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Prayer 84 by Saint Gregory of Narek 🇦🇲 (c. 951 – c. 1011)
Translated from the Armenian by Thomas J. Samuelian
Speaking with God from the Depths of the Heart:
I.
Heavenly monarch, exalted king,
Lord of all, hope of each,
creator of the visible, establisher of the invisible,
cause of being, shaper of the future,
giver of light, impulse of dawn that prepares
the morrow,
who makes the evening appear and conjures the night,
ingenious artisan, applied wisdom,
blessed pardoner who liquidates sin, banishes pain,
and neutralizes bitterness,
preserver of tranquility, who induces slumber,
arranges sleep, grants rest,
who sustains our breathing, maintains our senses,
dissipates our phantoms, moderates our imaginings,
displaces our terrors,
transformation of sadness, suppression of anxiety,
dispeller of doubts, calmer of turmoil,
who strikes fear in the heart of the wicked,
and cuts down demons,
wards off disease and drowns scandal,
protect me with your hand that shaped the heavens.
Strengthen me with your exalted right hand.
Take me under your almighty wings.
Blanket me with your divine care.
Bolster me with the vigilance of your heavenly host.
Encircle me with your army of immortals.
Surround me with the attachments of angels.
Fend off the enemy with the forces of the vigilant.
Support me through prayers to your divine Mother, for
I am shaken.
Assign your best troops to guard me.
Open the eyes of my soul along with the eyes in my face.
Sober the passions that weigh me down along with
my troubled soul.
Lift away Lord, from my senses the stupor
that covers them.
Remove, Lord who only does good, the heavy
veil of darkness.
Make your mercy dawn with the breaking of day.
Make your righteous sun shine on the gloom of my
heart with morning light.
May the ray of your glory illumine the chamber
of my mind.
May the sign of your cross cast its shadow over
my whole spirit and body.
I commit to you today
this tabernacle of mine,
which you have given to shelter my soul.
For you are God beyond understanding,
generous in all things,
perfect in all ways,
blessed forever.
Amen.