When things do not go, there are no buyers, and financial problems loom on the horizon, all people without exception, from ordinary sellers to respectable tycoons, remember conspiracies and prayers for trade.
And first of all, the question arises, what is the difference between one and the other and what will be more effective - a prayer or a conspiracy?
What are prayers and magic devices like?
Prayers, conspiracies and other options for energy influence on the current state of affairs are inherently different roads to one destination. Therefore, you need to use the type of energy exposure that is intuitively closer and inspires confidence. Continuing the analogy with the roads, we can say that the faith of a person who turned to higher forces for help acts as fuel on the road.
That is, in the absence of faith in God, it is not necessary to pray to either Christ or the Holy Intercessors. In the same way, one should not use a folk household divorce, not believing in it. Faith is not just an indispensable attribute of success, but actually a cornerstone on which the effectiveness of both prayers and divination rests.
What's the Difference?
Each prayer for the sale of goods is different from any of the methods of everyday magic, carried out with similar goals by faith.
A sincere believer, no matter what religion his conviction belongs to, should use prayers, not conspiracies or other rites. However, without faith in God, it makes no sense to pray. The very words of prayer for trade are not important, of course, if these are not mantras. It is faith, and not what has been said, that helps to establish things.
This is the main difference. Only those who believe in the need for these actions should use prayers, call a priest to spray water on a trading place and bless the business.
Continuing the analogy with different roads leading to one point, we can say that prayers to the Holy Defenders are the longest, "district" version of the trip. The fact is that Christianity arose much later than the foundations of the folk rites of fortune-telling, aimed at increasing welfare. Therefore, again comparing with the roads, it is only necessary for those who have enough fuel to cover the distance to go this way, that is, sincere faith.
In simplified terms, the difference is that the worshiper speaks to the Saints, regardless of which religion he belongs to, and the caster - to the forces of nature, the elements, and so on.
Who to pray for?
When it comes to prayers for trade, the question inevitably arises of who exactly to turn to, which icon to approach in the church, and where to put a candle. Often this interest is perceived as an indicator of lack of faith, but in fact it speaks of a lack of knowledge.
Orthodox Christians pray for the welfare and successful sale of goods:
- Nicholas the Wonderworker;
- Seraphim of Sarov;
- John Sochavsky.
Of course, you can always ask for the intercession and help of your Guardian Angel.
Muslims do not seek support for any particular image. In Islam, the prayer for good trade consists in reciting the “dua”. These are texts from the Koran that are read to distract evil spirits, negative intentions, purify thoughts and, as a result, gain material wealth from engaging in trade.
The Catholic faith does not imply specific prayers for trade. Catholics pray without clearly expressed requests. However, Saint Ignatius is considered the patron saint of merchants in heaven with Catholics.
How to pray?
This question cannot be answered unequivocally. Each "ready" prayer for successful trading is very similar to whispering, slander and other methods of everyday magic. It is for this reason that in Catholicism there are no specific “ready-made” prayers with a clear energetic promise for material gain.
Many believe that a strong prayer for trade, for the sale of goods and maximum profit in the shortest possible time should be read from the heart, in your own words. Supporters of following the rites and the strict implementation of the canonical instructions (and there are many such people among believers) are convinced of the need to read the “finished” prayer.
However, texts taken not from Byzantine prayer books can no longer be considered canonical, but only traditional. Moreover, each “ready” strong prayer for trade, for the sale of goods and its quick sale was compiled in Russia for specific merchant families. In the Middle Ages, during the period of the greatest piety of the population, it was customary among the noble and wealthy merchants to turn to monasteries or other large church institutions for the service of compiling family prayer texts. Of course, first of all, prayer was supposed to help the prosperity of the business of commerce. In gratitude for the compilation of such texts, the merchants made large donations, and with a very successful course of affairs, they built temples.
The only true solution to the question of what should be a prayer for a successful trade will be your own idea. If a deeply religious person is convinced of the need to pronounce a certain text in front of the icon, then it should be done just like that and not otherwise. In the absence of such a conviction or uncertainty about the origin of the text of a prayer, one should ask the Saints for mercy with the help of their words.
Prayers to St. Nicholas
Prayer for trade to Nicholas the Wonderworker has been considered the most effective from time immemorial. However, there are many times more options for various texts for addressing this saint than prayers addressed to others.
