The prayer rule of St. Ambrose of Optina read during temptations

Contents From the letters of St. Ambrose of Optina Psalm to David, who sometimes ran away from the face of Absalom his son, 3. Finally, in songs of reason to David. Suddenly Zipheem came and said to Saul, “Has David hidden himself in us?” 53. In the end, let him not be corrupted, to David in writing the pillars, Saul always sent, and guarded his house, even to put him to death, 58. Psalm to David, when Absalom his son persecuted him, 142. Prayer of the poor, when becomes despondent, and before the Lord he pours out his prayer, 101. Psalm to David, 36. Psalm to David, before the anointing, 26. Praise of the song of David, not inscribed among the Jews, 90. Finally, psalm to David, 39. The Venerable Elder Ambrose of Optina offered those who turned to him in a variety of sorrows and misfortunes special short prayer rules that were feasible for every Christian. The elder knew from his own experience how these prayers act, how they strengthen a person’s weakened spirit, how the enemy’s slander is destroyed if these prayers are read with faith and trust in God’s almighty help. We present here these rules, compiled from the psalms of David, along with excerpts from the letters of St. Ambrose. FROM THE LETTERS OF THE REVEREND AMBROSY OF OPTINSKY Trust in the mercy and help of God and believe that the Lord is strong to deliver you from all the snares of man and the enemy. It is said in the psalms: “The Lord destroys the counsels of tongues and sweeps away the thoughts of men; but the counsel of the Lord endures forever.” I am writing out for you the psalms that Saint David prayed when he was persecuted by his enemies: 3rd, 53rd, 58th, 142nd. Choose words that are appropriate for you from these psalms and read them often, turning to God with faith and humility. And when despondency overcomes you or unaccountable sorrow torments your soul, read Psalm 101. Psalm to David, who at times fled from the face of Absalom his son, 3. Lord, why have we multiplied the cold? Many people rise up against me, many people say to my soul: there is no salvation for him in his God. But you, Lord, are my Protector, my glory, and lift up my head. With my voice I cried to the Lord, and He heard me from His holy mountain. I fell asleep and fell asleep, and arose, as if the Lord would intercede for me. I will not be afraid of those people around who attack me. Arise, Lord, save me, my God, for You have struck down all those who were at enmity with me in vain: You have crushed the teeth of sinners. Salvation is the Lord, and Your blessing is upon Your people. In the end, in songs of reason to David. Suddenly Zipheem came and said to Saul, “Has David hidden himself in us?” 53. God, in Your name save me and in Your power judge me. God, hear my prayer, inspire the words of my mouth. As strangers rose up against me, and sought my soul with strength, and did not offer God before them. Behold, God helps me, and the Lord is the Protector of my soul. Evil will turn away my enemy; consume them with Thy truth. I will devour You, I will confess to Your name, O Lord, that it is good that You have delivered me from all sorrow, and that my eye has looked upon my enemies. In the end, let him not corrupt the pillars of David, when Saul sent and kept watch over his house, even before he put him to death, 58. Deliver me from my enemies, O God, and deliver me from those who rise up against me. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity and save me from the blood of men. For behold, you have ensnared my soul and attacked me with strength, lower my iniquity, lower my sin, O Lord. Having flown without iniquity and corrected it, arise to meet me and see. And You, O Lord God of hosts, God of Israel, visit all the nations, so that you may not restrain all those who practice iniquity. They will return in the evening and will hunger like a dog and will go around the city. These answer with their lips, and the sword is in their mouth, for who can hear? And You, Lord, laugh at them and destroy all languages. I will preserve my power towards You, for You, O God, are my Protector. My God, His mercy will go before me, my God will show me in all my adversities. Do not kill them, lest when they forget Your law, scatter me with Your power and bring me down, O my Protector, Lord. The sin of their lips, the word of their lips, and let them be in their pride, and from oaths and lies they will be proclaimed in death. They will die in wrath, and they will not: but they will proclaim that God rules over Jacob and the ends of the earth. They will return in the evening, and will hunger like a dog, and will go around the city. The food will be scattered. If they are not satisfied, they will grumble. I will sing of Your power and rejoice in the morning about Your mercy, for You were my Protector and My refuge in the day of my tribulation. Thou art my helper, I sing to Thee: for thou art my God, my Protector, my God, my mercy. Psalm to David, when his son Absalom persecuted him, 142. Lord, hear my prayer, inspire my prayer in Your truth, hear me in Your righteousness: and do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for every living person will not be justified before You. Because the enemy drove away my soul, he humbled my life to eat, and he planted me in the dark, like dead ages. And my spirit is sad within me, my heart is troubled within me. I have remembered the days of old, I have learned from all Your deeds, I have learned from Your handiwork. I lift up my hands to You, my soul, like a waterless land to You. Hear me soon, O Lord, my spirit has disappeared, do not turn Your face away from me, and I will become like those who go down into the pit. I hear you show me Your mercy in the morning, for I have trusted in You. Tell me, Lord, the way, I will go, as if I have taken my soul to You. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, I have fled to You. Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. Your Good Spirit will guide me to rightness on earth. For Thy name's sake, Lord, live me, by Thy righteousness remove my soul from sorrow. And by Your mercy, consume my enemies and destroy all my cold souls, for I am Your servant. The prayer of a beggar, when he is discouraged, and before the Lord he pours out his prayer, 101. Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to You. Do not turn Your face away from me: even if I mourn for a day, incline Your ear to me: even if I call on You for a day, hear me soon. As if my days had disappeared like smoke, and my bones had dried up like dry land. I was wounded like grass, and my heart wasted away, as if I had forgotten to bear my bread. Because of the voice of my groaning my bone cleaves to my flesh. I became like the tawny owl of the desert, like a nighttime corvid on its dive. I walked and walked like a special bird here. All day long I have reproached you, and those who praise me swear by me. It became ashes like I ate bread, and I dissolved my drink with tears. From the presence of Thy anger and Thy wrath: for as Thou hast exalted Thou hast cast me down. My days have turned away like the shade, and I have dried up like hay. But You, Lord, remain forever, and Your memory endures forever. You have risen to show mercy to Zion, for the time has come to show mercy to it. For Thy servants have favored his stone, and his dust they will buffet. And the nations will fear the name of the Lord, and all the kingdoms of the earth will fear Your glory. For the Lord will build Zion and appear in His glory. Consider the prayer of the humble, and do not despise their prayers. Let this be written for generations, and the people of the world praise the Lord. As from His holy heights, the Lord looked down from Heaven to earth, to hear the groaning of the chained, to release the sons of the slain, to proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion, and His praise in Jerusalem. Sometimes the people and the king will gather together to work for the Lord. Answer Him on the way of His strength: make known to me the decline of my days. Do not bring me to the end of my days: in the generation of your generations. In the beginning, O Lord, You founded the earth, and Your hand made the heavens. They will perish, but You remain, and all like a robe they will promise, and like a garment I will wear, and they will be changed. You are the same, and Your years will not fail. Thy servants shall dwell, and their seed shall be perfected forever. I received your letter, but in the second week of Lent I didn’t have time to write you an answer, so the third week is already coming to an end. I’ll tell you again that, in my opinion, you still need to wait and be patient while the providential power of God acts, ruining wrong advice and sweeping away the thoughts of ill-intentioned people; for the counsel of God alone endures forever. In order to receive God’s mercy and help in your situation, read Psalm 36 daily: “Do not be jealous of those who are evil; do not envy those who commit iniquity.” And it would be good to read this psalm according to the words of Saint David - evening, morning and noon. And two more psalms - “The Lord enlightens” and “Living in help.” If, in the name of the Holy Trinity, you regularly read these psalms three times daily with humility and zeal, surrendering yourself to the all-good Providence of God, then you will be led to obey the Lord and beg Him. It is also useful to read the psalm - “By enduring, I have endured the Lord and listened to me.” It is not in vain that the Holy Scripture says that through many sorrows we must enter the Kingdom of Heaven, for the sake of which we entered the monastery. Do not be jealous of those who are evil; be not jealous of those who commit lawlessness. Like the grass they will soon dry up, and like the potion of grain they will soon disappear. Trust in the Lord, and do goodness, and populate the earth, and enjoy its riches. Delight the Lord, and He will grant you the petitions of your heart. Open your way to the Lord, and trust in Him, and He will do it: and He will bring forth your righteousness like light and your destiny like noonday. Obey the Lord and beg Him. Do not be jealous of a man who is late on his journey and commits a crime. Stop being angry and leave rage: do not be jealous or be deceitful. Those who are wicked will be consumed, but those who endure the Lord will inherit the earth. And yet a little while, and there will be no sinner: and you will seek his place, and will not find it. The meek ones will inherit the earth and enjoy the abundance of the world. The sinner looks down on the righteous and gnashes his teeth. The Lord will laugh at him and despise him, when his day comes. The sinner has drawn the sword, strained her bow, cast down the wretched and the poor, and slain the upright in heart. Let their sword enter into their hearts, and let their bows be broken. A little is better for the righteous than the much wealth of sinners. For the sinners' arms will be broken, but the Lord will strengthen the righteous. The Lord knows the way of the blameless, and their inheritance will endure forever. They will not be ashamed in times of cruelty, and in days of famine they will be satisfied, as sinners will perish. Defeat the Lord, become greatly glorified by them and ascend, vanishing like smoke. The sinner borrows and does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives. For those who bless Him will inherit the earth, but those who curse Him will be consumed. From the Lord a man’s feet are straightened, and his ways are greatly delighted. Whenever he falls, he will not be broken, for the Lord strengthens his hand. The youngest was, for he grew old, and did not see the righteous man left, below his seed asking for bread. All day long the righteous one has mercy and gives back, and his seed will be a blessing. Turn away from evil, and do good, and dwell in the age of the century. For the Lord loves judgment and will not forsake His venerables, they will be preserved forever. But the wicked will marry, and the seed of the wicked will be consumed. The righteous women will inherit the earth and dwell in it forever. The mouth of the righteous shall learn wisdom, and his tongue shall speak judgment. The law of his God is in his heart, and his feet will not falter. The sinner looks at the righteous and seeks to kill him. The Lord will not leave him in his hand; he will judge him even when he judges him. Be patient with the Lord, and preserve His way, and He will exalt you, even though you will inherit the earth, when you are consumed by a sinner, you will see. I saw the wicked being exalted and towering like the cedars of Lebanon. And he passed by, and behold he was not, and sought him, and his place was not found. Maintain kindness and see righteousness, for there is a remnant for a man in peace. The wicked will be consumed together: the remnants of the wicked will be consumed. The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord, and their Protector is in time of tribulation. And the Lord will help them, and deliver them, and remove them from sinners, and save them, because they trusted in Him. Psalm to David, before the anointing, 26. The Lord is my enlightenment and my Savior, whom will I fear? The Lord is the Protector of my life, from whom shall I fear? Sometimes you come close to me with malice, even if you destroy my flesh, those who insult me ​​and defeat me, you become weak and fall. Even if a regiment takes up arms against me, my heart will not fear, even if it rises up to fight against me, I will trust in Him. I have asked one thing of the Lord, and this I will require: that I may live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may behold the beauty of the Lord and visit His holy church. Because He hid me in His village in the day of my evils, He covered me in the secret of His village, He lifted me up on a rock. And now, behold, I have lifted up my head against my enemies: I have eaten and devoured in His village the sacrifice of praise and shouting, I will sing and sing praises to the Lord. Hear, O Lord, my voice, where I cried: have mercy on me and hear me. My heart says to you: I will seek the Lord. I will seek Your face, O Lord, I will seek Your face. Do not turn Your face away from me, and do not turn aside in anger from Your servant: be my helper, do not reject me, and do not forsake me, O God of my Savior. For my father and mother abandoned me, but the Lord will accept me. Establish the law, O Lord, in Thy way and guide me on the right path for my enemy’s sake. Do not betray me into the souls of those who are afflicted by me, as if I stood up as a witness to unrighteousness and lied untruthfully to myself. I believe in seeing the good Lord in the land of the living. Be patient with the Lord, be of good courage and let your heart be strong, and be patient with the Lord. The praise of the song of David, not written among the Jews, 90. Living in the help of the Most High, he will dwell in the blood of the Heavenly God. Says the Lord: You are my protector and my refuge, my God, and I trust in Him. For He will deliver you from the snare of the trap, and from the words of rebellion, His splash will overshadow you, and under His wing you hope: His truth will surround you with weapons. Do not fear from the fear of the night, from the arrow that flies in the days, from the things that pass in the darkness, from the grime and the demon of the midday. Thousands will fall from your country, and darkness will be at your right hand, but it will not come close to you, but look with your eyes, and see the reward of sinners. For You, O Lord, are my hope, You have made the Most High your refuge. Evil will not come to you, and wound will not approach your body, as His Angel commanded you to keep you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their arms, but when you dash your foot against a stone, you will step on the asp and the basilisk, and cross the lion and the serpent. For I have trusted in Me, and I will deliver, and I will cover, because I have known My name. He will call to Me, and I will hear him: I am with him in tribulation, I will destroy him, and I will glorify him, I will fill him with long days, and I will show him My salvation. Finally, Psalm to David, 39. I have endured and endured the Lord, and he has heeded me and heard my prayer. And bring me up from the pit of passions, and from the clay of the mire, and set my feet on the stone, and straighten my steps, and put a new song in my mouth, singing to our God. Many will see and fear, and trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man for whom the name of the Lord is his hope, and will not despise lying vanity and turmoil. Thou hast done many things, O Lord my God, Thy wonders, and by Thy thought there is no one who can be like Thee: I have proclaimed them in words, multiplying more than in number. You did not desire sacrifices and offerings, but you fulfilled the body for me, burnt offerings, and you did not require sin. Then he said, “Behold, I have come; in the book of the book it is written about me: I have pleased to do Thy will, O my God, and Thy law is in the midst of my belly.” The gospel of righteousness is great in the church; behold, I will not hinder my lips: Lord, you have understood. I have not hidden Your righteousness in my heart, I have not hidden Your truth and Your salvation, I have not hidden Your mercy and Your truth from the multitude. But You, Lord, have not removed Your tender mercies from me: I will take Your mercy and Your truth away, intercede for me. Because the evil one has overcome me, and there is no end to it, my iniquities have befallen me, and I am not able to see the hair of my head multiply, and my heart forsake me. Deign, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord, come to my aid. Let those who seek to take away my soul be ashamed and put to shame, and let those who wish to harm me turn back and be ashamed. May those who say: good, good, receive their coldness. Let all who seek You, O Lord, rejoice and rejoice in You, and let them say: May the Lord be exalted, who love Your salvation. But I am poor and wretched, the Lord will take care of me. Thou art my Helper and my Protector, O my God, do not become stubborn. REVEREND ELDER AMBROSIY OF OPTINA The Venerable Optina Elder Ambrose was born on November 23, 1812 in the village of Bolshaya Lipovitsa, Tambov province, and was named Alexander in honor of the blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, whose memory was celebrated on that day. His father Mikhail Fedorovich Grenkov was a rural sexton, and his mother Marfa Nikolaevna was involved in raising children. Alexander grew up as a lively and playful boy, he loved children's fun and noisy games. The entire upbringing of children in the family took place in a strictly religious direction. His father took Alexander with him to church, where the young boy read and sang in the choir. The family also loved reading divine books. At the age of 12, Alexander entered the Tambov Theological School, and upon graduation in 1830, he entered the Tambov Theological Seminary. Thanks to his natural talent, teaching was easy for Alexander. However, those around him emphasized the integrity of his nature, moral purity and composure of spirit. As he later recalled: “I never thought of going to a monastery... however, others for some reason predicted to me that I would be in a monastery.” And soon the young seminarian was shown his true calling. A year before graduating from the seminary, Alexander became so seriously ill that those around him already despaired of his recovery. At this time, Alexander made a promise to the Lord that if He raised him up healthy from his sick bed, he would certainly go to a monastery. The young man recovered, but did not immediately have the opportunity to fulfill his vow: neither his superiors nor his parents would allow him to leave the seminary. In 1836, Alexander graduated from the seminary course. He decided to choose a place for himself that would not embarrass him if he was completely determined to leave the world, and became a home teacher in the house of one of the landowners. Here he became acquainted with secular society, got to know different characters closer and deeper, which significantly expanded his life experience. At that time, as the elder later recalled, everyone who was in quarrels sought his advice and asked him to be a reconciliator. In March 1838, Alexander Mikhailovich was approved as a teacher at the Lipetsk Theological School. When dealing with his students, he combined kindness with reasonable severity, which he himself was accustomed to in childhood. Outwardly, everything was going well - he was respected by his colleagues and superiors, but his inner voice haunted him. This is how the elder himself described his condition at that time: "After recovery, I kept shrinking for four whole years, did not dare to end the world right away, but continued to visit my acquaintances and did not give up my talkativeness. I used to think to myself: well, from now on I will be silent, I will not get distracted. And then, you see, someone will invite you to come over, well, of course, I won’t be able to stand it and will get carried away by talking. But when you come home - my soul is restless; and you think: well, now everything is over forever - I’ll stop chatting completely. Look, they invited me to visit again, and I’ve been chatting again for four whole years.” To strengthen himself in his experiences, Alexander Mikhailovich resorted to solitary prayer in front of the image of the Mother of God of Tambov - a parental blessing. Carefully concealing his state of mind, he expected certain instructions from above, from the Lord. His secret doubts were strengthened by the Troekurov recluse Hilarion, who told Alexander Mikhailovich: "Go to Optina. You are needed there." However, for a final break with the world, some other decisive push was needed. Once Alexander Mikhailovich was invited to visit friends. The evening passed with great excitement, Alexander Mikhailovich was cheerful and made those present laugh. The night after this evening, spent in sincere repentance, finally determined the fate of Alexander Mikhailovich. "It will be! It's time to put an end to everything! You can't serve both God and mammon. You have to choose one thing! You have to cleave completely to the One God! You have to give up the world!" A few days later, without saying a word to anyone, Alexander Mikhailovich secretly left Lipetsk and headed to Optina Pustyn, where he arrived on October 8, 1839. Located among a huge dense forest, the monastery was not particularly rich. In the monastery and in the monastery, sincere zealots of monastic deeds labored: Hegumen Moses (Putilov), the wise and humble abbot of the monastery, his brother, the head of the monastery, Hieromonk Anthony, who was distinguished by his special meekness and humility, and finally, the elders who controlled the spiritual life of the entire monastery - Hieroschemamonks Lev (Nagolkin) and Macarius (Ivanov), as well as many other ascetics. Elder Leo, the founder of the eldership in Optina Hermitage, a mentor of high spiritual experience, who had the gift of reasoning and insight, accepted Alexander Mikhailovich among his students. At first, Alexander Mikhailovich lived in a hotel, and then, with the blessing of Elder Leo, he moved to a monastery. On April 2, 1840, he was enrolled in the fraternity and dressed in a cassock. At first he was a reader for Elder Leo, then he worked in a bakery, and then became a cell attendant for Elder Macarius. The desire for a strict spiritual life was noticed by the elders. As Elder Ambrose recalled, “the late elder (Fr. Leo) then called Father Fr. Macarius says to him: “Here is a man who is painfully huddling with us, the elders. I have now become very weak. So I am handing him over from place to place, handle him as you know.” In the summer of 1841, novice Alexander was tonsured into the ryassophore, and on November 29, 1842, into the mantle with the name Ambrose in honor of St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (December 7). February 4, 1843 Fr. Ambrose was ordained a hierodeacon, and on December 9, 1845, a hieromonk. Almost immediately after the dedication of Fr. Ambrose became seriously ill. In October 1846, he was tonsured into the schema in a private manner, retaining his former name, and soon, due to illness, was removed from the staff of the monastery. Despite his many illnesses, Fr. Ambrose not only did not grieve for them, but even considered them necessary as the best means for educating the soul. After the death of Elder Macarius in 1860, Fr. Ambrose took upon himself the difficult burden of senile service. They went to the elder in Optina as if they were a holy man, believing and hoping that they would receive healing from spiritual and physical ailments. Christian love, firm faith and the heartfelt prayer of the elder healed all visitors. The elder’s instructions were often brief, but succinct and were remembered by his students for a long time. “How to live in order to be saved?” - “We need to live unhypocritically and behave exemplarily, then our cause will be true, otherwise it will be bad”; “How to live?” - “To live is not to bother, not to judge anyone, not to annoy anyone, and my respect to everyone.” Not only ordinary people, but also numerous monastics and representatives of the intelligentsia turned to him. Among the latter we can note F.M. Dostoevsky, K.N. Leontiev, L.N. Tolstoy, Vl. Solovyov, S.P. Shevyrev, I.V. and P.V. Kireyevsky, M.P. Pogodin and many others. Many turned to the elder in writing, asking for his advice. The elder had special care for the Shamordino monastery, which was built with his blessing not far from the Optina Monastery. The monastery accepted mourning and disadvantaged women who did not have the opportunity to enter other monasteries. Here, on October 10, 1891, the elder completed his earthly journey. A mournful solemn procession carried the coffin with the body of the deceased to Optina Pustyn and buried it at the south-eastern wall of the Vvedensky Cathedral, next to the grave of Elder Macarius. For many years, the memory of the Optina ascetic was preserved among the people. In 1988, the Monk Ambrose of Optina was glorified by the Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. The holy relics of the reverend elder were found and placed in the Vvedensky Cathedral of the monastery. 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