Prayers of St Silouan the Athonite

Saint Silouan the Athonite (circa 1930)
Saint Silouan the Athonite (c. 1930)

These prayers are excerpts from one of St Silouan’s writings, known as “Yearning for God.”[1]

Prayer of St Silouan the Athonite for Humility

O Lord, grant me Your spirit of humility
That I lose not Your grace again,
And weep for it as Adam wept for paradise and for God.

O Lord, grant me to love You alone. You created me,
You enlightened me through holy baptism,
You forgive my sins and allow me to partake of Your most pure body and Blood.
Enable me at all times to dwell in You.
O Lord, grant unto us the repentance of Adam, and Your holy humility.

O merciful Lord, Enlighten Your people that they may know You;
That they may know how You love us.

Prayer of St Silouan the Athonite for the Holy Spirit

O merciful Lord, bestow Your grace on all the peoples of the earth, that they may know You;
For without Your Holy Spirit man cannot know You and conceive of Your love.

O Lord, send down on us Your Holy Spirit,
For knowledge of You and all that relates unto You comes solely through the Holy Spirit,
Whom in the beginning You gave unto Adam,
And after him to the holy prophets,
And then to Christian people.

O Lord, let all Your peoples discern Your love,
And the sweetness of the Holy Spirit,
That men may forget the sorrows of this world,
And forsake all that is evil,
And cling unto You in love, and live in peace,
Doing Your will to Your glory.

O Lord, vouchsafe unto us the gift of the Holy Spirit,
That we may perceive Your glory,
And live on earth in peace and love.
And let there be neither malice, nor wars or enemies,
But may love alone reign,
And there will be no need of armies, or prisons,
And life will be easy for everyone on earth.

I pray You, O merciful Lord,
For all the peoples of the earth,
That they may come to know You
By the Holy Spirit.

Prayer of St Silouan the Athonite for our enemies.

O merciful Lord, by Your Holy Spirit teach us
To love our enemies, and pray for them with tears.

O Lord, send down Your Holy Spirit on earth
That all nations may know You, and learn Your love.

O Lord, as You Yourself prayed for Your enemies,
So teach us, too, by Your Holy Spirit, to love our enemies.

O Lord, all peoples are the work of Your hands.
Turn them from enmity and malice to repentance,
That all may know Your love.

Or Lord, You commanded us to love our enemies,
But it is hard for us sinners, if Your grace be not with us.

O Lord, pour down Your grace upon the earth.
Let all the nations of the earth come to know Your love;
To know that You love us with a mother’s love,
And more than a mother’s love,
For even a mother may be forgetful of her children,
But You never forget,
Because Your love for Your creation is boundless,
And love cannot forget.

O merciful Lord, by the riches of Your mercy, save all peoples.

Thanksgiving Prayer of St Silouan the Athonite

What shall I render unto You, O Lord?

You, O merciful One, raised my soul from sin,
And gave me to know Your mercy towards me,
And my heart fell captive to You,
And reaches unceasingly toward You, my Light.

What shall I render unto You, O Lord?

You raised my soul to love You and to love my neighbor,
And You gave me tears to pray for the whole world.

Prayer of St Silouan the Athonite for Cleansing and Mercy

Come and take up Your abode, and cleanse me of my sins.
From the heights of Your glory You see how my soul yearns after You.
Forsake not Your servant.
Hear me as I cry unto You like the Prophet David:
“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness.”

Bibliography

Archimandrite Sophrony. (1991). St Silouan the Athonite. (R. Edmonds, Trans.) Crestwood: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press.

  1. (Archimandrite Sophrony, 1991, p. 269ff)