Options for what may be a prayer for trade to St. Nicholas the Wonderworker:
- “The companion is merciful, St. Nicholas, good miracles of creation, and souls that sinning, canceling! Help me, the servant of the Lord (proper name), avoid mistakes and ruin. Give me, a servant of the Lord (proper name) a sign, teach me what to do in worldly affairs, so that there will be an increase in prosperity, and waste will pass my family. Amen".
- “Saint Nicholas the Miracle Worker, father! I ask for your help and intercession, I entrust you with my fate, slave of our Lord Jesus Christ (proper name). I pray for the protection of my cause, from the father taken, so that I could pass it on to my son with tripling, and not with ruin. Amen".
- “Nikolai the Pleasant, the protector of all worldly affairs in the sight of the Lord! Give me, a slave of the unworthy (proper name), good luck in the affairs of the vain and the worries of the day. Do not let me, the servant of God (proper name), learn the bitterness of daily bread. Poverty and poverty, and other sorrows with misfortunes, take me away from me (proper name). Amen"
The last on this list is the daily prayer for trading. It was actively used by shopkeepers in Russia from ancient times until the formation of Soviet power, which greatly changed all existing traditions of trade, including those related to religion.
How did those who did not trade every day pray?
The prayers accepted by the people for the successful sale of something at fairs or in the market on Sunday were mainly addressed to Nikolai Ugodnik.
Such a prayer to the Wonderworker for trading sounded differently. In the south they prayed differently than in the north of the country. In the West, the text was fundamentally different from what was said, for example, in Siberia.
Strong national prayer for trade, which helps to quickly and with maximum benefit sell your product, may be this: “Nikolai Ugodnik, father. Nikolai the Miracle Worker, father. Help, do not leave your grace. I ask for your help in a mundane, vain business (listing of what the request is about). Amen".
In the old days, peasants traveling to weekly county fairs were very afraid of envy, intrigues, and simply malice from their competitors. A prayer for daily trading, addressed to St. Nicholas, helped to defend against this: “Nikolai Ugodnik, father. Nikolai the Miracle Worker, father. Help me, the servant of God (proper name). Cleanse my soul from unholy intent, save good from the evil one and his whispering into the ears of men. So that evil people do not look towards the goods and my good. So that I, the servant of God (proper name), should be in abundance and satiety. Amen".
The main difference between the popular prayer and those used by the merchants is its beginning, that is, in the form of appeal. Each popular strong prayer for trading, selling or buying profitably directed, began with a double appeal to the Holy.
About prayers to Seraphim of Sarov
A prayer for trading in Seraphim was read, as a rule, by merchants of Novgorod the Great, Pskov and other northwestern Russian lands. The merchants of these places considered the holy elder to be their patron, and it was customary to hang the icon depicting his face in shops, banks and other similar places. Although the saint himself was born in Kursk and had nothing to do with the north of the country.
The merchants began to consider him their patron, starting in 1825, after the term of the seclusion vow, given by Seraphim, ended. Then Alexander I himself went to visit his cell. That is, they began to pray the old man for help even before canonization and during his lifetime.
Seraphim was officially canonized only on January 29, 1903. Until this date, the situation was ambiguous, since everyone went to bow to his relics, from peasants and merchants to members of the government and the royal family. Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna went to them with prayers for the granting of an heir to him.
His icon-portraits in the north-west of Russia hung everywhere where the trade took place. And monasteries and individual clergy actively composed texts of prayers at the request of merchants. The merchants repeatedly turned to the Synod with requests for canonization, since the absence of this status did not allow erecting churches to the old miracle worker in gratitude for the help in earthly affairs.
It is believed that a strong prayer for trade, addressed to this saint, should be long and difficult. If you open any prayer book, then the section in which the texts referring to Seraphim of Sarov are collected are represented by just such options.
In fact, the complexity of the prayers, in which they turn to St. Seraphim for help, is due to a rather banal life circumstance. Since the merchants considered him to be their intercessor in heaven, they turned to monasteries with requests to draw up personal prayers to this saint much more often than with a desire to receive a text for addressing someone else. As a result, priests and monks were forced to complicate and lengthen the texts so that each prayer for successful trading would come out truly original.
How to pray to St. Seraphim?
In the “Handbook for the priests and clergymen”, published in 1913, the issue of the imperishable condition of the relics of the old man was clarified, instructions were given for holding public services, and recommendations were also provided for the flock. It was recommended to pray to the saint in the same way as they did, addressing the words to other miracle workers.
