Глава 4. Св. отца нашего Иоанна Лествичника. Слово о молитве, с пояснениями оного

Explanations of the Ladder are: Elijah, Bishop of Crete; Hieromonk Athanasius, also a Cretan; in the new edition of St. Fathers Migne, after each word there are many notes on various thoughts contained in the word; In the Ladder, published by the Optina Desert, many explanatory notes are attached at the end that deserve full attention. Including the “Word on Prayer” by St. Climacus in a small present collection, we attach under each point and its explanation; What does borrowing from ep. Elijah we will mean – Il., from Athanasius – Aph., from Me – Mn. There is not a single explanation for this word in the Optina edition 1) Prayer, in its quality, is communication (συνουσια - sucking, merging into one being) and the unity of man and God; in action, it is the standing of the world, the reconciliation of God, the mother of tears and again the daughter, the propitiation of sins, the bridge over temptations, the mediastinum from sorrows, the suppression of battles, the work of Angels, the food of all bodiless, the future joy, the work that has no end and limit, the source of virtues, the intercessor and the cause of talents, invisible progress, food for the soul, enlightenment of the mind, despair ax, proof of hope, resolution of the bonds of sadness, wealth of monks, treasure of the silent, reduction (gradual, to zero) of anger, mirror of prosperity, manifestation of measures (at what measure does someone stand), indication of the state (or spiritual dispensation), herald of the future (maybe and reward), sign of glorification. For the one who truly prays, prayer is a torment, a judgment seat and the throne of the Lord, before the throne of the future. Af. Prayer, performed as it should, with a warm desire and sweetness for God, has that good quality in itself that elevates a person’s mind to God, brings him to meet his Creator, combines him with Him and unites him to inseparability. Her actions are innumerable. She makes sure that the world stands and is not destroyed due to the multitude of sins committed every day. It attracts the love of God that has mercy on us. She is the mother of tears and their daughter, because she does what a person begins to shed tears before the Lord, and the tears again force him to pray even more. She asks for forgiveness of sins. She is the bridge along which a person passes from temptations and troubles to freedom from them and coolness. There is a mediastinum that protects us from sorrows and does not allow them to penetrate inside us and tyrannize us there, whether from demons or from people and passions. She breaks and scatters our enemies who fight us. There is a heavenly work, the saturation of all Angels and Saints, the constant festive joy of the righteous. There is a virtue that never happens to be idle, to be suppressed and abolished. There is a key from which all good flows. There is a merchant who buys all kinds of gifts of grace. She secretly leads the heart to prosperity. There is a meal for a noble soul, for which she does not get up, but constantly feeds on it and does not know satiety. There is an unquenchable light to the mind and a heavenly flame. There is an ax that cuts off and drives away despair. There is proof that the soul has hope in God: for that is why it prays because it hopes in Him. There is an antidote to sadness. The wealth of the monks who perform it with heartfelt tenderness. There is a great treasure of the silent that lies close to her. There is a reduction and destruction of anger, and its evaporation. There is a mirror that shows how one prays how much he has succeeded in goodness. There is an indicator of a good soul, a lamp that reveals an internal good state. There is a window through which angelic light enters the soul of the person praying and interprets for him the mysteries and secrets of God. There is an index of the unceasing honor of God's beloved servants and the blessings awaiting them. Prayer sometimes has such an effect on the soul that it makes it rejoice with all its heart, as if it had already received glorification. Sometimes it puts her in such a mood that it seems to her as if she is standing in judgment before the throne of Christ and is being tortured for all her sins, as if the hour of God’s great and terrible judgment has already arrived; for which reason he is struck with fear, repents, begs, sheds tears, makes vows to correct himself, so as not to be condemned at the actual trial, having been cleansed of sins by repentance and self-harm, and having previously satisfied the righteous wrath of God and attracted His mercy. 2) Rising, let us listen to this sacred queen of virtues, crying out to us with a great voice and saying: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest: take My yoke upon you... and you will find rest for your souls and healing for your wounds. For My yoke is good and healing from great falls” (Matthew 11:28–30). Af. Let us arise, I beg you, from laziness, and let us hasten with zeal to obey the most holy prayer, this queen of virtues, who cries out to us with a great voice and says: come to me, all of you who are overburdened with carnal, worldly and demonic warfare, and I will completely deliver you from them and calm you down. Do not grieve, and let my word not seem heavy to you. Just willingly take my yoke upon yourself, and without self-pity take up the necessary labor for my sake, and you will certainly find peace so great, which you cannot imagine greater. Not only comfortably and without pain, but with sweetness all your wounds will soon be healed; and you will become even more strong, vigorous, beautiful and courageous than before. For my yoke and burden are good and saving, and can heal all kinds of sins. 3) Intending to go to appear before the king and God and converse with him, let us not enter into this way without being properly prepared, so that He, seeing from afar that we do not have weapons and the attire established for appearing before the king, does not command the slaves and servants, having tied us up, there is nowhere to hide from His face, and tear up our petitions and throw them in our faces. Af. As we prepare to go to present ourselves to our king and God, to beg Him to forgive us our debts, let us not move on this path without ordering ourselves as we should; but let us fill our soul, our heart and our mind with the fear of God and reverence, with a warm desire for God and hope, and especially with humility. Otherwise, seeing us from afar, before we reach Him and seeing that we do not have such weapons internal to our hearts and such a bright robe of the soul, He will be offended by our recklessness and shamelessness and will send His servants to bind us as quickly as possible, to throw us far from His face, and to tear up the charter of our prayer and throw it in our faces. 4) May the tunic of your soul, when you go to appear before the Lord, be completely woven with threads of unforgettable malice. If this is not the case, then you will not receive any benefit from prayer. Af. When you go to appear before God in prayer, let your soul be dressed in a robe made of fine and royal linen, that is, which was woven from heavenly thoughts, woven with threads of shame, reverence and kindness, and stitched with the gold of forgiveness of offenses and love for enemies. Otherwise, you will not receive any benefit from your prayer. 5) Let the whole composition of your prayer be unvaried: for the publican and the prodigal son with one word offered God to mercy. Af. Let the word of your prayer be without superfluity and eloquence; only from a bright and collected mind, and from a pure heart. For the publican, the prodigal, and the thief on the cross - for one word of lamentation received forgiveness and were reconciled with God. 6) Standing before God (as standing) is the same for all those who stand; but (in terms of objects and purposes) there is great variety and difference. Some talk (with God) as with a friend and Master, for the sake of interceding others, and not themselves, bringing Him songs and diligent prayer. Others ask (from Him for spiritual) wealth, glory and greater boldness. Others pray for complete deliverance from their rival. Some pester about some kind of dignity; others about the complete remission of the debt (so that they no longer have any worries about it); others - about liberation from prison: others - about the remission of sins. Af. Standing before God in prayer, which everyone sends to Him, appears to be the same in appearance, but has great variety in actions and petitions. For one comes to Him with one reverence and for one reason, another with another, and for another. Others approach God and boldly pour out their prayer before Him, like good friends and loved ones, worship Him and beg Him for others, and not for themselves. Others ask for themselves, that they may be honored with great spiritual honor, wealth, and love. Others cry out to free them completely from their adversary. Others are looking for some rank to be given to them. Others beg to give them a handwritten note that all their debts have been paid, so that they don’t have to worry about it anymore. Others cry about being released from prison and being spared execution. Others shed tears, may they be granted remission of their sins. 7) First of all, let us place sincere thanksgiving on the charter of our prayer; secondly, confession (of sins) with spiritual contrition; after this we will tell the All-Tsar our petition. This order of prayer is the best, as shown to one of the brethren by the Angel of the Lord. Af. But first of all, at the very beginning of our prayer, we will write pure and whole-hearted thanksgiving to God for His great benefits to us, and the daily consolations that we receive from His Royal bounties. In the second point of our prayer, let us place with contrition and heartache the confession of sins into which we fall uncontrollably day and night. And in the third point of our prayer, let us open our petitions to the heavenly King, begging Him with all humility, that He may take care of us, have mercy on us and comfort us, according to His sole mercy, and according to His great compassion, and grant us His kingdom. This order of prayer is the best, as one venerable monk heard from an Angel. So let us act in prayer; first, let us thank God for His mercies; secondly, we confess our sins to Him; thirdly, let us pray to Him that He will be merciful to us. 8) If you have been a defendant before a visible judge, then you have no need for another example of how to stand before you in your prayer. If you yourself have never stood (at such a trial) and watched others being tortured in it; then learn at least this from the begging of doctors by the