47. Молитвенное правило для стоящего на пути богоугодной жизни. Заучивание псалмов. Замена длинных молитвословий краткими. Четки

You ask about a prayer rule. Yes, it is necessary to have a prayer rule for the sake of our weakness, so that, on the one hand, we do not give way to laziness, and on the other, we keep jealousy in its measure. The greatest prayer books had a prayer rule and kept it. Each time they began prayer with established prayers and then, if they were continued by self-propelled prayer, they left them and prayed with this prayer. If they are so, then all the more we need to do so. Without established prayers, we don’t even know how to pray. Without them, we would be completely left without prayer. However, there is no need to type a lot of prayers. A small number of prayers, properly performed, is better than many prayers, hastily performed, which is difficult to resist when they are collected beyond measure, in the heat of prayer zeal. For you, I believe it is completely sufficient to fulfill in the morning and evening the prayers for the morning and for going to bed in the prayer books. Just try to perform them every time with all your attention and appropriate feelings. To do this more successfully, take the trouble in your free time to read them all, think about and feel them, so that when you begin to read them as a prayer rule, you know the holy thoughts and feelings contained in them. Prayer does not mean to read only prayers, but to reproduce their content in oneself and pronounce them as if they came from our mind and from our heart. Then, having discussed and felt the prayers, take the trouble to memorize them, so as not to worry about the prayer book and the light when the time for prayer comes, and so that while performing it you do not have fun with what the eye sees, but it is more convenient to keep yourself in mental contact with God. You will see for yourself how very helpful this is. And the fact that in this case the prayer book is with you at all times and in all places means a lot. Having prepared in this way, when you stand in prayer, take care to keep your mind from soaring and your feeling from coldness and indifference, straining in every possible way to preserve your attention and exhilarate the warmth of feeling. After each prayer you read, bow as many times as you decide, with your prayer word about the felt need or with the usual short prayer. Through this, the prayer will last a little, but its power will increase. Especially after finishing your prayers, pray longer yourself, asking forgiveness for involuntary wanderings of the mind and surrendering yourself into the hands of God for the whole day. And during the day we must maintain prayerful attention to God. For this, as has been said more than once, the memory of God, and for it - a short prayer. It is good, and very good, to memorize several psalms and read them during business or between times, sometimes instead of a short prayer, with meditation. This is the oldest custom of Christians, noted and introduced into the Rule by Saint Pachomius and Saint Anthony. Having spent the day like this, in the evening pray more diligently and more collectedly, intensify both your bows and your appeals to God, and, once again, surrendering yourself into the hands of God, go to sleep with a short prayer on your lips, and fall asleep with it or with the reading of some psalm. What psalms should I memorize? Memorize which words come to your heart when you read them. Some psalms have a greater effect on one person, and on another, other psalms. Start with “Have mercy on me, O God...” (Ps. 50), then “Bless, my soul, the Lord...” ( Ps. 102) and “Praise, O my soul, the Lord...” ( Ps. 145) - antiphonal psalms of the liturgy; also the initial psalms in the rule for Holy Communion: “The Lord shepherds me...” (Ps. 22), “The earth is the Lord’s, and its fulfillment...” (Ps. 23), “In faith, in the same words...” (Ps. 115); Psalm 1 of Compline “God, come to my help...” (Ps. 69). Psalms of the Hours... and the like. Read the Psalter - and choose. Having memorized all this, you will always be fully armed in prayer. When any confusing thought comes, rush to either fall to the Lord with a short prayer, or read some psalm, especially: “God, come to my help...” (Ps. 69) - and the whole cloud of confusion will immediately dissipate. That's all about the prayer rule. But I will also repeat: remember that all these are aids, the main thing is to stand before God intelligently in the heart with reverence and fall painfully to Him. It occurred to me to tell you something else! You can limit the entire prayer rule to just bowing with a short prayer and your prayer word. Stand and bow, saying: “Lord, have mercy!” or some other prayer, expressing your need or giving praise and thanksgiving to God. To prevent laziness from creeping in here, it is necessary to determine either the number of prayers, or the time, how long the prayer should last, or both. This is necessary because we have some kind of incomprehensible strangeness. When, for example, we are doing something external, hours pass as if one minute. But when we stand up for prayer, not even a minute will pass, and it already seems like we’ve been praying for a long, long time. This thought does not cause harm when one performs prayer according to the established rule, but when someone prays, only bowing with a short prayer, then it represents a great temptation and can stop the prayer as soon as it has begun, leaving a deceptive assurance that the prayer went as it should. So good prayer books came up with, in order not to be subjected to this self-deception, rosary beads, which are offered for use to those who believe in praying not with the prayers of the prayer book, but on their own. They use them like this. They will say: “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner (or a sinner),” and they will place one rosary between their fingers; they will say so another time - and they will change it again, and so on; at each prayer, a bow is made - from the waist or to the ground, like hunting, or for small rosaries - from the waist, and for large ones - to the ground. The rule, however, consists of a certain number of prayers with bows, into which other prayers are also inserted, said in one’s own word. In order not to be deceived by haste in saying prayers and making bows, when determining the number of bows and prayers, the duration of the prayer is also determined in order to cut off haste and, if it creeps in, to make up for the time by making new bows. How many bows should be made for which prayer is laid down in the Followed Psalter, at the end, and in two proportions: for the zealous and for the lazy or busy. The elders, who even now live among us in hermitages or special cells, for example, on Valaam and Solovki, perform all services in this way. If you want, or sometimes you want, you can follow your rule in this way. But first, take the trouble to learn how to perform it as prescribed. Perhaps this new establishment of a rule will not be necessary. In every case, however, I send you a rosary. Do this: Notice how much time you spend during morning and evening prayer, then sit down and say your short prayer using the rosary, and see how many times you go through the rosary during the time you usually use for prayer. Let this number be the measure of your rule. You will do this not during prayer, but in addition to it, at least with the same attention. Then perform the prayer rule in this way, standing and bowing. After reading this, do not think that I am driving you to a monastery. The first time I heard about praying the rosary was from a layman, and not from a monk. And many laymen and laywomen pray in this way. And this will be useful to you. When praying according to other people’s memorized prayers is due and will not excite you, you can pray in this way for a day or two, then again - according to the memorized prayers. And so - in a hurry. And I repeat: the essence of prayer is in lifting the mind and heart to God; these rules go to benefit. We cannot do without them; we are weak. God bless you! You might be interested in: