Глава 3. Святого Ефрема Сирианина наставления о молитве и трезвении

1) Let us give glory to Him who puts our fear into our hearts: for He is “the teacher of man’s understanding” (Ps. 93:10). “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 1:7). 2) The beginning of a good life is tears during prayer: and the beginning of a right way of thinking is listening to the word of God. 3) It is good to come to the service of God before everyone else, but it is not good to unnecessarily leave the service before leaving. 4) Having entered the house of God, let us not soar with our minds; On the contrary, let our inner man engage in contemplation and prayer. And when we pray, we will say: “Our Father, who art in Heaven,” so that no other thoughts will confuse our mind. 5) When standing in prayer, know Who you stand before. May your whole soul and your whole heart be turned to Him. Understand what I say. 6) Acquire the fear of God, so that the demons will fear you; one external thing is vain. 7) Let us pray that we may be vouchsafed the gift, and having been vouchsafed, let us not think highly of ourselves. 8) Surround the house (of your soul) on all sides with a wall (sober attention), and do not leave a hole in the fence, so that the enemy, entering through it, does not plunder your house (this is a caring thought), and you do not become the cause of your destruction. 9) The same wind (of temptation) does not always blow, but there are changes in the winds: therefore, we must accustom ourselves to the task (of various battles): for we do not know what “the day will bring forth” (Prov. 27:1) (1, 153). 10) A little negligence gives birth to sin, and a little sobriety averts great harm. 11) Seek the Lord, beloved, with all your strength, so that your soul may be saved and vice may not enter your heart. 12) Do not love carnal peace, lest you find spiritual harm in it. 13) Do not indulge in excessive work: because it is good and useful to do everything in moderation and in order. 14) Patiently and without grieving, doing God’s work according to the established order gives the fear of God, remembrance of death and torment. 15) It is better to engage in work, prayer and meditation while reading the Divine Scriptures, than to stop this at the wrong time and indulge in idle talk, from which slander is born. 16) He who collects prayers and alms into his treasury grows rich in God. Others save money for themselves; and save yourself prayers and alms. Others have fun with pipes and music, but you have fun with psalmody and glorification of God. Others find joy in pleasures; and you find joy in God, who has prepared a crown of glory for you and all those who love Him. 17) A careless person thinks during prayer about hearing: “Amen”; and whoever prays with a sober mind is not burdened by the length of the service. 18) May what the Prophet said not fall on us: “they draw near... with their lips... but their heart is far off” (Is. 29:13). 19) Place a hammer and an anvil in your mind, and try the thoughts of your heart; and those that do not turn out to be suitable, throw them away. 20) It is just as bad to let an evil thought grow in the soul, as it is to let bad grass grow in a vegetable patch. 21) Can an island lying in the middle of the sea stop the waves from hitting it? – But the island resists the waves. Likewise, we cannot stop thoughts, but we can resist thoughts. 22) Why is the soul sometimes overcome by thoughts? Because it does not resist them, but allows them to enter inside, and they, finding food for themselves there, gradually upset the soul. 23) Before passion takes root in you, tear it out of yourself, and before it sprouts, pluck its root from the very depths. For if you allow it to take root in you, it will dominate you. 24) He who prays soberly burns demons; and whoever prays absent-mindedly, they mock him. 25) During prayer, do not engage in extraneous conversation, and your mind will not be darkened for prayer. 26) A great gift is tears in prayer, and to be carried away by demonic thoughts is the same as death. 27) The heart, having fallen from the height of heavenly thoughts, is made by demons attached to earthly things: and when it neglects the corruptible, then it will accept the incorruptible. 28) Let us lift up our minds: there is not much time yet, and we will leave here, but “what have you prepared, who will they be?” (Luke 12:20). 29) Let your hands do good, so that you can give to those who have need (Eph. 4:28). And let your heart always be turned to the Lord, and then you will do what is “worth living” and “what is not perishing” (John 6:27). 30) Pray to God, shedding tears before His grace; then your prayer will be “like a censer” (Ps. 141:2) before Him. 31) Until someone neglects the fear of God, he will not sin. Do you want not to sin? Keep the fear of God. 32) Always have the Lord before your eyes, because He saves those who trust in Him. 33) Sing, beloved, sing in spirit and in mind: “How sweet is Your word to my throat: more than honey to my mouth” (Ps. 119:103). 