How to begin a simple prayer rule starting today

[Roosh]

1. Print out an icon of Jesus Christ, such as this one. Place the paper icon in an area of your house without visual distractions.

2. Print out these prayers from the rule of St. Pachomius. Before going to bed, read them slowly with heart. (Since you don't have a prayer rope, it's sufficient to do a few Jesus Prayers instead of 100). If you don't have a printer, put your phone in airplane mode and read from the website.

3. After the Jesus Prayer section, converse with God on your needs, challenges, difficulties, and questions. Talk to Him as a child to his father. Then complete your prayer with the Dismissal.

4. Ask questions to others who are engaged in Orthodox spiritual life.

 

[aguy01]

Thank you for this. Deliberate evening prayers are much harder for me than morning. I'm so used to sitting on the computer until I'm tired and ready to go straight to bed. Think I'll try to set an alarm for 8pm or something a little earlier than when I normally fall asleep so that I can do them before I'm too tired.

 

[Diadem]

Should we ask for a blessing from a priest before we start? It seems like it would increase the likelihood that we will be able to stick with it.

 

[Lawrence87]

It's a good rule because it is easy to memorize. Meaning if you are away from home or whatever and you forget your prayer book, you can still pray.

 

[Roosh]

Should we ask for a blessing from a priest before we start? It seems like it would increase the likelihood that we will be able to stick with it.

If you're already in the Church, yes, it's best to get a blessing for prayer rule changes.

Otherwise, start a basic rule approved by the Church and then update the priest of the church you eventually join.

 

[GodGiveMeStrength]

It's a good rule because it is easy to memorize. Meaning if you are away from home or whatever and you forget your prayer book, you can still pray.

Is a prayer book required for prayer or is this something that is encouraged? I've seen prayer books mentioned previously but have not researched them yet myself or ordered one.

 

[Roosh]

Is a prayer book required for prayer or is this something that is encouraged? I've seen prayer books mentioned previously but have not researched them yet myself or ordered one.

It's not required. Prayer books allow longer and more varied prayers. For my first two years, I printed out a couple prayers on paper and used that.

 

[Lawrence87]

Is a prayer book required for prayer or is this something that is encouraged? I've seen prayer books mentioned previously but have not researched them yet myself or ordered one.

I'd say its a pretty valuable thing to have, but not absolutely essential.

When I first became Orthodox, the morning and evening prayers taught me quite a lot about what the Orthodox believe, and how to pray. I'd go so far as to say it is where I learned the most as a catechumen

 

[ed pluribus unum]

Forgive the perhaps ignorant question, but: in the icon example you provided Roosh, is there a reason He appears to be looking to one side instead of straight ahead (i.e. at me, so to speak)?

 

[OrthoSerb]

The advantage of a prayer book is that it will contain prayers we received from saints such as St Macarius the Great, St John Chrysostom and St Basil the Great. These are prayers which holy people have used to attain holiness. They will inculcate within you a certain disposition, how we should be addressing God and what we should be asking of Him. As Lawrence states, they also teach you what Orthodox believe in the process. That said, its also desirable for people to use their own prayers in addition to these structured prayers. Prayer is communion with God and there are things that you will need to pray about that are individual and will surface organically. We aren't constrained to only using existing prayers found in a prayer book.

 

[GodGiveMeStrength]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've been a protestant the majority of my life but I've always been left with a question of, "What's next?" or "Now what?" Over the past year of exploring church history, reading, and watching videos, I feel I've finally found that "what's next" in Orthodoxy. I feel I've been in a waiting room all this time and the door has finally been opened for me

 

[nagareboshi]

Deliberate evening prayers are much harder for me than morning. I'm so used to sitting on the computer until I'm tired and ready to go straight to bed.

I relate to this struggle and one tactic that helped me is, after finishing dinner and concluding the work for the day, to just say the maximal number of evening prayers as prescribed in your prayer rule. Then, right before going to sleep, say a minimal prayer (e.g. just the Trisagion) and fall asleep. I think it's very important to say at least a minimum prayer so that you aren't attacked in your sleep.

To take it even further, I assume that the ideal to end your day at a prescribed time (not based on your personal feeling of tiredness, but on a time limit) so that you can have the full energy to say all the evening prayers before sleeping. I still greatly struggle with that part.

 

[get2choppaaa]

I relate to this struggle and one tactic that helped me is, after finishing dinner and concluding the work for the day, to just say the maximal number of evening prayers as prescribed in your prayer rule. Then, right before going to sleep, say a minimal prayer (e.g. just the Trisagion) and fall asleep. I think it's very important to say at least a minimum prayer so that you aren't attacked in your sleep.

To take it even further, I assume that the ideal to end your day at a prescribed time (not based on your personal feeling of tiredness, but on a time limit) so that you can have the full energy to say all the evening prayers before sleeping. I still greatly struggle with that part.

What I did when just starting out and not having owned a prayer book, not having any icons/incense ect... was to cross myself, and say the Jesus Prayer repeatedly until I fell asleep, I shot for 40-100 times. frequently fell asleep before I got to 100.

When my wife and I became catechumens we got some icons and a prayer book and would do a section of morning or evening prayers together and add certain ones as they were applicable to what we were struggling with. Eventually she got specific prayers for her to say in the morning that shortened the list that was tailored to her. We still say evening prayers together most nights, but if I am traveling I still revert to some basics like saying the Lord's Prayer and repeat the Jesus Prayer before bed.

Especially early on, the most important part is to get used to the idea of dedicating some time to God and reflecting on that every day.

 

[Roosh]

Thank you for this. Deliberate evening prayers are much harder for me than morning. I'm so used to sitting on the computer until I'm tired and ready to go straight to bed. Think I'll try to set an alarm for 8pm or something a little earlier than when I normally fall asleep so that I can do them before I'm too tired.

Cut off all computer/screen time after dinner. Turn off your phone. Go for a walk instead and/or read until time to pray, then go to bed. This is what I do and is works for me, especially to clear your mind before prayer. You don't want to use the internet for hours and then immediately pray, or else the prayer will be very distracted.

 

[DRIIIVER]

If you are interested, this is an excellent app for daily prayers. These Orthodox prayers are built upon the foundation of the “Our Father” prayer, an effective weapon against our sins and passions, the temptations of the world, and the demons. Also, you can add your own prayers, such as the one @Roosh recommended. It also works offline so Airplane mode is still compatible.

‎Pray Always †

‎Take your prayer book with you with Pray Always † for iOS. Daily prayer is essential to a healthy Orthodox Christian life. With today's busy schedules, not everyone has as much time as they desire for their prayer life. The goal for this app is to allow even the busiest to take time to pray.

apps.apple.com

Prayer : An Essential Element of Spiritual Life

One who does not pray is not a Christian. Prayer is the first and most essential element in our spiritual life. It is the breath of our soul, and without it, the soul dies, just as the body dies without air.

All the vital functions of the body depend upon its breathing. In exactly the same way, one’s spiritual life depends on prayer, and a person who does not pray to God is spiritually dead.

If you have a good desire to pray, thank God from Whom everything good comes, and do not lose the chance to pray from the soul. If you do not have this desire, and the time for prayer arrives, then it is necessary to force yourself, encouraging your lethargic and lazy spirit by reminding it that prayer (like every good deed) is all the more precious in God’s eyes when it is given with difficulty.

The Lord does not disdain any prayer if one prays sincerely, as best he knows how, even though he has not developed the habit of praying fully and with unfading fervor.

/// Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow

 

[DRIIIVER]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've been a protestant the majority of my life but I've always been left with a question of, "What's next?" or "Now what?" Over the past year of exploring church history, reading, and watching videos, I feel I've finally found that "what's next" in Orthodoxy. I feel I've been in a waiting room all this time and the door has finally been opened for me

All in Christ's timing. The same happened for me. He (the Door) opened my eyes to Orthodoxy after falling into many pitfalls of heresy and being humiliated, and in my weakness I asked Him to help me because I can't follow Him by my own strength ("worldly knowledge"), and in order to establish gratefulness within me, He finally revealed to me the fullness of the Faith. Glory to God!

 

[Peptalk]

Hi, I just wanted to know:

Is this a typo ?

"and unto the unto the ages of ages."

Is the "unto" supposed to appear twice ?

thanks

 

[OrthoSerb]

Hi, I just wanted to know:

Is this a typo ?

"and unto the unto the ages of ages."

Is the "unto" supposed to appear twice ?

thanks

Yes, that's a typo. It should be "unto the ages of ages", in line with the other instances in the prayer rule.

 

[Peptalk]

Hi, would anyone have a suggestion for a morning prayer? I would like to start praying in the mornings as well. Is it the same prayer as above in the morning? thanks

 

[DRIIIVER]

Hi, would anyone have a suggestion for a morning prayer? I would like to start praying in the mornings as well. Is it the same prayer as above in the morning? thanks

Reference my post earlier in this thread. Or search Orthodox Morning Prayers online if you don’t have access to a Prayer Book yet.

Post in thread 'How to begin a simple prayer rule starting today'
https://www.rooshvforum.com/threads...prayer-rule-starting-today.41308/post-1567039