When a short evening prayer is read. Evening rule for bedtime prayer for the future - how to read correctly

One must resort to prayers not only at the moment of grief or misfortune, but every day, thanking the Almighty for every day lived. Find out what prayer you need to read before going to bed so that your life improves and your state of mind returns to normal.

Prayer for the coming sleep

Every person desires something and keeps secret dreams in his heart. You can ask the Lord for support and protection before going to bed. Most importantly, remember that you cannot use the sacred text only to achieve a goal; you need to pronounce his words with all your soul, and only a truly believing person will achieve what he wants in this way. After reading the prayer once, you are unlikely to change anything. Turning to God should happen regularly, and when praying, first of all, thank you for the day you have lived:

Eternal God and King of every creature, who has vouchsafed me even at this hour to come, forgive me the sins I have committed this day in deed, word and thought, and cleanse, O Lord, my humble soul from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. And grant me, Lord, to pass through this dream in peace at night, so that, rising from my humble bed, I will please Your most holy name all the days of my life, and will trample the fleshly and incorporeal enemies that fight me. And deliver me, Lord, from vain thoughts that defile me, and from evil lusts. For Yours is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Before reading these words, you can make a secret request in simple language, or tell the Lord a spiritual secret. If you are haunted by a crime you have committed, or often have bad and evil thoughts, tell God about it before you fall asleep, and you will feel better.

Also, the prayer for the coming sleep can be the text “Our Father” - the main Christian prayer, which is resorted to in all cases of life. This is the first prayer that Jesus Christ taught his disciples.

Even when life is going well, you must not forget about religion, because any of your victories are initially predetermined in Heaven. Before going to bed, regularly turn to God, and the next day will turn out as well as possible. We wish you good luck, and don't forget to press the buttons and

25.08.2015 01:00

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Before we fall asleep, we think about how our day went. And everything would be fine if we just thought. But, unfortunately, people often cannot fall asleep until the morning, literally going crazy from the attacks that their own thoughts create. Christians are practically free from many such things, and in this they are helped by a correct lifestyle and evening prayer before going to bed. This is why it is so important to turn to the All-Holy Trinity before going to bed. In order for sleep to pass easily, you should definitely talk to the Creator, protecting yourself from all kinds of internal and external storms. And both material and spiritual.

Why are evening prayers needed?

Every Christian is, in fact, a warrior who has stood up to fight for light, love and truth in his soul, as well as for his destiny in eternal life, which will come with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of dead bodies.

The enemy of the human race is the devil, who, according to Sacred Tradition (the history of mankind, which is partially transmitted from mouth to mouth), was immediately against God creating anyone other than Angels, because these spiritual beings already possessed all the virtues and enormous opportunities . And animals were already created by the Creator who were carnal creatures. The proud star was perplexed, why add another flesh-bearing creature, an animal - a person?

But the Lord wanted to create a creation that would unite in itself all the rest of his creations - both spiritual and material. Therefore, another creature appeared, angels in essence, but having their own material expression - people.

The first man, Adam, was that first fruitful angel, the crown of creation, in which God united the practically incompatible - spirit and matter, and “made friends” between heaven and earth. The devil was overcome with jealousy and offended that God did not take his opinion into account, but at the same time realized how dear the person was to God. And he decided to take revenge. Since the Creator himself he could not cause any harm, the former angel decided to strike at God's beloved creation.

According to Tradition(and partly Scripture), God visited Adam at noon in paradise and taught him the secrets of the Universe. The first man alone, and then together with his woman Eve, quickly comprehended science. Adam penetrated into the essence of many things and therefore was able to give names to animals in accordance with God's plan for each of them. The devil realized that soon people would develop in such a way that they would become serious contenders in the arena of championship, which existed only in the minds of an ordinary angel who had fallen and degenerated into a sadist. Those Angels who remained with God and His truth only rejoiced at their new brother and sister, joyfully accepting new members of the huge family.

The devil decided to “seize the day” while fallen and crippled spirits still remain smarter and more experienced than simple-minded and pure people, so attached to the Father that they sacredly observe the ban on eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Then Satan, as is known, having entered the body of the serpent, crawled up to Eve, as if she were younger and inexperienced, and, having slandered the Creator that He did not allow eating from the Tree, because He was allegedly afraid that people would become like Him, he persuaded Eve to taste the fruit.

At that moment, when the youngest succumbed to cunning and distorted lies, Satan practically spiritually killed us, people: the fruit from the Tree gave such consequences that the first flesh-bearing angels were unable to live according to God and were deprived of heavenly bliss. He also killed us physically - through sin and death came to us, that is, the inability of the body to live forever. Therefore we call the devil, who was once one of the most beautiful and luminous angels, whom his fellows called Lucifer - Morning Star:

• the father of all lies,
• enemy of the human race,
• murderer
• misanthrope, etc.

But the loving Heavenly Father did not allow his beloved creation to perish, which, like the Angels, was created eternal. People continued to grow, multiply and develop, but in different conditions, going through the harsh school of life on earth, where we were given a choice: we should continue to live with God or without Him.

