It is difficult to imagine a woman who, before the birth, especially if they are the first, does not panic and does not feel fear. Often in the head there are thoughts that the doctor may make a mistake, and the child can seriously suffer. Of course, the manifestation of all these fears is understandable, because every woman wants to give birth to a healthy baby and at the same time stay healthy. What to do in situations where emotions drown out the voice of reason? The prayer of the Mother of God “Assistant in childbirth” will come to the rescue. It is about her that we propose to talk today.
Who can say the prayer?
From the earliest times, women in labor offered a prayer in front of a variety of miraculous images of the Queen of Heaven. This is the “Healer”, and “Fedorovskaya”, and “Leaping the Baby” and “The Assistant in Childbirth”. This list can be enumerated almost endlessly, while the clergy note: it does not matter what image the woman is praying for, it is more important that the words of the prayer are said sincerely, from a pure heart. The relatives and close mothers will help strengthen the effect: during the fights, they can say a prayer prayer, while you can be in the church or in the walls of your own house - in front of the iconostasis.
It is important to understand that, along with various images, the icon of the Mother of God “Assistant in Childbirth” and her prayer are the most popular. The fact is that the image of the Virgin serves as the patroness of a woman and her main assistant in almost all life situations. Perhaps that is why the Virgin Mary is usually addressed to the most powerful prayer addresses. Believers say: she always hears and helps those whose prayer is sincere, especially for women in childbirth, because the Mother of God herself has experienced maternal pain.
Icon Description
Today, in the families of Orthodox people you can see the miraculous image of the Mother of God, before which the prayer is pronounced during childbirth. Usually on such icons the Holy is depicted standing, in full growth. Her head is not covered, and her hair is loose, flowing over her shoulders. The hands of the Queen of Heaven rest on her chest. Under the arms, on the womb, is the pre-eternal child, holding one hand on his knee, and the other blessing. The baby’s clothes are short, his legs are visible from underneath.
The outer clothing of the Virgin Mary is made in red colors, gilding is applied to it, on each shoulder there is one golden star. That attire, which is located below, has a dark green hue, gilding, gold stars. The head of the Mother of God leans to the side. The baby's clothes have a yellow tint, it is also gilded, cast on the chest with dark green colors. By the way, the miraculous image itself is placed on the crescent. Orthodox Christians often pay attention to the similarity of this face with the image of the “Sign”. They compare it with the ancient image of the Mother of God under the name "Helper to the wives of the child of birth."
What help to wait for?
Perhaps you are worried about the question: how does the prayer of the Mother of God “Assistant in Childbirth” help? Christians note her truly miraculous power: it eliminates all painful sensations, helps to relieve severe bleeding during childbirth, and facilitates the course of pregnancy if there are any complications. If a difficult maternity process is expected, this prayer request can greatly simplify it. In addition, the prayer of the Mother of God "Assistant in childbirth" saves women from infertility. Believers also note that if any abnormalities were found in the fetus, turning to the Mother of God helps to give birth to a healthy and strong child.
Please note: for the birth process should be prepared not only physically and mentally, it is important to be prepared at the spiritual level. Priests recommend that women who are in their final stages of pregnancy attend church, confess from sinful deeds, and certainly take communion. Of course, the outcome of childbirth in most cases remains unpredictable, in case of complications, doctors are not always able to cope with them, but sincere prayer will help to overcome all difficulties.
Prayer text
The prayer of the Most Holy Theotokos "Assistant in childbirth" is as follows:
Accept, Lady Madonna, the tearful prayers of Your servants who are flowing to you. See thee on the holy icon in the womb bearing Thy Son and our God, the Lord Jesus Christ. She already and painlessly gave birth to him, both mother of sorrow of weight and weakness of sons and daughters of human sight.
The same warmth falls to the celibate image of Yours, and this touching kissing, we pray to Thee, have mercy on the Lady: we sinners condemned in the illnesses of our parents and in the sorrow of the nourishment of our child, mercifully spare and compassionately step in, our babies are just as hard of giving birth to them, and deliver the bitter sorrow.
Grant them health and well-being, and nourishment from strength will increase by force, and those who nourish them will be filled with joy and comfort, as even now by Your intercession from the mouth of a baby and pissing, the Lord will give His praise. O Mother of the Son of God! Have mercy on the mother of the sons of men and on your weak people: the diseases that perceive us will soon be healed, the sorrows and sorrows that are upon us to quench, and not despise the tears and sighs of Your servants.
Hear us on the day of grief before Thy icon of those who fall, and on the day of joy and deliverance, accept the grateful praise of our hearts. Offer our prayers to the throne of Your Son and our God, that he will be merciful to our sin and weakness and give mercy to His leaders, His name, as we and our children, will glorify You, our merciful Intercessor and faithful Hope of our kind, forever and ever .
Rules for Reading Prayers
Of course, in order for the Higher powers to answer prayers, it is important to pray correctly. This does not mean that you must comply with all the minor requirements: for example, how and in front of which icon to stand, in what order to pronounce the words, how to bow. In no case do not be afraid to do something wrong during prayer, and even more so do not refuse because of ignorance of the rules from prayer treatment.
The fact is, priests say that the Mother of God sees the heart, and therefore a random mistake will not make a woman in her eyes a criminal. Correct prayer consists in the right mood of a person and his feelings. We offer you information on how to pray, with what feelings and in what language!
Pure heart
The prayer to the Virgin “Assistant in childbirth” should be pronounced with a pure heart and deep faith. In Orthodoxy this is called prayer with boldness, but without boldness. The thing is that boldness is a belief in the omnipotence of the Higher powers, and boldness is a manifestation of disrespect. How to pray so that prayer is not impudent? You must understand that you must always be prepared to accept the will of God, even if it does not coincide with the desire of man. That is, "cut off your will." Of course, to achieve this level is extremely difficult, but this is what you need to strive for.
Speaking about what feelings you should pray with, you need to understand that during a prayer a person should not look for special feelings or any spiritual pleasures. Often, women say that the prayer of the Mother of God, "Assistant in childbirth," seems difficult, causes misunderstanding, boredom, and even heaviness. In no case should this be embarrassing or frightening; it is impossible to give up a prayer because of this. There can be only two feelings admissible in prayer to the Heavenly Queen: Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov claimed that this was a feeling of unworthiness and reverence for the Lord.
What language to pray in?
Of course, most Orthodox prayers are read in Church Slavonic. You can find Orthodox prayer books in which there is a Russian translation. Of course, prayers in Church Slavonic are extremely difficult, so at home you can just read the translation. But in the church, divine services are performed in the Church Slavonic language. In order to better understand everything that the priest says, you can keep in mind a text with a translation.
How to start and end a prayer
Before you begin to say a prayer at the icon of the Virgin "Assistant in childbirth", you should be quiet for some time and concentrate. At the beginning, as, indeed, at the end of the appeal to the Holy One, it is necessary to overshadow yourself with the sign of the Cross. After you finish the prayer, you should be in a prayer position for some time and try to comprehend the spoken text.
How not to be distracted during prayer
Many believers complain that during the prayer “Assistant in Childbirth” the mind begins to dissipate, thoughts that have nothing to do with prayer treatment appear, previous grievances may be recalled, often various blasphemy and obscene words appear in the head. There are often cases when, instead of prayer, a woman has a desire to indulge in theological thoughts. The priests say: these are only temptations that are inevitable for a person who has not attained holiness. Why does God allow this to happen? The reason is simple: in this way He tests the faith in man and strengthens his determination to resist all kinds of temptations. How to deal with this problem? The only remedy is resistance. Never give in to temptations, continue prayer, even if it is very difficult for you.