Why is the prayer of the Our Father called. Errors in the prayer "Our Father"
The prayer "Our Father" is considered to be a universal prayer, which can be used in all cases. But few people know that there are mistakes in the Our Father prayer. I believe that the mistakes were made intentionally, so that as few people as possible could get in touch with God, and not only because of the inaccuracy of the translation. This is my personal opinion (and not only mine).
Mistakes in the prayer "Our Father". Victan.
From myself I want to add.
Once upon a time, I talked with my mentor more than once about this prayer. She knew her in childhood, it seems her grandmother taught her. And having many options, the question arises - What is the more accurate prayer? Why do some words sound different in prayer?
It turned out the following:
1. In times of famine, people asked for their daily bread, that is, literally - a daily loaf of bread. But now we do not have a shortage of food, whoever does not grow bread has the opportunity to buy. From the fact that we constantly ask for bread, the subconscious mind forms the psychology of consumption.
But without spiritual bread and lack of awareness, most people suffer. Therefore, it’s more correct to say the way grandparents prayed in the old days - our bread OPERATINAL. That is, what is above the physically existing world.
2. We leave debtorCOM ours - we are conducting a dialogue with God, and not with people who are in debt. We can forgive them at our own will, understanding or awareness, or we can come and collect the debt. Why ask God for what is in our strength and power?
The essence turned out to be much deeper: we ask the Almighty not to ask the Almighty to pay the bills from us until we complain, do not point in vain with the questions: "Why am I doing this, God?!" And we live according to our conscience, realizing causal relationships - we have what we deserve with our actions, desires, emotions. We ourselves have attracted this or that situation.
Recently I found this video from Victan and everything became clear.
Having the wrong "key", our petitions do not go beyond the chapel of the religious egregore and do not reach the one to whom the prayers and requests were addressed. Accordingly, this energy to a greater or lesser extent remains to nourish the essence of the Christian egregor, which respond and, if there is a mortal danger, help as much as possible.
I read the prayer "Our Father" in this version, it is closer to the point. This is how my grandmothers prayed.
In Church Slavonic:
Our Father, who art in heaven!
Hallowed be thy name,
let your kingdom come,
let your will be done
like in heaven and on earth.
Our bread supernatural give us today;
and leave us our debts,
like we leave debtor ours;
fence us from temptation
and deliver us from the evil one
Amen.
But more than that, this prayer is closer to me in Aramaic - the language that Christ spoke. But it is not a fact that the translation from Aramaic into Russian is accurate, without errors.
Interpretation of the Prayer "Our Father" from a religious point of view
“Everyone heard the text of the prayer and many know it from early childhood. There is no family in Russia where a grandmother or grandfather, or maybe the parents themselves, did not whisper the words addressed to God before going to bed, at the baby’s bed or did not teach when to say it. Growing up, we did not forget it, but for some reason we say it out loud less and less.
"Our Father" is a kind of standard and example of a faithful spiritual dispensation and one of the most important prayers of the Church, which is called the Lord's.
Few people know that a grandiose meaning of life priorities and all the rules of prayer appeal are laid down in a small text.
Three Parts of Prayer
There are three semantic parts in this unique text: Invocation, Petition, Glorification. Let's try to understand this in more detail together.
1st Invocation
Do you remember what your father was called in Rus'? Father! And this means that by uttering this word, we completely trust the father's will, believe in justice, accept everything that he sees fit. We have no shadow of doubt, no perseverance. We show that we are ready to be his children both on earth and in heaven. Thus, moving away from worldly everyday concerns to heaven, where we see His presence.
1st Petition
No one teaches that we should glorify the Lord with words. His name is so sacred. But true believers, in front of other people, with their deeds, thoughts, deeds, need to spread His glory.
2nd Petition
It is, in fact, a continuation of the first. But we add a request for the coming of the Kingdom of God, delivering a person from sin, temptations, and death.
3rd Petition
"Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth"
We know that many temptations await us on the way to the Kingdom of God. So we ask the Lord to strengthen our strength in faith, in submission to His will.
With three petitions, the glorification of the Divine Name actually ends.
4th Petition
This and the following three parts will contain the requests of those who pray. Everything is here: we ask and speak about the soul, spirit and body without hesitation. We dream for every day of life, ordinary, like most. Requests for food, shelter, clothing... However, these petitions should not occupy the main place in a conversation with God. Limiting in the simple and carnal, it is better to erect invocations about spiritual bread.