On the path of each of us, regardless of faith and lifestyle, spiritual enemies who hate us have stood, stand and will stand in fierce malice, who will resort to any lie in order to seduce us, subjugate us, distract us from Heavenly Father. It is known that Satan “boasted” that he would subjugate every single one of us and rule over us in hell.

God created hell, a specially designated place from which He withdrew His active participation and grace so that those who do not want to be with Him may have such an opportunity. Michael the Archangel threw the devil there, and with him those who went over to the side of the liar and the proud went there.

And now the demons want only one thing: to drag along as many people as possible in order to mock them for all eternity and take revenge for the fact that that God still loves man, and even for the sake of salvation and life together with him in the Kingdom of Heaven, in paradise, he was crucified for us, and even conquered death!

So is it really impossible for us to get rid of this spiritual abomination? Can. Jesus said: “this generation,” that is, demons and demons, are cast out “by prayer and fasting.” That is why everyone who has decided to resist and return to eternal life and love with God should often pay attention to their Parent - the Heavenly Father - and communicate with Him and pray. Prayer at night before going to bed will protect you from demonic trials (temptations) and help in various needs.

Brief evening prayer rule

For strong protection, the holy fathers, who were able to defeat the devil and gain the constant presence of God in their souls, based on their experience, compiled several prayer rules. One of them is the Midnight Office. But for a modern person living in a crazy age of speed and loads, it is too heavy and long.

Therefore, now this midnight rule, consisting of prayers and reading the psalms of David, remains only in monastic life, and occasionally in secular life. And for the laity it was replaced by an abbreviated rule - prayers for the coming sleep. The complete ancient prayers are now read by monks or Old Believers who did not recognize the innovations and relaxations.

A relatively new evening rule consists of 10 prayers, which are addressed to each hypostasis of the Trinity:

• the first prayer is dedicated to the Father - the Creator of all living things,
• the second - to His Son and our Savior, thanks to whom man has the opportunity to return to his “first grace”,
• the third - to the Holy Spirit, the third hypostasis of God.

The rule also includes prayers to the Most Holy Theotokos, the Guardian Angel, and ends with the obligatory confession of sins to one’s Creator. The last phrase is sending your spirit to God and asking him to preserve and preserve it while the one praying remains in sleep.

This whole rule is aimed at nightly preparation a person to possible death - the transition to the spiritual world and waiting in an individually prepared spiritual space for the Second Coming of Jesus and the Last (Last) Judgment, which will decide the fate of a person in eternity. This is evidenced by the meek, contrite prayer of St. John of Damascus, read by attentive worshipers with special trepidation.

It begins with the words “Master Lover of Mankind, will this coffin really be my bed?” It encourages each person to renounce earthly values ​​and encourages them to remember their heavenly homeland, delicately reminding them that life is finite and God will definitely ask a person what he has decided: to return to “first grace” and prefer life with God in paradise, or choose a sinful life, and then hell and its inhabitants will be closer in state to him.

The Christian also asks in his conversation with God, “those who hate and offend” forgive him. God will judge a Christian not only by his prayers and sincere repentance of sins, but also by whether he prayed for his enemies.

An even more abbreviated prayer rule

Unfortunately, the modern realities of life are such that for the average Christian even this abbreviated rule, in comparison with the Midnight Office, turns out to be beyond his strength. There is no officially recognized church shortening of the already short rule. However, there are some options for reductions and even complete replacements posted online. How beneficial this replacement is to the soul remains an open question. But in a situation where the spiritual potential of a Christian can be expressed by the words “either this way or not at all,” it can be used as a huge assumption. But on one condition - there must be a blessing from the priest.

Blessing will allow you not to indulge in selfishness and pride, but to act out of obedience, and this is one of the virtues that pleases God.

There are at least two options:

• Seraphim's rule
• The evening rule, reduced to several prayers.

Seraphim's rule (prayer for the coming sleep, short 3 strong)

This is a short rule that St. Seraphim of Sarov blessed for people who, not due to laziness, but due to the severity of their work, did not have the opportunity to read the full version every day.

It includes three prayers:

• Our Father (read three times)
• Rejoice to the Virgin Mary (read three times),
• The Creed (“I Believe”) is read once.

Abbreviated everyday rule

Schematically it looks like this:

It is also worth noting that the prayers are written, albeit in Russian letters, but in Church Slavonic, so some words may be incomprehensible. In this case, it is necessary to turn to the interpretation of these words so that the conversation with God does not turn into the reading of some kind of spells. This is a godly thing. Beloved by God, David, the great-grandfather of the Most Holy Theotokos, writes in his psalms as an instruction to believers, “Sing to God, sing wisely,” that is, understand what you say, understand.

Miracles of those who pray at night

To strengthen faith and to encourage prayerful deeds, we will give several examples of what happens when a person includes in his life a nightly conversation with the Heavenly Father.

