In Lent, the laity must purify not only their bodies through abstinence, but also their minds. These days, believers refuse to accept heavy food, bad habits and unrighteous thoughts. Daily prayers will help to resist the temptation and not commit sins during fasting.
Prayers in Lent for every day
True believers are trying to rise spiritually on the eve of the brightest Sunday. For this, they read the Holy Scriptures and turn to the Lord. Prayers can be read at home in the morning and evening. You can read the prayers before meals or before bedtime. During Lent, it is very important to keep your thoughts clean, not to get angry and not to swear. Special prayers help prepare for Easter and meet him lightly and joyfully.
Morning prayers
The morning of the first day of Great Lent must begin with an appeal to Jesus Christ and the Most Holy Trinity. They are addressed with special words, such prayers are called initial. With these prayers, the believer wants to show his readiness to test himself with fasting, to understand his meaning, and to feel the words and deeds of Jesus. This is a test of your spiritual strength.
The morning begins with a prayer to Christ, a psalm of David, the third prayer of St.. Macarius the Great, praise and songs to the Virgin. This is a list of basic prayers, how to pray during the Fast of the first day and before Easter.
Evening prayers
During the day, you need to turn to God, with prayers and gratitude for their daily bread. Prayers are read before eating and after meals.
Before going to bed, the believer must turn heartfelt words to the Guardian Angel, thank him for his help and intercession. This is the most wonderful time for opening your heart and turning a prayer to God the Father. Lenten prayer to Jesus Christ should be permeated with a sense of gratitude and enlightenment. The Son of God went up to Calvary for the sins of men. It is important to remember and understand.
An example of an evening prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, prayers for the Prechistya of Thy Mother and all the saints, have mercy on us. Amen.
Then you can read the church prayers, and you can talk to God as your heart tells you. It is important to understand that the Lord will hear any words uttered sincerely and with a soul. Do not be distracted during prayer. Think about problems, worldly rush or indulge in unrighteous thoughts. If you pray, then prayer must come from the very heart. Otherwise, you just shouldn't do it.
Efrem Sirin's Prayer
There are a lot of prayers that a layman can read on Day 1 of Great Lent, but special attention should be paid to the prayer of Ephraim Sirin. This amazing prayer is read daily (except Saturday and Sunday), it is believed that the great righteous man, Saint Ephraim the Syrian, said it for the first time. Prayer is considered one of the most famous prayers and Lent.
The text of the prayer must be read verbatim. At first you can read, looking at the text, but it is best to immediately memorize this prayer. This prayer is very powerful, it must be treated with sincerity and respect.
This prayer is recited twice after the lenten ministry from Monday to Friday. It is not readable in the last two days of the week, since these days the services are not held as usual.
In the first reading of the prayer of Ephraim Sirin, it is necessary to put a bow to the earth after each individual petition. After that, mentally read the prayer "God, cleanse me, sinner" twelve times and bow to the belt. Then again they read the whole prayer and put one bow of the earth.
Many laypeople wonder why this prayer is given such great importance during the Great Lenten Worship. The thing is that in it a special surprising way is the transfer of all the negative and positive elements of repentance. This, if I may say so, determines the list of feats of every believer.
In the first week of Great Lent, special prayers are offered, and strict abstinence takes place. Almost in all churches and churches from Monday to Thursday read the penitential canon of St. Andrei of Crete. Read more here:
Prayers in Lent
The second week of Lent differs in relief for food intake, but does not affect the spiritual state of the believer. All his thoughts should be directed to inner cleansing and striving for the perfection of his thoughts.
Initially, prayers were created so that every believer could talk to God. They included a special rhythm and a special syllable. Old Slavonic words are immersed in a certain state, when the worshiper renounces everything earthly and ascends in thoughts, triumphing spiritually.
Great Lent is a special time for all true believers. These days it is necessary to observe the prescribed rules of abstinence, to strive for good deeds and lead a pious way of life. It is forbidden to spend time in noisy companies, have excessive fun, drink alcohol, engage in carnal pleasures. Restrictions imposed on the body, free the soul from the influence of his desires.
Every day a person experiences many different emotions:
- anger;
- envy;
- anger;
- joy;
- offense;
- disappointment;
- pride;
- hatred.
All this builds up gradually, adding fatigue and irritation. Great Lent gives a wonderful chance to clear your soul of the gravity of earthly sins, routine routine and petty interests. Prayer is a precious helper that helps to remove all accumulated negative burden from a person.
Prayers for those who fast for the first time
In fasting, a person completely changes the lifestyle of his life and this significantly affects his state of health, work, and daily activities. However, habits do not want to let go and fight with them every day becomes more difficult. It is especially difficult to subordinate your desires to people who first decided to fast.
During fasting, indulgence is allowed for those who are sick, for children, pregnant women and travelers. It is important to understand that adherence to the strictest lean diet is not an indicator of spiritual purity and righteousness. The refusal of protein and fatty foods should clear not so much the body as thoughts and feelings. Some people confuse fasting with diet. The purpose of fasting is to free oneself from envy, hatred, sinful thoughts, and not to cleanse the body of those extra pounds and slags.
What should those who understand the true value of Great Lent do but withstand the limitations? In this case, you need to rely on the Holy Word. It is prayer that helps to overcome the feeling of discomfort that a person begins to experience, restricting himself to eating and his usual lifestyle. During prayer comes an understanding of how shallow, fleeting and insignificant the fussy desires of a person thirsting for wealth, fame or honor. Life is very fleeting, that people who did not do good did not take bright memory with them to heaven with them? An understanding of the higher truths of being comes during prayer and turning to God.
It is never too late to go the way of the righteous
Those who fast for the first time do not know what prayers to read and how to talk to God. If there is a desire to go on the path of improving their spirituality, all obstacles will be overcome.
Those who are not familiar with church prayers may have difficulty. This is a large number of unfamiliar text, and a complex language, and sometimes a lack of understanding of the meaning. Sometimes such a prayer can turn into an attempt to pronounce words correctly and not become a sincere appeal to God. In this case, you can ask for help from church ministers. There are many prayers, translated into clear and modern language, but the meaning in them is fully preserved.
In Lent, it is advisable to go to church service. Prayer in the holy place acquires unthinkable power. A person feels the elevation and true faith, which permeates the space surrounding him. The church has a special atmosphere that purifies the heart, causing it to overflow with kindness, joy and happiness.
It is believed that the prayers performed during this time have tremendous power. Of course, if they are read sincerely, with faith in the soul. How this should happen is precisely noticed in his famous statement of Francois Mauriac: "You do not need to have faith to pray; you need to pray to gain faith."
