Father Sophrony’s Prayer

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A dear friend shared this with me:

Fr Sophrony’s Prayer

O Eternal Lord and Creator of all things, in your inscrutable goodness you have called me into this life and have given me the grace of baptism and the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.  You have instilled in me the desire to seek your face.  Hear my prayer!

I have no life, no light, no joy, no strength, no wisdom without you, O God.   Because of my unrighteousness, I dare not lift my eyes in your presence.  But I obey you who said:

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.  (Mark 11)

Truly, truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father He will give it to you in my name.   Until now you have asked nothing in my name.  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.  (John 16)

Therefore I now dare to approach you.  Purify me from all stain of flesh and spirit.  Teach me to pray rightly.  Bless this day which you give to me, your unworthy servant.

By the power of your blessing enable me at all times to speak and to act with a pure spirit to your glory;  with faith, hope and love, humility, patience, gentleness, peace, purity, simplicity, sobriety, courage and wisdom.  Let me always be aware of your presence.

In your boundless goodness, O Lord God, show me your will and grant me to walk in your sight without sin.

O Lord, unto whom all hearts are open, you know what I need and what is necessary for me.  You know my blindness and my ignorance.  You know my infirmity and corruption.  My pain and anguish are not hidden from you.  Therefore I beg you:  Hear my prayer and teach me by the power of your Holy Spirit the way in which I should walk.  And when my perverted will leads me otherwise, O Lord, do not spare me, but force me back to your way.

Grant me, Lord, to hold fast to what is good by the power of your love.  Preserve me from every word and act which corrupts the soul, and from every impulse that is unpleasing in your sight and harmful to the people around me.  Teach me what I should say and how I should speak.  If it be your holy will that I be quiet and make no answer, inspire me to be silent in a peaceful spirit that causes neither harm nor hurt to my fellow human beings.

Establish me in the path of your commandments, and until my last breath do not let me stray from the light of your ordinances.  May your commandments be the sole law of my being in this life and for all eternity.

O Lord, I pray to you:  Have mercy on me.  Spare me in my affliction and misery and hide not the way of salvation from me.

In my foolishness, O God, I plead with you for many and great things.  Yet I am ever mindful of my wickedness, my baseness, my vileness.  Have pity on me!  Cast me not away from your presence because of my foolish presumption.  Increase rather in me the right presumption of your grace and grant that I, the worst of people, may love you with all my mind, all my heart, all my soul and all my strength, as you have commanded.

By your Holy Spirit, Lord, teach me good judgment and sound knowledge.  Let me know the truth before I die.  Maintain my life in this world until the end that I may offer worthy repentance.  Do not take me away while my mind is still blind and bound by darkness.  When you are pleased to end my life, give me warning that I may prepare my soul to come before you.  Be with me, Lord, at that awesome hour and assure me by your grace of the joy of my salvation.

Cleanse me from secret faults.  Purify me from hidden iniquities.  Give me a good answer at your dread judgment seat.

Lord of great mercy and measureless love for all people:  Hear my prayer!  Amen.

with editing by Fr. Thomas Hopko

About Fr. Stephen Freeman

Fr. Stephen is a priest of the Orthodox Church in America, Pastor Emeritus of St. Anne Orthodox Church in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He is also author of Everywhere Present and the Glory to God podcast series.



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Comments

11 responses to “Father Sophrony’s Prayer”

  1. JFred Avatar

    I confess that I used to hate it when I logged onto your blog and saw lengthy quotes from the The Fathers. Even though I have to sometimes re-read a sentence several times, I’m starting to enjoy the challenge, not to mention the wisdom found here.

    To demonstrate my newfound concentration skills, I bring your attention to the misspelling on the second sentence of the second graph!

  2. fatherstephen Avatar

    I was just seeing if everyone was paying attention. 🙂

    Thanks!

  3. Ioannis Freeman Avatar
    Ioannis Freeman

    “Maintain my life in this world until the end that I may offer worthy repentance. Do not take me away while my mind is still blind and bound by darkness. When you are pleased to end my life, give me warning that I may prepare my soul to come before you. Be with me, Lord, at that awesome hour and assure me by your grace of the joy of my salvation.”
    –Elder Sophrony

    Contemplative monks, many who are known only to their small congregation, skete, or monastery, announce their date of mortal departure weeks and sometimes months and years before the day that they believe that God will call them home. In a small Trappist (R.C.) community where I once served, the eldest brothers (centenarians for the most part) made jokes about foreknowledge of the time for them to meet God. As one of their caregivers, I knew that the day would come for them to direct the Abbot to tell me that I should begin preparations for burial. By traditons, after the eyes of the monks have been harvested, the monk’s body is prepared with bathing and holy oil, most monks are buried before the next sundown except when a major Feast or Sunday intervene.

    One day I remember digging for hours and had not made it past 4 feet below surface as yet (we had no access to automated machines), I heard the bells call us back for the small hours prior to refectory, when I spotted Brother Athanasius leaning out his cell window and motioned for me to come close. He teased me by saying at the pace that I was keeping, he might have to postpone his due date. The laugh I took for this moment reminded me of St. Paul’s rebuke, “Oh, Death, where is your sting.” Kyrie eleison. Glory to God.

  4. handmaid Avatar

    “By traditons, after the eyes of the monks have been harvested, the monk’s body is prepared with bathing and holy oil, most monks are buried before the next sundown except when a major Feast or Sunday intervene.”

    All of this I understand but the first part…

    I am almost afraid to ask, but why harvest they eyes? What is the tradition?

  5. Ioannis Freeman Avatar
    Ioannis Freeman

    Monks allow eye removal so that corneas and lenses can be used for transplants. Not every monastery makes provisions for ocular removal, that is why I used the plural for tradition(s).

  6. handmaid Avatar

    Thank you, makes more sense now…

  7. juliana Avatar
    juliana

    Thank you, Father Stephen.

  8. Theophan Avatar
    Theophan

    Amen! Father, bless. Thank you for this posting.

  9. Athanasia Avatar
    Athanasia

    If you have not read it, may I recommend Fr. Sophrony’s book “On Prayer.” It has a section of multiple prayers he has written. All of them quite beautiful, especially “The Prayer at Daybreak.’

  10. Margarita Avatar
    Margarita

    By the third paragraph you had me praying along with you. Thanks be to God.

  11. […] Glory to God for All Things This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink. ← The Aim of the […]

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