5th Petition
The allegory of this petition is simple: we ask for our own pardon, because others, entering into prayer, we have already forgiven. It is better not to harbor anger at others first, and then ask the Lord for forgiveness for yourself.
6th Petition
Sin accompanies us all our lives. Someone learns to put a barrier on their way. Some people don't always succeed. So we ask the Lord for strength not to commit them, and only then we pray for the forgiveness of those who have committed. And if the main culprit of all temptations is the devil, please get rid of him.
7th Petition
"But deliver us from the evil one" A person is weak and without the help of the Lord it is difficult to emerge victorious from the battle with the evil one. This is where Christ instructs us.
doxology
Amen always means firm confidence that what is asked will come true without a doubt. And the triumph of the power of the Lord will again be revealed to the world.
A short prayer, a few sentences! But look, what a deep message and washed away: not blurry, not redundant, not talkative ... Only the most valuable and important thing.
One of the main prayers of an Orthodox person is the Lord's Prayer. It is contained in all prayer books and canons. Its text is unique: it contains thanksgiving to Christ, intercession before Him, petition and repentance.
Icon of Jesus Christ
It is with this prayer, filled with deep meaning, that we turn to the Almighty directly without the participation of saints and heavenly angels.
Reading rules
- The Lord's Prayer is included in the number of obligatory prayers of the morning and evening rule, as well as its reading is recommended before meals, before starting any business.
- It protects from demonic attacks, strengthens the spirit, and delivers from sinful thoughts.
- If during the prayer there was a reservation, you need to impose the Sign of the Cross on yourself, say "Lord, have mercy" and start reading again.
- You should not treat the reading of a prayer as a routine work, say it mechanically. The request and praise by the Creator must be expressed sincerely.
About Orthodox prayer:
Important! The text in Russian is in no way inferior to the Church Slavonic version of the prayer. The Lord appreciates the spiritual impulse and mood of the prayer book.Orthodox prayer "Our Father"
Our Father who art in heaven! May your name be hallowed; Let your kingdom come; may Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; Give us our daily bread for this day; And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
The main idea of the Lord's Prayer - from Metropolitan Benjamin (Fedchenkov)
The Lord's Prayer Our Father is an integral prayer and unity, because life in the Church requires a person to fully concentrate his thoughts and feelings, spiritual aspiration. God is Freedom, Simplicity and Unity.
God is everything for a person and he absolutely must give everything to Him. Rejection from the Creator is detrimental to faith. Christ could not teach people to pray otherwise. God is the only good, he is “existing”, everything is to Him and from Him.
God is the only Giver: Thy Kingdom, Thy Will, leave, give, deliver... Here everything distracts a person from earthly life, from attachment to earthly things, from worries and attracts to the One from whom everything is. And petitions point only to the assertion that little space is given to earthly things. And this is right, because renunciation of worldly things is a measure of love for God, the reverse side of Orthodox Christianity. God Himself descended from heaven to call us from earth to heaven.
“Our Father, Thou art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in Heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
INTERPRETATION OF THE PRAYER OUR FATHER
The most important prayer, it 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 (see Matt. 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4).
Our Father, Who art in heaven! With these words, we turn to God and, calling Him the Heavenly Father, we call to listen to our requests, or petitions. When we say that He is in heaven, we must understand the spiritual, invisible sky, and not that visible blue vault that is spread over us and which we call heaven.
May your name be hallowed - that is, help us to live righteously, holyly and glorify Your name with our holy deeds.
Let Your Kingdom Come - that is, make us worthy here, on earth, of Your Kingdom of Heaven, which is truth, love and peace; reign in us and rule over us.
May Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth - that is, let everything not be as we want, but as You please, and help us to obey this Your will and fulfill it on earth as unquestioningly and without grumbling, as it is fulfilled, 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.
Give us our daily bread today - that is, give us for this day, for today, our daily bread. Bread here means everything necessary for our life on earth: food, clothing, shelter, but most important of all is the Most Pure Body and Precious Blood in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, without which there is no salvation in eternal life. The Lord commanded us to ask ourselves not for wealth, not for luxury, but only for the most necessary things, and to rely on God in everything, remembering that He, as a Father, always takes care of us.
