Часть 178 цикла бесед иерея Константина Корепанова «Раскрою я Псалтырь святую...» (11.05.2026)

🔻Lecture Description (expand)🔻 I WILL OPEN THE HOLY PSALTER... Part 178. Psalm 118:171. Prayer from the Depths of the Soul In his new talk, Father Konstantin Korepanov continues his reflection on Psalm 118 and focuses on verse 171: "My lips belch forth a song when You teach me Your statutes." The word "belch forth" in Church Slavonic denotes a profound, inner movement of the human spirit, a prayer that comes from the very depths of the heart, not from the head or the throat. Father Konstantin shows how suffering, mental anguish, and the struggle with one's passions give birth to genuine prayer, to which God responds and purifies a person. In his talk, Father sequentially describes three types of prayer, differing in the degree to which they engage human nature. He begins by describing formal prayer, which, at best, originates in a person's head, and from the very top. The average person often perceives prayer as a request to an official: written, submitted, wait for a response. This is a formal, impersonal appeal, in no way connected to the inner life. The second type of prayer is prayer from spiritual pain. When a person faces real adversity (a fatal illness, danger to their child, the departure of their wife) and their heart aches, they come to church and no longer read—they weep, fall down, and cry out, "Mother of God, help!" This prayer is born not from the head, but from the grieving heart. God hears such prayer because He looks precisely at the human heart. When we desire with all our hearts—not yet Him, no—we desire with all our hearts to receive something, not from the mind, but from the heart. The soul aches. Usually, a person who prays this way receives what they ask for, but having received it, they calm down and stop praying—until the next pain strikes. This isn't a "burp." This is the normal path for most people. But there are others who begin to suffer not from external circumstances, but from an internal passion (drunkenness, fornication, obsessive thoughts). Here, a tearful request alone is not enough—a constant heartfelt struggle is needed. As with Mary of Egypt: a person prays, but as soon as she stops, the thoughts return. Formal reading (even the 24 Hours of Psalms) does not help, because the root of the passion lies in a poisoned heart. A person realizes that they themselves are "rotten," that it is within them that the magnet sits, which, like iron filings, attracts evil thoughts. When a person prays with all their might from the depths, one day, as with Mary of Egypt, this inner clot of darkness (the source of the passion) comes to the surface. The heart is cleansed by grace. From that moment on, whenever any sinful thought approaches, a person is instantly, "like a physiological process," ignited by prayer from the very depths—and the darkness retreats. Is there no other way to be saved? At the end of his talk, the priest consoles his listeners: one can be saved even without such an experience. Salvation requires faith in Christ and trust in Him until the end of one's days. But achieving purity of heart, humility, and the fervent prayer described by the Holy Fathers can only be achieved through this painful path of inner struggle. Author: Konstantin Korepanov Operator: Evgeny Vein Those wishing to thank the priest or help his family can do so using one of his two cards: 1) Sberbank card 2202 2081 2754 8973 (Inna Viktorovna K.). 2) T-Bank (Tinkoff) card: 2200 7013 2315 7120 Please indicate in the comments: "Charitable donation."