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Introduction To Prayer

tyhPrayer is a conscious, intentional and purposeful act of uniting with

God one's mind, heart, soul and body, with every thought, feeling, word
and deed, in every time, place, and circumstance. The sole purpose of
prayer is to glorify God by discovering and doing His will.
Christian prayer is consciously performed in the name of Jesus Christ. It
is done in accordance with Christ's teachings and in imitation of Christ's
actions. It is done with Christ, and in and through Him, to God the
Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer is also directed to Christ Himself, as God's divine Son, in the Holy
Spirit. Prayer is also addressed to the Holy Spirit, especially when one
begins to pray to God the Father and to His Son, Jesus Christ. Prayers
are also made to the Holy Trinity -- the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit, One in essence and undivided. And prayers are also made to
Christ's Mother, Mary, and to the saints, asking them to pray and
intercede for us with God.
Three Ways of Prayer
Christians are taught to pray in three ways. These three ways enable
and empower each other. When prayer is an honest and real dialogue
with God, they are always held together; they are not separated. In
truth, if any of these three ways is missing, a person'a prayer is at best
superficial, weak, and one-sided. At worst it is deformed and distorted
to the point where it ceases to be prayer at all. This is especially true
when any of the three ways is willfully suppressed or rejected.
In long, fancy words the three essential ways of prayer for a Christian
are:
(1) The corporate liturgical and sacramental worship of the Christian
ecclesial community whereby the baptized believer enters into the
ceaseless and eternal glorification of God the Father by His divine Son
and Word, Jesus Christ, in and through the power and operation of the
Holy Spirit, together with the bodiless hosts of heaven and the assembly
of saints;
(2) The maintenance of a set rule (kanon, regula, pravilo) of prayer done
in secret at specific times of the day and week within one's room, the
door being shut, according to texts (or memozied words, especially if the
person is illiterate) prescribed and guided by a pastor and/or spiritual
elder, which rule always includes "O Heavenly King" and the Trisagion
prayers concluding with the Lord's Prayer. It may also include psalmody,
the Creed, scripture reading, silence and intercession; and
(3) The practice of continuous and unceasing spritual prayer of the mind
united with the heart usually accomplished, at least at first, by the
verbal repetition of a short line of a psalm, or a short prayer, most often
a form of the Jesus Prayer such as the shorter "Lord have mercy," or the
longer, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."
My parents, like all devoted Christians without much formal religious
education, knew these three forms of prayer. Without any theological
training, they practiced them and taught them to their children in three
short rules which were never to be broken. These rules were:
1. Go to church,

2. Say your prayers,

3. Remember God.
Saying Set Prayers
Christians always begin praying by using set prayers. They begin with
words provided by God in the Bible and liturgy. The central set prayers
for Christians are the Psalms, the Trisagion (Holy! Holy! Holy!), the
Alleluia (Praise the Lord!), the Kyrie eleison (Lord have mercy), the
Lord's Prayer (Our Father...), the Doxology to the Holy Trinity (Glory to
the Father ...), and the acclamation to the Theotokos (Rejoice, O
Virgin...)
The "Our Father" is the paradigmatic and quintessential prayer for
Christians (see Matthew 6:7-13 and Luke 11:1-4). It is, to use a biblical
way of speaking, the prayer of prayers. All other prayers are either
abbreviations or elaborations of the Lord's Prayer. If they are not, then
they are not acceptable prayers for Christians. The saints teach us that
we should be very careful if we pray something that is not specifically
contained in the Lord's Prayer. They warn us as well never to pray
anyting contrary to it.
Beginning with set prayers in words given to us by God, we may then
move on to prayers in our own words, inspired by God, or to prayers
beyond words and thoughts, in the silence of God's Holy Spirit in a realm
too high and too deep for words or thoughts of any kind at all. But we
never begin in our own words. To do so is disobedient, dangerous, and
foolish. If we begin to pray in our own words, and certainly if we try
exclusively to pray in our own words, we will almost surely end up
making prayers that are insulting to God and contrary to His holy will.
Protopresbyter Thomas Hopko, St. Vladimir's Seminary, 2002
Prayer - Beginning of the Day
O Lord, grant me to greet the coming day in peace. Help me in all things
to rely upon Your holy will. In every hour of the day reveal Your will to
me. Bless my dealings with all who surround me. Teach me to treat all
that comes to me throughout the day with peace of soul and with firm
conviction that Your will governs all. In all my deeds and words, guide
my thoughts and feelings. In unforeseen events, let me not forget that
all are sent by You. Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without
embittering and embarrassing others. Give me strength to bear the
fatigue of the coming day with all that it shall bring. Direct my will,
teach me to pray, and You, Yourself, pray in me. Amen.
Trisagion
O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth who are everywhere
and fillest all things. Treasury of Blessings, and Giver of Life: Come and
abide in us, and cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O
Good One.
Holy God! Holy Mighty! Holy Immortal! Have mercy on us.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever
and unto ages of ages. Amen.

O most-holy Trinity: have mercy on us. O Lord: cleanse us from our sins.
O Master: pardon our transgressions. O Holy One: visit and heal our
infirmities, for Thy name's sake.
Lord, have mercy. (Three times)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever
and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name. Thy Kingdom
come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our
daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who
trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory: of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto
ages of ages. Amen.
The holy Creed
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth,
and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, the only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages.
Light of Light; true God of true God; begotten, not made; of one essence
with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for
our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy
Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man. And He was crucified also
for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried. And the third
day He rose again according to the scriptures, and ascended into
heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and He will come again
with glory to judge the living and the dead; whose Kingdom shall have
no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds
from the Father; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped
and glorified; who spoke by the prophets. In one Holy Catholic and
Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. I
look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
Psalm 50
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my
transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me
from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always
before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in
Your sight - that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless
when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my
mother conceived me. Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, and
in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. Purge me with
hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may
rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within
me. Do not cast me away from You presence, and do not take Your Holy
Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me
by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and
sinners shall be converted to You. Deliver me from the guilt of
bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation, and my tongue shall sing
aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall
show forth Your praise. For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would

give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a
broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart - these, O God, You will not
despire. Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of
Jerusalem. Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of
righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then they
shall offer bulls on Your altar.
Prayer for the End of the Day
O eternal God, King of all creation, who have kept me safe to attain to
this hour, forgive me the sins which I have committed this day in
thought, word, and deed. And cleanse, O Lord, my humble soul from
every stain of flesh and spirit. Grant me, O Lord, to pass this night in
peace, to rise from my bed, and to please Your Holy Name all the days of
my life, and to vanquish the enemies, both corporeal and incorporeal,
that contend against me. Deliver me, O Lord, from the vain thoughts
that stain me, and from evil desires. For Thine is the Kingdom, and the
power, and the glory, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
O Father, my hope; O Son, my refuge; O Holy Spirit, my protection: O
Holy Trinity, glory to thee.
Closing
It is truly right to bless you, O Theotokos, ever-blessed and most pure,
and the Mother of our God. More honorable than the cherubim, and more
glorious beyond compare than the seraphim, without defilement you
gave birth to God the Word; true Theotokos, we magnify you.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever,
and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Lord, have mercy. (Three times)
Through the prayers of our Holy Fathers, O Lord Jesus Christ our God,
have mercy on us and save us. Amen.
Before Going to Sleep
(Making the sign of the Cross over your bed) Surround me, O Lord, with
the power of Your honorable and life-giving Cross, and preserve me from
every evil.
(Making the sign of the Cross on yourself) Into Your hands, O Lord Jesus
Christ, I commend my spirit and body; bless me, save me, and grant me
eternal life. Amen.