If you don’t want to pray, you need to force yourself. Should you pray when you don’t feel like it? Good luck and prosperity to everyone! May God help you

Retire to a secluded place so that no one will disturb you. Light a candle or lamp. Stand in front of the icons (icons preferably of Jesus the Pantocrator, the Mother of God and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, and, if you have one, then St. John Chrysostom - a wonderful and very powerful icon!)

First, read the Our Father prayer, at this moment thinking only about the Lord and His help to you, do not be distracted by other thoughts.

Now thank the Lord for all the good that He does, for your life, even if it is not going well, ask the Lord for forgiveness for all your sins, voluntary and involuntary.

And start reading the prayer. Read slowly, legibly, thinking about every word and being aware of what you are reading.

Oh, great saint John Chrysostom! You have received many and varied gifts from the Lord, and as a good and faithful servant, you have multiplied all the talents given to you for good: for this reason, you were truly a universal teacher, as every age and every rank comes from you. Behold, you appeared as an image of obedience to the youth, a luminary of chastity to the young, a mentor of hard work to the husband, a teacher of kindness to the old, a teacher of kindness to the monk, a rule of abstinence to those who pray, an inspired leader from God to those who pray, an enlightener of the mind to those who seek wisdom, to those who are kind-hearted, words are an inexhaustible source of living, to those who do good. - the star of mercy, the ruler - the image of the wise, the zealot of truth - the inspirer of boldness, the righteousness for the sake of the persecuted - the mentor of patience: you were everything to everyone, and you saved everyone. Over all of these you have acquired love, which is the basis of perfection, and with that, as if by the power of the Divine, you have united all the gifts in your soul into one, and the reconciling love shared here, in the interpretation of the words of the apostles, you preached to all the faithful. We are sinners, each one having his own gift, the unity of the spirit in the union of peace are not imams, but we are vainglorious, irritating each other, envious of each other: for this sake of the gift, our divided not into peace and salvation, but into enmity and condemnation, turned over to us. Moreover, we fall to you, the saint of God, overwhelmed by discord, and in contrition of heart we ask: with your prayers drive away from our hearts all pride and envy that divides us, so that in many places we may remain one church body without restraint, so that we may love you according to your prayerful words. each other and with one mind we confess the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, Consubstantial and Indivisible, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. If anyone doesn’t have the “Three Joys” icon, then be sure to buy it - pray to it and see how one joy after another will come THREE JOYS!!!

Prayer before the icon of the “Three Joys”:

Oh, Most Holy Virgin, the All-Blessed Son of the All-Blessed Mother, the protection of the reigning city and the holy temple of this temple, faithful representative and intercessor of all! Do not despise the prayers of us, your unworthy servants, but beg your son and our God, so that all of us, with faith and tenderness before your miraculous image, worship, according to every need, grant joy: to the sinner all-effective admonition, repentance and salvation; consolation for those who are in sorrow and sorrow; in the troubles and bitterness of those who remain there is a complete abundance of these; hope and patience for the faint-hearted and unreliable; those who live in joy and abundance give unceasing thanksgiving to God; those who exist in illness are healing and strengthening. O Madam Most Pure! Have mercy on all who honor Your honorable name, and show everyone Your all-powerful protection and intercession: protect and preserve your people from visible and invisible enemies. Establish marriages in love and like-mindedness; educate infants, young ones to be wise, open their minds to the perception of every useful teaching; Protect half-blooded people from domestic quarrels with peace and love, and give us all love for each other, peace and piety and health with long life, so that everyone in heaven and on earth will lead You, as a strong and shameless representative of the Christian race, and these leading , glorify Thee and Thy Son with Thee, with His beginningless Father and His consubstantial Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

And one more icon should be in every home; it greatly helps unhappy and grieving people - the “Joy of All Who Sorrow” icon!

Prayer before the icon “Joy of All Who Sorrow”:

O God-loving Queen, inexperienced Virgin, Mother of God Mary, pray for us to Thy Son, Who loved and was born of You, Christ our God: grant us forgiveness of sins, peace, peace, abundance of fruits for the earth, holiness for the shepherd, and salvation for the whole human race. Save our cities and the Russian country from the presence of foreign invaders, and from internecine warfare. O Mother, God-loving Virgin! About the all-singing Queen! Cover us with Your robe from all evil, protect us from visible and invisible enemies and save our souls. Amen.