And leave us our debts, just as we leave our debtors ("debts" – sins;"our debtor"– those people who have sinned against us) - that is, forgive us our sins as we ourselves forgive those who 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 into sin and evil and become debtors to God. And if we ourselves do not sincerely forgive our debtors, that is, people who have sins against us, then God will not forgive us. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself told us about this.
And lead us not into temptation - temptations is such a state when something or someone draws us to sin, tempts us to do something lawless or bad. We ask - do not allow the temptation that we cannot bear, help us overcome temptations when they occur.
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 power and its deceptions, which is nothing before you.
OUR PATHER - ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
The Lord's Prayer is also called the Lord's Prayer, because Christ Himself gave it to the apostles in response to their request: "teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1). Today, Christians say this prayer every day in the morning and evening rules; in churches during the Liturgy, all parishioners sing it aloud. But, unfortunately, often repeating a prayer, we do not always comprehend, but what exactly is behind her words?
"Our Father, who art in heaven"
1. We call God the Father because He created us all?
No, for this reason we can call Him - Creator, or - Creator. The appeal Father presupposes a well-defined personal relationship between children and the Father, which must be expressed primarily in likeness to the Father. God is Love, therefore our whole life should also become an expression of love for God and for the people around us. If this does not happen, then we risk becoming like those about whom Jesus Christ said: Your father is the devil; and you want to fulfill the desires of your father(John 8:44). The Jews of the Old Testament lost the right to call God the Father. The prophet Jeremiah speaks of this bitterly: And I said: ... you will call Me your father and you will not depart from Me. But verily, as a wife treacherously betrays her friend, so ye house of Israel have dealt treacherously with me, says the Lord. …Return, rebellious children: I will heal your rebellion(Jer 3:20-22). However, the return of the rebellious children took place only with the coming of Christ. Through Him, God again adopted all who are ready to live according to the commandments of the gospel.
Saint Cyril of Alexandria:“Only God himself can allow people to call God the Father. He gave this right to people, making them sons of God. And despite the fact that they departed from Him and were in extreme anger against Him, He granted the forgetfulness of insults and the communion of grace.
2. Why "Our Father" and not "mine"? After all, it would seem that what could be more personal for a person than turning to God?
The most important and most personal thing for a Christian is love for other people. Therefore, we are called to ask God for mercy not only for ourselves, but for all people living on Earth.
Saint John Chrysostom: “... He does not say: My Father, Who art in Heaven,” but - Our Father, and thereby commands prayers for the whole human race and never have in mind your own benefits, but always try for the benefits of your neighbor. And in this way it destroys enmity, and overthrows pride, and destroys envy, and introduces love - the mother of all good things; destroys the inequality of human affairs and shows complete equality between the king and the poor, since we all have an equal share in the highest and most necessary affairs ”.
3. Why "in Heaven" if the Church teaches that God is omnipresent?
God is truly omnipresent. But a person is always in a certain place, and not only with his body. Our thoughts also always have a certain direction. The mention of Heaven in prayer helps to divert our mind from the earthly and direct it to the Heavenly.
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”
8. Does God forgive sins only for those who themselves have forgiven their offenders? Why shouldn't he forgive everyone?
God is not inherent in resentment and revenge. At any moment He is ready to accept and forgive everyone who turns to Him. But remission of sins is possible only where a person has renounced sin, seen all its destructive abomination and hated it for the misfortunes that sin has brought into his life and into the lives of other people. And forgiveness of offenders is a direct commandment of Christ! And if, knowing this commandment, we still do not fulfill it, then we are sinning, and this sin is so pleasant and important for us that we do not want to refuse it even for the sake of Christ's commandment. With such a burden on the soul, it is impossible to enter the Kingdom of God. Only God is not to blame for this, but we ourselves.
Saint John Chrysostom: “This absolution initially depends on us, and the judgment pronounced against us lies in our power. So that none of the foolish, being condemned for a great or small crime, has reason to complain about the court, the Savior makes you, the most guilty, a judge over himself and, as it were, says: what kind of judgment you yourself will pronounce about yourself, the same judgment and I I will speak about you; if you forgive your fellow man, you will receive the same benefit from me.”.
"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one"
9. Does God tempt or lead anyone into temptation?
God, of course, does not tempt anyone. But we cannot overcome temptations without His help. If, however, while receiving this grace-filled help, we suddenly decide that we can live virtuously without Him, then God takes His grace away from us. But He does this not for the sake of revenge, but so that we can be convinced by bitter experience of our own powerlessness before sin, and again turn to Him for help.
Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk: “With this word: “lead us not into temptation,” we pray to God that He save us by His grace from the temptation of the world, the flesh and the devil. And although we fall into temptations, we ask that you do not allow us to be defeated by them, but that you help us overcome and defeat them. This shows that without God's help we are powerless and weak. If we ourselves could resist temptation, we would not be commanded to ask for help in this. By this we learn, as soon as we feel the temptation that comes upon us, to immediately pray to God and ask Him for help. We learn from this not to rely on ourselves and our strength, but on God..
10. Who is this - crafty? Or is it crafty? How to understand this word in the context of prayer?
Word sly - Opposite in meaning straight . Onion (as a weapon) Ray ina river, the famous Pushkin onion Omorye - all these are words related to the word onion ave in the sense that they denote a certain curvature, something indirect, curved. In the Lord's Prayer, the devil is called evil, who was originally created by a bright angel, but by his falling away from God distorted his own nature, distorted its natural movements. Any of his actions also became distorted, that is, crafty, indirect, wrong.
Saint John Chrysostom: “Here Christ calls the devil evil, commanding us to wage irreconcilable warfare against him, and showing that he is not such by nature. Evil does not depend on nature, but on freedom. And that the devil is predominantly called evil, this is because of the extraordinary amount of evil that is in him, and because he, not being offended by anything from us, wages an irreconcilable battle against us. Therefore, the Savior did not say: Deliver us "from the evil ones, but: from the foolish one," and thereby teaches us never to be angry with our neighbors for the insults that we sometimes endure from them, but to turn all our enmity against the devil, as the culprit of all angry".
Almost everyone knows this prayer. Why is she so popular and what is her strength? How to make this prayer bring changes to your life, and not just remain memorized lines? The power of prayer is not in repeating it like a magic mantra, but in the faith that you put into these words.
What is the essence of this prayer?
Our Father who art in heaven! May your name be hallowed; let your kingdom come; may Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us our daily bread this day; and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and glory forever. Amen.
Matthew 6:9-13
These lines describe everything that a person needs every day at different levels.
- “Our Father who art in heaven” - one should never forget that God is the Creator of Everything, and He exists now, at this moment. This is a Living Personality whose help you really need.
- "Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come" - we must desire that God become more famous through our lives, so that His works will attract more and more people to Him. Likewise, we must daily affirm His laws and His rule in our lives and where we are (work, study, environment, etc.).
- “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” - God gave the legal right to man to rule on earth, and without our request He will not interfere in our affairs. But when we ask for His plan to take place, we allow God's wisdom to constantly cover our destiny to walk the right path.
- “Give us our daily bread this day” - we ask God to meet our daily needs, not only physical, but also mental / spiritual. The Word of God is called in the Bible bread for our spirit, so you need to read it as often as you eat :)
- “And forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors” - our attitude towards people directly depends on God's attitude towards us. Therefore, one must always be indulgent and forgiving.
- “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” - we ask God every day for protection. Who is so crafty? This is the devil, a spiritual person whose goal is the complete destruction and death of man. God's protection shields us from his evil tricks.
- “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen" - God is eternal, and He is worthy of our reverence and respect. If we admire the powers that be, how much more should we bow before God? After all, everything is in His hands!
How to make the prayer “Our Father” heard?
But you, when you pray, go into your closet, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.
Matthew 6:6
This prayer should be a secret, one on one with God. Aloud or mentally, it doesn't matter. The main thing is that you live with all your heart those words with which you address the Lord.
For if you forgive people their trespasses, then your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive people their trespasses, then your Father will not forgive you your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15
You cannot ask God for something for yourself if you have not forgiven someone. It turns out that you ask for mercy and kindness where you yourself refuse to give them. Appeals to God with a polluted heart remain unanswered.
Pray every day, communicate with God, love people, and your life will be rich, full and happy!
In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
So Orthodox Christians begin morning and evening prayers. In this prayer we call for help Holy Trinity, one in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we ask God to bless all our labors and undertakings, both prayerful and everyday. This prayer can be read before starting any business.
Word "Amen"(Heb. amen - right) at the end of a prayer means: truly so. Many prayers end with this word, it confirms the truth of what was said.
God bless.
