the throne of grace, stops judgment and opens the gates of the Lord's mercy to pour out His mercy on you. So, you receive cleansing by “having the boldness to enter the sanctuary by the Blood of Jesus Christ,” who has become “a new and living way,” so that you do not die (Heb. 10: 19,20). Moreover, Jesus is there not only to sprinkle His blood on the throne of mercy, but to speak with His own blood. He has hearers, and His blood has those who hear it. Therefore, God also says that if he sees blood, he will pass "by you, and there will be no destructive plague among you" (Ex. 12:13). I will not detain you any longer. Be meek and be humble; go to the Father in the name of the Son and tell Him about yourself with the help of the Spirit, and then you will understand and feel the power of prayer in the spirit and prayer in the mind.

(c) Word of reproach

1. It is sad to speak of those who never pray. “I will pray,” says the Apostle, and the hearts of all Christians echo him. If you don't pray, you cannot be a Christian. We have a promise based on the fact that every righteous person will pray (Ps. 31: 6). The one who does not pray is a lost person. Jacob got the name Israel because he wrestled with God (Gen. 32:28). All of his children bear this name with him (Gal. 6:16). But for people who forget prayer, do not call on the name of the Lord, prayers of this kind are offered up for them: “Pour out your fury on the nations that do not know you, and on the nations that do not call on your name” (Jer. 10:25). O people who forget about prayer, you go to sleep like dogs and wake up like pigs or a bitter drunkard who has wasted his whole mind in drunkenness. You are like them, forgetting to call on His name! What will you do when you are betrayed to the fiery hell for not asking in your heart for heaven? Who will grieve about your sorrows if you did not consider mercy worthy of your attention? I tell you, ravens and dogs will raise their voices in court against you, for as they can let know about their needs and make a fuss when they want something; but you did not have the heart to ask for heaven, and therefore you will be left to burn forever in hell, since you did not ask for a better lot.

2. It is a reproach for you that you have made neglect, mockery of prayer by the Spirit, and offending the Spirit as your occupation. What will you do when God asks you to account for it? You consider it apostasy to speak a word against the king, you tremble at the very thought of it; and at the same time you are blaspheming against the Spirit of the Lord. Do you really think you can flirt with God and then expect a good favor from Him? Do you think that God sent the Holy Spirit into the hearts of His people to be mocked? And this is what you call serving God? And this is what you call the reformation of the church? Isn't that a sign of irreconcilable wickedness? Oh, cowardly! Is it not enough for you to be damned for sins against the law, and you want to sin against the Holy Spirit too?

Can the Holy, Kindly and Immaculate Spirit of grace, God's very nature, the promise of Christ, the Comforter of His children, without whom no one can do anything acceptable to the Father, can He, I ask, serve as the theme of your songs, be the subject of your ridicule, mockery and ridicule? If God sent Korah and his accomplices to hell because they spoke against Moses and Aaron, do you really think that He will leave you unpunished for the abuse of the Spirit of Christ? (Num. 16: 21-35; Heb. 10:29). Have you never read what God did to Ananias and Sapphira for lying to the Holy Spirit? (Acts 5-1-8). And to Simon the Magus for underestimating the Spirit? (Acts 8: 18-22). Will your sin become a virtue or will it not be avenged and without retribution to allow you to resist and oppose the work of the Spirit and His help to the children of God? It is a terrible thing to blaspheme and sin against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31; Mark 3:30).

