Explanation of Initial and Necessary Prayers: A Guide for the Christian Mother

Contents Instead of a preface Concept of prayer 1. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 2. Lord, have mercy! 3. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us! 4. Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee! Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! 5. 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. 6. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal have mercy on us 7. Prayer to the Most Holy Trinity 8. Lord's Prayer 9. Morning Prayer 10. Evening Prayer 11. Prayer before lunch 12. Prayer after lunch 13. Prayer to the Mother of God 14. Prayer for the Tsar and the Fatherland 15. Prayer to the Angel Guardian 16. Prayer to the holy people of God 17. Prayer for health and salvation of the living 18. Prayer for the departed “When studying prayers, the teacher should try not to ensure that children solidify the words of the prayer and understand their external, so to speak, meaning, but to evoke from the hearts of the children those prayerful dispositions for which the words of the prayer serve as an expression. It is desirable that the explanation of prayers should not even have the appearance of a lesson, but should be a pastoral conversation with children about their spiritual needs, aspirations, and beliefs, which find their most natural expression in prayer.” From the explanatory note attached to the program on the Law of God for primary schools of various names and departments. Children! When you feel hungry or thirsty, you go to your father or mother and ask them for what you need. They will give you what you asked for and then you thank them. Sometimes tell other children: “My parents gave this to me, they are kind.” But from whom do parents get everything they need for you and for themselves? From the Lord God. The Lord God alone does not depend on anyone else and does not need anything. He always unchangeably exists and enjoys the most complete bliss, that is, he is extremely happy. And everything that is in heaven and on earth received its existence from Him and is in His power: it lives by His grace and moves and is controlled by His power. Therefore, first of all, we must turn to Him, ask for His mercies, thank Him and glorify Him. This asking God for mercy, giving thanks and glorifying Him is called prayer. What is prayer? Prayer is a person’s humble appeal to God. In prayer, we either ask God for some kind of mercy, or we thank God for the mercies that we have received from Him, or we glorify God for His highest perfections. Here are some of the most necessary prayers for us. 1. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. This short prayer expresses petition, thanksgiving, and praise. To begin any work in the name of God means to call upon God’s help for this work. "God! - as you say, - I don’t rely on my own strength, but I ask that You help me. Your power is almighty, Your mercy is immeasurable." The word “name” also means glory. “In the name of God” means “for the glory of God.” "God! - as if you were saying it - I wish with all my heart to serve You. You created us so that we could do good. So I want to work hard and fulfill Your will, Your commandment.” In this same prayer, the deep secret of who our God is is returned to you, children. We would never have known this great secret if God Himself had not revealed it to us. And He revealed it through His Only Begotten Son - our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ taught us that our God is One in Three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Therefore we say: “in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” The word “amen” means: truly, truly, so. By attaching this word to a prayer, we express that we pray with all faith and with all our hearts. “Truly with all my heart, I believe, Lord, that You can help me. For people there are many things that are impossible, but for God everything is possible.” We are often exposed to troubles and sorrows. If your father or mother gets sick, will he get better soon? An evil person will deceive or rob someone: what a grief for the family! There are fires: where a good house used to be there are only coals! Where to live? Where can you hide, especially in autumn and winter, from bad weather and cold? We must remember this and ask the Lord God: “Lord, have mercy!” Deliver your servants from troubles! Lord, have mercy on my parents, brothers and sisters! Lord, have mercy on me, young man! It happens that a child loses his way and gets lost in the forest. What's the use of crying? Say: “Lord, save and have mercy!” None of the people see where you went, where you disappeared? And God sees from His heavenly heights. He is here with you! Don't be afraid! Just pray, ask for His mercy, and He will save you! Your father or mother will tell you where to find you, or will send some kind person to you, or, finally, you yourself will figure out how to get out of the forest. Always and in everything resort to God and ask for His mercy! 3. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us! Children! You already know that our Lord Jesus Christ revealed to us the great secret of the Most Holy Trinity. And you also know who He Himself is – our Lord. He is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity - God the Son or Son of God. He is as true God as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. But for our sake, He came down from heaven to earth, took our flesh and blood from the Blessed Virgin Mary, lived on earth for more than thirty years, taught, performed miracles, suffered for our sins and died on the cross. After this he rose from the dead and ascended with glory to Heaven. That’s why we turn to Him with a special prayer: He is our Savior, He asks God the Father for us, He sent us the Holy Spirit from Him. If the Lord Jesus Christ had not suffered for us, then we would not dare to hope for the mercy of God, but would have to wait for one thing - punishment for our sins, with which we offend God. God! This name of God means: Lord, Ruler of everything that exists. This is the name of our Savior, because He is the true God, the Lord of Heaven and earth. Jesus. This word in Russian means: Savior. The Lord, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, is called Jesus because He saved us, that is, He delivered us from the power of the devil, took upon Himself our sins and suffered for them, teaches us in the Holy Gospel how we should believe and what to do in order to please God, and helps us in every possible way and leads us to the Kingdom of Heaven. Christ in Russian means: Anointed One. This word means that our Lord, having become a man, was filled with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Have mercy on us, that is, do not deprive us of Your mercy, do not cast us sinners away from You! If You have mercy on us, then the Heavenly Father will have mercy on us, and the Holy Spirit will heal us from our spiritual defilements and infirmities! 4. Glory to Thee, our God! Glory to You! Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! The Lord God created the world for the good and happiness of the creatures that inhabit it, and God is especially generous and merciful to us people. He gave us life, ordered the sun to shine on us, grew greenery and fruits for us, and subjugated animals to us. We must always remember this, thank and glorify our Creator. All earthly creatures, animals, birds feel the mercy of God, rejoice, enjoy life, but they do not know how to understand this feeling and express it to God in words. God gave us a mind and a heart, awarded us the gift of speech. Therefore, we must thank and glorify the Creator both for ourselves and for other earthly creatures who owe their lives and happiness to Him, we must understand how merciful and generous the Lord is to us and all creatures, and express our grateful feelings with words of gratitude. Get up in the morning, thank God that He preserved you during the night and gives you another day of dear life. Finish the lesson, thank God that He gave you the strength and diligence to study and sent you people who can teach you good things. Get up from the table after lunch and dinner, thank God. It is He, our Heavenly Father, who gives us food and makes it useful for us. Always give thanks and glorify the Lord for everything: Glory to Thee, our God! Glory to You! Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit! Most Holy Trinity, our God! Glory to You! 5. 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 Blessed One, our souls. This is a prayer to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity. On the tenth day after the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ into Heaven, He descended on the holy apostles in the form of tongues of fire. The Holy Spirit came to earth to complete the work of the Lord Jesus Christ and teach us how we can take advantage of the mercies of God and achieve the Kingdom of Heaven. Apostles are disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word "apostle" means: messenger. The Lord's disciples were named this way because they were sent into the world to preach. Since the time of His descent, the Holy Spirit has remained in the Church of Christ and will remain until the end of the age. The position of apostles is now performed by the shepherds of the Church: bishops, priests. The Holy Spirit descends upon them when they are ordained to a sacred office, and through them the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to all believers. In particular, these gifts are given through the Holy Sacraments. There are seven sacraments in the Church: Baptism, Confirmation, Communion, Repentance, Priesthood, Marriage, Blessing of Anointing. To the Tsar of Heaven in Russian: Tsar of Heaven. The Holy Spirit reigns both in heaven and on earth. But here on earth, sinful people often resist Him, but there, in Heaven, holy Angels and holy people always fulfill His will in everything. That is why He is called the King of Heaven. He is also called this in contrast to earthly kings, who from Him, the Giver of blessings, receive the strength necessary for their high service. The Holy Spirit is the King, especially the Leader and Teacher of all earthly kings, the King of Heaven. Comforter - Soul of Truth in Russian: Comforter - Spirit of Truth. This is what the Lord Jesus Christ called Him when He promised the apostles to send Him down from God the Father. The Holy Spirit comforted, taught and strengthened the apostles. Even now He consoles believers in sorrows and troubles, calms their hearts with hope in God, gives them joy and gladness. The Lord called Him the Spirit of truth, because the Holy Spirit reveals the truth to us and teaches us everything good. Who is everywhere and performs everything in Russian: Who is everywhere and performs everything. The Holy Spirit is present everywhere and is close to each of us. There is no place where we cannot turn to Him in prayer. There is no such grief, no such need that He cannot help us with. Treasure of good things (treasury of goods) and life to the Giver (Giver). From the Holy Spirit, as from God the Father and God the Son, comes every good gift and every gift that is useful to us. Come and dwell in us (us) and cleanse us (us) from all filth and save, O Good One (i.e. Good One), our souls. “Without Your help, we are the most pitiful creatures in the world: come and dwell in us, teach us truth and goodness, heal our infirmities, cover our shortcomings, cleanse us from sins and save, O Merciful and Kind One, our souls!” 6. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us Holy people have more than once been privileged to hear how Angels in heaven glorify the Lord God. Thus, Isaiah, the great prophet 1, heard the Seraphim (the highest Angels) praising the Lord and loudly crying out to each other: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts (Lord of armies). The whole earth is full of His glory! At the same time, Isaiah saw how the pillars of the heavenly church shook from the sound of their exclamations, and felt how the fragrance of incense spread throughout the church. The Holy Apostle John the Theologian (beloved disciple and friend of the Lord Jesus Christ) also heard how the Angels of God praised the Lord and cried: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty, who is and is and who is to come, i.e., Who was, is and will be. But another wonderful event happened in the Church of God. In the city of Constantinople (from where we Russians accepted the Holy Faith), even now there are earth tremors. But at one time (in the 5th century AD) they were especially frequent and very strong, so that they terrified all the inhabitants. And how could one not be afraid: when the earth shook, everything on it began to move. People run out of their houses in fear, fearing that they might fall and run over them, but even on the streets there is little hope of salvation. It happened in other places that the earth suddenly settled on land, water appeared, and everything that was there died. Residents of Constantinople made religious processions around the city and prayed to the Lord to deliver them from these horrors and disasters. During one of these prayers, an invisible force suddenly, in the sight of everyone, lifted one youth, distinguished by his piety, into the air. After some time, also by the miraculous power of God, he fell to the ground alive and unharmed. They began to ask him where he was, and the boy said that he was in heaven and heard the Angels singing: Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal! All Christians immediately sang this angelic song and added to it: Have mercy on us! The disasters stopped, and since then they began to read and sing this song in the Church at every service. This is a great and mysterious, truly angelic song! 1) The Holy Trinity is glorified here: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, and all Three Persons are called Saints. This means that all Three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity have the same glory and honor. 2) To all Three Persons we sing: Have mercy (not have mercy) on us, because there is one God, worshiped in the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, the Trinity Consubstantial and Indivisible. 7. Prayer to the Holy Trinity In the image of the Angelic Songs, the following prayer to the Most Holy Trinity was compiled in the Church: 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 (three times) Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us: this is a general appeal for mercy to the Most Holy Trinity, Consubstantial and Indivisible. Lord, cleanse our sins. This is a prayer to God the Father, that He would cleanse our sins, that is, forgive us sinners, not be angry with us, and reconcile with us. We must ask Heavenly Father for this with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and hope in His mercy. “Forgive us, Heavenly Father, for the sake of Your Only Begotten Son, Who suffered for us on the cross!” Master, forgive our iniquities! This is a prayer to the Son of God. He taught us how to live in order to receive salvation, but we do not fulfill His law. So we ask Him: “Master Son of God, forgive our iniquities, that is, forgive us that we are breaking the holy commandments given by You for our salvation!” Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities. This is a prayer to God the Holy Spirit: “come and dwell in us, cleanse us from all filth and heal spiritual and physical illnesses and save us.” For the sake of Your name, that is, for the glory of Your Holy name, so that we can faithfully serve You and glorify You before all people. And finally, again we turn to the entire Holy Trinity three times with the same prayer appeal: Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Once the holy apostles asked the Lord to teach them to pray. The Lord said: pray like this: Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be thy name: thy kingdom come: thy will be done, as 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. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. The Lord's Prayer is not just a prayer, but a model of prayer: in it the Lord showed us with what feelings we should approach God, what we should ask from the Lord and what should be added to the prayer in order for it to be pleasing to God and useful to us. Our Father, who art in heaven! Pray with all faith, like a son, freely reveal your need, your desire to the Heavenly Father. But remember together that God is the highest being, abiding in unapproachable glory! Therefore, pray with full attention, do not be distracted by thoughts, pray with reverent fear. Hallowed be Thy Name! The name of God is great and holy: but we can and must glorify our Creator both with our lips and with a good life. So we ask Heavenly Father: “all creatures of heaven and earth glorify You, Their Creator. Give us, our Heavenly Father, this happiness to glorify You with our lips and with a good life.” May Your Kingdom come! “Heavenly Father! Reign in our souls as You reign throughout the whole world. Help us to keep Your law and do Your holy will, so that even after the end of our lives we may be worthy of Your Heavenly Kingdom.” Thy will be done as it is in heaven and on earth. “We completely surrender ourselves and our entire lives to Your will. Teach us to be patient, submissive and devoted Your servants in all circumstances and adventures of our lives, so that we can always thank and glorify You in days of sorrow and illness, as well as in days of joy and happiness. Just as the Angels in Heaven always and in everything fulfill Your will, so teach us to submit to You.” Give us this day our daily bread. “Give us, according to Your great mercy, food for this day and everything we need for our life.” In particular, we must take care of our soul, which is much more important than the body. And for her there is the necessary daily food: the Word of God and the Body and Blood of the Lord Savior. Keeping this in mind, we must ask the Lord to arouse in our souls the desire to learn from the Word of God and to grant us the ability to partake without condemnation of the Holy Body of Christ and His Precious Blood. And forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors. “Forgive us our sins, just as we have already forgiven those who offended us.” And do not lead us into temptation: “do not allow us to sin.” But deliver us from evil. “Deliver us from all troubles, especially from our worst enemy - the devil!” We say everywhere: “to us”, “us”, and not “me”, because we must love our neighbors as ourselves, and care and pray for them as well as ourselves. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. “We ask You, our Heavenly Father, for all these blessings, because they are in Your power and strength and for Your glory, we desire them for ourselves, so that we can live as You please and glorify You. To You, Lord, Lover of Mankind, having risen from sleep, I come running, and I strive for Your works with Your mercy, and I pray to You: help me at all times in every thing, and deliver me from all worldly evil things and the devil’s haste, and save me, and lead me into Your eternal Kingdom. For You are my Creator and the Provider and Giver of every good thing, in You is all my hope, and I send up glory to You, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. Having awakened from sleep, we first of all turn to the Lord God with feelings of devotion and gratitude: To you, Master, Lover of Mankind, having risen from sleep, I come running. The Lord preserved us during the night, when we lay motionless, as if dead, on our bed. Many people fall asleep calmly in the evening, but wake up not in this life, but in another life. Couldn't we die too? Illness, fire, an evil person, even just fear could cause us death. But the Lord delivered us from all these troubles. And He not only kept us through the night, but also encouraged and strengthened us for the new day. Yesterday we went to bed tired, exhausted, exhausted from work. We rise with new, fresh strength, capable of work. For all this we must thank the Lord God and thank Him in our morning prayer. We call Him the Lord and Lover of Mankind. The name of the Lord means that during sleep we were, as always, in the power of the Lord God. He may or may not have awakened us to life. By calling us the Lover of Mankind, we signify His love for us: according to His ineffable mercy, He continues our life and gives us time for repentance. Together with a feeling of gratitude, we express a sincere desire to serve the Lord God and do things pleasing to Him. I strive for Thy works through Thy mercy. “I strive” means: I strive, I try to do what He commanded us. And we ask His all-powerful help: help me in every thing, that is, in every good deed that is pleasing to You, and deliver me from all worldly evil things, that is, from every temptation to sin that is found in the world, and from devilish haste, that is, from being carried away into evil by the devil. The devil is an evil spirit, the enemy of God and our enemy. He was once among the good Angels and even surpassed many of them in his closeness to God, strength and glory, but he became proud, fell away from God and carried away many Angels with him. Since then, he has been trying to do evil in the world of God and in every possible way confuses us and tries to distract us from God. So we ask the Lord to destroy his shackles and not allow him to entangle us and lead us to evil. At the end of morning prayer, we express the firm and undoubted hope that the Lord God will help us, and we glorify Him. You are my Creator (Creator) and the Provider and Giver of all good (the Trustee of all good things and the Giver of all blessings), and in You is all my hope (all my hope is in You) and I send up glory to You (I give You glory) now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Lord our God, who have sinned in these days, in word, deed and thought, as He is Good and Lover of Mankind, forgive me. Grant me a peaceful and serene sleep. Send Your guardian angel, covering and keeping 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 ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. When going to bed, we must first of all bring to mind the sins we have committed during the day and ask the Lord God for forgiveness for them. Lord our God, whoever sinned in these days (in which I sinned before You on this day) in word, deed and thought, as you are good and a lover of mankind, forgive me. Then, feeling tired and tired from the day's work, we should ask the Lord for a restful sleep that would refresh and strengthen our strength for new activities. Grant me a peaceful and serene sleep. Since at night people are more often exposed to various disasters than during the day and many die, we ask in our evening prayer the Most Merciful Heavenly Father to send to us a Guardian Angel, whom we may have alienated from ourselves through our sins. Send Your Guardian Angel, covering and keeping me from all evil. And, finally, we surrender our soul and body to the Lord with such faith and humility, as if this evening were already the last in our lives, and, upon waking up, we must present ourselves to the Judgment of God. For You are the Guardian of our souls and bodies, and to You we send glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. The eyes of all trust in You, Lord, and You give them food in good season, You open Your hand generously and fulfill every animal’s good will. Food and drink are given to us from the Lord God. God created all greenery and everything necessary to preserve our lives. He gives vegetation and growth to seeds thrown on the ground, gives dew and rain to saturate the earth with the moisture necessary for plants, and sends the sun's rays from the sky to warm them. It also depends on Him, the Lord of our souls and bodies, that the food we take turns to our benefit to maintain health and strengthen our strength. Therefore, we must place our trust in Him, the One, and we turn to Him in prayer. These feelings and thoughts are expressed in a prayer before dinner, which can be expressed as follows: “the eyes of all creatures turn to You, Lord, with hope, and You give them food at the very time when they need it, send down Your great mercies and, through Your ineffable love, not only people, but also every animal, fish, and insect, you satiate and make them contented and calm.” We thank Thee, Christ our God, for Thou hast filled us with Thy earthly blessings, and do not deprive us of Thy heavenly kingdom. In this prayer, we 1) thank the Lord for giving us food and other earthly goods needed to support our lives; 2) we ask you to grant us eternal blessings in Your Heavenly Kingdom. Thanking the Lord for His mercies is an indispensable duty for everyone. Animals know those who give them food and drink. How can people not know and not thank the All-Good Creator and Provider? The Apostle Paul teaches: whether you eat, drink, or whatever else you do, do everything for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). But no matter how good earthly life is, God has assigned a limit to it. It is followed for righteous people by a better eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. There the Lord prepared such blessings for those who love Him that our eyes have not seen, our ears have not heard of, and now man cannot imagine. The blessings and joys of real life should remind us of the blessings and joys that await those who love God and fulfill His holy commandments there, in Heaven. Therefore, thanking God for earthly blessings, we must ask Him not to deprive us of the highest and best gifts in the Kingdom of Heaven. 13. Prayer to the Mother of God 1. Virgin Mary, Rejoice, Blessed 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. You already know, children, that our Lord Jesus Christ was pleased to be born of the Most Holy Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. She came from the Jewish people, from the line of the king and prophet David, was born from the righteous Jokim and Anna, was raised at the church and here she promised to remain a maiden for the rest of her life in order to make it more convenient for Her to serve the One God. Upon her arrival in her final years, she was given to the care of an elderly relative named Joseph, with the condition that he would only call himself Her husband, and She would remain a virgin for the rest of her life. After which the righteous Joseph took Her to his city of Nazareth, and She lived in his house. Joseph worked as a carpenter. The Blessed Virgin Mary helped him with household chores, and devoted her free time from work to prayer and reading the Word of God. Once, when the Blessed Virgin Mary was reading the Word of God, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Her and said: “Rejoice, full of grace! The Lord is with you! Blessed are you among wives! You have found favor with God. And you will give birth to a Son and call His name Jesus.” The Most Holy Mary asked: “How will this be when I don’t know my husband?” The Archangel told Her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon You, and the power of the Most High will overshadow You.” Then the Most Holy Mary responded to the Archangel’s gospel with all faith, devotion and humility: “Here am I, the servant of the Lord, may it be done to me according to Your word.” From Archangel Gabriel, the Most Holy Mary also learned that the Lord was sending joy to one of her relatives named Elizabeth, the wife of the priest Zechariah, and she would soon give birth to a son. The Blessed Virgin hurried to her to congratulate her on this joy and rejoice with her. Righteous Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and greeted the Blessed Virgin with the words: “Blessed are You among women and blessed is the fruit of Your womb.” From these welcoming words of Archangel Gabriel and Righteous Elizabeth, a prayer was composed in honor and glory of the Most Holy Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary: Virgin Mary, Rejoice! Blessed 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. The Most Holy Virgin is called the Theotokos because the one born of Her is the true God, and the Virgin because She remained a virgin all her life. The Archangel called Her gracious because She was awarded the special extraordinary mercy of God. Therefore, She is glorified as the true color and beauty of life among wives and maidens: blessed are You among wives. Blessed is the fruit of Your womb means: blessed and beautiful is He who was born of You, because You gave birth to the Savior of our souls. 2. It is worthy to eat as you truly bless Theotokos, Ever-Blessed and Most Immaculate and Mother of our God. The most honorable Cherub and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim, who gave birth to God the Word without corruption, we magnify Thee as the real Mother of God. “In all fairness, we kind of appeal to the Blessed Virgin. We must praise You, Most Holy Theotokos: You are always worthy of our praise, You are filled with all virtues and the Mother of our God. You are higher and more glorious without any comparison of the highest Angels, Cherubim and Seraphim, because you have been awarded the highest honor of being the Mother of God Himself and, as a Mother, closest to Your Son, our God. That is why we magnify You as the true Mother of God. The Blessed Virgin gave birth to God the Word. This is what the Son of God is called in the first verse of the first chapter of the Gospel of John: in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word (John 1:1). Without decay. This word means that the Blessed Virgin gave birth to Her Divine Son not in the same way as ordinary women give birth to their children, but without illness and suffering. And it also expresses the idea that the Mother of God remained a Virgin before the birth of the Son of God, at birth and after birth. That is why She is called the Ever-Virgin. 14. Prayer for the Tsar and the Fatherland Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thy inheritance, granting victories to our blessed Emperor Alexander Alexandrovich in resistance and preserving Thy residence through Thy cross. The Holy Apostle Paul teaches that we must first of all offer prayers and thanksgiving for the king and for all whom the king, the supreme ruler of the people, has made rulers over us. Praying for the king is the most important duty of everyone: 1) because he is the father of all the people. He takes care of us, protects us from enemies, gives us the means to live a quiet, safe, comfortable life. We, for our part, must respond to Him for His care and concern for us with respect, devotion, and especially prayer for Him. 2) The king’s service is great and difficult. It is difficult for everyone to cope with the affairs of their home and household. The king is responsible for the care of the whole people. If the Lord sends him success in His affairs, then it will be good for all of us. 3) Kings who are kind and caring for the welfare of the people have many enemies. The lives of the kings are in danger every minute. We must pray that the Lord will preserve and save our pious Sovereign. Thus, when we pray for the king, we pray for ourselves. This is expressed in the above prayer. Her main thoughts are as follows: 1) Lord, save Your people and bless those whom You created and redeemed; 2) for this purpose, grant victory over enemies to our Emperor, who cares about us and protects us; 3) You Yourself deign to dwell in those for whom you shed Your blood on the cross. Redeemed by You, we are Your heritage, Your property. Therefore, protect both the king and all of us who belong to You, by the power of Your Holy Cross. 15. Prayer to the Guardian Angel Angel of God, my holy guardian, given to me from God from heaven for my protection, I diligently pray to you: enlighten me today, and save me from all evil, guide me to good deeds and direct me on the path of salvation. Amen. In addition to the visible world, there is an invisible world in which angels live. The word Angel means: messenger. Angels proclaim God's will to people. Angels are purely spiritual beings and do not have bodies. In intelligence and willpower, Angels are much higher than people. All Angels were created good, but one of them, now called Satan and the Devil, became proud and stopped obeying God. Some other Angels followed his example. Thus, there was a division between the good and evil Angels. The good always and in everything fulfill the will of God, and the evil resist God. Good Angels take care of us and protect us, and evil spirits try to do us harm. Just as they themselves resist God, so they teach us to transgress God’s law. Every Christian has, by the grace of God, a special Guardian Angel. From the day of Holy Baptism until his death, the Guardian Angel protects him on all paths of life, instills in him good thoughts and feelings and protects him from sins. It is to this Guardian Angel that we turn in prayer. 1) We express respect and devotion to the Guardian Angel and the belief that he was sent from God Himself from heaven to protect us. 2) We ask for his help: a) so that he enlightens us, that is, teaches us everything good; b) so that he preserves us from all evil, that is, from everything bad and harmful to us; c) directed us to goodness and to the path of salvation. 16. Prayer to God's holy men In addition to the Angels of God, we have many intercessors and helpers: holy men of God. They, like us, lived and worked on earth, but they always and in everything tried to do the will of God and believed with all their hearts in the Lord the Savior. And the Lord saved them, honored them with His Heavenly Kingdom and glorifies them with the incorruption of holy relics and various miracles. Rejoicing in Heaven with the Lord, the holy Saints want to help us achieve the Kingdom of God and pray to God for us. In addition, each of us has a special patron - that holy saint whose name he bears on himself. Here are short prayers to the holy Saints of God. Saint John, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, pray to God for us! Holy prophet of God Elijah, pray to God for us! Holy Chief Apostles Peter and Paul, pray to God for us! Sainted Father Nicholas, pray to God for us! Reverend Father Sergius, pray to God for us! Pray to God for us, Holy Servant of God, (name of the Saint), as we diligently resort to you, a quick helper and prayer book for our souls. Amen. 17. Prayer for health and salvation of the living Save, Lord, and have mercy on our Archpastor (metropolitan, archbishop, or bishop - his name), my spiritual father (his name), my parents (their names), relatives, superiors, benefactors and all Orthodox Christians. Amen. Our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to cry out in prayer: Our Father, that is, to pray not only for ourselves, but also for all our neighbors. As children of the One Heavenly Father, we are all brothers to each other. In particular, we should pray for those of our neighbors who do us good deeds, for example, for the Tsar, for our spiritual father, for our parents and all our relatives, for our leaders and benefactors. There is a special prayer for the Tsar, already known to you, children. After the King, one must pray for spiritual fathers and parents according to the flesh, that is, for father and mother. Spiritual fathers are the shepherds of the Orthodox Church. The chief shepherd or archpastor is the bishop. The senior, emeritus bishop is called an archbishop. Bishops of current and former capital cities (Novgorod, Kyiv, Moscow, St. Petersburg) are called metropolitans. The shepherds subordinate to the bishop are priests. Of the church pastors, the priest who receives confession from us and, with the power given to him by God, absolves us from our sins is especially called a spiritual father. We must pray for the shepherds of the Church, because by the grace of God they provide us with great benefits: they care for our souls, bestow blessings on us and grant us great sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Communion and others. Our parents provide us with such benefits that are obvious to everyone. They gave us life, took care of us when we were completely helpless babies, feed us, clothe us, give us peace, take care of our upbringing and pray to God for us. How can we pay them? No matter what we do for them, no matter how much we work for them, we still can never give them what they gave us, and we are always in their debt. There is only one thing left to do - to pray that the Lord would have mercy and save them, preserve them for our own good and happiness, and reward them for their good deeds with His great and rich mercy. There are people who take the place of parents, that is, they show us benefits like them, and to whom we owe special love. These are our relatives, benefactors and bosses in various respects. They have shown us more kindness than others: we should especially pray for them. But we must pray not only for our benefactors and people close to us in general, but for our very enemies the Lord commanded us to pray, just as He prayed for His enemies on the cross. Prayer for the enemy is the best way to overcome anger. If you have an enemy, pray for him, and you will see for yourself how the Lord will change enmity in his heart to love for you. Although you, children, have lived on Earth for a little while, you have already seen and known enough. You also know what awaits each of us. So many people have already passed away in one of our villages. You saw how children were buried at a very young age. So, sooner or later, we all face the same inevitable fate. We all must die. Dying does not mean stopping living altogether. No! After death, the body decomposes into its component parts, but the soul remains alive. Something similar happens during sleep: the body lies motionless, only the warmth remaining in it and uninterrupted breathing show that the person has not died, but the soul is awake in sleep and will not change its mind during sleep. And the deceased person seems to be sleeping: the body lies in the grave, and the soul continues to be aware of itself and think about itself and others, feels its position, worries about its sins, looks from there to us and asks for our help. This is the help we must provide to our fathers, brothers, mothers, sisters and all those who have died, that is, those who have fallen asleep in their graves, and pray for them, so that the Lord will calm their souls, forgive their sins and vouchsafe them the Kingdom of Heaven. With the saints rest, O Christ, the souls of your departed servants (their names), where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life. Amen. He lived 700 years from the birth of Christ and foretold many events from the life of the Savior with such clarity, as if he was an eyewitness to them. The word prophet has two meanings: 1) teacher of faith; 2) predictor of the future. The most famous of the prophets who lived before the birth of Christ, besides Isaiah: Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel.