Oh, great Martyr John of Christ, champion of the Orthodox, champion of the persecutor of enemies and intercessor of the offended! Hear us, in troubles and sorrows, praying to you, for grace has been given to you from God to comfort the sad, to help the weak, to deliver the innocent from vain death and for all evil pray for the suffering. May our champion be strong against all our visible and invisible enemies, so that with your help and fight all those who show us evil will be put to shame. Pray to our Lord, that He may grant us, His sinful and unworthy servants (names), to receive from Him the ineffable good that is prepared for those who love Him, in the Trinity of Holy Glorifications God, always, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Source: “Prayers read at prayer services”, Petrograd, Synodal Printing House, 1915.
After the prayer, make a specific request in your own words. At the end, add: “If it is the will of the Lord!” Our requests may not always be to our benefit; only God knows what is useful to us and what is not. For example, a person can pray in a traffic jam that he won’t be late for the airport, and there a plane is waiting for him that will crash in the air...
Do not forget to thank God (Luke 17:11-19) for fulfilled or unfulfilled prayer (a saint is only an intercessor; God fulfills all prayers). And let us remember that any pure and sincere prayer is for the benefit of a person, even if her request was not fulfilled. For more information, see: Why God Doesn't Always Answer Our Prayers.