For God to answer prayer, it is very important to pray correctly. This does not mean Pharisaic correctness and compliance with all the small instructions: how to stand, in front of which icon, in what sequence to read prayers, how to bow correctly. One should not be too afraid of doing something wrong during prayer, much less refuse prayer because of this. God sees our heart, and an occasional mistake will not make us criminals in His eyes.

Correct prayer consists of the correct disposition of spirit and feelings.

Pray with a pure heart

So that God does not make our prayer a sin, you need to pray with a pure heart and deep faith. As they say in Orthodoxy, with boldness, but without impudence. Boldness means faith in the omnipotence of God and that He can forgive the most terrible sin. Insolence is disrespect for God, confidence in His forgiveness.

In order for prayer not to be impudent, we must be ready to accept the will of God, including when it does not coincide with our desires. This is called “cutting off your will.” As the saint wrote, “if a person is not first purified by cutting off his will, then true prayerful action will never be revealed in him.” This cannot be achieved overnight, but we must strive for it.

With what feelings do they pray to God?

According to the Holy Fathers, during prayer there is no need to seek special feelings or spiritual pleasures. Often the prayer of a sinful person, as we all are, is difficult, causing boredom and heaviness. This shouldn’t frighten or confuse you, and you shouldn’t give up prayer because of it. Much more need to be wary of emotional exaltation.

According to Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov, the only feelings that are permissible during prayer are the feeling of one’s unworthiness and reverence for God, in other words, the fear of God.

What words should you use to address the Almighty?

To make it easier to pray and ask God for the right things, saints and simply pious people compiled. They are sanctified by authority, the very words of these prayers are holy.

The Holy Fathers compared the prayer composed by the saints to a tuning fork by which the human soul is tuned during prayer. That's why statutory prayer is more spiritually beneficial than prayer in your own words. However, to her You can add your own requests.

In what language should you pray in church and at home?

Most Orthodox prayers are read in Church Slavonic, with the exception of some prayers compiled in the 19th century and written in Russian. There are Orthodox prayer books in which prayers are given with Russian translation. If it is difficult to pray in Church Slavonic, you can read the translation.

Unlike home prayer, church services are always performed in Church Slavonic. To better understand worship, you can keep before your eyes the text with parallel translation into Russian.

How to pray to saints correctly

Every day during morning prayer, the believer turns to his patron saint - in whose honor the person praying was.

In other Orthodox traditions, not Russian ones, at baptism the name of a saint is not given, but the patron saint is either chosen by the person himself or is the patron saint of the entire family. On the day of celebrating the memory of “your” saint, you can read the main prayers to him - the troparion and kontakion.

Some saints are prayed to for special needs. Then the troparion and kontakion can be read to this saint at any time. If you constantly pray to a saint, it is advisable to have his icon in your house. If you want to pray to some saint in particular, you can go to pray in a temple where there is his icon or a piece of his relics.

How to start and stop praying

• Before you start praying, you need to be quiet and mentally concentrate.
• Having finished praying, you need a little be in a prayerful position and comprehend the perfect prayer.
• At the beginning and end of the prayer you need enlighten oneself sign of the cross .

Home prayer, like church prayer, has a statutory beginning and ending. They are given in the prayer book.

Prayer rule in Orthodoxy

It is difficult for most people to determine for themselves: some are lazy and pray little, and some take on excessive work and strain their strength.

In order to give the believer guidance, there are prayer rules.

The main and mandatory rules are the morning and evening prayer rules.

What is a prayer rule

The prayer rule (otherwise known as the cell rule) is a clearly established sequence of prayers, intended for daily reading. Prayer rules are read to believers at home outside of worship, in the mornings and evenings. These rules include the basic Orthodox prayers, as well as special morning and evening prayers in which we ask God to forgive our sins and keep us safe throughout the day and night.

The complete prayer rule, morning and evening, is contained in the prayer books. Those who cannot read the full prayer rule can, with the blessing of the priest, read an abbreviated one, which does not include all the prayers.

Brief prayer rule of St. Seraphim of Sarov

If desired, in addition to morning and evening prayers, you can read akathists to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Mother of God and the saints.

On Bright Week (the first week after Easter), morning and evening prayers are replaced by reading the text of the Hours of Holy Pascha.

How to fulfill the prayer rule

Prayer Rule is being done. It read standing or kneeling, in case of illness, you can read while sitting.

Many people, over many years in church, learn morning and evening prayers by heart, but most often they have to pray according to a prayer book.

Before reading the rules, you need to make the sign of the cross. The words of prayers must be said slowly, delving into their meaning. The prayers that make up the rule can be alternated with personal prayers, especially if such a need arose while reading the rule.

Having finished the rule, we should thank God for communication and stay in a prayerful mood for some time, comprehending your prayer.

Orthodox prayer book

The Orthodox prayer book usually contains

• main prayers used in and outside of worship
• morning and evening prayer rules
• canons (penitential, Mother of God, Guardian Angel) and adherence to Holy Communion, prayers for different occasions

The Psalter may also be attached to the prayer book.

