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Summary
- Short prayers for the moment a bad thought arrives include Psalm 51:10, Psalm 139:23 and the Orthodox Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.”
- Prayers cover anxious, angry, lustful, envious, self-condemning, doubting and despairing thoughts, and unwanted thoughts against God.
- Traditional prayers are quoted from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer (the Collect for Purity, “For Trustfulness,” “For Those in Mental Darkness”) and the Orthodox Prayer of Saint Ephraim.
- Paul speaks of “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5); James 1:14–15 separates temptation from sin.
- Intrusive thoughts that will not stop can be a sign of OCD; the NHS and the International OCD Foundation describe it, and treatment goes alongside prayer. Crisis lines: 988 (US), 116 123 (UK and Ireland), TelefonSeelsorge (Germany).
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (1611), text of Project Gutenberg eBook no. 10 (Psalm 19:14; 34:18; 42:5; 51:10; 139:23; Isaiah 26:3; 43:18–19; Matthew 5:28; 7:1; Mark 9:24; Luke 18:13; Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Ephesians 4:26; Philippians 4:8; Hebrews 4:15; James 1:14–15; 1 John 3:20). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10
- The Book of Common Prayer (Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.), Standard Book of 1928. The Holy Communion, The Collect, p. 67; Family Prayer, “For Trustfulness,” p. 596, and “For Those in Mental Darkness,” p. 598. PDF facsimile: https://www.artisticdailyprayers.org/uploads/3/0/1/6/30164961/bcp1928std.pdf
- Hapgood, Isabel Florence, trans. Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic (Greco-Russian) Church. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin, 1906. Great Vespers; The First Hour, Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, p. 41. https://www.ponomar.net/data/hapgood.pdf
- Orthodox Church in America. “The Jesus Prayer.” The Orthodox Faith, vol. 4, Spirituality. https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/spirituality/prayer-fasting-and-alms-giving/the-jesus-prayer
- NHS. “Symptoms: Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).” https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/symptoms/
- International OCD Foundation. “What Is OCD & Scrupulosity?” https://iocdf.org/faith-ocd/what-is-ocd-scrupulosity/
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. https://988lifeline.org/
- Samaritans. “Contact Samaritans.” https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/
- TelefonSeelsorge Deutschland. https://www.telefonseelsorge.de/
- Фонд поддержки детей, находящихся в трудной жизненной ситуации. Детский телефон доверия 8 800 2000 122. https://fond-detyam.ru/
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