The Orthodox faith defines that prayer is a dialogue between man and God. In Christian practice, prayer appeals to the Mother of God, angels and saints are also common. Regardless of who the petition is addressed to, prayers are divided into three categories according to their main content.
One of the types of prayers in the Christian tradition are prayers of a penitential nature. A prayer of repentance is designed to make a person ask God for the forgiveness of his sins. Christianity claims that there is not a single person on the planet who would live and did not sin. Therefore, prayers of repentance are relevant and necessary for any Orthodox Christian, regardless of his spiritual level of perfection. The feeling of repentance is one of the most important for a person who professes Orthodox Christianity.
Another type of prayer in Orthodoxy is an appeal to God, the Mother of God, angels or saints. For an Orthodox person, the feeling of gratitude to God should always be inherent. Even the Apostle Paul, in one of his epistles, said that a Christian should always rejoice, constantly pray and be thankful for everything. For a Christian, God is perceived as a Creator and a loving Father, therefore, for the fact that humanity has the opportunity to unite with its Creator in church sacraments, Orthodox people should have a feeling of gratitude. In addition, thanksgiving prayers are used after receiving a request from God, the Mother of God, angels or saints.
Also in Christianity there are supplicatory prayers. They can be addressed both to God and to other saintly persons. In them, a Christian asks for help in his everyday needs, fulfilling the Savior's covenant that in order to receive what is needed, one must ask. According to the Orthodox doctrine, regardless of the fact that God knows the needs of every person, a Christian must ask for the necessary things. It is in this that man's free will manifests itself in striving for his Creator.
