One of the possible solutions to such a problem as drunkenness in Russia has long been prayer. Although it may seem to a modern person that this method is not effective or simply outdated, this perception is not true. Prayers really help to cope with alcoholism that struck a loved one, both centuries ago and today.
Why does prayer help?
In order to understand how sincere prayer can save from a tendency to drink, you need to decide what alcoholism is. There are a lot of options for defining this condition - from illness to lack of willpower and addiction. Each of them is true to some extent, but none of them answers the question of why a person begins to drink alcohol.
If you ask drinkers about this, the answers are varied. But in this diversity there is also a common moment, which consists inthat drunkards blame life circumstances or other people for their pernicious inclination, but not themselves. As a rule, no one is able to answer the question why one person, finding himself in a difficult situation, grabs a bottle, and the other does not.
No one but the church. Christianity, regardless of denomination, considers alcoholism as diabolical intrigues. That is, excessive drinking is a trap from the evil one for the human soul. If alcoholism is understood in this way, then the counteraction to drunkenness is not all sorts of coding or other medical procedures, but prayer in the temple. After all, only the Lord can resist the devil.
Whom to pray to?
Of course, people driven to despair remember the Lord himself first, and not about any of the saints. Of course, you need to pray to the Lord, he helps everyone and in any circumstances, if you have faith in this, of course.
But besides the Lord himself, there are saints who protect people from drunkenness. Of course, God helps, the saints only contribute to this help. But nevertheless, many people pray to the saints, often explaining this by saying that everyone prays to the Lord for different things, that is, prayer will not give a result as soon as we would like. The approach, of course, is too pragmatic, however, if such thoughts are present in the mind, then there is no need to waste time trying to overcome them, you just need to pray to the saints.
One of those who traditionally help people who are trying to cope with drunkenness is the martyr Boniface. Prayerspeople began to offer him up in the days of the formation of Christianity, they ask him for help even now.
Who is Bonifaty?
Boniface of Tarsus lived in the III century in the capital of the Roman Empire. The biographies of the saint vary. According to one version, he was a servant in the house of a we althy Roman woman from a patrician family, whose name was Aglaya. According to another version, the future saint served as Aglaya's steward and took part in the feasts given by the Roman woman as her lover.
Be that as it may, Boniface indulged in debauchery and drunkenness. Drunkenness to a greater extent. However, the future saint was compassionate and kind, as a result of which he showed mercy to the poor and, in principle, to all those in need. This inclination pushed Boniface against the Christians. He accepted the faith with all his heart, renounced drunkenness and began to do various good deeds with even greater zeal. Soon Aglaya also accepted the faith. Or vice versa, first Aglaya became a Christian, and after her Boniface. But it doesn't really matter.
Boniface accepted martyrdom in the Asian city of Tarsus. There he was sent by Aglaya to ransom the relics of Christian martyrs. The trip proved fatal for the saint. The fact is that at the moment of his arrival in the Cilicali city, Christians were being tortured there. Boniface could not stand it and stood up for his brothers and sisters in faith, as a result of which his own belonging to a religion objectionable to the Tarsians became known. Of course, he was brutally tortured.
The first temple of the saint appeared in his native land, in Rome, in the 7th century, andthe martyr Boniface began to help in the fight against drunkenness earlier - they began to pray to him about this almost immediately after his death. Since then, the saint has been helping people cope with this misfortune.
How to pray?
Prayer to Saint Boniface is no different from the requests with which people turn to other martyrs. This means that a request to a saint must be filled with faith in his help, and a person’s thoughts must be absolutely sincere. With anger in the heart, hatred for the drinker and the desire for this person to have all the troubles in the world, it is impossible to pray. Saint Boniface helps those who are full of grief and compassion for drinkers, not malice.
This is the main thing to remember when you are going to beg for help. And this condition is the most difficult. It is not so difficult to find the words necessary for prayer, how to find in your heart, overflowing with despair, at least a drop of sympathy for a person who poisons the life of himself and those close to him with unrestrained drunkenness. But it is on sympathy that Boniface's prayer against alcoholism rests.
Can I pray in my own words?
The words needed for prayer can be found both in ready-made collections and in your own heart. The second option is much more preferable in the modern world, since the texts contained in the old collections are filled with words, the essence of which is not close and not entirely clear to people.
This means that Boniface’s prayer, filled with ornate and long out of use words, will not be filled with sincere conviction, a person will simply repeat the memorized text,not understanding its meaning.
An exception is folk prayers that are not recorded in collections and are transmitted as folklore, orally, for generations. Such texts always keep up with the times, and their words are close and understandable to everyone.
How to distinguish texts
The peculiarity of prayers, composed not by clergymen or theologians, but formed by the people, is that they often contain double appeal. An example of this is the famous prayer to Nicholas the Wonderworker. It begins like this: “Nikolai Ugodnik, father. Nicholas the Wonderworker, father. In one way or another, this nuance is characteristic of every folklore text. Often in folk prayers there is also an appeal both to the saint and to the Lord himself.
An example of such a prayer: “Lord God, all-merciful, holy martyr, all-suffering and sufferer for the faith of Christ, Boniface! Save the Lord, save and turn away, your unreasonable slave (name) from the drunkenness of the accursed. Great martyr-all-tolerant, help and save the soul of the lost servant of God (name). Save, Lord, do not wallow in the soul of a slave (name) in sin. For a drunken fornication does not out of malice, but out of his own foolishness, through a crafty intrigue, and out of human stupidity. Saint Boniface, the great sufferer and martyr, do not reject the slave (name) from your mercy, do not deprive the unreasonable help, amen.”
What to say in prayer
The best request to the higher powers is the one that is said in one's own words, because only it reflects the depth of the desire to help a loved one. Prayer to Boniface is no exception. Asksaint for help is better in your own words.
However, not every person is able to express their thoughts without having an example before their eyes. Some people need texts to build on. Prayer to Boniface may be like this: “Most holy great martyr, all-merciful sufferer, Boniface! Do not leave in difficult times, help, enlighten and protect, turn away from drunkenness the servant of God (name). Forever the road to vodka to forget, help the patron saint, do not leave in trouble. Amen.”
Should the prayer be short
Prayer to St. Boniface can be both long and short. It is vital for someone to list all their troubles and hardships in prayer, complain about what is happening in life and even cry.
The other person feels uncomfortable with having to pray for a long time. At the same time, he begins to think about what else to say and, accordingly, loses the necessary emotional mood.
Prayer to Boniface can be anyone, but it must be pronounced with humility, compassion and a sincere desire to help.
What prayer will help
You need to look for a suitable prayer text, relying on your own intuition, and only if you cannot compose it yourself.
So, a prayer to St. Boniface, the merciful from drunkenness, may sound like this: “All-merciful Boniface, I pray you, a servant of God (proper name), for help. Help to cope with trouble, take misfortune out of the house. The servant of God (name) drinks from morning to night, withoutdry out, do not overcome the evil misfortune yourself. Save me, holy martyr, give me strength, teach me how to be, tell me what to do, send a sign where to go for help. Where to find salvation, enlighten the sufferer Boniface, do not leave with your grace, amen.”
Prayer to this saint does not imply salvation from drunkenness exclusively by men, of course, you can also ask for he alth and getting rid of addiction for everyone, regardless of gender or age.
