A Romanian Christian's blog
The Jesus Prayer is one of the most important prayers in Orthodoxy, and its repetition throughout the day is recommended by many of the Orthodox Fathers.
Below is a compilation of videos presenting the opinions of several Christian Orthodox Elders about the Jesus Prayer.
In the comments section, I invite you to share your thoughts on The Jesus Prayer, and tell us in what ways you have incorporated it your prayer life.
In this video from Saddleback Church’s YouTube channel, Pastor Buddy Owens offers some helpful advice about how to pray when you’re going through a time of turmoil and crisis and you feel like you don’t have a prayer.
Turning to Psalm 77 as an example of how to pray when you’re going through a season of darkness and confusion, Pastor Owens lists 5 important steps:
I hope this will help you if you ever find yourself in a season of confusion when praying and remaining faithful to God look like difficult tasks.
I would like to share with you a lovely Catholic deliverance prayer that I have come across recently – The Litany Of Trust. It was written by Sister Faustina Maria Pia from The Sisters Of Life. Also, check out the video where you can see Sister Faustina Maria Pia herself read the prayer and talk about it.
From the belief that I have to earn Your love … Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear that I am unlovable … Deliver me, Jesus.
From the false security that I have what it takes … Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear that trusting You will leave me more destitute … Deliver me, Jesus.
From all suspicion of Your words and promises … Deliver me, Jesus.
From the rebellion against childlike dependency on You … Deliver me, Jesus.
From refusals and reluctances in accepting Your will … Deliver me, Jesus.
From anxiety about the future … Deliver me, Jesus.
From resentment or excessive preoccupation with the past … Deliver me, Jesus.
From restless self-seeking in the present moment … Deliver me, Jesus.
From disbelief in Your love and presence … Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being asked to give more than I have … Deliver me, Jesus.
From the belief that my life has no meaning or worth … Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of what love demands … Deliver me, Jesus.
From discouragement … Deliver me, Jesus.That You are continually holding me sustaining me, loving me … Jesus, I trust in You.
Litany Of Trust by Sister Faustina Maria Pia from The Sisters Of Life
That Your love goes deeper than my sins and failings, and transforms me …Jesus, I trust in You.
That not knowing what tomorrow brings is an invitation to lean on You … Jesus, I trust in You.
That you are with me in my suffering … Jesus, I trust in You.
That my suffering, united to Your own, will bear fruit in this life and the next …Jesus, I trust in You.
That You will not leave me orphan, that You are present in Your Church
…Jesus, I trust in You.
That Your plan is better than anything else … Jesus, I trust in You.
That You always hear me, and in Your goodness always respond to me …Jesus, I trust in You.
That You give me the grace to accept forgiveness and to forgive others …Jesus, I trust in You.
That You give me all the strength I need for what is asked …Jesus, I trust in You.
That my life is a gift … Jesus, I trust in You.
That You will teach me to trust You … Jesus, I trust in You.
That You are my Lord and my God … Jesus, I trust in You.
That I am Your beloved one … Jesus, I trust in You.
Here is a short Orthodox prayer I have translated from Romanian into English:
Lord Jesus Christ, Our Lord, God of all mercifulness and graciousness, Who have immeasurable mercy, unspeakable and unending love of people, falling now to Your glory, with fear and trembling, I thank you for the blessings you have given me, Your unworthy servant. I glorify You, I praise You and I sing about You as my Lord, Master and Benefactor. And again, falling before You, I thank You and I humbly pray to your immeasurable and unspeakable mercifulness for You to continue giving me good doings, so that I may increase in love for You and for my brethren. Deliver me from all evil and trouble. Give me peace. And make me worthy, so that all the days of my life I may give thanks to You and speak and sing all that is good to The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit, now and forever and ever. Amen.
Translated by myself from Romanian. Source: https://www.crestinortodox.ro/rugaciuni/rugaciune-pentru-binefacerile-primite-la-dumnezeu-72583.html
There’s an ancient prayer that Catholics recommend us to pray before reading The Bible in order to make of our hearts fruitful soil for the Word of God to take root.
