Each of us encounters different aspects of life. We live pleasant and joyful events, and we also have to face problems and even tragedies face to face. In moments of great despair, when all ordinary means have been exhausted, every effort has been made to solve a complex problem and all or almost all possibilities have been used, many turn to God for help, even if before that they were not particularly pious and bypassed church organizations.
In some cases, faith in help from another world becomes a reality for a person who has exhausted his efforts in solving any difficult life circumstances. Many who have turned to religion say that it was the difficulties in fate that changed their worldview and forced them to look at what is happening from a different perspective.
In many cases, if a person sincerely looks up, help will come. Circumstances may change, the necessary saving solution may come, the perception of the situation and one's role in it may change. Suddenly, the very person who can be of help is in right time and in the right place! What is it, programming yourself or really help from somewhere else?
People faced with insurmountable life circumstances and given the opportunity to test their faith will say that, of course, they were helped by God, the saints, or someone else from another world.
Jesus spoke about the possibility of receiving help from God himself in the Gospel of Luke: “Ask, and it will be given to you.” Why do some requests get a response and others don't?
Here are a few principles that, if not guaranteed, may well help to make your request “audible” to the other party….
- Purity of motive.
The request should at least be harmless to the person asking and the people around him, and ideally, after its implementation, it should lead to some benefit that is useful to the person. The motive is very important. Asking your competitors to reduce their sales, and in the face of the decline, your company would gain some advantages for your personal benefit, then such a request harms others, is purely selfish and cannot be supported by higher powers.
If you sincerely ask for help for a sick child or for help in a desperate situation, then your request is more likely to be heard, because it is based on concern for others or a legal right to receive help.
- Sincerity.
Jesus continues: “Or is there a man among you whose son will ask for bread, and he will give him a stone?”
In religion, God acts as a loving and caring father who will always help his child if he asks him. But only the one who asks should ask sincerely, like a child. When your request comes from the very heart, you do not pursue selfish interests and put yourself in the position of a child in relation to loving parent, the request becomes really sincere.
Sincerity makes communication simple, sincere and very easy, coming straight from the heart. The expressiveness of this quality brings us closer to God, since God himself is deep in our heart.
So many of our requests and desires are not fulfilled, because they do not pass the test of sincerity. This is how we want to get rich. Is this desire sincere? Most often, it does not come from the heart, but is due to the desire to get more material comfort. But is the desire to have enough money to support your family and provide your child with the conditions necessary for life and development to be sincere? Perhaps to a much greater extent. Feel the difference?
Check your request for sincerity. Could a simple child ask for it? Does it come from the heart or do you want to stand out among others and satisfy your ambitions?
- Humility.
The next principle in building your relationship with God is humility. The Lord knows more than we do about our lives. And something incomprehensible to us now can serve some positive purpose, which we will guess only in the future.
If we turn to God, then we must, like a child in relation to a loving parent, rely on his will, because he is an adult, knows more, and he knows better when and how to help. We need to stop worrying about our problem and be ready to accept help, which can be very unexpected. Also, after our sincere request, in the event that no visible changes we should take this situation calmly. Help may come later, as this moment our a difficult situation necessary for our development.
How to ask for help?
Find some time when no one will distract you. Write a letter to God. What would you like to write to Him? Thank you for what? What to ask? State your request in detail.
Now, if you have followed the principles outlined above, you can stop worrying about your difficulty, get distracted, and let God give you the help you need. If your situation requires you to take specific actions, keep doing them.
Help may come different ways. You can meet people who are competent in your situation and can help, you can understand how you need to act, you can just feel calm and understanding that your situation will be resolved in the future, or help can come in a completely different way, because the ways of the Lord…..
Every person at some point in his life turns to God for help or advice. Therefore, it is necessary for everyone to know how to pray at home correctly so that God hears your words. Today, perhaps, the vast majority of people are unsure that they are praying correctly, but sometimes you really want to hear the answer to the question posed.
How to pray at home so that God hears?
Behind every twist of fate we may face insurmountable difficulties or dangers:
- terrible diseases;
- a lack of money;
- uncertainty about tomorrow;
- fear for family and friends.
Few people manage to avoid such turns. All that remains for us is to pray to God, tell him about our hardships and ask for help. If you want to hear the answer and feel a helping hand, then the request must be sincere and come from the depths of your heart.