34) Let the fear of God in your heart be the same as a weapon in the hands of a warrior: with it, in humility, repel the temptations that the devil brings upon you; let your enemies be as thin as dust before you. Be brave; because you cannot be defeated with such a weapon. 35) Let the fear of God always be before your eyes, and sin will not prevail over you. Don’t say: “Today I will sin, but tomorrow I will repent.” For you have nothing certain about tomorrow. Let us repent today, and the Lord will take care of tomorrow. 36) Some people sit idly, but as soon as they hear someone calling to prayer, they get down to business; but you, beloved, do not be negligent in the service of God, so that the eye of your mind may be enlightened. 37) Believe in the Lord with all your heart, and you will find His grace at all times. If you abide in Him, you will not lose your reward. 38) Water pipes are used during a fire, and tears - during temptations. Water extinguishes flames, and tears during prayer extinguish evil desires. 39) He who trusts in the Lord is like a man who, while rushing from a height, met a rope hanging high above the ground, and, grabbing hold of it, hung on it, and while hanging, he constantly cries out to the Lord for help, knowing that if he weakens and lets go of the rope from both hands, he will fall and be broken to death. 40) Every day we will ask the Lord for tears of contrition, so that when we begin to cry over our sins, our soul will flourish, freed from the drought of sin. 41) With constant remembrance of the Lord, vile passions are removed from the soul, like villains when a military leader approaches; Through this, a clean dwelling is built for the Holy Spirit. But where there is no remembrance of God, darkness and stench reign, and every bad deed is done there. 42) Let us love reverence: let them mock us, let them strike us; we won't leave him. For this is a treasure full of blessings. It inclines God to look upon the one who acquired it, according to what is written: “On whom will I look, but to him who is meek and silent and trembles at My words?” (Isa. 66:2). And blessed is he who despises everything for the sake of reverence. 43) Let us be sober, praying so as not to fall into temptation. Let us study the words of the Holy Spirit, so that we can delve into the Scriptures and, without holding a book in our hands, have in our minds the words of God. 44) Do not dwell on unclean thoughts, so that they do not bring you to the shameful fulfillment of them in reality; but abhor them and drive them away from you, so that your mind may be at peace. Pray to the Lord to enlighten the eyes of your heart; for “what is impossible with man is possible with God” (Luke 18:27). When you begin to pray, do not become distracted, so as not to be careless. 45) Be sober every hour; because at the hour when you have no tea, the Lord will send for you to take you into the granary of life, into the assembly of the righteous, and so that you will finally rest where there is no battle or enemy. 46) Blessed is he who cares about the following three things: exercise in prayer, handicraft and meditation. For it is written: “Be silent and understand that I am God” (Ps. 45:11); and again: “I am a beggar, and in labor from my youth” (Ps. 87:16); and again: “And he will learn in His law day and night” (Ps. 1:2). 47) Before the vigil, he inspired a thought to one brother, saying: today give yourself rest and do not get up for the vigil. But he answered the thought: think that you won’t get up tomorrow, so it’s better to get up today. 48) Prayer with sighs and tears is beautiful, especially if we shed the tears silently. He who prays with knowledge and faith sees the Lord before him, since “in Him we live, we move, and we are” (Acts 17:28). 49) If your heart is hardened, weep before the Lord, so that He may shower upon you the illumination of knowledge. 50) Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and you will conveniently escape the evil wiles. For the Lord will not leave those who work for Him without care. 51) With the help of the Divine fire we must resist the fire (of passionate excitement). 52) Pray more often with a humble heart, like the three youths in the fiery furnace, and do not make yourself a den of thieves, indulging in unlawful deeds, so as not to be ashamed on the day of judgment, when human secrets will be revealed. 53) My heart sighs, and my eyes long for tears; but my sin holds my mind captive, so that I do not fall into contrition, and do not begin to beg the Lord with bitter tears not to plunge me into utter darkness. 54) Jonah in the belly of the whale cried out in prayer: “Let my life come out of corruption... Lord my God” (Jonah 2:7). This prayer pierced the abyss, cut through the air, reached the sky, and entered the ears of the Lord; better to say, the Lord Himself, who fills the universe, was not far from His sincere servant. 55) Listen with all your heart to the singing of psalms and the reading of the divine scriptures, and drink in their fat with your soul, like a baby feeding on its nipples. 