This prayer is also pronounced before every deed. All our actions, deeds, and labors will then be successful when we call on God for help, ask Him for help and blessings.
Lord have mercy.
We often hear these words during worship. "Lord have mercy!" (Greek "Kyrie eleyson") - the oldest prayer. To strengthen our repentant attitude, we repeat it three, twelve, and forty times. All these three numbers in the holy Bible symbolize fullness.
A deacon or priest, on behalf of all those praying in the church, pronounces a litany, asking the Lord to forgive us our sins and bestow His heavenly and earthly blessings. The chorus replies: "Lord, have mercy!" - as if on behalf of all those who pray. We also say this prayer to ourselves. This is the shortest confession, even shorter than the repentance of the publican, who said five words from the depths of a contrite heart. In it, we humbly ask God for forgiveness for all our sins and pray for help.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.
(Pronounced three times)
This prayer is called Trisagion- it repeats the word "Holy" three times. It is addressed to the Holy Trinity. We call God Holy because He is without sin; Strong because He is omnipotent, and Immortal because He is eternal.
In Constantinople in 439 there was a strong earthquake. The people were in fear. People, bypassing the city in procession, prayed to God for an end to the disaster. They repentantly, with tears, exclaimed: “Lord, have mercy!” During the prayer, one boy was lifted into the air by an invisible force. When he sank to the ground, he said that he saw a choir of Angels singing: “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us!” As soon as this chant was repeated by the believers, the earthquake stopped. This sacred angelic song has become an integral part of worship and prayer rule among Orthodox Christians.
Glory to Thee, Lord, glory to Thee.
We should not only ask God for something, but also thank Him for everything He sends us. If something good has happened to us, we should give thanks to God, at least briefly, by saying this prayer. Let us during the day notice everything that the Lord gives us, and go to sleep to thank Him.
Lord's Prayer
| Our Father, Who art in heaven. May your name be hallowed. May Your kingdom come, may Your will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours 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 Father Who is in Heaven! May your name be hallowed. May your kingdom come; May Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us our daily bread today. And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation. 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 unto the ages of ages. Amen. |
This prayer is special. It was given to His disciples-apostles by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, when they asked Him: "Lord, teach us to pray." That is why this prayer is called the Lord's Prayer. It is also called the prayer "Our Father" - in the first words. All Orthodox Christians, even small ones, should know it by heart. There is even a saying: “To know as “Our Father””, that is, to remember something very well.
This small prayer contains a request to God for everything that a person needs. We turn to God with the words: “Our Father!”, because He created all people, gave us life, takes care of us and Himself calls us His children: gave the power to be children of God(John 1:12). We are His children, and He is our Father. God is everywhere, but His Throne, the place of special presence, is in the inaccessible, high realms in the sky where the Angels dwell.
May your name be hallowed. First of all, the name of God, His glory must be sanctified in His children - people. This light of God should be visible in us, which is manifested in good deeds, words, in purity of heart, in the fact that we have peace and love among ourselves. The Lord Himself said this: So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.(Mt 5:16).
May your kingdom come. It also says that the Kingdom of God must first come in the heart and soul of every Christian. We Orthodox must set an example for other people, how the Kingdom of God begins in our family, in our parish, how we love each other and treat people well and kindly. The future Kingdom of God, which has come in power, will begin on earth after the Lord Jesus Christ comes to it for the second time to judge all people with His last Judgment and establish the kingdom of peace, goodness and truth on earth.
May Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. The Lord wants only good and salvation for us. People, unfortunately, do not always live the way God wants. Angels in heaven are always in obedience to God, they know and do His will. We pray that people will understand that God wants them all to be saved and happy, and that they will obey God. But how do you know the will of God for yourself? After all, we are all different, and everyone has their own path. To live according to the will of God, you need to build your life the way God commands, that is, in your life be guided by His commandments, by what the word of God, Holy Scripture tells us. It is necessary to read it more often, to look for answers to questions in it. We need to listen to our conscience, it is the voice of God in us. It is necessary with humility and gratitude to accept everything that happens to us in life as sent from God. And in all difficult, difficult circumstances, when we do not know what to do, it is necessary to ask God to enlighten us and consult with spiritually experienced people. If possible, it is desirable for everyone to have their own spiritual father and, when necessary, ask him for advice.
