With the revival of spirituality in society, an increasing number of people turn to God, to prayer, repentance. The majority of parishioners continue to be dominated by the so-called consumer attitude to faith and spirituality, which consists in the fact that a person remembers the Lord in difficult moments of life, while he asks more than he tries to give. Despite this, the number of people trusting in God is steadily growing, and the saying “ask and be rewarded to you ...” more and more often confirms its truth.
The power of prayer in faith
Turning a prayer to the Almighty, the Mother of God or the Saints, many people believe that it is enough that the prayer from the prayer book or the requisition is correctly read, a donation in the form of a candle is made, and the petition must be granted. Without waiting for the result, they cease to believe in the effectiveness of prayer and even in Orthodoxy itself.
Prayers are a powerful weapon of the believer in the event that the supplicant is sincerely convinced that his request or appeal will be heard and satisfied, even if not immediately, then after a certain period of time. The Christian parable about the wanderings of Jesus Christ, which tells about the earthly path of the Son of God, draws the attention of Christians to the power of faith: “... to those who turned to him with a request for healing from serious illnesses and weaknesses, Jesus first answered:“ Do you believe? By your faith will be ... ". The power of the prayer song is really great, but its greatness is in sincerity and trust.
Sincerity of prayer in understanding the meaning
The petitioner, turning to heavenly forces, often reads the text of a prayer without delving into its meaning. The deep subtext of this appeal with this approach often remains unconscious. The Old Slavonic language, which compiled all the old prayers of Orthodox Christians, interferes. Despite the adaptability of the text to the modern language in the prayer book, it continues to be difficult. I don’t really want to think about the content, so many naively believe that pronouncing the set of words that is given will already be enough. The believer must understand what he is addressing to the Almighty, what he asks for before starting prayer communication with the heavenly forces and using great prayers.
The efficacy of sincere prayer
There are many examples of the effectiveness of prayer pronounced “from the heart” in Christian parables. One of them tells how fishermen caught in a storm found salvation on a secluded island. Three elders lived on the island, who ate what nature fed, had one icon of the Holy Trinity, and they worshiped it: "Three of you and three of us, have mercy on us." The collective prayer of the elders helped them survive and not grumble. Fishermen taught them the prayer “Our Father”, drawing the attention of the elders to the fact that they pray incorrectly, their call to the Lord cannot be heard. Sailing away with a sense of accomplishment, the fishermen suddenly saw three old men from the island running after the boat on the water and shouting that they had forgotten the words of the prayer, asking to be reminded. The taken aback fishermen answered: "Pray as you pray." The words of petition to the Lord should be pronounced “from the heart” and with an understanding of the meaning of conversion.
The impact of shared beliefs on performance
Prayers of the Saints, uttered by a man in solitude, are intensified by the spiritual impulse of the Christian. But Christ said: "... for where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them." The meaning of the message is not that the effectiveness of prayer is greatly enhanced when several people offer it. Jesus abides at the moment of prayer with both a group of people and a lonely prayer book. However, in the event that one person approaches the mystery of appealing to the Lord formally, then among the rest of the prayers there will be one or more people who will sincerely and heartily draw up their message to the Almighty. In the era of the emergence of Christianity, the first time after the resurrection of Christ, the apostles often gathered together. At such meetings, they broke bread, prayed together. Such a collective prayer united them, the Holy Spirit dwelling in each of them united them into one, raising their words directly to the Lord.
The single prayer of Orthodox Christians
Holy Scripture does not mention anywhere that the power of collective prayer is much more powerful than an appeal "alone." The difference is that, unfortunately, too many Christians use prayer as a means to receive something from God and as an occasion to list the needs and requirements of a person. Collective prayer, as a rule, unites people with one text, taken from a prayer book or a book of prayers, it is possible to read the Psalms together during Great Lent.
The difference between personal and collective prayer
The meaning of the collective message rarely converges to listing the personal needs of those who ask. An exception is prayer, when people ask before the Heavenly Throne for one person who has suffered severe trials and needs the help of Christians. Songs of prayer for a collective appeal are taken from the Bible books of Orthodox Christians, words are pronounced, as a rule, in the church together with the clergy. An exception is some special instructions given by the priests themselves. For example, when all faithful parishioners stand for a single prayer for peace in that country, which at that moment is in a state of armed conflict.
Holy Church Caution
A believing Christian must learn for himself the main rule of observing a single prayer: it is performed in the Temple, unless there are special instructions from the ministers of the Church. The relevance of this rule in the modern world is too great. Recently, the so-called "holy" followers of Jesus Christ or the Virgin Mary, who gather people for mass prayers, have begun to appear in public more and more often. At many such events with the participation of thousands of people, elements of trance hypnosis are used, and dubious “miracles of healing” are demonstrated. Such a collective prayer will not bring good to those who offer it. Its action is exactly the opposite, since the ministers of the Church claim that such acts come "from the evil one." Instead of saving his soul, man will destroy it. The temptation to accept help from such charlatans is too great, but we must not forget that the true salvation of the Orthodox Christian in the Church, and the main weapon of a believer is prayer to Christ.
Deep meaning of jesus prayer
Prayer book offers a large number of holy texts for use in communication with heavenly patrons and protectors. The short and easy-to-remember prayer to Jesus Christ possesses special strength, as many consider. The words in it are chosen in such a way that a person, turning to the Son of God, asks him for pardon, while also trusting in the intercession of the Mother of God and the Saints. Understanding the essence of his sinfulness, an Orthodox Christian living in society understands that it is difficult for him to protect his soul from temptations and temptations and keep it clean. A sincerely penitent person, not daring to turn directly to the Lord God, turns to the great Saints with a request for pardon, condescension and intercession. Prayer to Jesus Christ supports man and strengthens him in faith, thereby protecting him from the fall: “Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Have mercy on me a sinner. Amen"
The ability to accept the wisdom of the Almighty
The person who believes that by praying for urgent problems will immediately get rid of them is wrong, just like the one who is sure that he will immediately receive what is requested from his prayers. Wise people say that the Lord hears and gives not what the person asks, but what the person most needs at this moment. This manifests great Divine wisdom, as people do not always realize their desires, often act under the influence of impulse and a temporary impulse. The Lord is wise and understands what is good for a person, therefore, he will give only that which will contribute not to the fulfillment of desires, but to the satisfaction of the most urgent need. Prayers to the Saints have the same power: a person is given what is especially necessary.
Once a traveling Chinese man saw at the station an icon with the face of Nikolai Ugodnik. I considered it for a while and went on. A few days later, the ship fell into a storm, the ship sank, and the Chinese, not understanding why, called out: “Old man from the station, save me!” A boat appeared, a gray-haired old man sat in the boat, and he took the traveler ashore. The Chinese claimed that it was the same “old man” whose portrait he saw at the station. Relying on the will of God and invoking his name for his salvation, man thereby saves his soul.