Good luck and prosperity to everyone! May the Lord help you!!!

If you are in a state of grief or depression, you may well find that you find it difficult to pray or unable to pray at all. During depression, this state of “prayer dryness” occurs very often. Of the dozens of religious people with depression with whom I have dealt, there was not a single one who did not complain about prayer difficulties. It seems that the inability to pray can be considered one of the symptoms of a state of depression.

The bitter irony of life: just when the support of the Lord and the feeling of His presence are especially important for a person, turning to Him fails. You try to pray, but you feel that your prayer is formal, mechanical, the words of the prayer seem meaningless to you, and this makes you feel even worse. You begin to feel guilty for being such a bad Christian (or a bad Christian), and the feeling of guilt, as usual, aggravates your already difficult condition.

If this has happened or is happening to you, do not worry: you are in a normal situation, which is the rule, not the exception. If in grief or depression you cannot pray as before, do not torment yourself with reproaches for your lack of faith and how unspiritual you have become. Do not think that something irreversible has happened to you and that you have fallen into the arms of Satan forever. When your depression ends (and it will end, trust me!), you will regain the desire and ability to pray. Remember: our God is not an accountant, a jailer and a judge rolled into one, who, with a ledger in one hand and a stopwatch in the other, watches you with passion, notes the number and duration of your prayers, and then passes judgment on you. He is a loving and forgiving God, whose love is so great and strong that it cannot be measured by the human mind. He sees you, understands how you feel now and wants to help you.

Some advice for those who have difficulty praying when they are depressed: No matter what, try to pray every day, even though you don’t feel like it. Don't demand too much from yourself. Don't make comparisons to what it was like when you weren't depressed. Do not stand for prayer with a predetermined time (say, 10 or 15 minutes). You may not be able to pray for that long, which will give you another reason to beat yourself up (which you already do too much).

Depression makes it difficult to concentrate on anything, including prayer. Let your prayer be short but heartfelt. If you are tormented by remorse that you cannot pray for a long time, “like before,” break your prayer “into pieces” and pray for one minute several times a day. Remember: a short prayer is better than none at all! In a state of depression, it is better to pray in your own words (when you read a prayer, due to absent-minded attention, there is a great danger of slipping into a mechanical “babble”). Share your pain with God. For example, you might say, “God, I feel so bad right now. I don't know how to live further. Lord, forgive me and help me!” Or: “Lord, my soul is so heavy that I can’t even pray. Forgive me, Lord, and help me get out of this state.” If even such very short prayers are difficult for you, pray the “Jesus Prayer”: “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

If you want to pray a known prayer rather than in your own words, take a short, simple, well-known one, such as the Lord's Prayer. Try, despite your mood, to read it with feeling, and not automatically. However, don’t blame yourself if you feel like you’re not praying “from the heart.” God hears you.

If all of the above is difficult for you, write a short (one phrase or a couple of phrases) prayer on a card or small piece of paper. Carry it with you and read it several times a day.

Remember: by praying, you fight depression!

Remember: your condition will not last forever. Take heart and be patient. God's love is always with you.

How prayers turn into a meaningless activity.

It is a pity, but I cannot say that my prayer life is an example of sincerity and zealous faith.

But, if I'm being completely honest...

Prayer is the most problematic area in my life with God. Finding time to pray is a real challenge for me. I have difficulty finding a suitable place to pray. I can't pray with inspiration about serious things with great faith. I cannot be consistent in prayer and I do not pray diligently enough. I sometimes don't even pray when I make a promise to pray for someone.

In my case, it’s not that I don’t fully trust the power of God, it’s just that I’m constantly tempted to turn my Christian life into a to-do list with empty boxes next to where I check “done.”

I recently realized that my biggest problem is that I do everything out of habit, on automatic.

I enjoy our church prayer times because it reminds me to pray with faith and anticipation of an answer. We get together every week for an hour and it is truly a wonderful time. It is immediately clear that all those gathered are expecting miracles. Because there is no other apparent reason for hundreds of people to come to one place in the middle of the work week to pray together. We all come there to see with our own eyes how God will act.