Give us our daily bread today. We ask God to give us everything that is necessary for the soul and for the body for every day of our life. Bread here is primarily understood as Heavenly Bread, that is, the Holy Gifts that the Lord gives us in the Sacrament of Communion.
But we also ask for earthly food, clothing, shelter, and everything necessary for life. Therefore, Orthodox Christians read the prayer "Our Father" before meals.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. We all have something to repent of before the Heavenly Father, we have something to ask for His forgiveness. And God, in His great love, always forgives us if we repent. So we must forgive our "debtors" - people who cause us grief and resentment. If we do not forgive our offenders, then God will not forgive us our sins.
And lead us not into temptation. What are temptations? These are life trials and circumstances in which we can easily commit sins. They happen to everyone: it can be difficult to resist irritation, harsh words, ill will. We need to pray that God will help us cope with temptation and not sin.
But deliver us from the evil one. From whom do temptations, bad, sinful thoughts, desires most often come? From our enemy, the devil. He and his ministers begin to inspire us with evil thoughts, induce us to sin. They deceive us, they never tell the truth, therefore the devil and his servants are called wicked - deceitful. But there is no need to be afraid of them, God has assigned a Guardian Angel to us, who helps us in the fight against demonic temptations. God protects from the evil devil all those who turn to Him.
For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. The prayer "Our Father" ends with a glorification of God, glorification of Him as the King and Ruler of the world. We believe that God is the All-Perfect Power that can help us, protect us from all evil. In confirmation of our faith, we say: "Amen" - "truly so."
When explaining the Lord's Prayer to children, one can recall the famous fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen "The Snow Queen" in its full version. The heroine of the fairy tale, the girl Gerda, read "Our Father", and the prayer helped her a lot. When Gerda approached the Snow Queen's palace to rescue Kai, terrible servants blocked her way. “Gerda began to read “Our Father”; it was so cold that the girl's breath immediately turned into a thick fog. This fog thickened and thickened, but then small bright angels began to stand out from it, which, having stepped on the ground, grew into large formidable angels with helmets on their heads and spears and shields in their hands. Their number kept increasing, and when Gerda finished her prayer, a whole legion had already formed around her. The angels took the snow monsters into spears, and they crumbled into a thousand pieces. Gerda could now boldly go forward: the angels stroked her hands and feet, and she was no longer so cold. Finally, the girl reached the halls of the Snow Queen.
Prayer to the Holy Spirit
This prayer is addressed to the third Person of the Holy Trinity - the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is everywhere, for God is a Spirit. He is the giver of life and grace-filled help to all living. It is especially important to read this prayer before the start of any good deed, so that the grace of the Holy Spirit instills in us, strengthens our strength and gives us help. It is customary to read the prayer “To the King of Heaven” before training sessions.
Prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos
("Our Lady of the Virgin")
This prayer is based on greeting of the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary at the moment of the Annunciation when the holy Archangel brought the news of the birth from Her to the Mother of God Savior of the world(See: Lk 1:28).
The Church honors and glorifies the Theotokos above all saints, above all angels. The prayer “Virgin Mary, rejoice” is ancient, it appeared in the first centuries of Christianity.
Words blessed is the fruit of thy womb, glorifying Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, are taken from the greeting of the righteous Elizabeth, when the Most Holy Theotokos, after the annunciation, wished to visit her (Lk 1, 42).
This prayer is glorious. We magnify, glorify in it the Mother of God as the Most worthy and righteous of all people, the Virgin, Who was honored with the great honor to give birth to God Himself.
We also turn to the Mother of God in a short prayer of supplication:
Holy Mother of God, save us.
We ask God for salvation through the prayers of the person closest to Him - His Mother. The Mother of God is our first Intercessor and Intercessor before God.
Praise to the Mother of God
("It is worthy to eat")
The Most Holy Theotokos is truly worthy of veneration, indulgence as the immaculate Mother of Christ the Savior.
We glorify Her more than all the Heavenly Forces, Cherubim and Seraphim, and magnify the Mother of God, who gave birth to God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, without birth pains and illnesses.
Prayer "It is worthy to eat" - glorifying, laudatory . “It is worthy to eat” and “Virgin Virgin” are the most famous and important prayers to the Virgin. Most often they are sung in the temple by all the worshipers.
This prayer usually concludes some parts of the church service. At home prayer, “It is worthy to eat” is usually read at the very end. This prayer is read after study and work.