Getting rid of bad thoughts and images

A certain woman was often tormented by bad thoughts: they constantly crawled into her head when she was already going to bed. Her imagination painted her various unpleasant pictures, indecent scenes. This soon became a big problem. Realizing that she couldn’t cope on her own, she went to church for confession. The priest, after listening, said that it was the demons who forced her to watch and listen to all these things, so that she would accept them as her own and thereby sin by applying her will and her choice to them. The servant of God recommended that she read prayers for the coming sleep every evening. Imperceptibly the temptations stopped, as if they had never existed.

Deliverance from demonic dreams

Demons, in order to confuse and subjugate a person, often try to intimidate him. To do this, they look for weaknesses, passions or fears and begin to “inflate” them. This is what happened to one man who experienced mystical fears - he was afraid that the vivid dreams that he had almost every night were actually prophetic. Fear was fueled by the fact that some episodes from dreams actually came true, and things began to happen that could well be taken as signs, indications of possible events.

All this finally drove the impressionable person into a corner. Conversations with a psychologist did not bring any lasting effect, and the man went to church for confession, realizing that this was the last resort. The priest blessed him to read the evening rule. The man soon noticed that ambiguous dreams and events that could be taken as signs or omens began to recede, and he himself stopped taking much of it seriously, focusing on more important things in his life, including the spiritual.

God's help to a praying widow

A certain young woman was widowed early and was left alone with a young child in her arms. In horror, she went to a spiritual man, an elder, in a holy place, to ask how she could continue to live. He told her not to lose heart, to live on, explained that her husband was alive and well, that only the “clothing” of his soul had been lost, but his personality had been preserved. He ordered me to treat my spouse as if he had simply gone “on a long business trip” and blessed me to pray every morning and evening according to the rules established by the Church, as well as to begin receiving Communion every 2 weeks.

The frightened woman, who tried her best to carry out the priest’s blessing, noted that every day she had support from above. She succeeded in absolutely all her affairs (and there were a lot of them after her husband left), the Lord arranged for her cash payments and a part-time job, and the baby was quickly accepted into kindergarten. As a result, she thanks the Lord every day for his help, support and love, for the fact that she and the baby do not need anything, and prays for her beloved husband, just as she did during his earthly life.

One believing woman from a neighboring church invited her to go together to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. On the way, they read Orthodox morning and night prayers together, stopping for this in convenient places. In the monastery they prayed together for their departed spouse and they gave forty for him. The next night, the widow dreamed of her beloved husband, who was standing in line for some spiritual rewards in a certain place, like a small temple. The dream began from the moment her husband approaches the sacred person and receives a certain reward from his hands.

For Orthodox Christians, the logical end of the day is the evening prayer rule.

In the evening, a person can calmly, without rushing, be alone with the Lord, talk it out before going to bed at night.

Brief prayer rule

Believers also live and work in the modern fast pace of life, and sometimes it is not possible to read a full set of prayers. In this case, a short prayer rule is allowed.

It is also called the Seraphim Rule - the holy elder Seraphim of Sarov commanded every Christian to pray this way morning and evening.

Lord's Prayer. Our Father (read three times, in honor of the Holy Trinity)

Our Father, who art in heaven!

Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done as it is in heaven and on earth.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors;

and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Hymn to the Theotokos “Virgin Mother of God, rejoice” (also read three times)

Virgin Mary, Rejoice, full of grace Mary, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you have given birth to the Savior of our souls.

Creed (read once)

I believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten, who was born of the Father before all ages; Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, by whom all things were; For our sake, man and our salvation came down from heaven, and became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became human; Crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried; And he rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures; And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; And again the one who is to come will judge with glory the living and the dead, His Kingdom will have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-Giving One, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who spoke the prophets. Into One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the remission of sins. I hope for the resurrection of the dead. And the life of the next century. Amen.

At the end, just before going to bed, you need to make the sign of the cross and say:

Evening prayers for beginners

For people who have just come to God, Orthodox beginners, there are evening prayers for beginners.

Evening and morning prayers are included in every Orthodox prayer book, which can be purchased in the candle shop of any temple.

Evening prayers for new Christians, before bed

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

Beginning prayer

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

Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee!

Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of truth, Who exists everywhere and fills the whole world, Source of blessings and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Good One, our souls.

Trisagion

(Bow)

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

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

Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity

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

Lord have mercy. (Thrice)

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

Lord's Prayer

Our Father who art in Heaven! Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done both in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Tropari

Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us! Finding no justification for ourselves, we, sinners, offer this prayer to You as to the Lord: “Have mercy on us!”

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. God! Have mercy on us, we trust in You. Do not be very angry with us and do not remember our iniquities: but turn Your gaze on us even now, since You are merciful. And deliver us from our enemies: after all, You are our God and we are Your people, we are all the creations of Your hands and we call on Your name.

And now and always and forever and ever. Amen. Open to us, blessed Mother of God, the doors to mercy God's So that we, who trust in You, do not perish, but through You we get rid of troubles: after all, You are the salvation of the Christian race.

