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 87

Speaking with God from the Depths of the Heart

And now, since I am approaching the end of this
modest testament of lamentations,
Lord, with these prayers, put an end
to those demeaning blameworthy acts
that have become a bad habit with me.
You established the good news of hope for condemned
people like me, saying, “It is not the will of the Father,
that the least of these little ones should perish.”¹
And further, “This is the will of my Father,
that I shall not lose those he has given to me.”²

Behold, you are blessed for compassion,
ever praised for your sweetness,
proclaimed for your patience,
recognized for your help,
preached as the Lord for salvation,
celebrated for your bounty,
honored for your protection,
glorified for your deliverance,
worshiped for your infinite highness,
adored for your greatness beyond understanding,
alone acclaimed for your triumph,
exalted for your great strength,
revered for your mercy,
embraced for your mildness.
Sharing in humility
with your heavenly father,
God of all comfort,³
together with your Holy Spirit, filled with goodness
who established the Law
not to abandon the fallen beast of one’s enemy⁴
nor the man who stumbles by his own stupidity.

Your gifts, Almighty, within me,
and your virtue, great Lord, on high
are celebrated endlessly by the eternal choir of angels,⁵
thus hear my prayful voice
through the intercession of the angels
and along with the supplications of the martyrs,
in sweet and pleasing aroma.

Through the redeeming value of these prayers
of reconciliation, almighty Lord,
let my original sin be pardoned and
my unseen wounds be cured,
along with those committed in
the course of my life and at my death,
wounds that bring death to my body and my soul.
Heal my inner and outer wounds,
their traces, lines, and welts,
with the exalted and pure salve of your mercy.
The multitude of bites
show you the essence of my character,
both the base and that which is pleasing to you.

And if I reach old age,
having been guided by you to my worthy death,
do not abandon me in my frailty.⁶
Do not despise my gray hair.
Do not destroy what is already broken.
Do not bring down the bent.
Do not knock down the humbled.
Do not extinguish the flickering flame with your wind.
Do not shove the unsteady.
Do not leave the shivering without a coat.
Do not permit the afflicted to go without a cure.
Do not leave the dilapidated untended.
Do not let the old image be dishonored.
Do not take the taste away from the sumptuous.
Do not tarnish the splendor of grace.
Do not insult the old.
Do not send waves upon the ship of my soul.
Do not cut the thread of hope.
Do not sever the life line.
Do not take away presence of mind or memory.
Do not destroy what you have shaped.
Do not clip the wings of ascension.
Do not deform the cheerfulness of beauty.
Do not retract the rays of light.
Do not close the windows of the eyes.
Do not block their light.
Do not cut down my speaking image.

I pray you, compassionate Lord, I beseech you with
all of the saints,
listen to my prayers now, so that they will not
later be forgotten.
You led me, as the Psalmist wrote, and
“restored my soul.” ⁷
Relieve me, Lord, as with the Psalmist,
of the doubts and perplexities that cause me fear.⁸

But I am not worthy of this,
no, not even of the common sustenance of a
hired servant.⁹
But you are able, according to your ways,
to show kindness even to people who whine as I do.
Yours are the amazing gifts beyond telling, you,
who alone work miracles, continuously blessed
with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
forever and ever.
Amen.

___________________
1. Mt. 18:14.
2. Jn. 6:39.
3. 2 Cor. 1:3.
4. Ex. 23:5, Dt. 22:4.
5. Is. 6:2-3, Rev. 5:11-12.
6. Ps. 71 (Arm. 70):9, 18.
7. Ps. 23 (Arm. 22):3.
8. Ps. 71 (Arm. 70): 20.
9. Lk. 15:19.

Acknowledgements:

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