BOOK OF PRAYER

Tenets of Prayer Prayer 1 Prayer 2 Prayer 3 Prayer 4 Prayer 5 Prayer 6
Prayer 7 Prayer 8 Prayer 9 Prayer 10 Prayer 11 Prayer 12 Prayer 13 Prayer 14
Prayer 15 Prayer 16 Prayer 17 Prayer 18 Prayer 19 Prayer 20 Prayer 21 Prayer 22
Prayer 23 Prayer 24 Prayer 25 Prayer 26 Prayer 27 Prayer 28 Prayer 29 Prayer 30
Prayer 31 Prayer 32 Prayer 33 Prayer 34 Prayer 35 Prayer 36 Prayer 37 Prayer 38
Prayer 39 Prayer 40 Prayer 41 Prayer 42 Prayer 43 Prayer 44 Prayer 45 Prayer 46
Prayer 47 Prayer 48 Prayer 49 Prayer 50 Prayer 51 Prayer 52 Prayer 53 Prayer 54
Prayer 55 Prayer 56 Prayer 57 Prayer 58 Prayer 59 Prayer 60 Prayer 61 Prayer 62
Prayer 63 Prayer 64 Prayer 65 Prayer 66 Prayer 67 Prayer 68 Prayer 69 Prayer 70
Prayer 71 Prayer 72 Prayer 73 Prayer 74 Prayer 75 Prayer 76 Prayer 77 Prayer 78
Prayer 79 Prayer 80 Prayer 81 Prayer 82 Prayer 83 Prayer 84 Prayer 85 Prayer 86
Prayer 87 Prayer 88 Prayer 89 Prayer 90 Prayer 91 Prayer 92 Prayer 93 Prayer 94
Prayer 95 Colophon

Prayer 38

Speaking with God from the Depths of the Heart

Now, as I wrote in the beginning of this work,¹
about the dark origins of the cardinal sins and
the workings of the bodily organs,²
by which I am dominated, human heir of death,
here, in this prayer, I recount, even if it is
a drop taken from the limitless expanse of the sea,
a few aspects of the spiritual life
that liberate those born in the light
through our Lord Jesus.³

Some of these are truly splendid, and should be
placed on a high throne,
their stores of grace, filled to the brim with
kindness and wealth,
the king and his loving subjects,
the emperor and his nobles,
the crowned and their princes,
the famous and his good report,
the victor and his trumpets,
the general and his troops,
the hero and his glory,
the groom and his revelers,
the queen and her maids,
the lady in waiting and her retinue,
freedom and its benefits,
the visitation and its outstretched hand,
the promise and its atonement,
the protection and its right hand,
the gifts and their wrapping,
the seal of life and its indelibility,
the soul and its imprint,
the cloud and its shadow,
art and its miracles,
the spirit and its immortality,
the word and its perfection,
the taking of the oath and its fulfillment,
the force and its order,
the baptismal font and its miraculous work,
manna and its incorruptibility,
the living rock and its stream,
the pillar of fire and its rays,
thunder and its echo,
hope and its salvation,
the tree of blessings and its fruit,
the bough and its bounty.
And so that I shall not err by saying this,
I note my omissions,
for as the eyes are blinded when looking at the sun,
I have averted my attention from the greatest and
presented the lesser points that are within
my meager ability.

I apologize for my always miserable, wretched soul,
because my composition mixes
the voice of good news with mournful protests,
bringing justice and judgment,
decision and penalty,
investigation and spotlights,
scolding and torches,
nakedness and embarrassment,
revelation and shame,
innocence and reward,
error and punishment.

Again and again, I flinch doubly misfortunate
and wretched,
for unbearable anger is coming with a sickle
to harvest my ripened sheaves of grain,
a judge for the court,
a strongman for the tribunal,
an executioner for execution,
an arm to carry out the judgment,
a rod to reprimand,
armor for revenge,
a shepherd for sorting the flock,
for the words you said to me,
shall judge me, the condemned, on the
last day of judgment.⁴
Hurry, merciful Lord, with your sweet acceptance,
attend the faint sighs of my cowardly wavering
with the great strength of your blessed hand.
Do not be angry, but with your characteristic good will,
comfort, cure, forgive and save me,
at my last trial.
And to you glory, forever and ever.
Amen.

___________________
1. See Prayer 6.
2. Rom. 7:23.
3. Rom. 8:2.
4. Jn. 12:48.

Acknowledgements:

Source: St. Gregory of Narek
Provided by: Thomas J. Samuelian