The prayer is commonly attributed to St. John Chyrsostom, and can be prayed each time you open up the Bible. While it doesn’t guarantee divine inspiration, it can help prepare the ground so that your soul is ready to receive exactly what God wants to communicate to you.
Here is the prayer:
O, Lord Jesus Christ, open the eyes of my heart that I may hear your Word,
and understand and do your will, for I am a sojourner upon the Earth.
Hide not your commandments from me, but open my eyes, that I may perceive the wonders of your Law.
Speak unto me the hidden and secret things of your wisdom.
On you do I set my hope, O my God, that you shall enlighten my mind and understanding with the light of your knowledge; not only to cherish those things which are written, but to do them; For you are the enlightenment of those who lie in darkness, and from you comes every good deed and every gift. Amen.
I hope it helps you. God bless you!
On an episode of The Catholic Talk Show, actor Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus in the new series “The Chosen,” discussed what Jesus actually looked like with Ryan Scheel, Ryan DellaCrosse and Fr. Rich Pagano, and recited the “Our Father” prayer in Aramaic.
Watch the entire video below:
The recitation starts at around 29:25.
Read more about this here: https://churchpop.com/2019/04/30/powerful-watch-this-jesus-actor-flawlessly-pray-the-our-father-in-aramaic/
Lord Jesus Christ, Our God, Creator and Provider of all, Holy and venerable You are; The King Of Kings and God Of Gods, may You be glorified.
I ask You, The One Who lives in the incomprehensible and distant light, to make the demons depart from your followers and extinguish all their deception, for the sake of my prayer, for I am your humble and unworthy servant. Make the rain fall over the earth when it is needed, and make the earth bear its fruit; make the trees and the vineyards plenarily bear their fruit; set the women free from sins and from any infertility of their womb; after all these are achieved and the entire world is freed, set the entire creation free of all of the devil’s binds. And set your servant (insert the name of the person whom you are praying for) and everything in his/her household free from all the binds of satan, of magic, of charms and of all of the enemy’s powers. Hinder, oh, Lord, God of our ancestors, all of satan’s work, You, Who offer exemption from magic, charms, spells and all his doings and bindings, and destroy all disingenuous work by the mention of Your Most Holy name.
Thusly, God, Lord of all things, hear me, the unworthy one, and unfetter your servant (insert the name of the person you’re praying for) from all of satan’s bindings, and if they be bonded in the skies or on Earth, or with the skin of unreasoning animals or with iron or with stone, or with wood, or with writing, or with human blood, or with the blood of birds or of fish, or through uncleanliness, or in any other way has this befall upon them, or if from other places has it come, from the sea, from wells, from graves, or from any other place, or if it came through human nails, or through the claws of animals or birds, or through snakes (alive or dead), or through the soil of the dead, or if it came through piercing of needles, unbind them all forever this very moment, Lord, with Your great power.
You, Lord, Our God, Who knows and discerns all things, unbind, batter and destroy right now the works of magic, and protect Your servant (insert the name of the person whom you are praying for) and all their household from all of the demonic conspiracies.
With the magnitude of Your incorruptible and life-giving Cross, crush all the adverse powers.
Desolate, destroy and banish forever the works of magic, witchcraft and sorcery from your servant (insert the name of the person whom you are praying for).
Lord, hear me, the sinner, with everyone in my household, and set them free from the demon of the afternoon, from all sickness and from all the curse, from all anger, adversity, gossip, envy, charms, unmercifulness, idleness, greediness, helplessness, stupidity, foolishness, pride, cruelty, inequity, conceit, and of all known or unknown errancies and mistakes, for the sake of Your holy name, for blessed are you forever. Amen.
(translated into English by Lucian Hodoboc)
( If you want to know more about Saint Cyprian of Nicomedia, an ex-wizard, and how he turned to God because of the Holy Virgin Saint Justina, I invite you to read this article:
I thought I’d share this video of Sarah Ego (Elyio) singing “Our Father / Pater Noster” in Aramaic, because I have found it quite beautiful. I hope you enjoy The Lord’s Prayer in one of the languages that Jesus Christ Himself spoke.