56) Do not relax from the thoughts that come to you. But when an evil thought comes to your mind, cry out to the Lord with tears, saying: Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner, and forgive me, O Lover of Mankind! Drive away the evil one from us, Lord! God is a judge of the heart and knows the thoughts that come from evil; but he also knows the thoughts that arise in us due to the malice of demons. But know also that to the extent that you strive and endure, working for the Lord, to such extent your mind and your thoughts will be purified. 57) How dare others leave the service of God and go on vacation without any need? “Do you really, when you are invited to a rich man’s supper, dare to get up from among those reclining with you and go home?” Will you wait patiently until everyone gets up together? 58) Let us constantly force ourselves to the work of God, so that the Lord will come and find us awake and grant us His blessedness; for He Himself said: “Blessed are these servants, whom the Lord will find watchful when He comes” (Luke 12:37). Let us beg each other and stir up the praise of our Lord, Jesus Christ. 59) Fall before the King of glory, confessing your sins; He has abundant bounties. Those who want to reach the earthly king are stopped by guards at the gates and driven away by warriors and servants; they bring gifts to princes in order to succeed in their intention. And you, approaching the King of all things, do not be afraid of anything like that. He does not need gifts, there is no one to take them and stop you: because He is unmindful of malice, loving mankind, “and repent of the evils of men” (Joel 2:13). When approaching Him, approach not with hypocrisy, not with double-mindedness, but with a clear conscience. Before you say anything, He foresees what you will say; and before you open your mouth, he knows in advance what is in your heart. Do not hesitate and do not hide your illness. The doctor is not cruel, but compassionate, he heals with words. He is an inexhaustible source of healing for people. If you want to be saved, He will not reject you who said: “If you, who are evil, know how to give good things to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him” (Matthew 7:11). 60) Pray, confess; Let prayer and confession be supported by deeds; “let your prayer be corrected like incense before God” (Ps. 140:3); and you will hear from the Lord: “Great is your faith: do it as you wish” (Matthew 15:28). 61) Let the psalm be continually in your mouth; let the lips sing, and let the mind pray. The called name of God drives away demons and sanctifies the psalmist. A psalm is the silence of the soul; it rewards with peace. The psalm is an attraction of Angelic help, a weapon against the fear of the night, peace from daytime labors. The psalm also brings tears from a heart of stone. Psalm is the work of Angels, heavenly residence, spiritual censer. A psalm, the joy of lovers of God: it resembles judgment, arouses the soul to God, and joins in joy with the Angels. Where there is a psalm of contrition, there is God with the Angels. 62) It is wonderful to “pray always and not be cold,” as the Lord says (Luke 18:1). And the Apostle also says: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17), that is, both at night and during the day, and at every hour. Not only when entering the Church, but also at other times, do not leave concern about this; On the contrary, whether you are working, sleeping, or on the road, or eating, or drinking, or lying down, do not interrupt your prayers; for you do not know when the one who demands your life will come. Do not wait for Sunday or a holiday, do not distinguish between places, but, as the prophet David said, pray “in every place of His Dominion” (Ps. 102:22). Therefore, whether you are in church, or at home, or in the field, whether you are tending sheep, or doing construction, do not give up prayer; and, when possible, kneel, and when it is impossible, pray with your mind - both in the evening, and in the morning, and at noon. 63) Instead of a shield, protect yourself with an honest cross, imprinting it on your members and heart. And not only with your hand put the sign of the cross on yourself, but also in your thoughts, seal with it every activity you do: your entrance, and your departure at all times, and your sitting, and your rising, and your bed, and whatever service you perform, first of all seal it (with the sign of the cross) in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 64) Instead of a bow, stretch out your hands in prayer, as it is written: “And you have put the bow of the coppers in my arm” (Ps. 17:35). For indeed the bow of the Medes against their enemies is hands stretched out in prayer offered in knowledge; This is an arrow accurately shot by someone who has drawn a bow. If you allow your thoughts to wander, you will become like a man who holds a bow in his hands, but does not know how to aim an arrow at the enemy, but shoots it at random. Will this blow frighten your enemy if you are holding a bow in your hands and not at it, but at random, shooting an arrow? On the contrary, when someone prays with knowledge, he does not allow his thoughts to wander, and understands who he is, and who he is in front of, and with whom he is talking; then his prayer approaches God, then the enemy suffers greatly, as if struck by an arrow in the heart. 