You might think that if a person puts so much effort into prayer, then he probably expects some kind of result. But I assure you, it is quite possible to expect nothing.

In my case, it's not that I don't fully trust the power of God; I just keep falling into the temptation to turn my Christian life into a to-do list with empty boxes next to it where I check “done.”

Prayer without expecting an answer is a powerless prayer.

I turned prayer into a religious ritual instead of a natural consequence of my relationship with God. Instead of praying with the expectation of an answer in my heart, I most often say memorized hackneyed phrases. I, as a disciplined student, make the right movements, but don’t feel joy - I just consider it my duty.

Prayer without anticipation (waiting for an answer) is a powerless prayer. And this is what I realized, looking at the full hall of worshipers - if I pray without anticipation, then I pray without faith. And prayer without faith is not prayer at all, but an empty religion.

Prayer was never on the to-do list, and it was never just empty talk. In fact, Jesus warned against such soulless, empty prayer without faith in Matthew 6:7: “When you pray, do not talk too much, as the pagans do, for they think that because of their many words they will be heard.”

“God will either give us what we ask for, or what we would ask for if we were as aware of all the details as He is.”
- Tim Keller.

Prayer is simply a conversation with God in which faith is present. This is an action on our part when we humbly come to God, who can do everything, with our earthly requests.

I don’t think that prayer should consist of any special phrases or sound in any special way for God to hear us. I don’t think it’s necessary to lock yourself somewhere in a secluded place or kneel at the head of the bed. I also don't think God can be impressed by a long prayer or disappointed by a short one. I think He expects us to be honest and pray with faith to the best of our ability.

We can always pray with anticipation of an answer because God always hears and answers. He doesn't always answer yes, but He always gives us the best we need, whether we realize it or not. Tim Keller says, “God will either give us what we ask for or what we would ask for if we knew all the details like He did.”

Just as people drive a lazy horse with a whip and encourage it to walk and run, so we must convince ourselves to do everything, and especially to pray. Seeing such work and diligence, the Lord will give desire and zeal.

The work of our life goes like this: someone brings into the work the work of will, and receives what he needs from grace... Prayer with self-compulsion and patience gives birth to light, pure and sweet prayer. And the one that happens with self-compulsion is a work of will, and the one that happens with pleasure is a work of grace.

I breathe and it doesn't give me any trouble. This is a property of a human being. So prayer was his property before the fall. Now prayer has become a labor, a compulsion, just like a sick person has difficulty breathing.

You say: I believe in God, but my faith is somehow uneven. Sometimes I pray with pleasure: sometimes I recite prayers just out of habit.
And you do a great job of reading them out of habit. This work, this compulsion, this primary will, this skill is more in our will than the pleasure with which you are satisfied. This is one of the main points of modern error and confusion. We are all now immediately looking for a strong feeling, a touching sensation, sincerity, etc... This is a big mistake. Not only is it impossible to acquire even prayer; but even faith is hardly accessible to anyone, except great ascetics. (And I can’t vouch for the fact that their faith is always equal; I don’t remember the patristic evidence for this).

He who neglects the commandment of prayer suffers the most serious violations of other commandments, handing him over from one to another like a prisoner.

Do not believe your flesh, which threatens you with failure during prayer: it lies. When you begin to pray, you will see that the flesh has become your obedient slave. Prayer will also revive her. Always remember that the flesh is deceitful.

They say: if you don’t want to, don’t pray, that’s carnal wisdom; If you don’t start praying, you will completely fall behind prayer; that's what the flesh wants. The kingdom of heaven is in need(Matt. 11, 12); Without self-compulsion to goodness you will not be saved.

It is necessary to stimulate the heart to prayer: otherwise it will completely dry out.

Learn to pray, force yourself to pray: at first it will be difficult, but then, the more we force ourselves, the easier it will be; but first you always have to force yourself.

Sometimes we stand in church or at home in prayer, relaxed in spirit and body: and our soul is powerless, cold, and barren, like that pagan barren church; but as soon as we strain our hearts to sincere prayer to God, we turn our thoughts and hearts to Him with living faith, our soul will immediately come to life, our soul will become warm and fertilized; what sudden calm, what lightness, what tenderness, what inner holy fire, what warm tears for sins... Ah! Why don’t we turn our hearts to the Lord more often! How much peace and consolation He always has hidden for us!