3. Death awaits those who openly blaspheme against the Holy Spirit with ridicule and condemnation of His ministry, but just as sad is the fate of those who resist the spirit of prayer, relying on human institutions. Satan's cunning deception makes human institutions more valuable in the eyes of men than the spirit of prayer. What could be worse than the accursed apostasy of Jeroboam, who forbade going to Jerusalem to worship, as God commanded and established; by this act, the king brought on the people such anger, which to this day has not yet been softened (1 Kings 12: 26-33). It would seem that God's righteous judgment over the hypocrites of old times should make those who hear about it today to be afraid to do the same. However, our current leaders do not hear these warnings, do not tremble before possible punishment, but with even greater zeal indulge in the same sins, that is, they establish human laws according to their own will and their own understanding, and not by the command and will of God; and those who disobey their laws and regulations are condemned to exile from the earth or from life. Has God delivered this judgment into your hands? If so, show me this Scripture. If not (and I'm sure not), then what damn self-confidence popes, bishops, or anyone else have that dare to introduce into worship what God has not commanded! Moreover, these regulations concern not only the form of worship, when we are obliged to read certain texts of Scripture, but also the performance of the rituals of worshiping God, with all the absurdities contained in them, against which I rebel, because they were invented by people. And yet, if a person does not want to put up with this state of affairs, because his conscience does not allow him to do this, if he does not want to use in worship what God has never commanded, then such a person is looked at as a schismatic, seducer and erring heretic. , defaming the church, seducing people, and so on, and so on. Lord, what fruit will come from such a situation, when the traditions of people become more obligatory than God's teaching? Thus the spirit of prayer is excommunicated and the veneration of form is introduced; thus the Spirit is lowered and the form is exalted; those who pray in the Spirit are considered fanatics, devoid of humility and holiness, and those who pray according to the established form, and only according to it, are considered virtuous! How do lovers of such a practice understand the Scriptures, where it is said to withdraw from those who have only "a form of godliness, but denied its powers" (2 Tim. 3: 5)? And if I say that there are people who do this, that is, they prefer the form of prayer - a human invention - over the very spirit of prayer, it will not be difficult for me to prove it. For he who exalts the Book of Common Prayers over the spirit of prayer exalts the form of prayer over the Spirit. And so do all those who forbid or want to forbid praying by the Spirit; they caress and greet those who pray only in form, because they themselves do so. Therefore, they love and exalt prayers of their own invention over the prayer of the Spirit, which is a special and grace-filled command of God.

Look into the prisons and pubs of England, and I am sure you will find there those who pray in the Spirit, and those who care only about fulfilling the form of human institutions do not sit in pubs. This can also be seen from the silence of the dear servants of God, who, however, never had the strength of the spirit of prayer, but in their conscience did not recognize and the establishment of the form of prayer given in the Book of Common Prayers. If I have not clearly expressed myself against the exaltation of the prayer book over the prayer of the Spirit or the preaching of the Word, then I can only regret it, because I do not consider it necessary to continue this conversation. The Lord in His mercy encourages the hearts of people to seek the spirit of prayer and in the power of the Spirit to pour out their hearts before Him

6. Conclusion

In conclusion, I want to give advice to all God's people:

1. Know that if you are walking in the way of God, you will have many temptations.

2. Therefore, from the first day you enter God's congregation, wait for them.

3. When temptations begin to tempt you, pray to God to lead you through them.

4. Be jealous of your own heart, lest it deceive your testimonies in heaven and fail you on your travels in this world.

5. Beware of the flattery of false brothers.

6. Stick to the truth.

7. Look more at what is invisible.

8. Beware of small transgressions.

9. Don't let faith cool down in your heart.

10. Sanctify the works of your faith with the blood of Christ.

11. Reflect on the life of your generation.

12. Strive for the mountain with all your might.

Grace be with you!

Bounty- generous mercy; mercy, compassion, pity.
Most importantly- especially, most of all ( more- more).
Yako- here: for, because.
Az- I am.
Take out- always, at all times, unceasingly.
Win Always Judge Tee- you will win when you judge me (you will win in court over me).
Xie bo- here, truly ( behold- here; bo- because, because).
Hyssop- grass used as sprinkler.
Dasi- give.
Bones of the humble- crushed, broken (as we say about illness or extreme fatigue).
The bones of the humble will rejoice- here: let the crushed bones be strengthened again, i.e. the soul is depressed, depressed (by malice).
Build up- create, do.
Spirit is right- a righteous, just, truthful, faithful spirit.
Womb - here: the innermost, innermost, invisible depth of the soul.
Reward- return, give.
Ustne- lips, mouth (dual from oral- lip).
If only- if.
Ubo - here: verily.
Burnt offering or burnt-out- a sacrifice in which the animal was completely burned on the altar.
Please- do good, make you happy.
Zion- the mountain in Jerusalem, on which the house of David was built; symbol of the Church.
Oltar- an altar.