65) Even if your request is denied (it will not be heard immediately), do not stop crying out to God, do not become discouraged that you are not heard. Remember the Canaanite woman and be jealous of her patience. Remember how she was denied what she asked for; and she kept asking. So what? did the Lord cast her away in the end? No; but for a short time He refused her, and then gave her what she asked for, for our learning, so that we, having received a refusal, would be able to stand by our requests. 66) If you ask something from your God, then ask not in such a way that you will certainly receive it from Him, but leaving it to Him and His will. For example: you are often oppressed by bad thoughts, and you are sad about it, and you want to beg God to free you from the abuse. But often this serves you well, my brother. For I say that this often happens to you, so that you do not become arrogant, but be humble in your wisdom. Look at this pillar of the Apostles, how, to his benefit, he was given “a dirty tricker of the flesh, an angel of Satan, and does dirty tricks on him” (2 Cor. 12:7). For what? Let him not be arrogant. If such a man was given this lesson so that he would not be arrogant, then how much more so for us who are weak “and imagine ourselves to be something” (Gal. 6:3 ) you need to endure torment (the tyranny of sin) so as not to become arrogant. Also, if some kind of sorrow or hardship has befallen you, do not ask so that you will certainly get rid of them, because this is often useful. And also, if you ask to receive something, do not ask so that you will certainly receive it. For, I say that you, as a person, often consider it useful for yourself, which is often useless for you. But if you leave your will and decide to walk according to the will of God, then you will be safe. Many, having achieved what they desired, subsequently came to repentance, and often fell into great troubles. Listen to what the Apostle says: “We do not know how to pray” (Rom. 8:26). So, what is useful and edifying for each of us, God himself knows; therefore leave it to Him. I say this not to prevent you from turning to God with your petitions; On the contrary, I beg you to ask Him for everything, both small and great. And this is what I tell you: when you pray and reveal to Him what is in your heart, say to Him this way: “This is Your will, not mine” (Luke 22:42). “Open your way to the Lord and trust in Him, and He will do it” (Ps. 36:5). Therefore, if you ask God for anything, stand firm in your request (pray with all zeal and relentlessly); but revealing your needs to Him, say: if it is, O Master, Your will for this to happen, then do it and make it successful; and if it is not Your will for this, do not allow this to happen, my God! Just strengthen and preserve my soul, so that I will be able to bear this. 67) Much struggle and secret, invisible labor is required; We must always test our thoughts and constantly exercise the exhausted feelings of our soul in distinguishing between good and bad, and warm up the weakened members of our soul with the desire of the mind for God and diligence, always clinging to Him with our minds, so that with the help of God’s grace, according to the apostolic saying, we can be in one spirit with the Lord. And we all need to have this secret struggle, thinking about God and working, both day and night, and in every fulfillment of the commandment, whether we pray or serve, or eat, or drink, or whatever else we do. 68) Patriarch Abraham brought the best of the spoils to the priest of God Melchizedek, and for this he received blessings from him. What does the Spirit give us in this fortune-telling way, leading us to higher contemplation? Is it not that we must always offer to God the highest and first, the fatness of our entire composition, i.e., the very mind, the very disposition, our most right thought, the very power of love in our soul, the firstfruits of our whole person, the sacred sacrifice of the heart, the best and first of right thoughts, constantly practicing in the remembrance of God, in meditation and love? For in this way we can daily have an increase in divine love, assisted by the divine power of God himself. And then the burden of the commandments will seem light to us, and we will fulfill them purely and impeccably, with the assistance of our Lord himself. 69) The main thing in good zeal and the pinnacle of good deeds is constant persistence in prayer, through which, by asking God, we can daily acquire other virtues; because God alone has goodness. In prayer, by divine visitation, in those worthy of it, a certain mysterious communion of spiritual activity and solitude of the disposition and the mind itself are produced in ineffable love for the Lord; and he who forces himself to constantly remain in prayer is daily drawn into the heavenly delights of love, into fiery commitment, by spiritual love for God, as it is said: “Thou hast given joy to my heart” (Ps. 4:8). And the Lord says: “The kingdom of heaven is within you” (Luke 17:21). And this presence of the kingdom within us means what else, if not heavenly joy, effectively produced in a worthy soul? For if in the kingdom of heaven the saints will have pleasure, joy, and spiritual joy in eternal light, then here the saints and faithful souls will also be worthy to receive the guarantee and the firstfruits of this through the effective communication of the Spirit. 