Unfortunately, in modern times, prayer is resorted to only in the most extreme circumstances, in desperate need of support, protection or help. But it is worth remembering that prayer is not just a collection of interconnected words, a conversation with God, so the monologue must come from the heart. Prayer is the only way to communicate with the Creator, which is why every person should know how to pray correctly.
In order to be heard, it is not at all necessary to conquer Mountain peaks, travel to holy places or walk through caves, believe strongly and sincerely enough. If God sees everything, then why should we go somewhere in order to turn to him?
But how to read prayers in order to be heard? What can you ask the Creator? You can ask the Almighty about everything. The exceptions are requests that bring grief, sadness and tears to other people.
Divine Prayer Book today it keeps in itself just an incredible number of prayers that cover various life situations of a believer. These are the prayers:
As we said earlier, these prayers simply have no number. There are no number of words with which you can turn to our Savior, praying for help. Remember only that the Lord is condescending towards you, understand all the seriousness of your appeal, appreciating your unworthiness.
Even if you do not know the words of the prayer, but approached the conversion with all sincerity and seriousness, then The Lord will not leave you and will surely guide you on the right path..
I would also like to add that turning to the Almighty is not a panacea for all diseases and is not one of the magical rituals. Therefore, treat the appeal accordingly. Remember that God himself knows who deserves what in this life. You should not ask him to harm or punish someone, this is a sin! Never ask him to do injustice.
When exactly can prayers be read?
At modern man there is no opportunity to read prayers all day, therefore should be dedicated to this certain time . Waking up in the morning, even the busiest person in life can stand in front of the icons for a few minutes and ask God for blessings for the coming day. Throughout the day, a person can silently repeat prayers to his Guardian Angel, the Lord or the Mother of God. You can turn to them silently so that the people around you do not notice.
It is worth noting that a special time is the time before bedtime. It is at this hour that you can reflect on how spiritual this day was, what you have sinned about. Turning to the Lord before going to bed calms, allows you to forget the fuss of the past day, tuning in to a calm and quiet sleep. Do not forget to thank the Lord for everything that happened to you during the day, and that he lived it with you.
There are many ways to ask the Lord for help., regardless of where you are - at home or in the temple. The icon will always have a positive effect.
How to ask for help in front of an icon? Which image is better to give preference? If you have no idea how to read the prayer correctly and in front of which icon, then it is best to pray in front of the images Holy Mother of God and Jesus Christ. These prayers can be called "universal" because they help in any business and request.
The main components of home prayer books are the beginning and end. It is necessary to turn to the Saints and ask for help correctly, following the steps below simple advice:
Prayer will be heard by the Lord if the following rules are followed:
What is the difference between church and home prayer?
An Orthodox Christian is called to pray constantly, doing it anywhere. Today, many have a well-founded question, why go to church to pray? There are certain differences between home and church prayer.. Let's take a look at them.
The Church was founded by our Jesus Christ, so thousands of years ago Orthodox Christians gathered in communities to glorify the Lord. Church prayer has incredible power and there are many confirmations of believers about grace-filled help after church service.
Church fellowship provides and obligatory participation in worship services. How to pray for the Lord to hear? First of all, you need to visit the church and delve into the essence of worship. At the very beginning, everything will seem incredibly difficult, almost incomprehensible, but after a while, everything will become clear in your heads. It is also worth noting that special literature is published to help every novice Christian, which clarifies everything that happens in the church. You can buy them in any icon shop.
Prayer by agreement - what is it?
In addition to home and church prayers, in practice Orthodox Church there is. Their essence lies in the fact that at the same time people read the same appeal to the Lord or the Saint. However, it is worth noting that these people do not have to be around at all, they can be in different parts light, it doesn't matter.
In most cases, such acts are committed to help loved ones in extremely difficult situations. life situations. For example, when serious illness a person's relatives gather and pray to the Lord to heal the suffering. The power of this appeal is very great, because, according to God himself, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them."
But you should not consider this appeal as a kind of ritual that will fulfill all your desires. We have already said earlier that The Lord knows all our needs therefore, turning to him for help, we must do it, trusting in his holy will. Sometimes it happens that prayers do not bring the desired fruit, but this does not mean that they do not hear you, the reason is very simple - you are asking for something that will become extremely unprofitable for the state of your soul.
