In illness, grief, despair, when the last hope is lost, there is only one thing left - prayer.
Prayer of an Unchurched Man
Whose prayer is stronger - a churched Christian who visits the temple every week, confesses and takes communion, but treats God almost utilitarianly, or the word of an unchurched person who in the last outburst, with the melted hope, finds hope in the world of people, appeals to What is God’s last chance? Can prayer, healing the soul and healing diseases, help a person who happens to be in the church every few years, and then - if the temple accidentally appears on its way?
They say that every petition addressed to God has great power. What is the power of prayer? The texts of the canonical appeals to God, the Blessed Virgin Mary or saints are very similar to each other. Each prayer contains a request to God to maintain his influence both in the ethereal world and in the material one, to forgive sins and relieve temptations. There is no prayer from the common cold or SARS. Every year, medical science discovers new diseases and gives new definitions to old ones, and the texts of appeals to God are preserved from century to century in an unchanged form.
If a person is in trouble and does not know a single prayer, not even “Our Father”, then he whispers in despair, says aloud or thinks to himself: “Lord, help!” These two words, said in hearts and with great hope, are the most powerful and incredibly powerful prayer, healing from all diseases and saving from any danger and disaster.
Many mothers whose children were on the operating table heard from the surgeon: “I will do everything in my power, but I am not the Lord God. Hope, pray. ” Children's surgeons know more than anyone else that miracles happen today.
Should I give an accurate diagnosis when you pray for healing from an illness?
The Orthodox remember and honor the names of saints, which can be addressed with certain ailments.
Antipa of Pergamon helps with dental diseases. The healing prayer addressed to this saint contains words asking to intercede to the Lord for the forgiveness of the sick person's sins. Turning to the saints, it is not necessary to give the exact name of the disease, to read an anamnesis, to list the results of laboratory blood tests and other things. God and his saints see the situation better than any doctor.
An unbeliever often doubts how Antipas of Pergamon can help in healing teeth. The patient knows that his tooth is destroyed and affected by caries, and maybe even more serious. It is possible that he infects neighboring teeth. The saint, in his opinion, would have to magically, in one elusive instant, replace a bad tooth with a healthy and whole one. The main mistake lies in this expectation. God has his own view of the situation and his vision of the decision.
What is the effect of prayer?
Any external manifestation of the disease is always a consequence of invisible processes, which led to the destruction of a particular organ. Let's say you have a toothache. You have found the image of Antipas of Pergamon, on the back of which is written a prayer that heals tooth diseases. What happens next? You think that the most you can hope for in this situation is to stop the acute pain. You are reading a prayer. Toothache can immediately subside, and can only release a little. However, you can already carry it. Healing icons and prayers always act in a complex, voluminous, and not flat and linear manner. If a tooth is ill, then money is needed for treatment. By praying from toothache to Antipas, you will soon get a promotion at work and will be able to pay for expensive prosthetics. Or maybe you will go to the clinic in a new district of the city for you and make a very important acquaintance there.
God works in mysterious ways. He does not give us an account of his plans, but we can say with absolute certainty that all requests addressed to God and saints from a baptized person will always be heard and always lead to good.
Why in illness do not all people resort to prayer?
The Gospel says: "Ask, and it will be given to you." But we are arrogant little believers. It seems to us that we are able to solve our problems ourselves, if we had money and health. And others even argue that if there is money, then health will be in order. However, examples with many famous people, including the wife of Mikhail Gorbachev - President of the USSR, Raisa Maximovna, say that not everything is possible for a person.
The question arises: if there are prayers that heal from any disease, why do people continue to get sick, why do small, innocent children suffer from excruciating pain caused by such a serious illness as cancer? Sickness is the result of sin. The disease is given to a person so that he turns to God, so that he at least a little let go of worldly attachments and think about the spiritual. It is very difficult to admit to yourself that the baby suffers due to the fact that the young mother made some kind of big mistake in her life. So much so that she received the punishment through the suffering of her baby. God always first tries to reach a person through himself, if this does not work, then he seeks a way to him through his children or those who are most dear to him. A disease is not always given to a person as a punishment. Sometimes it is given in order to forestall misfortune if a person has chosen the path that leads to the fall and great misfortune.
An amazing property is possessed by all cleansing and healing prayers. If a person understood what he was punished for, then he becomes desperate that he cannot return the past and correct his mistakes. He is trying to justify himself. He says that he didn’t understand much then, that he was brought up so much, etc., that if it were not for the insurmountable circumstances in which he was not guilty, he would have acted differently and would not have made a fatal mistake.
Very often a person is afraid and cannot, and sometimes does not want to admit, that then, many years ago, he consciously and voluntarily made his choice. And it was his own choice that led to trouble. He does not understand that years have not changed him at all, and now he is the same as before. He also does not want to take responsibility for his life. He is still hiding behind other people and new circumstances. And only two things are required of him. The first - he must honestly admit to himself in his guilt for the misfortune that happened to him or to a creature dear to him. The second - he must tell himself that he is punished deservedly, and that the punishment came to him from God. All. It is not easy. This is a very serious work of spirit and soul.
This is a restructuring of consciousness, switching oneself to a new mentality.
The content and meaning of prayers
Each healing prayer, if you think about the meaning of its words, contains a request to forgive sins, free and involuntary, to protect from temptations, to save and have mercy. God's mercy, majesty and wisdom are such that he does not require public repentance. He reads the soul and thoughts of any person. An experienced doctor will not deny that every disease in the first place is the result of thoughts. If you do not rebuild your consciousness, then the disease will return again and again. Some people, especially those who have great power and money, do not want to change the way they think, because they understand that by changing their view of the world and people, they can lose their advantages in the material world over those who are below them on social the stairs. It is also a conscious choice. And sooner or later, everyone has to pay for everything.