Lord have mercy. (12 times)

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

Eternal God and King of all creation, who has made me worthy to live until this hour, forgive me the sins that I committed on this day in deed, word and thought; and cleanse, Lord, my humble soul from all carnal and spiritual impurity. And grant me, Lord, to spend this night in peace, so that, rising from sleep, all the days of my life I will do what is pleasing to Your most holy name and defeat the enemies who attack me - carnal and incorporeal. And deliver me, Lord, from the vain thoughts and vicious desires that defile me. For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Prayer 2, Saint Antiochus to Our Lord Jesus Christ

Almighty, Word of the Father, Jesus Christ! Being yourself perfect, according to Your great mercy, never leave me, Your servant, but always remain in me. Jesus, good Shepherd of Your sheep, do not betray me action serpent and do not leave me to the will of Satan, for there is in me the seed of destruction.

You, Lord God, whom everyone worships, the Holy King, Jesus Christ, protect me during sleep with unfading Light, Your Holy Spirit, with which You sanctified Your disciples. Grant, O Lord, to me, Thy unworthy servant, Thy salvation on my bed: enlighten my mind with the light of understanding of Thy Holy Gospel, my soul with love for Thy Cross, my heart with the purity of Thy word, my body with Thy suffering, alien to passion, my thought Maintain your humility.

And raise me up at the proper time to glorify You. For You are supremely glorified together with Your Beginning Father and the Most Holy Spirit forever. Amen.

Prayer 3, Rev. Ephraim the Syrian to the Holy Spirit

Lord, Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of truth, have mercy and have mercy on me, Your sinful servant, and release me, unworthy, and forgive everything. sins by which I have sinned before You today as a man and, moreover, not as a man, but even worse than cattle. sorry my voluntary and involuntary sins, known and unknown: done due to immaturity and evil skill, hot temper and carelessness.

If I have sworn by Your name, or blasphemed Him in my thoughts; or whom he reproached; or slandered someone in my anger, or saddened someone, or about what I was angry; either he lied, or slept untimely, or a beggar came to me, and I rejected him; or saddened my brother, or stirred up quarrels, or condemned someone; or became arrogant, or became proud, or became angry; or When stood in prayer, with his mind strove for evil worldly thoughts, or had insidious thoughts; either he overate himself, or got drunk, or laughed madly; or thought evil; or, seeing imaginary beauty, bowed your heart to what is outside of You; or said something obscene; or laughed above the sin of my brother, while my sins are without number; or did not care about prayer, or did something else evil that I did not remember: I did all this and even more than that.

Have mercy on me, my Creator and Master, Thy careless and unworthy servant, and leave me and let me go my sins, and forgive me, because You Good and Humane. So that I may lie down in peace, sleep and calm down, prodigal, sinful and unhappy, and so that I may bow and sing and glorify Your venerable name, with the Father and His Only Begotten Son, now, and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Prayer 4

Lord our God, everything in which I have sinned this day in word, deed and thought, You, as the Merciful and Humane One, forgive me. Give me a peaceful and restful sleep. Send me Your Guardian Angel, who would cover and protect me from all evil. For You are the guardian of our souls and bodies, and we send up glory to You, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now, and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Prayer 5, St. John Chrysostom (24 prayers, according to the number of hours of the day and night)

1. Lord, do not deprive me of Your heavenly blessings. 2. Lord, deliver me from eternal torment. 3. Lord, whether I have sinned in mind or thought, in word or deed, forgive me. 4. Lord, deliver me from all ignorance, oblivion, cowardice, and petrified insensibility. 5. Lord, deliver me from every temptation. 6. Lord, enlighten my heart, which is darkened by evil desires. 7. Lord, as a man I have sinned, but You, as a generous God, have mercy on me, seeing the weakness of my soul. 8. Lord, send Your grace to help me, that I may glorify Your holy name. 9. Lord Jesus Christ, write me, Your servant, in the Book of Life and grant me a good end. 10. Lord, my God, although I have not done anything good before You, grant me, by Your grace, to begin good deeds. 11. Lord, sprinkle the dew of Your grace on my heart. 12. Lord of Heaven and earth, remember me, Thy sinful servant, foul and unclean, in Thy Kingdom. Amen.
2. Lord, accept me in repentance. 2. Lord, don't leave me. 3. Lord, protect me from every misfortune. 4. Lord, give me a good thought. 5. Lord, give me tears, and the memory of death, and heartfelt contrition about sins. 6. Lord, give me the thought to confess my sins. 7. Lord, give me humility, chastity and obedience. 8. Lord, give me patience, generosity and meekness. 9. Lord, plant in me the root of goodness - the fear of You in my heart. 10. Lord, deign me to love You with all my soul and thoughts and to fulfill Your will in everything. 11. Lord, protect me from evil people, and demons, and passions, and from every inappropriate deed. 12. Lord, You know what you do and what You desire - Your will be done even on me, a sinner, for You are blessed forever. Amen.

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary

Merciful King, merciful Mother, most pure and blessed Mother of God Mary! Pour the mercy of Your Son and our God onto my passionate soul, and guide me with Your prayers to good deeds, so that I can live the rest of my life without sin and with Your help, the Virgin Mary, the only pure and blessed one, enter heaven.