Word psalm means song. This psalm was compiled by the prophet David when he repented of a great sin - he killed the pious Uriah the Hittite and took possession of his wife Bathsheba. This psalm is called a penitential one, because it expresses deep regret for the sin committed and fervent prayer for mercy, and in the depth of repentance perhaps surpasses all the others. Therefore, this psalm is read often in church during worship. All of us, guilty of many sins, should recite this psalm as often as possible, delving into every word.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy, and according to the multitude of Thy compassions, cleanse my iniquity. Sin is great, so the prophet asks God for great mercy. Only God's ineffable bounties can cleanse grievous iniquity.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. The Lord has already announced to David through the prophet Nathan that he takes away his sins from him for repentance (2 Samuel 12, 13) - but David prays that God would completely cleanse him from sinful impurities. Likewise, we, having received the remission of our sins in the Sacrament of Repentance, must nevertheless ceaselessly cry out to the Lord to destroy the very root of sin in us.
I know my iniquity, and I will take out my sin before me... Have pity, Lord, cleanse me! Sin weighs upon me, I cannot forget it, I see it day and night in my conscience, which constantly disturbs my soul.
Those who have sinned against You, and have done evil before You, as if you were justified in Your words, and conquer, always judging You (in the Russian translation of the psalm: so that You are righteous in Your judgment and pure in Your judgment). The prophet presents himself not to human, but to God's judgment (David is a king, and he is not afraid of human judgment). Hiding lawlessness from people, you cannot hide it from the Supreme Judge, who sees everything secret; before God's righteousness our deceit is exposed - our unrighteousness and unrighteousness, and all our justifications are powerless.
Behold, in iniquity I am conceived, and in sin bore me my mother... All of us, descendants of Adam, are conceived in sins, inheriting original sin. We plead with God for forgiveness by presenting to Him our natural tendency to sin.
Behold you loved the truth... (note the word you- it indicates the 2nd person: here, You loved the truth). You, Lord, yourself are the Truth ( I am the way and the truth and the life- In. 14, b), You love the truth and want us to be in the truth. And I confess that You love the truth and hate lies, therefore I confess and realize before You that I have sinned.
You have revealed your unknown and secret wisdom to me- the unknown (hidden) and secret (that is, the innermost secret) of Your wisdom You have revealed to me. (King David speaks of his prophetic gift, that God by the Holy Spirit revealed to him the ineffable secrets of His Providence; but every Christian also receives the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Sacraments of the Church and through the teaching of the Church touches the hidden secrets of the Providence of God, and each of us is told unknown and secret wisdom God: we have been taught the true faith, the way to the Kingdom of Heaven has been shown to us.) How did I answer these grace-filled gifts? Sin!
Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be cleansed; wash me, and I will whiten more than snow... Here is the hope to completely get rid of sin and be filled with joy. The prophet likens the action of the Holy Spirit to Hyssop, who cleanses all filthiness in us.
To my hearing dasi joy and joy. Give me, my hearing, the good news of pardon, please and amuse me!
The bones of the humble will rejoice. The sin that has been done crushes not only the soul, but also the body: under the weight of sin the bones become exhausted, humbled; when the sin is forgiven and the unbearable burden is removed from the conscience, then the whole body is filled with joy (remember how sometimes we sigh with deep relief and straighten our shoulders).
Turn away Thy face from my sins, and cleanse all my iniquity.- exterminate them from the book of my life.
Create a pure heart in me, O God, and renew the spirit of rights in my womb... Raise the fallen soul to primitive beauty, destroying in me the impurity of the ancestral sin. Give me the grace of righteousness!
Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.... Sin tears away from God, from the Source of Life - and we pray that we do not find ourselves in pitch darkness, where the face of God is not visible.
Give me the joy of Thy salvation, and by the Lord's Spirit confirm me... Reward, return to me the joy that I enjoyed when I was kept by You; give me the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
I will teach the wicked in Thy way, and the wicked will turn to Thee.... When You deliver me from sin and give me the Holy Spirit, I will be able to teach the transgressors again, so that they walk in Your ways, ”says David, His chosen one to the Lord. And for us, this vow contains the same thought as in asking the Lord's prayer: hallowed be thy name in us, Lord; for if you cleanse our sins and by your grace we begin to live according to your will, then by our very lives we will be able to preach your righteousness and turn the hearts of people to you.
Deliver me from the blood, God, God of my salvation... Prophet David asks God to save him from the shed blood of Uriah, in which he seems to be drowning (from the blood - a more accurate translation of the words of the psalm). The words God of my salvation are equal to words God my Savior- an appeal to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. With these words of the prophet, we also appeal to the Savior to deliver us from the murderous effect of our sins.
My tongue will rejoice in Thy righteousness. O Lord, open my mouth, and my mouth shall declare Thy praise.... My lips are now encased in sin. Having received the remission of sins, I will not be silent, but I will testify about You, praise You and glorify Your mercies.
As if you would have wanted sacrifices, you would have given them: do not favor burnt offerings... You, Lord, have abolished the by-law sacrifices that cannot give remission of sins: the external sacrifice, offered without the participation of the heart, does not matter.
The sacrifice to God the spirit is broken; a contrite and humble heart God will not despise. The sacrifice you have loved is repentance and contrition of the heart; You will not despise a broken and humble heart, O God (Russian translation).
Bless, O Lord, with Thy good pleasure Zion, and may the walls of Jerusalem be built... King David prays not only for himself, but also for his city and people, and asks the Lord to raise the walls of Jerusalem, shaken by his sin. But Zion and Jerusalem in Holy Scripture also represent the whole Church.
Then favor the sacrifice of righteousness, the offering and the burnt offering; then they will lay calves on your altar... The psalm ends with the image of a sacrifice to God, offered in purity of heart and righteousness; Having cleansed our souls by repentance, we will strive with all our being towards God and give Him ourselves entirely, our whole heart, our whole life - this will be our "burnt offering."

