Start simple. Open your prayer book, say the Trisagion prayers and the Lord’s Prayer, read a Psalm or two, and ask God to bless your day and remember the people you love. That’s morning prayer.
But let me back up. If you’re coming from a Protestant background, you’re used to spontaneous prayer, just talking to God in your own words over coffee. That’s not wrong. We do that too. But Orthodox morning prayer is something more. It’s joining your voice to the Church’s voice, praying the same prayers Christians have prayed for centuries, letting the Psalms and ancient collects shape your heart before the day scatters your attention across a dozen directions.
The traditional structure comes from the Hours, the cycle of daily prayers the Church has kept since the apostles. Morning prayer typically includes an opening (often “O Heavenly King” to invoke the Holy Spirit), several Psalms, the Trisagion prayers, the Lord’s Prayer, a few short hymns or troparia, and intercessions for the living and the dead. If you’ve got the Antiochian pocket prayer book, the little red one, you’ve got everything you need. It’s maybe ten minutes if you go slowly.
Don’t panic if ten minutes feels long right now. You can start shorter. The Trisagion prayers alone (“Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us” three times, then the doxology and the Lord’s Prayer) take two minutes. Add Psalm 51 if you want something penitential, or Psalm 63 if you want something that feels like dawn. “O God, Thou art my God, early will I seek Thee.” That’s a morning Psalm.
Why Pray This Way?
Because you’re not just having a personal quiet time. You’re standing in your bedroom or at your kitchen table as a member of the Church, and the Church prays at certain times in certain ways. Morning prayer sanctifies the day. It’s the hinge between sleep and work, between the vulnerability of night and the demands of daylight. You’re asking God to enlighten your mind and heart before you get in the truck and head to the plant or before you open your laptop or before you deal with whatever’s waiting for you.
The prayers also remember the dead. Every morning. That’s not morbid, it’s Orthodox. “Remember, O Lord, the souls of Your servants now fallen asleep: our parents, family and friends.” You’re praying for your grandmother, for that guy from church who died last year, for everyone you’ve loved who’s gone ahead. The Church includes the living and the dead, and morning prayer keeps that communion alive.
Practical Advice
Pick a spot. It doesn’t have to be fancy. An icon on your dresser or a corner of the living room works fine. Light a candle if you can, it helps you focus, and it’s a physical act that says you’re doing something intentional, not just running through a mental checklist.
Pick a time. Before coffee is traditional, but if that’s not realistic, then after coffee. Or after you shower. Just make it consistent. Your body and your attention will learn the rhythm.
Use the book. Don’t try to wing it or memorize everything at first. The Antiochian pocket prayer book costs maybe ten dollars and fits in your back pocket. Or pull up the morning prayers from antiochian.org on your phone. Follow the words. Let them carry you when your mind wanders or when you don’t feel particularly prayerful. That’s what the prayers are for.
Start short and build. If you can only manage the Trisagion prayers and one Psalm right now, do that. Do it every day for a month. Then add another Psalm or a troparion. The goal isn’t to impress anyone. It’s to establish a rule, a steady practice that becomes part of your life like brushing your teeth, except it’s brushing your soul.
And yes, some mornings you’ll be late or the kids will be screaming or you’ll just forget. That’s fine. Don’t spiral into guilt. Just start again the next day. Orthodox spirituality isn’t about perfection. It’s about showing up, falling down, getting up, and showing up again.
One more thing. If you’re working rotating shifts at the refinery or offshore, “morning” might be relative. Pray when you wake up, whenever that is. God knows your schedule. The point is to begin your waking hours with prayer, not to hit some arbitrary clock time. The Church is pastoral about this stuff, even if it doesn’t always feel that way at first.
You’re learning to pray the way the Church prays. It’ll feel awkward and formal at first, especially if you’re used to chatting with Jesus like he’s your buddy. But give it time. These prayers have formed saints for two thousand years. They’ll form you too.