Prayer to the Holy Guardian Angel

Kontakion to the Mother of God

Having been delivered from troubles, we, Your unworthy servants, Mother of God, sing a victorious and grateful song to You, the Supreme Military Leader. You, as having invincible power, free us from all troubles, so that we cry to You: Rejoice, Bride, not involved in marriage!

Glorious Eternal Virgin, Mother of Christ God, bring our prayer to Thy Son and our God, may He save by prayers Our souls are yours.

I place all my hope in You, Mother of God, keep me under Your protection.

Enlighten my eyes, O Christ God, so that I do not fall asleep in the sleep of death, so that my enemy does not say: I have defeated him.

Be the Protector of my soul, O God, for I walk among many snares. Deliver me from them and save me, O God, for You are a Lover of Mankind.

Prayer of Saint Ioannikios

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

End of prayers

It is truly worthy to glorify You as the Mother of God, always Blessed and Immaculate, and the Mother of our God. We magnify You as the true Mother of God, who painlessly gave birth to God the Word, worthy of greater honor than the Cherubim, and incomparably more glorious than the Seraphim.

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

Lord have mercy. (Thrice)

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

Prayers said in private, separate from the evening rule

Prayer 1

Relax, let go, forgive, God, our voluntary and involuntary sins, committed in word and deed, consciously and unconsciously, day and night, in mind and in thought - forgive us everything, as the Merciful and Humane One. Forgive those who hate and offend us, O Lord, Lover of Mankind! To those who do good, do good. To our brothers and relatives, graciously fulfill their requests in what leads to salvation, and grant eternal life.

Visit the weak and give them healing. Help those at sea. Companion to travelers. Help Orthodox Christians in their struggle. Grant remission of sins to those who serve us and those who take pity on us. Have mercy on those who have entrusted us, the unworthy, to pray for them, according to Your great mercy. Remember, Lord, our fathers and brothers who have fallen before and rest them where the light of Your Face shines. Remember, Lord, our brothers who are in captivity, and deliver them from all misfortune.

Remember, Lord, those who bear the fruits of their labors and adorn Your holy churches. Give them according to their requests That which leads to salvation and eternal life. Remember, Lord, us, your humble, sinful and unworthy servants, and enlighten our minds, so that We know You, and guide us on the path following Your commandments, the prayers of our most pure Lady, the Ever-Virgin Mary, and all Your saints, for You are blessed forever and ever. Amen.

Everyday confession of sins, pronounced in private

I confess to You, my Lord God and Creator, in the One Holy Trinity, glorified and worshiped, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, all my sins that I have committed in all the days of my life, and at every hour, and at the present time, by deed, in word, thought, sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and all my feelings, mental and physical, with which I have angered You, my God and Creator, and offended my neighbor.

Sinned: ( further listing of individual sins ). Regretting them, I stand before You guilty and want to repent. Only, Lord my God, help me, I humbly pray to You with tears. By Your mercy, forgive the sins I have committed and free me from them, for You are Good and Lover of Mankind.

When you go to bed, mark yourself with a cross and say the prayer to the Honest Cross:

May God rise again, and may His enemies be scattered, and may all who hate Him flee from His Face. As the smoke disappears, so let them disappear. Just as wax melts from the fire, so let the demons perish at the sight of those who love God, and sign themselves with the sign of the cross and joyfully say: “Rejoice, much-honored and life-giving Cross of the Lord, driving away demons by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ crucified on you, who descended into hell and who destroyed the power of the devil and gave us you, His venerable Cross, to drive away every enemy.” O venerable and life-giving Cross of the Lord! Help me with the Holy Lady, the Virgin Mary, and with all the saints forever. Amen.

Or briefly:

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

When you go to bed and fall asleep, say:

Into Your hands, Lord Jesus Christ, my God, I commend my spirit. Bless me, have mercy on me and grant me eternal life. Amen.

Prayer before going to bed to the Guardian Angel

The Guardian Angel, introduced to a Christian after Holy Baptism, hourly protects his ward. Whenever there is a need, Orthodox Christians turn to their Guardian Angel, asking him for help and protection.

Angel of Christ, my holy guardian and patron of my soul and body! Forgive me everything that I have sinned today, and deliver me from every insidious plan of the enemy coming against me, so that I do not anger my God with any sin. But pray for me, a sinful and unworthy servant, to present me worthy of the goodness and mercy of the Most Holy Trinity and the Mother of my Lord Jesus Christ and all the saints. Amen.

Bedtime prayer for a child

Very often, faith comes to people after the birth of a child. Any mother is ready to do anything to protect her child. Before going to bed, for a good sleep, as at any time of the day, you can turn to the Lord, the Most Holy Theotokos, the Guardian Angel and the saint whose name the child bears.

