Miscellaneous Prayers

If a worshipper has completed the prescribed prayers, he may recite the Psalms of David which are full of divine sayings and loaded with spiritual sweetness, especially since they embrace all kinds of prayers and express the needs of every man.  Saint John the Chrysostom (Golden Mouth) said that the Holy Spirit inspired Christians to sing the Psalms daily to the benefit  and refreshment of souls.  In all churches and in all prayers, we see David, how good he is,  a prophet that transforms  Earth to Heaven and humans to Angels by his Psalms.  He teaches boys good manners and devoutness, youths  sobriety, virgins chastity, and calls sinners to repentance.

        The recital of Psalms is stipulated in the Epistle to the Ephesians (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). The Church has used them since ancient times. In the weekly Common Prayers, five Psalms are recited in the morning (Psalms 51, 132, 148, 150) and four in the evening (Psalms 91,121,140,141).

        Spontaneous prayer has its place also.  It should follow the Canonical Prayers, and are dictated by circumstances.  It is of a general character, including personal needs and those of one’s neighbor.  Paul the Apostle says:

           “Therefore, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for all men.” (I Timothy 2:1)

Thus we pray for the exaltation of the stature of the Church, for His Holiness our Patriarch of Antioch and all our Bishops, and for the spread of true faith.  We pray also for kings that peace may reign in the world.  We pray for our parents, our teachers and instructors, our brethren and for all those who are in distress and afflicted with all kinds of tribulation.  We pray particularly for the repentance of sinners, the guidance of those who have gone astray, and even for our enemies and persecutors.(Matthew 5:44).  We also remember in our prayers, especially in the Holy Mass, the souls of our departed relatives and the departed faithful,. In this way we show them love, mercy and respect.

          Our Canonical Liturgical prayers, of course, cover all these subjects.  We have compiled here a collection of such prayers selected, for the most part, from the books of “Prayers of Monks and Priests”, the Sh’heemo (The Book of Weekly Common Prayers), “Beth Gazo” (The Book of Church Music), and others that are suitable to recite when needed.

The source:

The Spiritual Treasure on Canonical Prayer, By: Mor Ignatius Ephrem Barsoum