Morning and Evening Prayers
Prayer at the beginning and end of each day is one of the oldest habits of Christian life. It doesn't need to be long to be real. What follows is a simple rule — enough to start with, and enough to grow into for years, if you let it.
Begin Both Morning and Evening Prayer the Same Way
Begin both morning and evening prayers with these customary opening prayers:
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere present and fillest all things, Treasury of good things and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us of all impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (three times)
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
All-holy Trinity, have mercy on us. Lord, cleanse us of our sins. Master, pardon our transgressions. Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy Name's sake.
Lord, have mercy. (three times)
Our Father, Who art in heaven, 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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
In the Morning
After the opening prayers, this prayer in the tradition of the Elders of Optina is a good anchor (freely rendered here — the more familiar traditional phrasing can be found in the sources list below):
Lord, let me meet this day in peace, and let me lean on Your will in everything I do. Make Your will known to me as the hours pass. Whatever this day brings, let me receive it with a quiet heart, trusting that You are behind it — even the parts I did not choose. Guide what I think, what I say, and what I do. When something catches me by surprise, let me remember it did not surprise You. Give me a firm and gentle way with the people I meet, and the strength to carry what this day asks of me. Take hold of my will; teach me to pray; and pray within me, Yourself. Amen.
After that, the 50th Psalm (Septuagint/Orthodox numbering — Psalm 51 in the Hebrew numbering most English Bibles use) is traditionally read as part of the morning rule, a psalm of repentance attributed to David after his sin with Bathsheba. Given here in the public-domain King James Version:
1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. 16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
Then the Creed, the Church's summary of the faith, said daily as part of the morning rule in most prayer books:
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages. Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not made, of one essence with the Father, through Whom all things were made.
Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man.
And He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried.
And He rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures.
And He ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father.
And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, Whose kingdom shall have no end.
And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceedeth from the Father, Who together with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified, Who spoke through the prophets.
In one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins.
I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.
Close with a short prayer of your own words, offering the day — your work, the people you'll see, whatever you're anxious about — into God's hands.
In the Evening
After the opening prayers, the Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian is traditionally prayed during Great Lent but is a good examination-of-conscience prayer at any time of year (again, freely rendered — see the sources list for the classic wording):
Lord and Master of my life: take from me the spirit of idleness, discouragement, the love of power, and empty talk. Instead, give Your servant a spirit of wholeness, humility, patience, and love. Yes, Lord and King: let me see my own faults clearly, and keep me from judging my brother or sister — for You are blessed, now and always, unto ages of ages. Amen.
Then take a few quiet minutes to look back over the day — where you fell short, where God was present — and ask forgiveness for anything specific that comes to mind, before closing with the Lord's Prayer once more.
A note on growing this rule: once morning and evening prayer becomes a settled habit, many people add a portion of the Psalter, an akathist, or the prayers before Communion. That growth is best guided by your parish priest or spiritual father rather than added all at once on your own — he knows what will actually help you, not just what looks devout on paper.
Words on Prayer, from the Fathers and the Holy Mountain
From the ancient Fathers of the Church:
"For not unto men are you praying, but to God, who is everywhere present, who hears even before the voice, who knows the secrets of the mind." "Let us not then make our prayer by the gesture of our body, nor by the loudness of our voice, but by the earnestness of our mind." — St. John Chrysostom (c. 347–407), Homily 19 on the Gospel of Matthew
From Mount Athos, ancient and modern:
"Keep thy mind in hell, and despair not." — Christ's word to St. Silouan the Athonite (1866–1938), as recorded by his disciple, Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov)
"My Christ, whatever Your love dictates; it is sufficient for me to live within Your love." — Elder Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia (1906–1991)
"Give thanks to God for everything." — St. Paisios of Mount Athos (1924–1994)
And from the twentieth century more broadly:
"A prayer makes sense only if it is lived." — Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh (Anthony Bloom, 1914–2003)
A note on sourcing: the opening prayers, Trisagion, Lord's Prayer, and Creed above follow the standard English wording used across English-language Orthodox prayer books for over a century, traceable to Isabel Hapgood's 1906 Service Book (public domain). The 50th Psalm is the public-domain King James Version. St. John Chrysostom's words come from the public-domain 19th-century Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers translation. The Optina Elders' prayer and the Prayer of St. Ephraim above are freely rendered in original wording rather than quoting a specific modern copyrighted translation. The four 20th-century Holy Mountain and Sourozh quotations are single short sentences used under normal fair-use practice — see Sources & Further Reading below for the books they're drawn from.
Sources & Further Reading
- Isabel F. Hapgood, Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church (1906) — public domain, full text at archive.org.
- The Holy Bible, King James Version (1611) — public domain.
- St. John Chrysostom, Homily 19 on the Gospel of Matthew, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (Philip Schaff, ed.) — public domain, at New Advent.
- Archimandrite Sophrony (Sakharov), Saint Silouan the Athonite — St Vladimir's Seminary Press / Mount Thabor Publishing.
- Elder Porphyrios of Kavsokalyvia, Wounded by Love — Denise Harvey, publisher.
- St. Paisios of Mount Athos, Spiritual Counsels — Holy Monastery "Evangelist John the Theologian" / Uncut Mountain Press.
- Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, Beginning to Pray and related writings — Paulist Press; Darton, Longman & Todd.