Prayer for children, to the Lord Jesus Christ

Sweetest Jesus, God of my heart! You gave me children according to the flesh, they are Yours after your soul; You redeemed both my soul and theirs with Your priceless blood. For the sake of Your Divine Blood, I beg You, my Sweetest Savior: with Your grace, touch the hearts of my children (names) and my godchildren (names), protect them with Your Divine fear, hold them remove them from bad inclinations and habits, direct them to the bright path of truth and goodness, decorate them their life to all good and saving, arrange their fate as you yourself want, and save their souls, even according to destinies.

Prayer for children to the Most Holy Theotokos

O Most Holy Lady Virgin Theotokos, save and preserve under Your roof my children (names), all youths, young women and infants, baptized and nameless and carried in their mother’s womb. Cover them with the robe of Your motherhood, keep them in the fear of God and in obedience to their parents, beseech my Lord and Your Son to grant them what is useful for their salvation. I entrust them to Your maternal supervision, for You are the Divine Cover of Your servants.

Prayer for children to the Guardian Angel

Holy Guardian Angel of my child (name), cover him with your cover from the arrows of the demon, from the eyes of the seducer, and keep his heart in angelic purity. Amen.

Interpretation of evening prayers

For the laity, there are various evening prayers and interpretations of texts, the meaning of which can be explained by a priest or independent study of the topic. Beginners on the path of prayer can listen to the chants of the elders of Optina Pustyn before going to bed.

The Optina elders healed the suffering, served people, predicted the future and prayed for all sinners. It is useful for everyone to plunge into the life of the Optina monks to study their holy deeds and night vigils.

Conclusion

For true Christians, the question of whether to pray or not is not worth it. For people who just want to come to God and a righteous life, the roads to the temple are open, and it doesn’t matter when a person made this decision, it’s never too late.

Having come to church, a person must grow in faith and knowledge, study the Holy Scriptures, the works of the holy fathers, regularly attend divine services, then prayer will become an integral part of the life of a Christian.

Short morning and evening prayers are short prayers that anyone can say, and when said sincerely they have exceptional power.

People often ask: how should one pray, in what words, in what language? Some even say: “I don’t pray because I don’t know how, I don’t know prayers.” No special skill is needed to pray. You can simply talk to God. At divine services in the Orthodox Church we use a special language - Church Slavonic. But in personal prayer, when we are alone with God, there is no need for any special language. We can pray to God in the language in which we speak with people, in which we think.

The prayer should be very simple. The Monk Isaac the Syrian said: “Let the whole fabric of your prayer be a little complicated. One word from a tax collector saved him, and one word from a thief on the cross made him heir to the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Let us remember the parable of the publican and the Pharisee: “Two men entered the temple to pray: one was a Pharisee, and the other was a publican. The Pharisee, standing, prayed to himself like this: “God! I thank You that I am not like other people, robbers, offenders, adulterers, or like this tax collector; I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of everything I acquire.” The publican, standing in the distance, did not even dare to raise his eyes to heaven; but, hitting himself on the chest, he said: “God! be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:10-13). And this short prayer saved him. Let us also remember the thief who was crucified with Jesus and who said to Him: “Remember me, Lord, when You come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). This alone was enough for him to enter heaven.

The prayer can be extremely short. If you are just starting your prayer journey, start with very short prayers - ones that you can focus on. God doesn't need words - He needs a person's heart. Words are secondary, but the feeling and mood with which we approach God is of primary importance. Approaching God without a sense of reverence or with absent-mindedness, when during prayer our mind wanders to the side, is much more dangerous than saying the wrong word in prayer. Scattered prayer has neither meaning nor value. A simple law applies here: if the words of prayer do not reach our hearts, they will not reach God either. As they sometimes say, such a prayer will not rise higher than the ceiling of the room in which we pray, but it must reach heaven. Therefore, it is very important that every word of prayer is deeply experienced by us. If we are not able to concentrate on the long prayers that are contained in the books of the Orthodox Church - prayer books, we will try our hand at short prayers: “Lord, have mercy,” “Lord, save,” “Lord, help me,” “God, be merciful to me.” , sinner."

Some ascetics said that if we could, with all the strength of feeling, with all our hearts, with all our soul, say just one prayer, “Lord, have mercy,” this would be enough for salvation. But the problem is that, as a rule, we cannot say it with all our hearts, we cannot say it with our whole lives. Therefore, in order to be heard by God, we are verbose.

My Most Holy Lady Theotokos, with Your saints and all-powerful prayers, take away from me, Your humble and cursed servant, despondency, oblivion, unreason, negligence, and all the nasty, evil and blasphemous thoughts from my cursed heart and from my darkened mind; and extinguish the flame of my passions, for I am poor and damned. And deliver me from many and cruel memories and enterprises, and free me from all evil actions. For Thou art blessed from all generations, and glorified is Thy most honorable name forever and ever. Amen.

Prayerful invocation of the saint whose name you bear

Pray to God for me, holy servant of God (name), as I diligently resort to you, a quick helper and prayer book for my soul.

Prayer for the living

Save, Lord, and have mercy on my spiritual father (name), my parents (names), relatives (names), bosses, mentors, benefactors (their names) and all Orthodox Christians.

