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 8

Speaking with God from the Depths of the Heart

And now, what will you do, my lost soul?
Where will you hide?
How will you live?
And how can you escape the prison of your sin?
Your transgressions are many and your
punishments countless.
The scoldings severe and the harsh words endless.
Even the angels have lost patience and the
judge cannot be bribed.¹
The court is mighty and the tribunal just.
The vengeance is terrible and the retribution, merciless.
The sentence terrifying and the condemnation, direct.
The rivers fiery and the streams impassable.
The darkness is thick and the fog impenetrable.
The pit is vile and the torment eternal.²
Hell is all-encompassing and the blizzard unrelenting.
Now, indeed you have piled up all these bitter things,
a depraved and terrible cell of unbearable punishment,
O my worthless sinful soul, evildoer, prostitute,
soiled, a refuse dump of filth.

Here then are the wages of your handiwork: ³
You have turned from the straight path and
strayed from holiness.
You have been outcast from the ranks of the
righteous and honest.
You lack spiritual gifts and riches of our
most jealous benefactor and almighty king.

You have ensnared yourself in an inescapable prison,
by confessing that your wounds are incurable
and your punishment unequaled and
testifying that your soul is condemned to
death and incurably broken.
You are
evil among the good,
bitter among the sweet,
dark among the light,
bruised among the adorned,
rejected among the praised,
impious among the pious,
brute among the thoughtful,
stupid among the intelligent,
foolish among the wise,
unclean among the elect,
dead among the living,
filthy among the saints,
drunken among the sober,
deceptive among the just,
useless among the useful,
dishonored among the glorious,
deficient among the abundant,
underling among the superiors,
most lowly among the sublime,
poor among the wealthy,
unworthy among the saved,
homeless among the rich in spirit,
cast away among the blessed.

___________________
1. Is. 5:23.
2. Ps. 55(54):24.
3. Is. 3:10-11.

Acknowledgements:

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