Prayer until the last breath involves the labor of a difficult struggle.

Venerable Agathon of Egypt (5th century)

As in ancient times, so now, the exercise of prayer is possible and even necessary for everyone; Everything works out through prayer, even prayer itself, and therefore you should never give up on it.

It is our will to pray with self-compulsion; and praying with tenderness depends on God.

Even if you do not fully achieve the fruits and perfection of prayer, then it is good if you die on the way to it.

Forcing oneself and forcing oneself to pray is very necessary in the feat of prayer.

The enemy inspires various thoughts to confuse the foolish, saying that prayer requires concentration, tenderness, etc., and if this is not the case, then it only angers God; some listen to these arguments and abandon prayer to the delight of the enemy... One should not listen to tempting thoughts, one must drive them far away from oneself and, without being embarrassed, continue the work of prayer. Even if the fruit of this labor is unnoticeable, even if a person does not experience spiritual delight, tenderness, etc., prayer still cannot remain ineffective. She silently does her job...

It is wrong to say that prayer is easy, that prayer is joy. No, prayer is a feat. The Holy Fathers say that when a person prays easily, with joy, it is not he who prays himself, but an angel of God who prays with him, and that’s how it feels good for him. When prayer doesn’t go well, when you’re tired and want to sleep, when you don’t want to pray, but you keep praying, that’s when your prayer is dear to God, because then you pray yourself, work for God, He sees your labor and rejoices in your effort, this work for Him.

Svschmch. Seraphim (Zvezdinsky), bishop. Dmitrovsky (1883approx. 1937).

We sinners cannot constantly be in burning, in a fiery desire to be with God. Don't be embarrassed by this. Remember the widow who gave two mites. This is so little that we, in a worldly way, would throw these two mites: what are they for? Others gave a lot, but Christ said that the widow’s small gift was greater than all others, for she gave everything she had. Therefore, do not be embarrassed by the fact that you do not want to pray, that you have no repentance.

Do, do the external, for the external depends on you, but the internal does not depend on you. But for the external, the Lord will give you the internal.

What to do if you don’t want to pray or repent? Sometimes there are such conditions that you don’t even have the strength to force yourself to pray. And if I do get up to pray, I don’t feel anything: my lips pronounce the texts, but my mind is far away, not with God. And in confession, sometimes I don’t feel any feeling of repentance, but simply list my sins. I am embarrassed by such spiritual callousness. What does it mean? And is it possible to fight it? Elena

Answers Archpriest Alexy POTOKIN, assistant rector of the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God “Life-Giving Spring” in Tsaritsyn:

Dear Elena! The Lord said: “... it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick, go and learn what it means: I want mercy, and not sacrifice? For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9: 12-13). The Lord came into the world, endured suffering, accepted death on the Cross and rose from the dead for our sake - those who do not know how to pray, repent, love God and neighbor. It was for us that He created His Church with its saving sacraments. Re-read the Gospel carefully - it’s all about this: about the poor in spirit, about the blind, about the paralytic, about the prodigal son. Every parable of Christ, every line of the Gospel reminds us of our spiritual state. Healthy people have never experienced such experiences as you; when you pray, you are always confident in your righteousness - remember the parable of the publican and the Pharisee. But in the end, they not only did not accept Christ, but crucified Him. This is the kind of spiritual tragedy that results from a reluctance to look honestly into your heart, to find out the truth about yourself, about your spiritual state.

Christ calls us to know ourselves, our inner world. And this inner world is revealed to us during prayer. When we communicate with people and become irritated with them, under the influence of emotions we often do not notice our irritability. And in prayer we strive for goodness, goodness - and then we notice coldness of heart, lack of composure, and chaos of thoughts and feelings. But it is already worth a lot if a person forces himself to come to church and say words of repentance, even if his heart is silent. It is we, the weak, the cold, who need the Law of God and observance of church rules. When a person recovers (for real, and not like a Pharisaic), he prays and repents continuously, in any place where he is. Hermits and hermits sometimes did not resort to church sacraments for many years, but their hearts were completely given to God, they prayed incessantly - not always with words, genuine prayer can also be silent.