How to Avoid Distractions During Prayer

Many churchgoers and even long-time churchgoers complain that during prayer their minds wander, extraneous thoughts come to mind, old grievances come to mind, blasphemy and obscene words come to mind. Or, conversely, instead of prayer, a desire arises to indulge in theological reflection.

These are all temptations that are inevitable for a person who has not yet achieved holiness. God allows this to happen in order to test a person’s faith and strengthen his resolve to resist temptation.

The only remedy against them is resist, do not give in to them and continue to pray, even if it’s hard to pray and you want to interrupt it.

Prayer rule– 1) daily morning and evening rituals performed by Christians (recommended texts can be found in); 2) regulated reading of these prayers.

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

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

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

There are three basic prayer rules:
1) Complete prayer rule, which is printed in “”;

2) A short prayer rule. The laity sometimes encounters situations when there is little time and energy left for prayer, and in this case it is better to read with attention and reverence short rule rather than hastily and superficially, without a prayerful attitude - the entire established rule. The Holy Fathers teach to be thoughtful about your prayer rule, on the one hand, not giving indulgence to one’s passions, laziness, self-pity and others that can destroy the correct spiritual structure, and on the other hand, learning without temptation or embarrassment to shorten or even slightly change the rule when there is a real need for it.

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

The morning and evening rules are just necessary spiritual hygiene. We are commanded to pray unceasingly (see). The Holy Fathers said: if you churn milk, you will get butter, and so in prayer, quantity turns into quality.

“For a rule to become not an obstacle, but a real driver of a person towards God, it is necessary that it be proportionate to his spiritual strength, correspond to his spiritual age and state of soul. Many people, not wanting to burden themselves, deliberately choose too easy prayer rules, which because of this become formal and do not bear fruit. But sometimes a big rule, chosen out of unreasonable jealousy, also becomes a shackle, driving you into despondency and preventing you from growing spiritually.
A rule is not a frozen form; throughout life it must necessarily change both qualitatively and externally.”

The rector of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Saratov, Hegumen Pachomius (Bruskov), answers questions about the personal prayer rule of a Christian.

Prayer is the free appeal of a person’s soul to God. How to correlate this freedom with the obligation to read the rule even when you clearly don’t want to do it?

Freedom is not permissiveness. A person is designed in such a way that if he allows himself to relax, it can be very difficult to return to his previous state. IN hagiographic literature There are many examples of ascetics abandoning their prayer rule for the sake of showing love to visiting brothers. Thus, they placed the commandment of love above their prayer rule. But it should be remembered that these people reached extraordinary heights of spiritual life and were constantly in prayer. When we feel that we do not want to pray, this is a banal temptation, and not a manifestation of freedom.

The rule supports a person in a spiritually developed state; it should not depend on the momentary mood. If a person abandons the prayer rule, he very quickly becomes relaxed.

In addition, it should be remembered that when a person communicates with God, the enemy of our salvation always strives to come between them. And not allowing him to do this is not a restriction of personal freedom.

At what point in time should you read the morning and evening rule?

This is clearly and clearly written in any Orthodox prayer book: “Rising from sleep, before doing any other thing, stand reverently before the All-Seeing God and, making the sign of the cross, say...”. In addition, the very meaning of the prayers tells us that morning prayers are read at the very beginning of the day, when a person’s mind is not yet occupied with any thoughts. And evening prayers should be read before bedtime, after any business. In these prayers, sleep is compared with death, bed with a deathbed. And it’s strange, after talking about death, to go watch TV or communicate with relatives.

Any prayer rule is based on the experience of the Church, to which we must listen. These rules do not violate human freedom, but help to obtain maximum spiritual benefit. Of course, there may be exceptions to any rule based on some unforeseen circumstances.

What else, besides morning and evening prayers, can be included in a layman’s prayer rule?

A layman’s rule can include quite a variety of prayers and rites. These can be various canons, akathists, readings Holy Scripture or Psalms, bows, Jesus Prayer. In addition, the rule should include a brief or more detailed commemoration of the health and repose of loved ones. In monastic practice, there is a custom to include the reading of patristic literature in the rule. But before you add anything to your prayer rule, you need to think carefully, consult with a priest, and evaluate your strengths. After all, the rule can be read regardless of mood, fatigue, or other cardiac movements. And if a person promised something to God, it must be fulfilled. The Holy Fathers say: let the rule be small, but constant. At the same time, you need to pray with all your heart.

Can a person himself, without a blessing, begin to read canons and akathists in addition to the prayer rule?

Of course it can. But if he not only read the prayer according to the desire of his heart, but thereby increases his constant prayer rule, it is better to ask the confessor for a blessing. The priest, looking from the outside, will assess his condition correctly: whether such an increase will benefit him. If a Christian regularly confesses and monitors his inner life, such a change in his rule will, one way or another, affect his spiritual life.

But this is possible when a person has a confessor. If there is no confessor, and he himself decided to add something to his rule, it is still better to consult at the next confession.

On days when the service lasts all night and Christians do not sleep, is it necessary to read evening and morning prayers?