70) Anyone who wants to constantly remain in prayer must accept an extensive feat, great work and unceasing effort: because there are many sinful obstacles to constantly remaining in prayer: sleep, despondency, heaviness of the body, whirling thoughts, confusion of mind, negligence, impatience, relaxation, and other subtle suggestions of malice: this is followed by sorrows, uprisings of the most crafty spirits who wage war with the soul, which in reality constantly seeks God, they fight it to the point of blood, and forbid it from approaching God. Therefore, he must take courage with all sobriety and thoroughness, and with all mental and physical effort, in patience of every kind. As one who truly bears the cross, let him constantly remain in struggle, and in great labor, and in crying, and in sorrow for the sake of the kingdom, without relaxing, without indulging in the whirling of sinful thoughts, or sleep, or despondency, or relaxation, or confusion of the mind, without indulging in thoughts of anything inappropriate and not being satisfied with the physical only by kneeling, while the mind is in confusion and circling. 71) He who always completely devotes himself to God, and without any negligence uses the care and labor possible within his power, always hoping with undoubted faith from God for deliverance with the help of the grace of Christ, he is worthy, by the goodness of God, to ascend to the very top of unshakable virtue and love. A perfect Christian produces every virtue, and all the perfect fruits of the Spirit that surpass our nature, such as: true and unchanging love and peace, long-suffering and goodness, meekness and patience, faith and humility, and other works of true virtue, with pleasure and spiritual pleasure, as natural and ordinary, without fatigue and easily, no longer struggling with sinful passions, as completely redeemed by the Lord, as worthy to become His pure dwelling, and aroused to virtues. by divine power, in joy and joy from the Holy and Worshipful Spirit, having acquired the perfect peace of Christ prevailing in the heart. Such a person, due to the effective indwelling of the Holy Spirit in him, not only performs such acts of virtue with great pleasure, without fatigue, but easily and comfortably accepts the most difficult things, such as the suffering of Christ. Strengthened by the Spirit, with great desire, He makes a vow to suffer for Christ - and is ready to be naked, hungry, to endure all suffering for the sake of the Lord, to be subjected to hatred, dishonor, slander, to become, as it were, the rabble of this world, and finally to be crucified and take on foolishness. For the most complete indwelling of the Holy Spirit in him, and the incorruptible, effective consolation of the future, immortal, hope of resurrection, prepares him to accept the suffering of Christ with great delight. Such is he who truly cleaves to the Lord and becomes “one spirit” with Him (1 Cor. 6:17). 72) “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Ps. 110:10). He is the wise one who fears the Lord. But whoever fears the Lord keeps all His commandments, does His will completely, and fulfills every word of Him. So acquire the fear of God, and He will crown you with the crown of life. 73) He who fears God is above all fear; he removed from himself and left far behind him all the horrors of this century. “I will foresee the Lord before me, so that I will not fear or be moved,” says David, filled with the fear of God (Ps. 15:8). Neither before the horrors of this world, nor before the insurances of the evil one, does he who fears God come into fear and trembling. Even Satan fears the one who fears God, and his hordes tremble before the one who fulfills the commandments of God. 74) Whoever sins is far from God; and therefore the evil one fills him with fear; - and he always lives in painful fear. 75) Repentance is now a city of refuge for us. And it is not far, but it is close: everyone stands at its doors. The Jew had to flee for a long time (to the city of refuge) - and he could barely escape, and sometimes he did not escape. This same city of our refuge itself is in a hurry to meet sinners. Blessed is the Good One, who has given you, repentance, to us as the city of our refuge. 76) The Jews left the cities of refuge when (the trouble had passed); and we must remain forever in our city of refuge. 77) I beg You, Lord, I strike at Your door, O Good One! Open to me according to Your unfaithful promise: “Press, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). Behold, I beseech you, as taught by You; Grant me, Lord, as you promised. I'm not asking for gold. Blotting out sins is better than gold, forgiveness is more precious than treasures. 