Troparion, voice 1:

In the Jordan, baptizing You, Lord, / Trinity worship is appearing: / The fathers of the word testify to Thee, / I call Thy beloved Son, / and the Spirit, in the form of dove, / knowledge; / Appear, O Christ, God, / and enlighten the world, glory to Thee.

When You, Lord, were baptized in Jordan.

Trinity Worship- the worship of the Holy Trinity appeared .

Witness to you- testified of You, testified of You.

Know your word affirmation- confirmed the truth, the reliability of this word.

Appear, educate- appeared, enlightened (participles).

You baptized in the Jordan, Lord... is an example dative independent, the characteristic turnover of the Church Slavonic language (see translation).

Kontakion, voice 4:

Thy day of the universe appeared, / and Thy light, O Lord, is signified on us, / in the mind of the singers of Thee: / I came, and Thy was, / Unapproachable Light.

Today- today.

Banner- was imprinted.

In mind- deliberately.

Exaltation

We magnify Thee, the Lively Christ, we are glad to the present day the plane baptized by John in the waters of Jordan.

Zadostinik

Chorus: Great, my soul, the Most Honorable of the armies of the mountains, the Most Pure Mother of God.

Irmos of the 9th canon: Every tongue will be perplexed to praise according to its property, but the mind and graceful song will amaze You, Mother of God; both are good things, we have received the faith, for the love of the divine is ours: you are a Christian representative, we magnify you.

Bewildered- has no funds, is poor.

Praise- to praise reverently.

Amazes- is perplexed, amazed, goes beyond its limits.

Premium- transcendental, heavenly.

Obache- but.

Vesi- You know.

Divine- inspired by God, inspired.

The Canon for the Epiphany, from which this companion is taken - the creation of St. Cosmas of Maiumsky. The second canon of the holiday was created by St. John Damascene.

Epiphany event

Here is the full name of this holiday: Holy Epiphany - Baptism of our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Until His thirty years of age, the Lord Jesus Christ lived with the Most Holy Theotokos and righteous Joseph in the small city of Nazareth. Helping the aged Joseph in the carpentry work, He did not show Himself in any way, and people considered him to be one of Joseph's children. But now the time has come for Him to begin His public ministry. Then, in a special vision, God commands the prophet John the Baptist, who lived in the wilderness, to preach a nationwide sermon of repentance and to baptize all repentant in Jordan as a sign of their desire to be cleansed from sins. The place on the western coast of Jordan and the Dead Sea, where the prophet John began his ministry, was called the "Desert of Judea".