We do not tie the morning and evening rule to a specific time. However, it would be wrong to read evening prayers in the morning, and morning prayers in the evening. We should not have a pharisaical attitude towards the rule and read it at all costs, ignoring the meaning of the prayers. If you are not going to sleep, why ask for God's blessing to sleep? You can replace the morning or evening rule with other prayers or reading the Gospel.

Is it possible for a woman to read the prayer rule at home with her head uncovered?

- I think that it is better for a woman to perform the prayer rule in a headscarf. This cultivates humility in her and shows her obedience to the Church. After all, from the Holy Scriptures we learn that a woman covers her head not for those around her, but for the Angels (1 Cor. 11:10). This is a matter of personal piety. Of course, God doesn’t care whether you stand up for prayer with or without a scarf, but it is important for you.

How are the canons and the procedure for Holy Communion read: on one day the day before, or can their reading be divided over several days?

- You cannot approach the fulfillment of the prayer rule formally. A person must build his relationship with God himself, based on prayer preparation, health, free time, and practice of communication with his confessor.

Today, in preparation for Communion, a tradition has developed to read three canons: to the Lord, the Mother of God and the Guardian Angel, an akathist to the Savior or the Mother of God, and the following to Holy Communion. I think it is better to read the entire rule on one day before Communion. But if it’s hard, you can spread it over three days.

Often friends and acquaintances ask how to prepare for Communion, how to read the Psalter? What should they answer to us, the laity?

- You need to answer what you know for sure. You can’t take responsibility for something, strictly prescribe something to someone else, or say something you’re not sure about. When answering, one must be guided by the generally accepted tradition of church life. today. If not personal experience, we need to resort to the experience of the Church and the Holy Fathers. And if you are asked a question the answer to which you do not know, you should be advised to contact a priest or the patristic works.

I read the translation of some prayers into Russian. It turns out that before I put a completely different meaning into them. Should we strive for a common understanding, read translations, or can we understand prayers as our heart tells us?

Prayers should be understood as they are written. An analogy can be drawn with ordinary literature. We read the work and understand it in our own way. But it is always interesting to find out what meaning the author himself put into this work. Also the text of the prayer. The author has invested a special meaning in each of them. After all, we are not reading a conspiracy, but turning to God with a specific request or praise. You can recall the words of the Apostle Paul that it is better to say five words in an understandable language than a thousand in an incomprehensible one (1 Cor. 14:19). In addition, the authors of most Orthodox prayers are holy ascetics glorified by the Church.

How to relate to modern prayers? Is it possible to read everything that is written in prayer books, or prefer the more ancient ones?

- Personally, I am more moved by the words of the more ancient canons, the stichera. They seem deeper and more insightful to me. But many people also like modern akathists for their simplicity.

If the Church has accepted prayers, you need to treat them with reverence, respect and try to find benefit for yourself. But understand that some modern prayers the content is not as high quality as the prayers compiled by the ancient ascetics.

When a person writes a prayer for public use, he must understand what responsibility he takes on. He must have experience in prayer, but at the same time be well educated. All texts offered by modern prayer creators must be edited and undergo strict selection.

What is more important: finishing the rules at home or being on time for work?

- Go to work. If a person is going to church, then public prayer should come first. Although the fathers compared public and home prayer with two wings of a bird. Just as a bird cannot fly with one wing, neither can a person. If he does not pray at home, but only goes to church, then, most likely, prayer will not work for him in church either. After all, he has no experience of personal communication with God. If a person only prays at home, but does not go to church, it means that he has no understanding of what the Church is. And without the Church there is no salvation.

How can a layman, if necessary, replace the service at home?

Published today a large number of liturgical literature, various prayer books. If a layman cannot attend the service, he can read the morning and evening services and mass according to the canon.

Is it possible to read the rule while sitting?

The Apostle Paul writes: “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is profitable” (1 Cor. 6:12). If you are tired or sick, you can sit down in Church while reading the house rules. But you should understand what you are guided by: pain, which prevents you from praying, or laziness. If the alternative to reading prayer while sitting is to complete absence Of course, it is better to read while sitting. If a person is seriously ill, you can even lie down. But if he is just tired or is overcome by laziness, he needs to overcome himself and get up. During services, the Charter regulates when you can stand or sit. For example, we listen to the reading of the Gospel and akathists while standing, but while reading kathismas, sedals, and teachings we sit down.

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 world and harmony, drives away demons from him (“This race is driven out only by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21), sends down God’s blessing and strength to live. Moreover, the prayers were written by holy people: Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostom, Venerable Macarius Great and others. That is, the structure of the rules itself is very useful for human soul.

Therefore, of course, reading the morning and evening prayer rules every day, so to speak, is the necessary minimum for 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 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. Ending morning prayers You also regulate 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 from 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 blessings on good dream 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 St. Seraphim Sarovsky. 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 trading company and you are on the road from morning to night, or you are married, work and you also need to devote time to your husband, children, organize family life, then perhaps the morning and evening prayer rule and reading two chapters of the “Apostle”, a chapter of the Gospel, are enough for you in a 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, having 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.

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 around, 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.

Priest Andrey Chizhenko