prayer rule

The First Piety: Prayer

Some examples of pious prayers from the prayer books: 

Entering a Church: I will enter Thy gates with thanksgiving and Thy courts with praise.

Leaving a Church:  Lord, Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, O Master, according to Thy word, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples; a light of revelation for the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.  

Before Meals: The eyes of all hope in Thee, O Lord, and Thou givest them their food in due season, Thou openest Thy generous hand and fillest every living thing with good will.

After Meals: We thank Thee, O Christ our God, that Thou hast sated us with the good things of Thine earth: do not deprive us also of Thy heavenly Kingdom.

When about to fall asleep: Into Thy hands O Lord, Jesus Christ, my God, I commend my spirit; bless me, save me, and grant unto me ever-lasting life. Amen.

Expressing your Heartfelt Needs

“Accustom yourself to pray your own prayers. For instance: it is the essence of evening prayer to thank God for the day and everything that happened, both pleasant and unpleasant; to ask forgiveness for all wrongs committed, promising to improve during the next day; and to pray that God preserve you during sleep. Express all this to God from your mind and from your whole heart.

The essence of morning prayer is to thank God for sleep, rest and regained strength and to pray that He will help us do everything to His glory. Express this to Him with your mind and with your whole heart. Along with such prayers in the morning and evening, present your greatest needs to the Lord, especially spiritual needs. Besides spiritual needs, present your worldly cares, saying to Him as would a child: “See, O Lord, my sickness and weakness! Help and heal!” All this and the like can be spoken before God in your own words, without the use of a prayer book. Try this and, if it works, you may leave the prayer book altogether; but if not, you must pray with the prayer book, otherwise you might end up with no prayer at all.”

– St. Theophan the Recluse (these instructions were to a particular person only, and not to everyone in general – St. Theophan would want that to be said clearly) 

Prayer Rule

“You ask about the prayer rule. Yes, because of our weakness, it is proper to have a prayer rule. For one thing, it controls excessive zeal. The great men of prayer had a prayer rule and kept to it. Every time, they began prayer with the established prayers, and then, if self-initiated prayer came, they turned to it from reciting prayers. If they needed a prayer rule, then we need one even more! Without formal prayers, we would not know how to pray correctly at all. Without them, we would be completely without prayer. Nevertheless, we should not collect too many prayers. A few prayers, correctly read, are better than many prayers raced through. And, of course, it is hard to keep from rushing when, in our eagerness to pray, we have gathered more prayers than we can handle.” – St. Theophan the Recluse

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