sick, when they are required to cut off (their members) or cauterize them. Af. If it happened to you when, for some offense, bound or not, you stood before a judge ready to execute you for that: then you have no need for another example of the great fear that you should have for God, standing before His face as a condemned person for countless sins. If you did not stand in court as a criminal on trial and did not see others being tortured and punished; at least learn to pray with fear and tears from what the sick do when doctors are going to cut off their members, or do cauterizations or pull out teeth: as soon as they hear about this, they come into trembling before they spread them, and begin to beg the doctors so that, if one thing or another is inevitable, at least not make their hands heavy, but as much as possible, use their tools more easily. 9) Do not be wise with words in your prayer; for often the simple and unadorned babblings of children belittled their Father, “who is in heaven.” Af. Do not be wise with your words in your prayer, trying to speak in it with refined and beautiful sayings. Words are not many, but sincere, reverent and tender, they rather appease God our heavenly Father, as can be seen from many places of Holy Scripture - and delight Him, just as the simple babblings of his little children delight a father. Mn. These children are those who are “baby in wickedness” (1 Cor. 14:20). Their great price is determined by the word of the Lord: “Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). 10) Do not try to be verbose, so that when searching for words your mind does not become distracted. One word from the publican appeased God, and one saying full of faith saved the robber. Verbosity in prayer usually plunges the mind into daydreaming and scatters it, while unanimity gathers it. Af. Do not want to talk too much in your prayer, so that your mind does not become scattered and confused, chasing after the words that you should say, but if you do not know much, say many times that word and that prayer that gives you contrition, reverence and tears. In this way, your mind will remain undistracted and warm zeal will remain in your heart. The publican is forgiven for one word, and the thief is saved. Mn. In prayer one should not be verbose, or say a lot at once; but it must be monolingual, that is, say the same thing over and over again. 11) Being delighted or touched by any word of prayer, stand on it; for in this case our guardian is with us, praying with us. Af. Stand on those words that give you tender contrition and divine sweetness; because then your guardian angel prays to God with you. 12) Do not be arrogant about yourself, even if you have acquired purity; but approach with great humility, and you will be more abstinent (you will pray with greater boldness). Af. Do not be arrogant about yourself, even if you know that you are pure and free from all sin, so as not to anger your Master; but pray with deep humility, and then greater lust, thirst and grace will come to you from God, so that you may pray more fervently and more tenderly. 13) Even if you have climbed the entire ladder of virtues, keep praying for the remission of sins, hearing Paul crying out for sinners (hearing that Paul puts himself in the ranks of sinners when he cries out): “of whom I am first” (1 Tim. 1:15). Af. Even if you really have climbed the entire ladder of virtues; With all this, you must pray to God for your sins, hearing how the great Paul, after such labors and with such holiness, wrote to Timothy that the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, adding: “of them I am the first.” 14) Food is usually seasoned with oil and salt; and prayer is inspired by chastity and tears. Af. Salt and butter season and make food palatable; and purity and tears give wings to prayer, and it soars more quickly to God. 15) If you put on meekness and lack of anger, then it will not take much work for you to have a mind free from captivity. Il. If, he says, you put on great humility and lack of anger, then you will not need to work hard to collect your mind from vain and sinful memories when you pray. On the contrary, whoever does not have extreme humility and lack of anger in himself, while standing in prayer, cannot in any way keep his mind collected, but, like a captive, his thoughts are led to one thing or another, not remembering or understanding what the mouth says. Af. If you put on all-round meekness and kindness, then not much work will be required for you to free your mind from running away from distractions and not being distracted during prayer. 16) Until we acquire effective prayer, we will remain like those who teach children to walk for the first time. Af. Until we learn to pray with a collected mind and a pure heart, we are like little children who are being taught to walk. They are taken by the hands and supported so that they do not fall; if they fall, they are raised, they fall again, they are raised again: so until they learn to walk without falling. Let us also do with ourselves the same as those who teach them to walk little by little do with children, in order to teach our soul and mind to stand in prayer on their own, without being supported, without falling and without rising. Mn. Just as those teaching children to walk, when they fall after walking a little, they lift them up again and teach them how they should walk without falling: so we will also let our minds, when they fall during prayer from striving for God, again restore and straighten them until they become unfallen. 