Prayer for the departed

Rest, O Lord, the souls of Your departed servants: my parents, relatives, benefactors (their names), and all Orthodox Christians, and forgive them all sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.

End of prayers

It is worthy to eat as truly to bless Thee, Theotokos, Ever-Blessed and Most Immaculate and Mother of our God. We magnify Thee, the most honorable Cherub and the most glorious without comparison, the Seraphim, who gave birth to God the Word without corruption.

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

Short evening prayers (at bedtime)

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

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

Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfills everything, Treasure of good things and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, O Good One, our souls.

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

Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as it is in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us ours, just as we forgive our debtors; and do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Tropari
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us; Bewildered by any answer, we offer this prayer to You as the Master of sin: have mercy on us. Glory: Lord, have mercy on us, for we trust in You; Do not be angry with us, do not remember our iniquities, but look upon us now as if you are gracious, and deliver us from our enemies; For You are our God, and we are Your people, all works are Your hand, and we call on Your name. And now: Open the doors of Mercy to us, blessed Mother of God, who trust in You, so that we may not perish, but may we be delivered from troubles by You: For You are salvation kind of Christian.
Lord have mercy. (12 times)

Prayer 1, St. Macarius the Great, to God the Father
Eternal God and King of every creature, who has vouchsafed me even at this hour to come, forgive me the sins I have committed this day in deed, word and thought, and cleanse, O Lord, my humble soul from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. And grant me, Lord, to pass through this dream in peace at night, so that, rising from my humble bed, I will please Your most holy name all the days of my life, and will trample the fleshly and incorporeal enemies that fight me. And deliver me, Lord, from vain thoughts that defile me, and from evil lusts. For Yours is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary
Good Mother of the King, Most Pure and Blessed Mother of God Mary, pour out the mercy of Thy Son and our God on my passionate soul and with Thy prayers instruct me in good deeds, so that I may pass through the rest of my life without blemish and through Thee I will find paradise, O Virgin Mother of God, the only Pure One and Blessed One.

Prayer to the Holy Guardian Angel
Angel of Christ, my holy guardian and protector of my soul and body, forgive me all who have sinned this day, and deliver me from every wickedness of the enemy who opposes me, so that in no sin I will anger my God; but pray for me, a sinful and unworthy servant, that you may show me worthy of the goodness and mercy of the All-Holy Trinity and the Mother of my Lord Christ and all the saints. Amen.

Kontakion to the Mother of God
To the chosen Voivode, victorious, as having been delivered from the evil ones, let us write thanks to Thy servants, the Mother of God, but as having an invincible power, free us from all troubles, let us call Ti; Rejoice, Unbrided Bride. Glorious Ever-Virgin, Mother of Christ God, bring our prayer to Thy Son and our God, that through Thee our souls may be saved. I place all my trust in Thee, Mother of God, keep me under Thy roof. Virgin Mother of God, do not despise me, sinner, requiring Your help and Your intercession, for my soul trusts in You, and have mercy on me.

Prayer of Saint Ioannikios
My hope is the Father, my refuge is the Son, my protection is the Holy Spirit: Holy Trinity, glory to Thee. It is worthy that You are truly blessed, Theotokos, Ever-Blessed and Immaculate and Mother of our God. The most honorable Cherub and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim, who without corruption gave birth to God the Word, the real Mother of God we magnify Thee. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the sake of Thy Most Pure Mother, our reverend and God-bearing fathers and all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen.

In contact with

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov) in his “Teaching on the Prayer Rule” wrote: “Rule! What an accurate name, borrowed from the very effect produced on a person by prayers called the rule! The prayer rule guides the soul correctly and holy, teaches it to worship God in Spirit and Truth (John 4:23), while the soul, left to itself, could not follow the correct path of prayer. Due to her damage and darkening by sin, she would constantly be seduced to the sides, often into the abyss, now into absent-mindedness, now into daydreaming, now into various empty and deceptive ghosts of high prayerful states, created by her vanity and voluptuousness.

Prayer rules keep the person praying in a saving disposition, humility and repentance, teaching him constant self-condemnation, feeding him with tenderness, strengthening him with hope in the All-Good and All-Merciful God, delighting him with the peace of Christ, love for God and for his neighbors.”

From these words of the saint it is clear that it is very saving to read the morning and evening prayer rules. It spiritually takes a person out of the confusion of night dreams or daytime worries and puts him before God. And the human soul enters into communication with its Creator. The grace of the Holy Spirit descends on a person, brings him into the necessary repentant mood, gives him inner peace and harmony, drives away demons from him (“This generation is driven out only by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21), sends down God’s blessing and strength to him live. Moreover, the prayers were written by holy people: Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostom, Saint Macarius the Great and others. That is, the very structure of the rule is very useful for the human soul.

Therefore, of course, reading the morning and evening prayer rules every day, so to speak, is the necessary minimum for an Orthodox Christian. Moreover, it does not take much time. For someone who has gotten into the habit of reading, it takes about twenty minutes in the morning and the same in the evening.

