When it is said
It is a private prayer, short enough to say at any moment.
It suits any fresh start with God, at the beginning of a day or after a failure.
Where it comes from
Author by tradition
Who was Arsenius?
Arsenius was born in Rome in AD 354 and taught the sons of the emperor Theodosius. He left the palace in secret, sailed for Alexandria and made his way to Scetis, a monastery in the Egyptian desert. He lived as a monk for 55 years and died nearly 100 years old, in AD 449 or 450.
Orthodox Church in America, “Venerable Arsenius the Great” (8 May)
Where the prayer comes from
The prayer comes from the Sayings of the Desert Fathers. Evil spirits were tormenting Arsenius in his hut, and the men who served him came and stood outside. They heard him crying out to God in these words.
Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Arsenius 3 (Migne, Patrologia Graeca 65, column 88)
The Scripture in it
Do not forsake me, O LORD; be not far from me, O my God.
Bible text: Berean Standard Bible, public domain.
In Greek
Ὁ Θεός, μὴ ἐγκαταλίπῃς με·
οὐδὲν ἐποίησα ἐνώπιόν σου ἀγαθόν·
ἀλλὰ δός μοι κατὰ τὴν χρηστότητά σου βαλεῖν ἀρχήν.