Orthros Prayer One

We are two weeks into our Daily Lenten Journey and we have discussed our personal prayers throughout the day. As Orthodox Christians our prayers are not only personal. We also gather as a family in Church for Church services. These communal prayers are our next series.

Even if you attend the Orthros service, which admittedly most do not, chances are you have never even heard the prayers that are offered on your behalf. In the Greek tradition, most of the Orthros Prayers are done silently by the priest in the Holy Altar.

So, so you will now them and be able to pray them. The next two weeks we will focus on the silent prayers of the Orthros and then continue with the silent prayers of the Vespers. That will leave us with just a few more days of our Daily Lenten Journey to discuss other prayers for Lent.

We thank You, O Lord our God, Who raised us up from our beds, and placed in our mouths words of praise, so that we may adore You and call upon Your holy name; and we pray to You calling upon Your compassions which are always necessary during our life. And now send down Your aid to those who stand before the face of Your holy glory, and who await Your rich mercy; and grant that those who serve You with fear and love may always worship, praise, sing, and bow down before Your inexpressible goodness. For to You belong all glory, honor, and worship to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

This is the first of twelve prayers offered by the priest while the reader or chanter is reading the Six Psalms. This is the opening section of the Orthros. Maybe I should remind you that Orthros ‘means’ rise. Orthros is the service done as the sun rises. The first hour follows Orthros.

The first words out of our mouths are thanking God for waking us up today. We went to bed praying our ‘spiritual last will’ and now we are thankful we get another chance at a holy life. What I like most about this prayer is the phrase, “which are always necessary.”

We can’t go a single day without God’s compassion and mercy. We can’t survive a moment without His aid to make holy choices and fight temptation. When we offer this prayer, we are telling God we will spend the day worshiping, praising, singing His glory, and bowing to Him.

Anything short of constant praise is not worthy of calling ourselves Christians. That won’t mean we don’t focus on our work or those around us. It means that everything we do today will be an expression of our love for God. Everything will witness to His praise and glory.

You might be worried that you can’t possibly make good’ on such a promise. It was just last night that you begged God to forgive you for yesterday. You went to bed begging Him for another chance. Well, today is that chance. You may not have tomorrow.

Starting every day promising God to spend every moment praising Him, doesn’t mean you hate Him if you fail. It means you got distracted. It means you turned your attention away for a split second when temptation called your name. It means you are trying. Trying is what matters most.

One reason we chose to focus on prayer for our 2025 Daily Lenten Journey was to inspire you to pray more. The more we pray, the more we focus on God. The more we focus on God, the more success we will have fighting temptation.

Today is the day! Happy praying.