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Prayers

Orthodox prayers of repentance, after sinning

Prayers of repentance for the moment you know you have sinned and want to ask God’s forgiveness.

Picture: El Greco, The Tears of Saint Peter, 1580s

5 prayers

Right after you fall

I have sinned as a man

I have sinned as a man;as God, have mercy.

I have troubled You, Lord.Forgive me, so that I may rest a little.

Traditional wording, 1907

I, O my Lord, like a man, have sinned,and do Thou, like God, forgive me.

O my Lord, I have vexed Thee,have pity upon me,and forgive me so that I may enjoy a little rest.

In one breath it owns the sin and asks for mercy. The desert monk Apollo prayed its first line night and day after a terrible sin, and in the end he was assured that God had forgiven him.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Greek, with Budge’s 1907 translation from the Syriac beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: E. A. Wallis Budge, The Paradise or Garden of the Holy Fathers, 1907.

Budge translated the Syriac, which reads “forgive me” where the Greek has “have mercy”, and adds “have pity upon me” to the second prayer.

Where it comes from, and the Greek

The moment you notice a sin

Prayer of St John of Kronstadt after a sin

Lord, You nailed our sins to the Cross.Nail this sin of mine to Your Cross as well,and have mercy on me in Your great mercy.Make the sign of the cross

Traditional wording, 1897

Lord, Thou Who nailest our sins to the cross,nail also my present sin to Thy cross,and ‘have mercy upon me after Thy great goodness.’

Russian prayer books give this prayer for the moment you notice a sin in yourself. St John of Kronstadt meant it to be said at once, with the sign of the cross.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Church Slavonic, as the Russian prayer book prints it from his diary, with E. E. Goulaeff’s English of 1897 beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: E. E. Goulaeff, My Life in Christ, 1897.

Goulaeff’s “nailest” is in the present tense. The Slavonic speaks of what the Lord has done, “Who nailed our sins to the Cross”, and so does the plain wording.

Where it comes from, and the Church Slavonic

A few words, right away

Prayer of the tax collector

O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.Often said with a bow

Traditional wording, 1884

O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

In Jesus’s parable a tax collector stood far off, beat his breast and said only these words. Jesus said he went home made right with God.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Greek of Luke 18:13, with Bjerring’s 1884 wording beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: Nicholas Bjerring, The Offices of the Oriental Church, 1884.

Where it comes from, and the Greek

For a clean heart

Have mercy on me, O God (Psalm 51)

Have mercy on me, O God, in Your great mercy;in the greatness of Your compassion, blot out my offence.Wash me thoroughly from my wrongdoing,and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my wrongdoing,and my sin is always before me.Against You alone have I sinnedand done what is evil in Your sight,so that You are proved right in what You sayand win Your case when You are judged.

Indeed, I was conceived in wrongdoing,and my mother carried me in sins.Indeed, You have loved truth;You have shown me the hidden and secret things of Your wisdom.

You will sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean;You will wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.You will let me hear joy and gladness;the bones that were brought low will rejoice.

Turn Your face away from my sins,and blot out all my wrongdoings.Create in me a clean heart, O God,and renew a right spirit deep within me.

Do not cast me away from Your presence,and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,and hold me firm with Your guiding Spirit.

I will teach wrongdoers Your ways,and the godless will turn back to You.Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,the God of my salvation,and my tongue will rejoice in Your righteousness.O Lord, You will open my lips,and my mouth will declare Your praise.

For if You had wanted sacrifice, I would have given it;You take no pleasure in whole burnt offerings.A broken spirit is a sacrifice to God;God will not despise a broken and humbled heart.

In Your good pleasure, O Lord, do good to Zion,and let the walls of Jerusalem be built.Then You will delight in a sacrifice of righteousness,in offerings and whole burnt offerings;then they will offer young bulls on Your altar.

Traditional wording, 2011

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 mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know mine 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 mine 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 unto 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 builded.Then shalt Thou be pleased with sacrifice of righteousness, with oblation and whole-burnt offerings.Then shall they offer bullocks upon Thine altar.

David prayed this psalm after the prophet Nathan confronted him with his sin. St John of Kronstadt urged anyone who has sinned to say the whole psalm from the heart, straight away.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Greek the Orthodox Church prays, with the Jordanville Prayer Book beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, Prayer Book, 2011.

Where it comes from, and the Greek

When the weight is heavy

Prayer of Manasseh

O Lord Almighty, God of our fathers,of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,and of their righteous offspring:You made heaven and earthwith all their beauty.You bound the sea by the word of Your command.You shut up the deepand sealed it with Your awesome and glorious name.

All things shudder before Youand tremble before Your power,for no one can bear the majesty of Your glory,and no one can withstand the anger You threaten against sinners.Yet the mercy You have promisedis beyond measure and beyond searching out.