Lord Jesus Christ, sweet Savior of my soul, on this day of Your crucifixion, when You suffered on the cross and accepted death for our sins, I confess before You that I myself have crucified You with my many sins. But I beseech Your indescribable goodness: Grant me Your grace, O Lord, so that I may endure suffering for the sake of the faith, hope and love that I have for You, just as You, in Your long-suffering, endured the passion in order to save me. Strengthen me, O Lord, that from this day forth I may bear Your cross with joy and repentance, and that I may thus hate my wicked thoughts and desires.
Instill sadness in my heart at Your death, allowing me to grieve just as Your beloved Mother, Your disciples and the myrrh-bearing women did as they stood near Your cross. Illumine the senses of my soul so that they may awaken and comprehend Your death, just as you brought comprehension to the lifeless creation at the time of Your crucifixion, and it trembled; just as the faithful thief understood, repented, and confessed You, and with that confession, You led him into paradise. May Your grace, which You then granted to him, now forgive my sins, for the sake of You holy passion; and as I truly turn and repent, may that same grace place me together with the thief in paradise, for You are my God and Creator.
I bow down before Your cross, O Christ, and because of Your love for us, I cry out to it: Rejoice, honored cross of Christ, upon which He was lifted and affixed with nails for the salvation of the world; Rejoice, blessed tree, for you held the Fruit of life Who has saved us from the death of sin; Rejoice strong bar which has shattered the gates of hell; Rejoice, royal key, which has opened the door of paradise.
O, my crucified Christ, how You suffered for us! How many wounds, spitting, mockery and insults You endured because of our sins, giving us an example of true patience in times of suffering and troubles which we must endure in this life?! Since God sends these to us because of our sins, that we may correct ourselves and draw near to Him, He thus chastises us for our own good during this life. Therefore, I pray to You, O Master: during times of troubles, temptations and pain that come upon me, grant that I may increase in patience, strength and gratitude. For I confess that I am helpless if You do not strengthen me; blind, if You do not illumine me; bound if You do not set me free; fearful, if You do not make me brave; lost, if You do not seek me; a slave, if You do not redeem me with Your abundant and divine power and with the grace of Your holy cross, which I venerated and glorify, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Source: http://otftd.blogspot.com/2014/11/a-prayer-for-friday.html
I’ve recently come across a beautiful Orthodox prayer that I’d like to share:
My most merciful and all-merciful God, O Lord Jesus Christ! In Thy great love, Thou didst come down and become flesh in order to save all. Again, I pray Thee, save me by Grace! If Thou shouldst save me because of my deeds, it would not be a gift, but merely a duty. Truly, Thou aboundest in graciousness and art inexpressibly merciful! Thou hast said, O my Christ: “He who believes in me shall live and never see death.” If faith in Thee saves the desperate, behold: I believe! Save me, for Thou art my God and my Maker. May my faith replace my deeds, O my God, for Thou wilt find no deeds to justify me. May my faith be sufficient for all. May it answer for me; may it justify me; may it make me a partaker of Thine eternal glory; and may Satan not seize me, O Word, and boast that He has torn me from Thy hand and fold. O Christ my Savior: save me whether I want it or not! Come quickly, hurry, for I perish! Thou art my God from my mother’s womb. Grant, O Lord, that I may now love Thee as I once loved sin, and that I may labor for Thee without laziness as once I labored for Satan the deceiver. Even more, I will labor for Thee, my Lord and God Jesus Christ, all the days of my life, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
What I particularly like about this prayer is the way in which it glorifies God and presents the struggles of a Christian who is convicted by The Holy Spirit for his/her sins and who wants to repents while also having to deal with the constant fight against the desires of the flesh.
The petition, “Save me whether I want it or not!” is a request that can be found in the prayers of several Orthodox Elders (priests, monks, hermits). I have heard it from an Orthodox priest in the following form: “Please save me whether I want it or not, O, God! Please help me whether I know how to pray or not, O, Lord!”.
I hope that you like this prayer just as much as I do and more, and I pray that it helps you. Share your opinions in the comments section below.