Arkhangelsk song
The prayer “It is worthy to eat” is called the Arkhangelsk song. According to the legend of Mount Athos, during the reign of Basil and Constantine the Porphyrogenic, Elder Gabriel and his novice, also called Gabriel, labored in a cell near the monastery of Karei. On Saturday evening, June 11, 980, the elder went to the monastery for an all-night vigil, and left the novice to serve in private. At night, an unknown monk knocked on the cell. The novice gave him hospitality. They began to serve together. While singing the words “Most Honorable Cherubim,” the guest said that they glorify the Mother of God in a different way. He sang “It is worthy to eat, as if truly Blessed are You, the Mother of God, the Blessed and Immaculate and Mother of our God ...”, and then added: “The most honest Cherubim ...” The icon of the Mother of God “Merciful”, in front of which they prayed, shone with heavenly light. The novice asked to write down this song, but there was no paper in the cell. The guest took a stone, which became soft in his hands, and inscribed this prayer with his finger. The guest called himself Gabriel and disappeared. When Elder Gabriel came, he realized that the Archangel Gabriel had come. The stone with the song inscribed by the Archangel was delivered to Constantinople.
Prayer to the Guardian Angel
Angel of God, my holy guardian, given to me from God from heaven, I diligently pray to you: enlighten me today, and save me from all evil, guide me to a good deed and direct me to the path of salvation. Amen.
Each person is given a Guardian Angel at baptism. He protects us, saves us from all evil, and especially from the wiles of the forces of demons.
In this prayer, we turn to him and ask him to enlighten our mind to the knowledge of God, save us from all evil, direct us to salvation and help in all good deeds.
Prayer for the Living
Save, O Lord, and have mercy on my spiritual father(his name) , my parents(their names) , relatives, mentors, benefactors and all Orthodox Christians.
Our duty is to pray not only for ourselves, but also for the people closest to us: parents, the priest with whom we confess, brothers, sisters, teachers, all those who do good to us, and for all brothers in faith - Orthodox Christians.
Prayer for the dead
Give rest, O Lord, to the souls of your departed servants: my parents(their names) , relatives, benefactors(names) , and all Orthodox Christians, and forgive them all sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.
God has no dead, He has all alive. Not only those who live on earth, people close to us need our prayerful help, but also those who have left us, all our deceased relatives and friends.
Prayer before study
Good Lord, send down to us the grace of Your Holy Spirit, bestowing and strengthening our spiritual strength, so that, attentively taught to us, we may grow up to You, our Creator, to the glory, our parent for consolation, the Church and the Fatherland for the benefit.
For schoolchildren, their studies and studies are the same work as for adults their daily work. Therefore, it is necessary to start such an important and responsible business as teaching with prayer, so that the Lord would give us strength, help us assimilate the teaching taught, so that later we can use the knowledge received for the glory of God, for the benefit of the Church and our country. In order for work to bring joy to us and benefit people, we need to learn a lot, work hard.
Prayer after eating
We have already said that before eating food, the prayer "Our Father" is read. After eating, we also read a prayer, giving thanks to God for the sent meal.
God sends us food, but people prepare it, so we also do not forget to thank those who fed us.
Jesus Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.
The Jesus Prayer is addressed to our Lord Jesus Christ. In it, we ask for the most important thing: that the Savior forgive our sins and save us, have mercy on us.
This prayer is usually read in monasteries; it is included in the daily prayer rule. Monks - people who have dedicated their lives to the service of God - read it many times, sometimes almost without a break all day. Prayer is read on the rosary so as not to get lost in the count, for it is read a certain number of times. A rosary is usually a string tied with knots or beads. People living outside the monastery, in the world, can also read the Jesus Prayer and pray with the rosary, but for this you need to take a blessing from the priest. It is very good to do the Jesus prayer during work, calling on God for help, on the road and in general at any convenient time.
Prayer has great power. In the Lives of the Saints, Patericons, Fathers and other spiritual books there are many examples of the miraculous effect of prayer.
The Power of Prayer
Abba Dula, a disciple of the elder Vissarion, says: “Abba Vissarion had to cross the Chrysoro River. Having made a prayer, he went along the river, as if on dry land, and came to the other side. In amazement, I bowed to him and asked: what did your feet feel when you walked on the water? The elder answered: my heels felt water, but the rest was dry. Thus, more than once he crossed the great river Nile ”(Otechnik).