If you don’t have time to read the morning rule all at once, then break it into several parts. “Little Cap” from the beginning to “Lord have mercy” (12 times), inclusive, can, for example, be read at home; The following prayers are during pauses in work or during your daily activities. This, of course, needs to be confessed, but it’s better than not reading it at all. We are all human, and it is clear that we are very sinful and busy. You also regulate the end of your morning prayers yourself. This concerns the commemoration. You can read the extended commemoration or the shortened one. At your discretion, depending on the time available.

A fairly common mistake of new Orthodox Christians is reading the evening prayer rule immediately before going to bed. You sway, stagger, mutter words of prayer, and you yourself think about how to lie down in bed under a warm blanket and fall asleep. So it turns out - not prayer, but torment. Mandatory hard labor before bed.

In fact, the evening prayer rule is read somewhat differently. Hegumen Nikon (Vorobiev) wrote that after evening prayers you can leave time to talk and drink tea.

That is, in fact, you can read the evening prayer rule from the beginning to the prayer of St. John of Damascus “O Lord, Lover of Mankind...” If you, dear brothers and sisters, have noticed, then before this prayer there is a prayer of dismissal: “Lord Jesus Christ, the Son God... have mercy on us. Amen". It really is a vacation. You can read the evening prayers up to and including it long before bedtime: at six, seven, eight o’clock in the evening. Then go about your daily evening routine. You can still eat and drink tea, as Father Nikon said, and communicate with loved ones.

And starting with the prayer “Lord, Lover of Mankind...” and until the end, the rule is read immediately before going to bed. During the prayer “May God rise again,” you need to cross yourself and you can cross your bed and house to the four cardinal directions (starting, according to the Orthodox tradition, from the east), protecting yourself, your loved ones and your home with the sign of the cross from all evil.

After reading the second half of the evening prayers, nothing is eaten or drunk. In the prayer “In Thy hands, O Lord...” you ask God for a blessing for a good sleep and surrender your soul to Him. After this you should go to bed.

I would also like to draw your attention, dear brothers and sisters, to the rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov. Many understand it as reading three times a day (morning, lunch, evening) certain prayers “Our Father” (three times), “Virgin Mother of God, rejoice...” (three times) and the Creed (once). But it is not so. In addition to reading the rule three times, the Monk Seraphim said that in the first half of the day a person should read the Jesus Prayer almost all the time, or, if people are surrounded, in his mind “Lord, have mercy,” and after lunch, instead of the Jesus Prayer, “Most Holy Theotokos, save me, a sinner."

That is, Saint Seraphim offers a person spiritual exercise in continuous prayer, and not just a relief from the evening and morning prayer rules. You can, of course, read the prayer according to the rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov, but only then you need to follow all the instructions of the great elder.

Therefore, I repeat once again, the morning and evening prayer rule is the necessary minimum for an Orthodox Christian.

I would also like to draw your attention, dear brothers and sisters, to a fairly common mistake that we often make.

Saint Ignatius warns us about it in the above-mentioned work: “When performing the rule and bows, one must not rush; It is necessary to perform both the rules and bows with as much leisure and attention as possible. It is better to say fewer prayers and bow down less, but with attention, than a lot and without attention.

Choose for yourself a rule that corresponds to your strengths. What the Lord said about the Sabbath, that it is for man, and not man for it (Mark 2:27), can and should be applied to all pious deeds, as well as to the prayer rule. A prayer rule is for a person, and not a person for a rule: it should contribute to a person’s achievement of spiritual success, and not serve as an inconvenient burden (onerous duty), crushing bodily strength and confusing the soul. Moreover, it should not serve as a reason for proud and harmful conceit, for harmful condemnation of loved ones and humiliation of others.”

The Monk Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain wrote in his book “Invisible Warfare”: “...There are many clergy who deprive themselves of the saving fruit of the world from their spiritual works by procrastinating on them, believing that they will suffer damage if they do not complete them, in false confidence , of course, that this is what spiritual perfection consists of. Following their will in this way, they work hard and torment themselves, but do not receive true peace and inner peace, in which God truly finds and rests.”

That is, we need to count our strength in prayer. You should sit down and think about the time that everyone has. If you, for example, are a freight forwarder in a trading company and are on the road from morning to night, or you are married, work and still need to devote time to your husband, children, and organize family life, then perhaps the morning and evening prayer rule is enough for you and reading two chapters of "The Apostle", a chapter of the Gospel per day. Because if you also take upon yourself to read various akathists, several kathismas, then you will have no time left to live. And if you are a pensioner or work somewhere as a security guard or at another job, with free time, then why not read akathists and kathismas.

Explore yourself, your time, your capabilities, your strengths. Balance your prayer rule with your life so that it is not a burden, but a joy. Because it is better to read fewer prayers, but with heartfelt attention, than to read a lot, but thoughtlessly, mechanically. Prayer has power when you listen and read it with your whole being. Then a life-giving spring of communication with God will flow into our hearts.