But we, the sick, cannot pray without words, we need rules. Just like in everyday life, we need rules of politeness. Almost every person can remember moments of melancholy and despondency, when he was not happy to meet friends and acquaintances, they began to irritate him. But elementary secular ethics helps not to completely break down, to survive this period, to recover. A saint does not need this politeness. One look from him will tell us much more than “hello” or “good morning.” But since we are not saints, we need to remember basic politeness. And church rules are spiritual politeness. Our hearts are far from God, we do not strive to meet Him, but, understanding the abnormality and painfulness of this state, we come, as the Holy Church teaches us, to confession and utter words of repentance. This is hard work, slavish, but not useless. The Monk Isaac the Syrian said that a person will never become the son of God if he has not been a slave and a mercenary. By forcing ourselves to repent, we crush the rocky soil. We cannot wait for a reward; we do not know when we will come to life and turn to God with sincere, heartfelt repentance. But if we sincerely ask God to forgive us our coldness, to revive our heart (“Create a pure heart in me,” we read every morning in the 50th Psalm), a sincere repentant feeling will return sooner or later. In such “automatic” repentance, we still receive God’s grace, which will certainly bear fruit. Just don't despair. Spiritual life is a path, not a pedestal. And there is no path without obstacles.

They say: if you don’t want to, don’t pray. Evil wisdom of the flesh; If you don’t just start praying, you will completely fall behind prayer; that's what the flesh wants. The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force(Matt.11,12); Without self-compulsion to do good, you will not be saved.

Do not trust your flesh, which threatens you with failure during prayer: it lies. If you begin to pray, you will see that the flesh has become your obedient slave. Prayer will revive her too.

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt (1829-1908).

The work of our life goes like this: someone brings into the work the work of will and receives what he needs from grace... Prayer with self-compulsion and patience gives birth to light, pure and sweet prayer. And the one that happens with self-compulsion is a work of will, and the one that happens with pleasure is a work of grace.

Venerable Zosimas of Palestine (+ c.560).

It is our will to pray with self-compulsiveness; and praying with tenderness depends on God.

Rev. Joseph of Optina (1837-1911).

Prayer until the last breath involves the labor of a difficult struggle.

Venerable Agathon of Egypt(Vv.).

If this is home prayer, then you can postpone it a little, for a few minutes... Ifand after that it doesn’t come... force yourself to fulfill the prayer rule forcibly, straining and understanding what is being said, and feeling... Just like when a child does not want to bend over, they take him by the forelock and bend him over... Otherwise, this is what can happen: now there is reluctance - Tomorrow you won’t feel like it, and then there will be an end to prayer.

Saint Theophan, recluse of Vyshensky (1815-1894).

The rag instills various thoughts to confuse the unreasonable, saying that prayer requires concentration, tenderness, etc., and if this is not the case, then it only angers God; some listen to these arguments and abandon prayer to the delight of the enemy... One should not listen to tempting thoughts, one must drive them far away from oneself and, without being embarrassed, continue the work of prayer. Let the unnoticed fruit of this labor, let a person not experience spiritual delight, tenderness, etc. - after all, prayer cannot remain ineffective. She silently does her job.

Venerable Barsanuphius of Optina(1845-1913).

We, sinners, cannot constantly be in burning, in a fiery desire to be with God. Don't be embarrassed by this. Remember the widow who gave two mites. This is so little that we, in a worldly way, would throw these two mites: what are they for? Others gave a lot, but Christ said that the widow’s small gift was greater than all others, for she gave everything she had (see Mark 12:42-44). That's whydo not be embarrassed by the fact that you do not want to pray, that you have no repentance.

Do, do the external, for the external depends on you, but the internal does not depend on you. But for the external, the Lord will give you the internal.

Hieromartyr Sergius Mechev(1892-1941).

Do not give up prayers when the enemy makes you feel insensitive; He who forces himself to pray with a dry soul is superior to him who prays with tears.

Schema-abbot Savva of Pskov-Pechersky(1898-1980).

In a state of complete cooling and darkening of the soul, it is imperative to follow the rule, despite the coldness, distraction, etc. "Give Blood and Receive the Spirit."

Hegumen Nikon (Vorobiev) (1894-1963).