The Evangelist Luke provides valuable historical information for this turning point in historical moment, namely that at that time Palestine, which was part of the Roman Empire, was ruled by four rulers, the tetrarchs. The emperor then was Tiberius, the son and successor of Octavian Augustus, under whom Christ was born. Tiberius ascended the throne after the death of Augustus in the 767th year from the founding of Rome, but two years before that, in 765th, he had already become a co-ruler and, therefore, the fifteenth year of his reign began in the 779th year, when the Lord turned 30, the age required for a teacher of faith.

John preached at Jordan and baptized those who came to him with the baptism of repentance. People entered the waters of the Jordan confessing their sins, and the river water seemed to wash away these confessed sins - this was the baptism of repentance.

Here is the Gospel read on the day of the holiday itself:

Then Jesus comes from Galilee to the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. John restrained Him and said: I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me? But Jesus answered him: Leave it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. Then John allows Him. And, being baptized, Jesus immediately came out of the water - and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and John saw the Spirit of God, who descended like a dove and descended on Him. And behold, a voice from heaven saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased... (Matt. 3: 13-17)

Christ insisted on baptism not because he himself needed it, but in order to “fulfill all righteousness” - that is, to fulfill the law, “to bury human sin with waters”, to sanctify the watery nature and to give us all the image and example of Baptism ...

Epiphany the holiday is called because at the Baptism of the Lord the Most Holy Trinity appeared to the world (Matt. 3, 13-17; Mark 1, 9-11; Luke 3, 21-22). God the Father spoke from heaven about the Son, the Son was baptized by the holy Forerunner of the Lord John, and the Holy Spirit descended on the Son in the form of a dove. Since ancient times, this holiday was called day of enlightenment and feast of Lights because God is Light and appeared to enlighten “those who sit in darkness and the shadow of mortals” (Matthew 4:16) and to save the fallen human race by grace.

Great blessing of water

The peculiarity of this holiday is two great water blessings, the so-called unlike small (which can be done at any other time). Consecration of water is called great because of the special solemnity of the ceremony, imbued with the memory of the gospel event, which became not only the prototype of the mysterious washing of sins, but also the actual sanctification of the very nature of water through the immersion of God in the flesh into it. Prayers of amazing power and beauty are recited, and Orthodox Christians keep the Epiphany (Epiphany) water consecrated at the prayer service at home throughout the year and use it in small drops, and in case of illness or severe temptations - and in large quantities. We sprinkle this water on our dwellings, including "stingy", that is, hidden and even "unclean" places, and the shrine permeates our lives.

The first great blessing of water takes place on the eve of the Feast in the temple, and the other - on the very Feast in the open air on rivers, ponds, wells.

During the procession to consecration of water, the following troparia are sung:

The voice of the Lord on the waters cries out, verb: come, receive all the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of reason, the Spirit of fear of God, who is Christ.

Yell, verb- calls out, speaking.

Today the waters are sanctified, and the Jordan is divided, and the streams return its waters, the Lord is baptized in vain.

As if a man came to the river, O Christ the King, and strive to receive servile baptism, Better, from the Forerunner's hand, sin for our sake, Human-loving!

From the Forerunner hand- from the hands of the Forerunner.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

To the voice that cries out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, thou hast come, Lord, we receive the sight of the servant, asking for baptism, not knowing sin. Seeing Thy water and being afraid, the Forerunner was trembling, and the voice cried out: how will the lamp of Light illuminate, what hand will the slave put on the Lord? Sanctify me and water, Savior, take away the sin of the world.

We will accept the slave- - taking the form of a slave.

How will the lamp of Light illuminate?- how can a lamp illuminate the Light? The Savior Himself called the Forerunner the lamp later: He was a lamp burning and shining; and you wanted to rejoice for a short time in the light of it (John 5:35).

Prepared by Elena Trostnikova