Despite my sins, hearken unto me, drive away the enemy...

Prayers that St. Ephraim the Syrian offered up to God.


Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian 

O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despondency, lust for power and idle talk. (full prostration) But grant unto me, Your servant, a spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love. (full prostration) Thus, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own faults and not to judge my brothers and sisters. For You are blessed unto the ages of ages. Amen. (full prostration) O God, cleanse me, a sinner (12 times, with bows from the waist) (Read the entire prayer through once more from the beginning, followed by a full prostration.)

18 Despite my sins, hearken unto me, drive away the enemy... 


 O God righteous and praised, O God pre-eternal: Hearken unto this man, this sinner, in this hour! 


Hear me, O God, hear me in Thy fortress, remember not the continual disobedience of my worthlessness. 


Answer my prayer with fire, as Thou didst once for Thy Prophet. 


O God of Holy powers! O, Creator of the fleshless ones! O, Thou Who didst pronounce: ask, and ye shall receive! Be Thou not repelled by me who am unclean, who have defiled my lips and am covered with sins. 


Hear me, Thou Who hast promised to hear those who call to Thee in truth, and direct the steps of Thy servant to the path of peace. 


I cry to Thee with all my heart: God, O God, hearken unto me, O hope of all the ends of the earth and of those who travel afar. Banish all unclean spirits that they may flee from the face of Thy servant.


Take up Thy weapons and shield and rise up to help me. Draw Thy sword and imprison them who persecute me. O Lord, tell my soul: I am thy salvation. 


May the spirit of fear, the spirit of despondency, and the spirit of pride and of all manner of malice withdraw from my soul. In it may all manner of excitement produced by the workings of the devil be extinguished. May my spirit, soul, and body be enlightened by the light of Thy knowledge. May I come to be a perfect man made unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ with the angles and all who have been pleasing to Thee through the ages, and I shall glorify Thine all-honorable and venerable name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.


Prayer of Saint Ephrem the Syriam


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Prayers of St. John Chrysostom

Image
  Before and After Reading Spiritual Texts Before reading: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen. Illumine my heart, O Master who lovest mankind, with the pure light of Thy divine knowledge. Open Thou the eyes of my mind to the understanding of Thy Gospel teachings. Implant also in me a love for Thy blessed commandments. Grant me the grace to overcome all my carnal desires, so that I may enter more completely into a spiritual manner of living, both thinking and doing such things as are well pleasing to Thee; For Thou art the illumination of our souls and bodies, O Christ our God, and unto Thee do we ascribe glory, together with Thine all-holy, good and life-creating Spirit; now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. O Lord Jesus Christ, open Thou the eyes of my heart, that I may hear Thy word and understand and do Thy will, for I am a sojourner upon the earth. Hide not Thy commandments from me, but open mine eyes, that I may perceive the wonder
Read more

O sinner, at long last, take heed to your salvation.

Image
  O sinner, at long last, take heed to your salvation. I solate yourself, and gather your thoughts and tell yourself, "How much time have you wasted nourishing the passions of your flesh and imagination, and what gain has it afforded you? W hat have you achieved by this? W oe to me, my soul, what a state we have attained, what chaos. S ee everyone near me is ornamented with virtues and sincerely fears God, but I only walk in the dark. I n the early morning I repent of my actions, yet shortly thereafter I do even worse misdeeds. T he Lord has granted me strength and good health and woe I take this for granted and bring upon me the wrath of my Maker. O my soul, why are you so apathetic? W hy are you so reckless? F or you cannot remain here forever. W hen the end comes, the Lord will dispatch His angels to retrieve you and you will have to leave this world whether you want to or not. S o then, O man, in the end confess your great distress, and cease contradictin
Read more

A prayer of our holy father St. Isaac the Syrian

Image
A prayer of our holy father St. Isaac the Syrian L ord Jesus Christ, my God: Thou didst weep for Lazarus and shed tears of sorrow and compassion for him. Accept my bitter tears also. H eal my passions through the suffering of Thine holy Passion. Heal the wounds of my soul through the wounds which Thou didst suffer. C leanse my blood with Thine holy blood and unite my body with the fragrance of Thy life-giving body. May the gall which Thou wast given to drink by Thine enemies sweeten my soul from the bitterness that the devil has given me to taste. M ay Thy most-holy body that was stretched upon the Cross elevate my mind, which has been lowered unto the earth by the demons. M ay Thy most-holy head, which Thou didst bow upon the Cross raise my head, which has been humiliated by the opposing demonic powers. M ay Thy most-holy hands which were nailed to the Cross by the transgressors raise me to Thee from the depth of destruction, just as Thy most-holy mouth hast promised. M ay Thy face w
Read more