Orthodox Christian Praying of Psalms When In Need

[Orthodoxy holds 'enemies' as the devil's bodiless workers of iniquity, not human beings. Also, use of the word 'fear' is not to be afraid of, but to acknowledge His awesomeness/holiness. He is honored by this, and one 'blesses God' by one's reverence.]


[Psalm 3
Lord, why have they multiplied who afflict me?

Many rise up against me. Many say to my soul,

there is no salvation for him in his God. But you, Lord, are my helper, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head. I cried to the Lord with my voice, and he heard me from his holy mountain. I lay down and slept.

I awoke, for the Lord will help me.

I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.

Arise, Lord, save me, my God.

For you have struck all those who without cause are my enemies; you have broken the teeth of sinners. Salvation belongs to the Lord, and your blessing is upon your people.

Psalm 37 (38)
Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor chasten me in your wrath.

For your arrows pierce me deeply, and your hand presses me down.

There is no health in my flesh because of your anger,

nor is there any health in my bones because of my sins.

For my iniquities have risen higher than my head;

like a heavy burden they have pressed heavily upon me.

My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness.

I am troubled and bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.

For my loins are filled with mockings, and there is no healing in my flesh.

I am afflicted and exceedingly humbled; I have roared from the groaning of my heart.

Lord, all my desire is before you;

and my sighing is not hidden from you.

My heart is troubled, and my strength has failed me;

and the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.

My friends and my neighbors drew near me and stood against me.

And my kinsmen stood afar off.

Those who sought my soul used violence;

those who sought evil for me spoke vain things and meditated deception all day long.

But I became like a deaf man who does not hear;

and I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.

Thus I am like a man who does not hear, and in whose mouth there is no response.

For in you, Lord, have I hope; you will hear me, Lord my God.

For I said, never let my enemies rejoice over me, and when my feet are shaken,

they magnify themselves against me.

For I am ready for scourges, and my sorrow is continually before me.

For I will declare my iniquity, and I will be in anguish over my sin.

But my enemies live and become stronger than me.

And those who hate me unjustly have multiplied.

Those who render evil for good slandered me because I pursued goodness.

Do not forsake me, Lord, my God, be not far from me.

Make haste to help me, Lord of my salvation.

Psalm 62 (63)
O God, my God, early at dawn I rise to you.

My soul thirsts for you; my flesh longs for you in a barren,

untrodden and unwatered land.

So I have appeared before you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory.

For your mercy is better than life; my lips shall praise you.

Thus I shall bless you while I live, and I will lift up my hands in your name.

Let my soul be filled with marrow and fatness, and my

mouth shall praise you with joyful lips.

When I remember you on my bed, I meditate on you at dawn.

For you have become my helper; I shall rejoice in the shelter of your wings.

My soul follows close behind you; your right hand has been quick to help me.

But those who seek my life, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.

They shall fall by the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals.

But the king shall rejoice in God; everyone who swears by him shall be praised;

but the mouths of those who speak lies shall be stopped.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.

Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Psalm 87 (88)
O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before you.

Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry.

For my soul is filled with evil,

And my life draws near to Hades.

I am counted with those who go down into the pit;

I am like a man without help, adrift among the dead.

Like the bodies of the slain who sleep in the grave, whom you remember no more,

and who are cut off from your hand.

They have laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, and the shadow of death.

Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you have afflicted me with all your waves.

You have made me an abomination to them; I am shut up, and I cannot get out;

my eyes have grown weak from poverty.

I have cried to you, Lord, the entire day. I have stretched out my hands to you.

Will you work wonders for the dead? Or shall physicians raise them up so that they might thank you?

Shall any in the grave speak of your mercy and your truth in the place of destruction?

Shall your wonders be known in the dark, and your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

But as for me, I have cried out to you, Lord, and in the morning my prayer shall come before you.

Lord, why do you cast off my soul, and turn away from me?

I am a poor man and in trouble.

From my youth, having been exalted, I was humbled and brought to distress.

Your fierce wrath has gone over me, and your terrors have sorely troubled me.

They came around me all day long like water; they engulfed me altogether.

You have put far away from me friend and neighbor, and my acquaintances because of my misery.

Psalm 102 (103)
Bless the Lord, my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name!

Bless the Lord, my soul, and forget not all that he has done for you.

He forgives all your iniquities. He heals all your infirmities.

He redeems your life from corruption. He crowns you with mercy and compassion.

He satisfies your desire with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The Lord performs deeds of mercy, and justice for all who are wronged.

He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the children of Israel.

The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.

He will not always strive with us, nor will he keep his anger forever.

He has not dealt with us according to our iniquities, nor has he rewarded

us according to our sins.

For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward

those who fear him;

As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our iniquities from us.

As a father has compassion upon his son, so has the Lord compassion

upon those who fear him.

For he knows what we are made of, he remembers that we are dust.

As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so shall he blossom.

For the wind passes over it, then it shall be gone. And its place remembers it no more.

But the mercy of the Lord is from eternity to eternity upon those who fear him,

and his righteousness is upon sons of sons, upon those who keep his covenant

and remember to do his commandments.

The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

Bless the Lord, all of his angels, who excel in strength, who do his word,

heeding the voice of his word.

Bless the Lord, all you his hosts, you ministers of his, who do his pleasure.

Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion.

Bless the Lord, my soul.

Psalm 142 (143)
Lord, hear my prayer. In your truth, give ear to my supplications;

in your righteousness, hear me.

And enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living

is justified in your sight.

For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground;

he has made me dwell in darkness, like those who have long been dead,

and my spirit is overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is distressed.

I remembered the days of old; I meditated on all your works;

I pondered on the work of your hands.

I spread out my hands to you; my soul longs for you like a thirsty land.

Lord, hear me quickly; my spirit fails.

Turn not your face away from me, lest I be like those who go down into the pit.

Let me to hear your mercy in the morning, for in you I have put my trust.

Lord, teach me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to you.

Rescue me, Lord, from my enemies; to you have I fled for refuge.

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.

Your good Spirit shall lead me on a level path;

Lord, for your name’s sake, you shall preserve my life.

In your righteousness, you shall bring my soul out of trouble,

and in your mercy, you shall utterly destroy my enemies.

And you shall destroy all those who afflict my soul, for I am your servant.

Hear me, Lord, in your righteousness,

And enter not into judgment with your servant (2).

Your good Spirit shall lead me on a level path.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.

Glory to you, God (3).

Lord, you are our hope, glory to you.

ORTHODOX CHEYENNE WYOMING CHURCH