78) Let us beseech the Lord until we regain our manuscripts: let us raise our voice of lamentation, let us shed rivers of tears, let our hearts burst with sighs, until we receive remission of sins. 79) “Turn to Me... and I will return to you,” says the Lord through the Prophet (Zech. 1:3). So turn your heart to prayer, so that His grace may come to you. Walk the path of repentance, so that His love for mankind may meet you. 80) Do not approach the One who tests all our thoughts with a double-minded heart, and do not go in two ways to the One who knows the hidden. 81) Prayer does not get bogged down anywhere, and it lifts those who are lost to heights; There are no barriers to prayer, because it has spiritual wings. Through prayer the righteous overcome, and through prayer sinners return to life. 82) Spiritual paradise is the church, in it is the tree of life, the holy altar of reconciliation, exuding life to the faithful who have loved life. So be rich, enjoy the gifts that the Father has prepared for you. 83) Come, and at night we will sing the praises of God, and imitate the hosts of Angels who continuously praise Him. And our Savior, when he moves and comes accompanied by the Angels, seeing our wakefulness and vigil, will call us good servants and seat us at His table. 84) “Watch and pray,” our Lord said to his disciples (Matthew 26:41); for you do not know at what hour death will come and take you from this temporary life, so that you can go there and give an answer there. While you are still here, brothers, bring repentance and ask for forgiveness of sins. 85) The body that has bothered itself in prayers will soar through the air on the day of resurrection, will look at its Lord without shame, will enter with Him into the palace of light, and there will be kindness to the Angels and people who here also bothered themselves with vigils and prayers. 86) We always need to be willing to remain in prayer; because prayer is a very great thing: it even reaches God. When prayer ascends with love to God in order to converse with Him, then the heavenly gates are open for it and no one will prevent it from entering them. The Angels will not detain her, the Fiery Ones will not stop her, as soon as she wishes to enter and receive from God the fulfillment of her request. Therefore, everyone should love prayer, and practice it vigilantly day and night. Let us pray unceasingly. 87) Continually remain in prayer, and do not become weak in your prayers. Ask the Guardians to be the guardians of the open doors in your members. Guard carefully the seven open doors; because robbers invade them to plunder the decoration of your soul and damage the features of the image so dear to God. 88) “The kingdom of God is within... is” (Luke 17:21). Go within yourself, search harder, and you will find it without difficulty. Get away from the crossroads of amusements, from the harmful path of lust, from the jungle of greed and harmful associations. Enter into yourself, live within yourself, in the beautiful cell of your spirit, and there seek the kingdom, as our Savior taught. If it is not yet in you, then cry out: “Our Father, Thy kingdom come,” and it will come when you call. The kingdom is in you. Enter into yourself, remain in your heart; for there is God. He does not leave you, but you leave Him. 89) As long as the heart remains in goodness, so long does God abide in it, so long does it serve as a source of life; because then good things come out of him. But as soon as it deviates from God and commits iniquities, it becomes a source of death; because then evil comes out of him. The heart is God's abode; Therefore, it needs protection so that evil does not enter it, and God does not withdraw from it. 90) This is wondrous and wonderful, incomprehensible to those above and ineffable to those below. Inaccessible to every mind, he enters the heart and dwells in it; Hidden from the Fiery Ones is found in the heart. The earth cannot bear His footsteps; and a pure heart carries Him within itself. The sky is too small for His inch, but the heart is His abode. The whole creation cannot contain Him within its boundaries; but if He seeks the heart, then even a small heart can accommodate Him. God chooses a small place in man for His dwelling; and man becomes the church of God, in which God dwells and abides. The soul is His church, and the heart is the holy altar on which sacrifices of praise and glorification are offered; The priest is the mind that stands and performs sacred acts there. 91) You have a treasure in your heart. - Find yourself a guard who will constantly be at your door, so that robbers do not rob you, evil people do not rob you. - since you do not care about your soul, you do not look for guardians for it, then unclean spirits and robbers invade it and ruin it in the end. Property that is not your property, you guard with care; but you don’t protect your soul, your property. You place guards at the vineyards, at the olive orchards, at the sown fields, but you leave God’s property without guards to guard it. Everyone takes care of their temporary possessions with foresight, but the soul, God’s most precious possession, is plundered and robbed by demons, and no one will feel pain or grieve about it. The evil one enters into us, and leads to disorder in both heart and mind; That is why everyone, against his will, goes into the wilds (the world) and wanders there. 