A prayer for good trade, addressed to the elder, may be: “Father Rev.! I humbly pray you for help and intercession for me, the servant of God (proper name) before our Lord Jesus Christ! I ask for your intercession in the removal of my sins and the cleansing of thoughts from corruption. May the Lord see that it is not stinginess for the sake of, but according to the dictate of the heart I conduct trade. My thoughts are not carried away by profit. Come to the father for the slave (proper name), do not leave and teach. Amen".
All prayer addresses to the elder began with the word "Father". This is a traditional appeal to those who do not have canonical status. However, praying in your own words, you can turn differently, because Seraphim was still canonized.
About John of Sochava
Another heavenly patron saint of merchants is John Sochavsky. Prayer for the trade of this saint was considered traditional for many centuries for all those who went on business on long journeys.
This is due to the circumstances of the life of the holy great martyr. John lived during the formation of Christianity and was a merchant. Once his faith became known to the owner of the ship on which the merchant was sailing. And since John arrived in non-Christian lands, the captain informed the authorities for the appropriate reward about the religious views of the newly arrived merchant.
Further history is commonplace. Such cases are not uncommon during the emergence of Christianity. John refused to renounce his faith and, moreover, began to agitate his jailers to join Christianity. Of course, he was executed in a cruel way, that is, he was martyred.
But then something happened that converted many inhabitants of the city to the faith of Christ. The city guards swore that they had seen with their own eyes how the heavens opened over the body of the executed man thrown into view. Lights came down from above and lined up the stairs along which the Angels descended. They surrounded the torn body of John, from which a transparent image rose. After which the Angels, together with the image in which the guards recognized the soul of the dead, ascended into heaven. As soon as they hid behind the edge of the clouds, the vision disappeared, and the sky again became clear and full of stars.
The guards were terribly tortured, but they did not renounce their words, moreover, the rumor of what they saw swept through the city, converting many of its inhabitants to the Christian faith.
The description of this miracle is in all the tales of the great martyr John. And the nature of his occupations during his life and death during a trip on business matters prompted the merchants who set off on a journey to offer prayers for protection and success to John.
How to pray to John Sochavsky
It is believed that in order to help the great martyr Sochavsky, a prayer for trade should be pronounced only to those who are on the road or already on the road. Not only the merchants themselves can count on the protection and patronage of the saint, but also those who simply transport goods. For example, truckers or people accompanying the goods, that is, forwarders.
A prayer for successful trading addressed to this saint may be this: “Blessed Great Martyr John, the death of a fierce one! Bless me, servant of God (proper name), and keep on the way. Do not let the torment befall you to experience, save from human wiles and from greed, from the machinations of the evil one and from your own stupidity. I ask you, patron saint of the granting of wisdom and health, of salvation from danger and multiplying my condition. Amen".
There is a legend that describes the prayer of John's trade. That is the prayer that the great martyr himself offered. According to legend, it was her reading that was heard by the shipowner, who had betrayed John into the hands of the city authorities. However, it was not accepted to use this text among the merchants of the past, it was considered a very bad sign. Superstitions have always been strong in people, regardless of the depth of their religiosity.
As for the text of the prayer, then in different versions of the legend he has his own. Researchers believe that the text was changed when rewriting the biography of the great martyr on purpose, so as not to provoke trouble for those who decide to repeat the prayer. Unambiguously, it can only be asserted that a prayer was addressed to one of the apostles.
What do they say about prayers?
In recent years, leaving and reading reviews is a very opportune thing to do. Reviews have penetrated into all spheres of life. People write about goods and services, about the effectiveness of magic, about the specifics of keeping pets and everything else. Prayers are no exception. The opinions of people praying for trade success are contradictory. Some write about the effectiveness of this method, while others say directly - "words to the wind." The same applies to the saints whom they turn to for help.
However, if there is a desire to read reviews and, based on them, choose the type of appeal and the saint himself, then you should not pray at all. Prayer is a deeply personal process based on faith. It cannot be evaluated on any scale of effectiveness. Prayer, like the holy saints themselves, cannot have statistics showing effectiveness. There are no charts whose lines indicate the effectiveness of appeals to saints, depending on the type of prayer or the time of year.
Prayers are based on faith, they are irrational and come from the heart and soul, and not from the human brain. Only with faith will prayer help. A believer never thinks about the choice of a patron saint.This is inexplicable, but the believer, even for the first time entering the temple, knows for sure which way to approach and what to whisper. Moreover, often a person does not know who is depicted in the icon. Especially often this happens in old churches. This phenomenon is a paradox of faith. However, just like faith itself, it simply is. She will certainly indicate the right choice of icon-painting image and put the right words into her heart.