“Lord, Bless My Enemies. Even I bless them and do not curse them": A Prayer of St. Nikolai of Ochrid

[Reading Time: 5 minutes]

Brief introduction

This utterly extraordinary prayer was penned by Nikolai Velimirovich (for whom a short biography can be found here).

His words are for any of us who have suffered deeply, especially at the hands of another. Though there is torment and incomprehensible injustice, we find absolutely no bitterness nor resentment from his excruciating wounds.

How is that possible?

How at all?

We find this miracle out as we read each line.

For it is one suffering heart coming to another, offering a pathway through the dark dimensions of affliction with all of its evil and attending confusion…yet in a way that transforms every level of suffering into blessing after blessing after blessing.

For St. Nikolai has himself come through the “fiery trials” not merely with a new understanding of suffering (though he certainly does have that!). His experience (again, derived from the two words, ek [out of] + peirázo [to test]) have lifted him up beyond the pain of these temporal circumstances.

They have lifted him up, not in spite of his suffering—but through them—into an eternal joy that is utterly beyond circumstances. It is a

“joy unspeakable and full of glory” that even the “angels desire to look into” (I Pet 1:8-12)

And this joy is the blessedness, the beatitude, of Christ’s presence.

These words, in short, offer us suffering people an entrance into the fourth dimension and, like the Prophets and Apostles before him, Nikolai shows us the pathway into its blessing that…we come to find is open to us at very moment…most especially in our moments of suffering.

"Lord, Bless My Enemies"

A Prayer of St. Nikolai of Ochrid

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Enemies have driven me into Thy embrace more than friends have.

Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world.

Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world.

Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath Thy tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

They, rather than I, have confessed my sins before the world.

They have punished me, whenever I have hesitated to punish myself.

They have tormented me, whenever I have tried to flee torments.

They have scolded me, whenever I have flattered myself.

They have spat upon me, whenever I have filled myself with arrogance.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Whenever I have made myself wise, they have called me foolish.

Whenever I have made myself mighty, they have mocked me as though I were a dwarf.

Whenever I have wanted to lead people, they have shoved me into the background.

Whenever I have rushed to enrich myself, they have prevented me with an iron hand.

Whenever I thought that I would sleep peacefully, they have wakened me from sleep.

Whenever I have tried to build a home for a long and tranquil life,they have demolished it and driven me out.

Truly, enemies have cut me loose from the world and have stretched out my hands to the hem of Thy garment.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Bless them and multiply them; multiply them and make them even more bitterly against me:

so that my fleeing to Thee may have no return;

so that all hope in men may be scattered like cobwebs;

so that absolute serenity may begin to reign in my soul;

so that my heart may become the grave of my two evil twins: arrogance and anger;

so that I might amass all my treasure in heaven;

ah, so that I may for once be freed from self deception, which has entangled me in the dreadful web of illusory life.

Enemies have taught me to know what hardly anyone knows, that a person has no enemies in the world except himself.

One hates his enemies only when he fails to realize that they are not enemies, but cruel friends.

It is truly difficult for me to say who has done me more good and who has done me more evil in the world: friends or enemies.

Therefore bless, O Lord, both my friends and my enemies.

A slave curses enemies, for he does not understand.

But a son blesses them, for he understands.

For a son knows that his enemies cannot touch his life. Therefore he freely steps among them and prays to God for them.

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Amen