92) Train your mouth to glorify God. Render to God with thanksgiving, vigil, fasting and prayer, and let your tongue sing sweet-tongued songs of praise. 93) It is said: “Let the wicked be lifted up, and not see the glory of the Lord” (Isa. 26:10). Meanwhile, everything cries out for God, daily proclaims His glory; and dumb creatures never cease to praise Him. “The heavens will tell the glory of God, but the firmament will proclaim His handiwork” (Ps. 18:2). The earth speaks His praises; the sea preaches His wonderful power. You will not find anything that does not glorify the Lord your God. And the insignificant mosquito proclaims the glory of his Lord. Where will the wicked go so that he does not see the glory of the Lord? “I think that he will descend from this world into utter darkness, full of fear and horror, where there is no praise and where no voice of praise is heard.” 94) The soul is much more kind to God than all the creatures He created. But sin makes it dead, and you do not understand this, sinner. Grieve for yourself for God's sake, because He grieves for you. Your soul was killed by sin; bring her back to life with tears. Delight God, may He be glad that your soul has been brought back to life by you. 95) A father burying his beloved son does not grieve as much as God regrets a soul killed by sin. Mourn your soul, and thereby prove your love for God, Who Himself grieves and regrets the soul killed by sin. God regrets the death of the soul, which is His image; - and the heavenly Powers lament about her. 96) He who watches as one enlightened (by grace) and prays in darkness, is also clothed in the midst of visible darkness with invisible light. But a sinner even in daylight is a child of darkness. Outwardly he is all in the light, but inwardly he is covered in darkness. Therefore, let us not deceive ourselves by the mere fact that we are awake. Whoever does not stay awake as he should, his wakefulness is not wakefulness. Whoever does not stay awake willingly, his wakefulness is sleep. Whoever stays awake in uncleanness, wakefulness is even harmful for him. 97) All our petitions ascend to one God; the single ear of the invisible Majesty listens to our petitions and discerns them. If we ask for something useful, he accepts the request; if it is harmful, he rejects it. The mouth can ask for everything: but God fulfills only what is useful. 98) All petitions brought to God by faith are accepted by Him from her hands. The vows and gifts offered by her hands are desired by God. The Divine Majesty desires to receive fruit from the hands of faith; because it cleanses the heart of the one asking from the ugliness of the doubts of the mind. 99) If God is slow in fulfilling requests, one should not grieve. Giver of wisdom He looks at the request and at the time, and if he sees that the request is currently useless, but will be useful later, he ensures its fulfillment until the time. Although it is regrettable to the one asking that his request was not fulfilled at the same time; but the Giver in due time will console him with benefit. 100) Praise be to Him Who hears everything! His truth is the crucible for all petitions. She approves of a true request, because life is hidden in it for those who ask; condemns a false petition, because in it lies death for those who ask. 101) Therefore, let us submit our petitions to the will of the True and Merciful. With His righteousness He tempts and rejects requests that are harmful to us, and in His mercy He fulfills requests that are beneficial. Let us give thanks to the Good One for what He gives, and let us worship the Just One for what He denies. 102) Let us work in prayer, this is the vine; her wine is a consolation. Let us build our souls into a church worthy of God. 103) If the great of the earth stays in your house, then your doors will be clothed with honor. How much more will your door be adorned with splendor if God dwells in you? 104) Be both a church and a priest to God; serve God in your church, as He became priest, sacrifice, and slaughter for you. Therefore, you too be for Him a church, a priest, and a sacrifice. for your spirit is a church; then do not allow any uncleanness into it. 105) Do not allow into the house of God anything that is hateful to God; but on the contrary, adorn the house of God with everything that befits God. The original title of this collection: “Patristic instructions on prayer and sobriety or attention in the heart to God.” To the author's text of the collection (from St. Basil the Great to St. Barsanuphius and John inclusive), the publishers added quotes about prayer from the letters of St. himself. Feofan. You might be interested in: