Evening prayer is very important, and why and how to read it correctly - find out from the article.
Content
Every day, an Orthodox Christian turns to God. He asks for advice, asks to suggest the right decision, seeking help, support and protection. And although you can turn to God at any time of the day, there are certain rules and canons that provide for the pronunciation of morning and evening prayers. The rule includes several prayers with whom the believer can turn to God.
What is evening prayer and why is it needed?
This is the aspiration of your thoughts to the Almighty before bedtime, when the confusion in his thoughts lay down, there remained in the past day of care and problems, and the heart is open to a sincere and trusting conversation with the creator. Prayers included in the rule imply an appeal to God, they are also addressed to the Mother of God, their guardian angel. If you receive a blessing of a priest for this, you can also add prayers addressed to individual saints to the rule. But there are prayers that are important to read in any case, this “Our Father”, “Theotokos”, “Symbol of Faith”.
Like any prayer, the evening reminds us that we are surrounded by divine love and mercy, that we must honor and fulfill the commandments, because they make us cleaner, kinder, more perfect. It is the evening prayer, uttered in the renunciation of the daytime, makes it possible to fully realize all this.
It is very important that all evening prayers (as well as morning ones) are created by those who are counted to the face of saints, i.e. In these appeals to God, the richest spiritual heritage is hidden. Such a concentration of knowledge and experience in a few words pronounced before bedtime teaches us proper communication with God. And even if we pray not by the words of prayer, but we address the Almighty of our own words and thoughts, we build a dialogue, having a perfect example in front of ourselves.
In addition, pronouncing a prayer even when, it would seem, there is no strength, we thereby strengthen our faith and strength of mind, which means a lot. The evening prayer rule spread widely 2-3 centuries ago and eventually became mandatory for true believers.
Rules for pronouncing evening prayer
It doesn’t matter if you pray aloud or pronounce the words only in your thoughts. God will hear you in any case if your words are sincere and come from the heart. Also, there is no strict canon that determines whether it is necessary to completely pronounce the entire prayer rule, or to read individual prayers. Everyone decides this for himself, listening to which words are most consonant with his current state. It is very good to seek advice to your spiritual mentor, telling him about his feelings when reading a particular prayer.
Despite the name “evening” prayer rule, the words of these prayers can turn to God at any time, since their power is constant. You can pronounce them alternately, several, starting 2-3 hours before bedtime and ending right before going to bed.
And further. Do not think that the prayer rule is a strict dogma, and God cannot be appealed to God in your own words. You can pray with those words that you have on your heart, but the rule of prayer in this case serves as a guide star indicating the right path to your words, directing them.
Do not forget to overshadow yourself (you can also have your place to sleep) with a sign of a sign that will block the road to your house for all evil.
The action of evening prayers
Praying, a person is changing. That is why evening prayers are combined into the rule - from the word "rule, straighten." They really direct the prayer, correlating his soul with God, straightening it at some points when she is not very sure. Indeed, in life - both external and our internal - often a lot of contradictions, conflicts, and it is with the help of a prayer spoken to the coming dream, we calm our souls, begin to understand ourselves, separate the true and eternal from overt and transient, vain. We become ourselves, perhaps, not even fully realizing it.
How to understand the words of evening prayer?
You just need to devote a little work and time in order to delve into the meaning. After all, it is really difficult to pronounce and even more to remember words, the true meaning of which you do not understand.
Therefore, clergymen advise, having abandoned the hustle and bustle, to read every prayer carefully, noting incomprehensible places for themselves. Then, with the help of books, dictionaries, the Internet or turning for advice to the priest, understanding for yourself, which means this or that interpretation.
How to replace the evening rule of prayer?
It is unlikely that it can be replaced with something fully. After all, even preparation for prayer is already the work of the soul, what can we say about the very process of turning to the Almighty. Therefore, during our tense and rich worldly life of the day there should be certain constant “outlets” that return to us a true understanding of who exactly our words are addressed to and why we pronounce them.
What is included in the evening rule of prayer?
First you need to turn to God with a thanksgiving prayer. Then - pronounce the words of repentance and bless the light granted to us by the Lord. A mandatory part is God's Word and your prayers from the Holy Scriptures and the Gospel. After you are fully prepared, pronounce thanks to the prayers and please, not forgetting prayer words to the Guardian and the Lord.
It doesn’t matter at all, you will pray in the bedroom, in the kitchen or in the bathroom. The main thing is that there is silence around you, no noise and extraneous sounds distracted you from a conversation with God. It is good to light a candle, its soft light will help you and create an appropriate peaceful atmosphere in the place of your appeal to the Almighty.
“Your hands, the Lord, betray your spirit, bless me, have mercy and grant the eternal life” - leaving with these words to bed, a person seems to give himself to God's protection and mercy.
The Scripture says that demons are expelled with prayer, and it is in a dream that we are most defenseless and vulnerable. Protection, created by repentance, gaining harmony and inner peace achieved by evening prayer, is reliable and strong.
Video: Prayer for the coming dream