Are there miracles in the modern world?
Why do we almost never see miracles of healing in real life? The answer is very simple. Those whose names are widely known to a large number of people are the least free to choose their life path. These people are usually afraid to change their mindset. The higher you sit, the harder it is to fall. Those who have learned from their own experience how healing prayer manifested itself in visible action in real life speak little about this miracle. This is a natural reaction to a true miracle. Imagine that you suddenly from a dark and cold basement, where you were starving and in poverty, got out into the world and began to live in a beautiful place, in convenient and comfortable conditions, without experiencing need and sadness. But you don’t know the way back, you don’t have the opportunity to return, because the past gloomy world has disappeared. This is how protecting and healing prayers act and change their lives. There are frequent cases when a person who received healing through prayer tries to tell his friends about the miracle that happened to him, but he is not understood. Friends see in the incident an element of chance, a happy combination of circumstances and so on. When asked about faith in God and a miracle, Patriarch Kirill answered that if a person does not believe in God, then even if an angel appears in front of his face on Red Square, he will consider this a hoax, hallucination, or trick. Yes, God does not really need to have as many worshipers as possible. This is not network marketing.
How does a prayer sound that heals all diseases? "Lord, be merciful to the sinner." Prayer is not a conspiracy, not a mantra, not a unique combination of sounds and words - it is a conversation with the One who gave us life, who, for the sake of our salvation, became humanized in Jesus Christ and opened the way to salvation and happiness through the death of his only Son.
Help of saints and various images of the Virgin
Each person has his own relationship with God. It is impossible to impose the right way to communicate with Jesus Christ, the Virgin, and the saints. And who can say for sure what God will do and how to talk with Him? This is not necessary. Some people in prayers turn to God through a guardian angel, others through the Virgin Mary, others through saints. All this is correct. Over many centuries of Christianity, there have been observations of how different images of the Mother of God and various saints respond to human prayers. From these observations formed the tradition of addressing them in different needs. This shows something pagan, but the ability to believe in God is such a complicated matter! The Lord generously forgives us our weaknesses and blindness.
For many centuries, mothers have been praying for children, healing all illnesses, both physiological and mental, in front of the image of the Virgin, called Tikhvin. This icon is famous for its many miracles of healing.
If there are problems with the legs or a sore back, then they turn to St. Seraphim of Sarov.
With a headache, they pray to John the Baptist.
When hands hurt, they resort to the help of the Mother of God "Three-Handed".
The Holy Great Martyr Panteleimon is considered a healer of all diseases.
But what if an animal, a pet that faithfully loves its owners, gets sick? Is it possible to ask God to cure a cat, dog or turtle? Of course you can! Orthodox and Catholics have a common saint - the great martyr Tryphon, to whom they pray for animals. A healing prayer for this saint will help your dumb friend recover.
For problems with oncology, the Orthodox turn to the image of the Mother of God “The Tsaritsa”. You can find an akathist written in honor of this icon, you can read the special prayer “The Tsaritsa”. If this is not possible, then say in front of the icon: "Lord, forgive me a sinner."
Never lose hope
If a disaster happens, then there will always be people who say that it’s not the time to go to temples, you need to work to earn money for treatment. They will say that many pray, but not many are healed. This is not true. Such thoughts are very harmful. They can deprive the unfortunate last hope. It is very important to remember that God is always there. And when you turn to him, any request for forgiveness and pardon is already a very powerful healing prayer.
A request to God can begin with the words "Lord, merciful be to the sinner." If we comprehend healing Orthodox prayers, it becomes clear that each canonical text is a complete trust in God. Prayers never mention money. This is by no means accidental. We in the vain and sinful world rely on the ghostly power of money. The greatness and power of the Creator is manifested in the fact that, having descended to our humble requests, miraculously, without catastrophes and destruction, imperceptibly, in an instant, rebuilds the whole world to our needs, for the benefit of each of us and those we ask.
Faith in God is the lot of great and smart people
Many prominent thinkers - philosophers, scientists engaged in the natural sciences, representatives of art, were deeply religious people. Immanuel Kant first refuted five scholastic postulates of the existence of God, and then found a new one that proves the reality of God. And so far no one has been able to refute this proof of him.
All humble appeals to our Heavenly Father are wonderful prayers, healing from any illnesses and resolving any problems. If you doubt or think that it’s better than the Creator to know how it should turn out in the end, it only means that you are too focused on yourself and see your problem very narrowly. Wise rumor sometimes jokes: “It is good that God does not always fulfill what we demand without thinking about the consequences.”
Talent Available to Everyone
It is said that faith in God is talent, and talent is not given to everyone in a row. In fact, faith in God is such a talent that every person can develop in himself. This is a lot of work. In order to get closer to God and understanding His essence, one must not only read prayers, but also direct all the aspirations of one’s soul to comprehend the meaning of the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ, and try to understand the commandment “May you love one another.” Taking this covenant into your soul removes the veils that weigh people in worldly life. At the same time, having opened your soul to God, you will not lose the love of people and will not live worse. Thoroughly read the gospel. You will see that the Lord does not deny simple human joys, on the contrary, love of God will teach you to love people too. And people will respond to this transformation. All troubles and illnesses come from disagreement, hostility and tension between people. This tension tends to increase. If no measures are taken to neutralize this phenomenon, then this kind of tension always transforms into a disease of the soul and body.
God bless you!