For You are the Lord Most High,tender-hearted, patient and rich in mercy,and You relent at human suffering.In Your great goodness, O Lord,You have promised repentance and forgivenessto those who have sinned against You.In the fullness of Your compassionYou have appointed repentance for sinners,so that they may be saved.

So You, O Lord, God of hosts,did not appoint repentance for the righteous,for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,who did not sin against You.But You appointed repentance for me, a sinner,for my sins outnumber the sand of the sea.

My transgressions are many, O Lord,my transgressions are many.I am not worthy to look upand see the height of heaven,because of my many wrongs.I am bent low by many iron chains,so that I cannot lift my head,and I have no relief,for I have stirred up Your angerand done evil in Your sight.I have not done Your willor kept Your commandments.

And now I bend the knee of my heart,begging You for Your kindness.I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned,and I know my transgressions.But I ask and beg You:forgive me, O Lord, forgive me!Do not destroy me along with my sins.Do not be angry with me for ever,storing up my evil deeds against me,and do not condemn me to the depths of the earth.

For You are God,the God of those who repent,and in me You will show all Your goodness.Unworthy as I am,You will save me in Your great mercy,and I will praise You always,all the days of my life.For all the host of heaven sings Your praise,and Yours is the glory for ever and ever.Amen.

Traditional wording, 1906

O Lord Almighty, Thou God of our fathers,of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, and of their righteous seed;Who hast made heaven and earth, with all the firmament thereof;Who hast bound the sea with the word of Thy commandment;Who hast shut up the deep and sealed it with Thy terrible and glorious Name:

All creatures fear Thee, yea, they do tremble before the presence of Thy power;for the majesty of Thy glory cannot be borne,and not to be resisted is the anger of Thy threatening toward sinners;but Thy merciful promise is unmeasurable and unsearchable.

For Thou art the Lord most high, of tender compassion, long-suffering, rich in mercy,and grievest over the evils of men.Thou, O Lord, according to the multitude of Thy loving-kindness,hast promised repentance and forgiveness to those who have sinned against Thee;and in the plenitude of Thy compassions hast appointed repentance unto sinners,that they may be saved.

Thou, therefore, the Lord God of Hosts, hast not appointed repentance to the just,to Abraham, and to Isaac, and to Jacob, who have not sinned against Thee;but Thou hast appointed repentance to me a sinner:for my sins are more in number than the sands of the sea.

My transgressions are multiplied, Lord, my transgressions are multiplied,and I am not worthy to behold and see the height of heavenbecause of the multitude of mine iniquities.I am bowed down with many iron bands, so that I cannot lift up my head by reason of my sins,neither have I any respite:for I have provoked Thy wrath, and have done that which is evil in Thy sight:I have not done Thy will, neither have I kept Thy commandments.

Now, therefore, I bow the knees of my heart, supplicating grace of Thee.I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, and I acknowledge mine iniquities:but I humbly beseech Thee, forgive me, O Lord, forgive me,and destroy me not together with mine iniquities,neither preserve Thou Thy divine wrath against my evil deeds forever;neither condemn me to the lower parts of the earth.

For Thou, O Lord, art the God of those who are penitent;and in me wilt Thou manifest all Thy goodness;for Thou wilt save me, unworthy though I be, because of Thy great mercy,and I will praise Thee henceforth, all the days of my life.For all the Host of heaven doth sing Thy praise,and Thine is the glory, unto ages of ages. Amen.

Tradition gives it to a king who led his people into idol worship and later prayed in chains. It confesses sin without excuse and ends in praise, sure of God’s great mercy.

Plain English by Wiser Walk, from the Greek, with Hapgood’s 1906 translation beside it. How the wording is made. Traditional wording: Isabel F. Hapgood, Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church, 1906.

Where it comes from, and the Greek

Scripture for this

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 John writes to believers who still sin. If we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us.

20So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.

Luke 15:20-24 The father runs to meet the son who comes home. Jesus told it of every sinner who turns back.

10He has not dealt with us according to our sins or repaid us according to our iniquities. 11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him. 12As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Psalm 103:10-12 God does not repay us as our sins deserve. He removes them as far as the east is from the west.

Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

Ezekiel 33:11 God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but in their turning back. The Orthodox priest’s prayer at confession repeats it.

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.”

Isaiah 1:18 God invites His people to reason with Him and promises that sins red as scarlet will become white as snow.

18Who is a God like You, Who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—Who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion? 19He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea.

Micah 7:18-19 God delights in mercy. He will tread our sins underfoot and cast them into the depths of the sea.

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain.

A psalm for this

For the sake of Your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, for it is great.

Psalm 25:11

The Church reads this psalm at the Third Hour, one of the short daily services, just before Psalm 51. It asks God to forgive for the sake of His own name, however great the sin.

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