A short prayer rule for one who is afflicted by temptations to impurity
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Make three prostrations, saying,
O God be merciful to me a sinner. (3x)
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee!
O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, who art everywhere and fillest all things; Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: Come and abide in us, and cleanse us from all impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
The Trisagion Prayers
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (3x)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
O most holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, blot out our sins. Master, pardon our transgressions. Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for thy name’s sake.
Lord, have mercy. (3x)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Our Father who art in the heavens, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us.
Lord have mercy. (12x)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Come let us worship God our King.
Come let us worship and fall down before Christ our King and God.
Come let us worship and fall down before Christ Himself, our King and God.
Psalm 50
Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy; and according to the multitude of thy compassions blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my iniquity, and my sin is ever before me. Against thee only have I sinned and done this evil before thee, that thou mightest be justified in thy words, and prevail when thou art judged. For behold, I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother bear me. For behold, thou hast loved truth; the hidden and secret things of thy wisdom hast thou made manifest unto me. Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be made clean; thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. Thou shalt make me to hear joy and gladness; the bones that be humbled, they shall rejoice. Turn thy face away from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of thy salvation, and with thy governing Spirit establish me. I shall teach transgressors thy ways, and the ungodly shall turn back unto thee. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation; my tongue shall rejoice in thy righteousness. O Lord, thou shalt open my lips, and my mouth shall declare thy praise. For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I had given it; with whole-burnt offerings thou shalt not be pleased. A sacrifice unto God is a broken spirit; a heart that is broken and humbled God will not despise. Do good, O Lord, in thy good pleasure unto Sion, and let the walls of Jerusalem be built up. Then shalt thou be pleased with a sacrifice of righteousness, with oblation and whole-burnt offerings. Then shall they offer bulls upon thine altar.
And these verses:
O kind Shepherd, thou hast laid down thy life for us, and thou knowest all the hidden deeds that I have done. O only good One, guide me, for I have lost my mind. Save me from the wolf, O Lamb of God, and have mercy on me.
I am the unfruitful tree, O Lord, bearing no fruit of compunction at all; I fear being cut down at my very roots, and I tremble at the fire that is never quenched. Therefore I entreat thee, before that fearful moment, give me repentance and save me.
In the valley of tears, in the place thou hast appointed, when thou shalt sit to judge with justice, O Merciful One, do not reveal all my secret sins nor put me to shame before the angels. But spare me, O God, and have mercy on me
Like the man who fell among the thieves and was sorely wounded, I too have fallen because of my own sins, and my soul is deeply wounded. To whom shall I flee for refuge, I who have brought this upon myself – except to thee, the compassionate Healer of souls? O God, pour thy great mercy on me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
I have come to thee, O compassionate One, as did the Prodigal Son. Receive me as I fall down before thee, as one of thy hired servants, O God, and have mercy on me.
Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Thou art the good hope of the world, O Virgin Theotokos. I seek thy strong protection. Have compassion on me, a sinner, and entreat the merciful God to save my soul from every threat, O only blessed one.
Make 40 prostrations, saying at each one:
O God be gracious to me, and forgive me the prodigal.
A Prayer of Saint Basil:
Again, I the wretched one have been tripped up in my mind by serving my evil and sinful habits. Again I am dragged as a captive by the prince of darkness and the father of passionate pleasure. As a slave, I am humiliated by the devil’s will and he compels me to serve the desires of the flesh.
What can I do, O my Lord, Redeemer and Defender of all who hope in thee; but to turn again to thee, and sigh, and beg forgiveness for the things which I have done? But I fear and tremble that perhaps even though I confess daily and try to avoid harmful things, yet I still do cease to sin every hour, and I fail to offer my prayer to thee, my God. I fear that I might provoke thy patience into wrath.
Who can bear thine anger, O Lord? Therefore, knowing the multitude of thy compassions and thine inexhaustible love for mankind, I throw myself again on thy mercy, and I cry out to thee: I have sinned, O Lord! Have mercy on me, the fallen one. Stretch out thy hand to help me, for I am sunk in the pit of pleasures.
I am thy servant, O Lord. Do not abandon me to be destroyed by my transgressions and sins. Rather, in thy steadfast goodness deliver me from the pollution and the stain of my flesh and from my passionate thoughts which every day defile my miserable soul.
Behold, O Lord my God, there is not even one place in my soul that is clean, but it is altogether full of leprosy. My body is one great wound. But thou art the Healer of souls and the fountain of life. Cleanse my soul with the gift of tears which thou shalt pour out on me abundantly. Grant me healing and cleansing, and do not turn thy face away from me, lest the darkness of despair consume me like fire.
O true God, thou hast said that there is joy in heaven at the return of a sinner. Let this also be true for me, a sinner. Do not close the ears of thy compassion to the prayer of my repentance; but open them to me and direct my prayer before thee as incense.
O Creator, thou knowest the weakness of our nature and how easily we slip in our youth. Yet thou dost overlook the sins and accept the repentance of those who confess to thee in truth. For thou alone art without sin, and to thee we ascribe glory, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Another Prayer of Saint Basil:
O all-merciful, incorrupt, pure, undefiled, only sinless Lord: cleanse me, thy useless servant, from all defilements of body and soul, and from this impurity which I have brought on myself because of my carelessness and negligence, together with all my other iniquities. Purify me of every stain by the grace of thy Christ. Make me holy me by sending down thy Holy Spirit; so that as I rise up from the fog of my impurities and the fantasies of the devil, and from every diabolical defilement, I may be made worthy in pure conscience to open my foul and polluted mouth and praise thine all-holy name, of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
More honorable than the cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the seraphim; who without corruption gavest birth to God the Word, the very Theotokos, thee do we magnify.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Lord, have mercy (3x). Bless, O Lord.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, through the prayers of thy most pure Mother, and all the saints, have mercy me a sinner. Amen.
