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| Saint Sophrony the Athonite. |
O Lord Eternal and Creator of all things,
Who of Thine inscrutable goodness called me to
this life;
Who bestowed on me the grace of Baptism and
the Seal of the Holy Spirit;
Who imbued me with the desire to seek Thee,
the one true God:
Hear my prayer.
I have no life, no light, no joy or wisdom, no
strength except in Thee, O God.
Because of my unrighteousness, I dare not
raise my eyes to Thee.
But Thou said to Thy disciples,
'Whatsoever you shall ask in prayer believing,
you shall receive.'
and
'Whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do.'
Wherefore
I dare to invoke Thee.
Purify me from all taint of flesh and spirit.
Teach me to pray aright.
Bless this day which Thou givest unto me, Thine unworthy servant.
By the power of Thy blessing enable me at all
times to speak and act to Thy glory
with
a pure spirit, with humility, patience, love, gentleness, peace, courage and
wisdom,
aware always of Thy presence.
Of Thine immense goodness, O Lord God, show me
the path of Thy will,
and grant me to walk in Thy sight without sin.
O Lord, unto Whom all hearts be open,
Thou knowest what things I have need of.
Thou art acquainted with my blindness and my
ignorance,
Thou knowest mine infirmity and my soul's
corruption;
But neither are my pain and anguish hid from
Thee.
Wherefore I beseech Thee, hear my prayer
and
by Thy Holy Spirit, teach me the way wherein I should walk;
and when my perverted will would lead me down
other paths,
spare me not, O Lord, but force me back to
Thee.
By the power of Thy love, grant me to hold
fast to that which is good.
Preserve me from every word or deed that
corrupts the soul;
from every impulse unpleasing in Thy sight and
hurtful to my brother-man.
Teach me what I should say and how I should
speak.
If it be Thy will that I make no answer,
inspire me to keep silent in a spirit of peace
that
causes neither sorrow nor hurt to my fellow man.
Establish me in the path of Thy commandments
and
to my last breath let me not stray from the light of Thine ordinances,
that
Thy commandments may become the sole law
of
my being on this earth and all eternity.
Yea,
Lord, I pray to Thee, have pity on me.
Spare
me in my affliction and my misery
and
hide not the way of salvation from me.
In
my foolishness, O God, I plead with Thee for many and great things.
Yet
am I ever mindful of my wickedness, my baseness, my vileness.
Have
mercy upon me.
Cast
me not away from your presence because of my presumption.
Do
Thou, rather, increase in me this presumption,
and
grant unto me, the worst of men,
to
love Thee as Thou hast commanded, with all my heart, and with all my soul,
and
with all my mind, and with all my strength: With my whole being.
Yea,
O Lord, by Thy Holy Spirit, teach me good judgment and knowledge.
Grant
me to know Thy truth before I go down into the grave.
Maintain
my life in this world until I may offer unto Thee worthy repentance.
Take
me not away in the midst of my days, nor while my mind is still blind.
When
Thou shalt be pleased to bring my life to an end,
forewarn
me that I may prepare my soul to come before Thee.
Be
with me, O Lord, at that dread hour and grant me the joy of salvation.
Cleanse
me from secret faults, from all iniquity that is hidden in me;
and
give me a right answer before Thy judgment-seat
Yea,
Lord, of Thy great mercy and immeasurable love for mankind.
Hear my prayer.
Reference:
On
Prayer. Archimandrite Sophrony(Sakharov).1996.