Summing up all of the above, I would like to note that the main thing is not just to pray, but to be a truly sincere and believing person with pure thoughts and heart. We strongly encourage you to pray every day so that you will be heard by God sooner. If you decide to start a righteous life, then you first need to be cleansed of all sins by taking communion and confessing. Before the start of prayers, it is recommended to lead exactly nine days not only spiritual, but also physical, refusing meat.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you"(Matthew 7:7).
Today we will talk about how to beg God for what you want. Each person has a cherished desire for the fulfillment of which we pray to the Lord and tea for its fulfillment. It happens that some of our desires are fulfilled immediately, and some are “stuck” in temporary space for an indefinite period, or even remain unanswered. Let's try to figure out what is the reason.
First, consider what are the desires from the Orthodox point of view, namely: pleasing and objectionable to God. What desires are pleasing to God? Those that correspond to spiritual and moral laws. Remember? Do not covet your neighbor's house; do not covet your neighbor's wife; neither his servant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is with your neighbor. It is clear that the Lord will not fulfill such wishes, but what about the “right” desires?
Each Orthodox Christian knows the prayer "Our Father ...". What are the wishes?
1. Daily bread
2. Asking for forgiveness of sins
3. Request for deliverance from temptations and the evil one.
This prayer was given by our Lord Jesus Christ himself, who, being not only God, but also a Man, knew our earthly needs. God knows all our needs before our petition and does not limit our free will, but every moment a person is under His Divine Providence.
All, or almost all, people have an instinct for self-preservation. We wish health to ourselves and our loved ones. We pray, we ask ... The famous saying "In a healthy body healthy mind..." actually sounds like this: "In a healthy body, a healthy mind is a rare success."
The body is the temple of the soul, and for Orthodox people those who partake of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ - the Tabernacle. The Holy Church prays for the health of her flock, celebrating proskomidia and proclaiming litanies, and parishioners in parish communities, having taken a blessing, pray for their brother or sister who has fallen ill. The prayer ends by agreement with the words: but both not as we want, but as You. May Your will be done forever. Amen.
We must understand that if the Lord does not grant what we ask, then it is His Holy Will, because only He knows what is useful to us and what is not.
Prayer to the Lord
Master of the Almighty, Holy King, punish and not kill, affirm those who fall, raise the overthrown, bodily people, correcting sorrows and, we pray to Thee, our God, Thy servant (name), weakly visit Thy mercy, forgive him any sin, voluntary and involuntary. To her, Lord, send down Your healing power from heaven, touch the body, extinguish the fire, tame the passion and all the infirmity that is hidden, be the doctor of Your servant (name), raise him up from the painful bed, and from the bed of embitterment, whole and all-perfect, grant it to Your Church pleasing and doing Your will, for Yours is, hedgehog to have mercy and save us, our God, and we send glory to You. Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever, amen.
Pay attention to the words: grant it to Your Church, pleasing and doing Your will... We seem to say: Lord, he (she) will fulfill Your Holy Will, only heal!
One of the important components of obtaining the requested health is the forgiveness of insults. Believe me, God does not hear vindictive people. The guarantee that your prayer will be heard is a heartfelt prayer for the health and well-being of your offenders. Reconcile in your heart and see how many diseases will leave you.
Another one actual topic concerning young people - begging for a spouse. There are few people who do not want to find their "half". "Eve" is looking for "Adam", "Adam" - his missing "Rib"... So how do you beg your one or only one from God? In Yulia Sysoeva's book “God Does Not Pass By,” two friends came to the famous old man. To one of them, the elder said very important words for all girls:
- You will finish the institute, and there you will get married, just keep yourself from any fornication until then. Otherwise, you will not be able to marry the one who will be given to you.
Believing young ladies ask the Lord to give them "... an honest and pious wife, in order to glorify the Lord in love with him and in harmony .."
Once I had a chance to talk with a believing girl. I ask: how do you imagine your future family life?
Well, Father, a kind, pious and decent husband, healthy children, complete mutual understanding and love!
- So, I say, let's figure it out: do you consider yourself worthy of all these benefits, have you done anything wrong in your life? Silent.
- Doesn't it occur to you that you should answer for your "arts"? When begging for a spouse, do you know which one is useful to you for salvation, a kind and pious one or a brawler and a drunkard? I thought. How often do we not know what we are asking for!
But do not despair! Remember the example of King David, who, for the sake of a woman, almost lost the mercy of God, how he, having sinned, repented! And the Lord blessed him with his son Solomon - the wisest of the wisest, however ... before that, King David still had to "pay" for his sin.
We must always remember that everything in the spiritual and material world is subject to the laws established by the Creator. Everything is in balance... And begging the Lord for one or another of your wishes, you need to be aware that you may have to sacrifice something.
Finally, I would like to recall the text, in my opinion, a very wise prayer:
Daily prayer of St. Filaret
Lord, I don't know what to ask of You. You alone know what I need. You love me more than I know how to love myself.
Father! Give to Thy servant, which I myself cannot ask. I do not dare to ask - neither a cross, nor consolation: I only stand before You. My heart is open to You;
You see needs I don't know. Behold and do with me according to Thy mercy: strike and heal, bring down and lift me up. I revere and remain silent before Your holy will and Your destinies incomprehensible to me.
I offer myself as a sacrifice to You. I have no desire, except for the desire - to fulfill Your will; Teach me to pray and pray in me yourself. Amen.
Acting Dean
Tikhoretsky church district,
Rector of St. Nicholas Church
the village of Fastovetskaya
Archpriest Valery Bocharnikov
In fact, this question is very relevant and important for everyone. Often people wonder how to ask God for help. Many believers cry out to God for help, praying daily, and never get what they want. This injustice makes one wonder why God hears some requests, while answering the prayers of others with silence?
The human essence is so arranged that every person strives for the truth. Therefore, in search of an answer to their question, some believe that they do not observe the rules of prayer. To understand why this is happening, one should understand the reasons for the alleged indifference Higher Forces.
Most people tend to believe in miracles. And the process of prayer really obeys certain rules. You should not cry to heaven only when you need the fulfillment of something. God's plan is not simple execution human dream. However, God helps all those who pray in achieving the goal. Sometimes it's not as obvious as we think.
Prayer alone is not enough to achieve success. Each person must make his own efforts and have good intentions in order to count on God's help.
If a person is driven by a destructive and negative motivation (thirst for revenge, deception of people, selfish or evil thoughts), then dark forces will come to his aid, but dark forces will come. However, not everyone knows that the price for the fulfillment of their evil plans will be their own soul and fate, crippled by failures.
How to ask for help from God and Higher Powers?
Most people, turning to God for help, forget about observing a number of rules that must be taken into account in order for the Almighty to hear them. Practical Tips For those who turn to God for help:
- Ask only for good things and set yourself worthy goals. Do not wish harm to anyone, it is destructive to your soul. For evil people it's worth asking fair trial Over. But in no case do not aggravate your situation with vindictive thoughts.
- Cleanse Your Thoughts Regularly. Always remember that your cunning is visible to the Lord, therefore, turning to him, you should not be cunning, interpreting motivation differently to yourself. Your motives must be pure and disinterested.
- Thank God for whatever decision he makes on your issue. Accept what is given to them with desire and trepidation. Remember that everyone will be rewarded according to his deeds. Therefore, be humble in your requests and do not bargain.
- Show activity. Remember that you are asking for help, not for doing something on your own. You yourself must actively move on the path to success, and God only guides you and helps you achieve what you want. Don't be idle with folded arms. The more responsible the approach, the more support you will feel. Do not be lazy and do not shy away from working on yourself, prove that you are worthy of His mercy.
- Always Keep Your Promises to the Lord. Always think before you say anything. And always achieve what was promised to the Almighty. You can write down your vows so you don't forget them. Prove to Him that you are a man of your word and that what you say is not an empty phrase. Deceivers may not count on loyalty.
- Correctly place accents in your petitions. You will achieve the greatest encouragement from our Lord if the requests are worthy. So always ask Him:
- Understanding His will;
- Protecting your soul from misfortunes and passions;
- Knowledge of the true way of correcting mistakes,
- Awareness of sins and their correction;
- Ask for the bestowal of good qualities;
Be good with your deeds, and God will surely hear your request.
7.Give thanks to the Higher Powers for everything they have done for you.. This applies not only to positive things and events that happen to you. But also those difficult lessons that fate taught you, as a result of which you gained wisdom and strength to move on. Ungrateful petitioners run the risk of being left without what they already had.
8.Build phrases clearly and precisely. Prayers addressed to Heaven can be submitted both orally and in writing. Thoughts written on paper are often the most truthful.
Remember a simple proverb - "The road will be mastered by the walking one", and take it into your arsenal. One desire is not enough to achieve everything you want. So always try to be proactive.
In order for your requests to be effective and achieve a solution, take care of the purification of the soul. Read the Bible, the Lives of the Saints and delve into the very essence of their existence. You can go on a trip to the shrines. The special atmosphere of various sacred places has a beneficial effect on the spiritual state.
Observe church fasts and holidays, attend church and do not neglect Holy Communion. It may even surprise you how easy the inner worldview can be when there is no heavy burden on the soul.
Try to keep the main list of commandments. It is not necessary to suddenly suddenly become a strongly religious person. Do not rush, act in stages and only at the behest of your heart. There will be no good if everything you do is contrived and artificial.
Find a spiritual mentor for yourself. It helps a lot of people to clear their minds. Especially if you are not a fan of talking about your troubles. different people. One person you choose for this purpose will patiently listen to you and give good advice.
The path to God is not an easy process, but everyone should strive for it. And the sooner you start implementing this plan, the better. Don't be evil. Sincerely wish good to your surroundings, as well as moderate anger.
Take care of loved ones by mentioning them in your prayers. Discuss your decisions with them and point out their shortcomings so that when you meet with the Lord, he will give you eternal peace and tranquility. Only in this way can you count on the help and protection of your guardians always and everywhere.
− it is not gold fish. It is important to know and understand how to ask God for help, because God and the Higher Powers are not a goldfish or a market seller with whom you can bargain. Pursuing your commercial interests is a dirty approach to God.
Situations in which God will not help a person
Heaven will not "answer" your requests and help you if:
- Your thoughts are low and unworthy (wishing evil to someone or asking for help in achieving a goal without your own efforts);
- Prayers are insincere (especially if a person makes a vow to perform some actions on his part, and after achieving the goal he forgets about it);
- Petitions contain conditions that a person sets to God (it is low to use God's creation, putting forward his own requirements to him, since the essence of prayer lies in sincerity);
- There are regular lies in prayers about correcting or not committing any negative actions (do not give the Creator knowingly false promises);
- Requests are connected with the help of unworthy people (the Higher Powers themselves decide to help the lost, so it’s worth asking for guidance on the true path);
- Requests diverge from the intention of the Creator himself (often people wish for a different future for themselves, not taking into account the fate prepared for them);
- Petitions are not fueled by your sincere desire to achieve success (for example, if a person is sick and asks for healing for himself, but he continues to perform actions that are detrimental to his health, not realizing the cause of the illness);
- Prayers come from lazy people who do not want to correct their behavior and consciousness (the requests of inactive people remain unanswered and this is quite fair, since it is impossible to achieve success in anything without making any effort).
There are other reasons why the Divine Forces refuse to help their wards. One of these reasons is when a person does not appreciate what he has already received, demanding a different fate for himself. This is the main reason for the lack of assistance.
What can you ask God for? Do I have to apply many times for the same reason or do I only have to ask once? How do I know if the Lord heard my words?
Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:
According to the definition of St. John of Damascus, “prayer is the ascent of the mind to God or asking God for what is proper” (Accurate Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book 3, Ch. XXIV). We can ask in prayers for everything good - heavenly and earthly, but in the first place in our prayer requests should be salvation.
It is necessary to develop the habit of constant prayer appeal to God. The Lord Himself gives us an image of tireless and persistent prayer in the parable of the widow. “In the same city there was a widow, and she, coming to him [the judge], said: protect me from my rival. But he didn't want to for a long time. And then he said to himself: although I am not afraid of God and I am not ashamed of people, but, as this widow does not give me peace, I will protect her so that she does not come to bother me anymore. And the Lord said, Do you hear what the unjust judge says? Will not God protect His chosen ones who cry out to Him day and night, although He is slow to defend them? (Luke 18:3-7).
Our prayer is especially exalted by constant thanksgiving to God. We must do this not only by receiving what is asked for. The very possibility of communion with one's Heavenly Parent is a great blessing. If a child is deprived of the opportunity to communicate with his father and mother, then he is sad and suffers.
The Lord hears all our words of prayer, and fulfills petitions according to His Wisdom. We must pray and believe. We learn that the Lord accepted our petitions by the fruits of our prayer. Even if they didn’t get what they asked for, but they found inner peace and peace of mind, it means that the prayer did not remain fruitless.