17) Try to bring, or better yet, to enclose your thoughts in the words of prayer. If she, tired of infancy, falls, bring her there again; because the mind is characterized by impermanence (on one). It can be established on one point only by the One by whose power everything stands. If you strive tirelessly in this work (i.e., keep your mind), then the Lord will also visit you, and, setting a limit to the sea of ​​your mind, he will say to him in your prayer: “You will come to this and will not pass” (Job 38:11). It is impossible to bind the spirit: but where the Creator of the spirit is, there everything submits to Him. Af. With all your might, force yourself to bring your mind whole and pure into prayer, and to close and enclose your entire thought and your entire thought in the concept that gives the word of the prayer you are performing, without allowing them to deviate - neither in one direction nor in the other. If, exhausted, your mind falls from this height, either due to natural weakness, or due to your bad habit, pick it up and carry it again to its place. Do not be burdened to collect it into yourself if you want to correct and heal: because the mind tends to run away from its place and from standing in good thoughts and prayers. But it is God’s nature to make every creature stand in its place. Why, if you work hard and wrestle with your mind, teaching it to stand motionless during prayer, then God, who has enclosed the sea in its place, will finally visit your soul, and having gathered the thoughts of your mind into one sea, he will say to him during prayer: until you have come to Me, and have not gone further, you will not be removed from Me. It is impossible to keep the mind bound, so that it does not leave prayer and does not wander here and there. But God, who created him, can, when he dwells in someone, hold him and establish him, because every creation submits to Him and stands within the limits that His will has indicated to it. 18) If you have ever seen the Sun of Truth - Christ God, then you can have a worthwhile conversation with Him. For what have you not seen, how can you unmistakably understand? Af. If you have ever seen the true sun - Christ the Lord, then you can talk with Him with all fear and reverence, you can love Him and glorify Him with dignity and godliness. If you haven’t seen it, how can you do all this? Mn. God is the sun of truth, as it is written, shining with all the rays of goodness; the soul usually becomes either wax when it loves God, or mud when it loves matter. So, just as dirt naturally dries in the sun, and wax naturally melts, so the soul, substance-loving and peace-loving, receiving admonitions from God and resisting them, hardens like dirt in the sun, and plunges itself into destruction, like Pharaoh; and the God-loving soul, under the action of God, melts like wax, and taking into itself the imprints of divine things and being formed according to them, becomes in the spirit the dwelling place of God. 19) The beginning of prayer - driving away adverbs at their very beginning with one word or one tension of the mind; the middle is the mind’s abiding in that one thing that is said or thought (in prayer): and its perfection is admiration for the Lord. Af. The beginning and solid foundation of good prayer is so that the one praying with one decisive word, from the very beginning, drives away the attacks of evil thoughts that come to his mind. The middle of it is so that the mind is completely enclosed in the words and thoughts of prayer, and so that it does not think about anything else, even the slightest. Its perfection is for the mind to admire and ascend completely to God. Why, when performing a prayer, is it not enough to drive away only bad thoughts as soon as they come, but you need to enclose your mind in the words of prayer, and raise it all to God. And such a prayer is a perfect and grace-filled prayer. 20) The joy that befalls those who live in brotherhood during prayer is different, and the joy that comes to those praying in silence is different. This may be somewhat unfree from soaring, but this is all filled with humility. Af. Another kind of joy occurs during prayer, which is performed in a meeting of the brethren, and another - during that which is performed in silence and alone. During prayer in a meeting, the mind may become conceited, or be confused by some thought or dream, which is why it is not as pure and complete as during solitary prayer, and does not receive such joy and such consolation as are given by prayer in silence, where it, being performed with great humility and purity, is rewarded with a wondrous reward. 21a) If you always train your mind not to move away; then he will be near you during the meal. And if it is not forbidden, he wanders everywhere with you; then he will never be with you. Af. If you train your mind and it gets used to being concentrated within you, and not moving away from God and prayer, then you can keep it with you even while eating. And if you leave him to wander everywhere as he wants; then you will never be able to gain power over him and, by your own will, force him to be with you and before God, even during prayer. 21b) The great worker of great and perfect prayer says: “I want to speak five words with my mind” (1 Cor. 14:19) and so on; but this kind of thing is alien to the youngest. Why, as imperfect beings, we have a need for quality and in large quantity; since the latter is an accomplice of the former. For the scripture says: “Give (the Lord) prayer” that is pure, not lazily, to “the one who prays” - even if not pure, but laboriously (1 Sam. 2:9). Il. St. Apostle Paul, as a perfect expert in prayer, says that it is better to say five words with the mind in prayer than ten thousand with one tongue. But those who have not been trained in prayer are unable to do such a thing; why do we, as those who have not yet learned the quality of prayer, have a need for its quantity - that is, for a multitude of prayers. For this multitude of prayers becomes an intercessor for pure prayer, because the one who prays, although not purely, but with difficulty and not laziness, finally receives pure prayer from God. Af. A great deed and good is pure and perfect prayer, performed with the whole mind, as the great Apostle, a good doer of perfect and holy prayer, said about himself: “I want,” he says, “to speak five words with my mind,” but in such a way that they are heard, understood and bring benefit, rather than saying ten thousand incomprehensible words. So in prayer; it is better to say less, but intelligibly, than a lot and not intelligibly. God is that which comes from the heart and ascends to Him without a distracted mind. But such prayer cannot be performed not only by the lazy and not reverent, but also by those who have not yet become accustomed to it and are in the beginning stages. While we are weak or unskilled in prayer, we must force ourselves to pray, although not completely, but diligently and without sparing labor and self-exertion, we can achieve this only through forced prayer. one that is done self-willingly, unwaveringly, with a pure mind and a warm heart. Whoever is zealous in prayer and, working hard, stands at it for a long time, receives from God in time the grace of pure prayer, in which the whole mind and the whole heart are concentrated; the mind does not soar, but the heart burns. And the scripture says: that God “gives prayer to the one who prays” - that is, to those who have not yet learned real prayer, but who works diligently in it, who seeks it, God gives real prayer, in which they pray with a pure heart and a bright mind. Mn. For beginners or imperfect people, physical labor is very useful for progress in spiritual life, and should come first for them, as the main thing. But for the perfect, as those who can act directly with their mind and heart, it is no longer the main thing, but an accessory. For those who are infant in spirit, many bows are needed, and long-term raising of hands, and all-night vigils, and other bodily actions, so that the mind, while assisting them, becomes accustomed to prayer. And the perfect ones, even when they do nothing with their bodies, pray; for they have acquired unceasing prayer, unremittingly with the mind, acting in the heart. 22) Another is the impurity of prayer, another is destruction, another is theft, and another is robbery. The impurity of prayer is that God faces inappropriate thoughts; destroying it means surrendering to useless worries; there is theft when a thought flies imperceptibly into the air; There is twitching when some kind of pretext approaches us during it. Af. Prayer is damaged in different ways, sometimes by desecration, sometimes by destruction, sometimes by theft, sometimes by desecration. But there is another desecration of prayer, another destruction of it, another theft and another desecration. There is impurity and desecration of prayer when one’s body stands before God, but one’s mind revolves in disorderly dreams and inappropriate thoughts; there is a ruin of prayer when, at the hour of prayer, you indulge your mind in your worries about the unnecessary and useless; there is theft when the mind is suddenly carried away from itself and disappears without knowing where, as if it were a stranger to us, so that even when we bring it back to ourselves, we cannot remember anything; there is scolding - when some enemy excuse comes up, teases and scolds, wanting to somehow attract attention, confuse prayer and dispel our reverence. 23) If we are not alone during the intercession (at the statutory hour of prayer), then internally, in the soul only, we will perceive the image of the suppliant; If then the ministers of praise do not happen to us, then externally, with the body, we will take a prayer position: for in the imperfect, the mind often adjusts itself (forms itself) according to the position of the body. Af. If we pray in partnership with others, then it is enough for us only with our minds and hearts to show the inner movements of the soul before God, not to assume a sad or tearful face, and not to make any signs with our bodies that would show what is in our soul, so that others do not honor us, and others may mock us, through which we will be exposed to temptation, embarrassment in ourselves and anger towards others. But when we are alone, and others do not see us to ridicule us, then, if we want, we can accept the face of the one praying, and the sad voice, and shed tears, raise our hands to grief, make prostrations, showing fear and reverence before God, as if we saw before us some great king of the earth. For those who are imperfect usually begin to manifest physically first what should be in the soul, and then, through this externality, real feelings and dispositions are formed in the soul, which at first were only signified bodily. 24) All, especially those who go to the king with the goal of obtaining (begging) forgiveness of a debt, have a need for unspeakable (unhypocritical) contrition (touched humility). Af. Everyone who wants to appear before the king to bow to him needs great fear, contrition of heart and humility, and especially those who come to him in the hope of asking him to forgive their debt. For seeing them before him in such contrition of heart and in tears, he will certainly take pity on them and give them what they desire. So we need to approach God in prayer for the remission of sins with extreme humility, in great contrition and tears. And He will let us go. 24b) If we are still in prison, let us listen to the one who says to Peter: gird yourself with the ribbon of obedience, strip yourself of your desires, and, naked from them, approach the Lord in prayer, calling upon His alone will (saying, that is, Thy will, Lord, be done, or: in the same manner save me by destinies). Then you will accept God into yourself, who will take the helm of your soul into his hands and begin to rule you comfortably. Af. We, who are still in the prison of dark sinfulness, if we want to free ourselves from it, will listen to Christ, like Peter to the angel who came to bring him out of Herod’s prison. Peter immediately fulfilled his will, and immediately the iron bonds fell from him, and the gates opened: he went out and was delivered from death. Let us also gird ourselves with the ribbon of obedience, put on our shoes in readiness to fulfill what is commanded, let ourselves be stripped of our will, and having been completely naked of it, we approach Christ, asking Him in our prayer, that He may grant us to do His will. Then God will dwell within us and begin to hold the helm of our mind, control our soul, and protect us from trouble and danger. 25) Having risen from love of peace and lust, cast aside worries, turn away from thoughts, renounce the body: for prayer is nothing other than alienation from the visible and invisible world. “What do we have in heaven?” Nothing. “And what do You want from the earth?” Nothing short of always clinging to You in prayer without distraction. For some, wealth, for others, fame, for others, acquisitions are desirable; “It is my desire to cleave to God,” and “to place in him the hope of my dispassion” (Ps. 72:25, 28). Af. If you want to perform good and God-pleasing prayer, get up and throw off worldly attachments and worries, renounce your mind from all thoughts and dreams, cleanse your heart from unclean lusts, bind all your will, renounce the body and the wisdom of the flesh - and ascend with all your desire to God. For prayer is nothing other than oblivion of this temporal world and everything that is in it, as the Prophet says to God: Lord, what should I look for in heaven or on earth, except Your one glorious face? And now You know that I truly want nothing more than to remain inseparably with You in my prayer, and to cling with attention and love to Your beauty. Some desire wealth, others glory, others acquisitions, but for me all my desire and desire is directed towards this, so that I may unite with You, and like fire penetrates iron, may I be ignited by Your grace. And then, as I undoubtedly hope, You will cleanse me from all passions, and make my soul radiant. 26) Faith inspires prayer; for without her this cannot ascend to heaven. Af. Warm faith and hope give wings to prayer - let it soar to heaven; and without them, the mind alone cannot organize any kind of prayer, and not just one that would ascend to God and bear fruit. 27) Let us, passionate ones, ceaselessly beg the Lord; for all those who are now dispassionate from passion have succeeded in dispassion. Af. Being possessed by passions, let us with all diligence and with all faith beg God to cleanse us from all our indecencies. For those who are now pure and glorified were also overcome and tempted by passions; but they begged the Lord with all zeal, and He delivered them from these passions, and cleansed them from their stench and malignancy. 28) Although this judge does not fear God, but the soul that has been widowed by Him because of sin and fall does not do His work, then He will take vengeance on her from her rival - the body, and from her enemies - evil spirits (Luke 18: 3-7). Af. If this unrighteous judge, about whom it is written in the Gospel that he did not fear God, finally revealed the truth to the widow, defended her and punished her enemy for the sole reason that she often came to him and bored him with her requests and tears: how much more God, the great and merciful Judge, Who has no one to fear, Whom no petitions are bothersome and Who is not burdened every minute to squander mercies and gifts - she will take pity, hearing the tireless cry and cry of the soul, which was widowed by her heavenly bridegroom Christ, because of her sins, cries before Him day and night, begging Him to help her - to get rid of the enemies who have brought her into such a bitter state and are keeping her in it. She will take pity on her, and will soon, soon take revenge on her, commanding this unreasonable body not to tempt her soul anymore, and repelling the demons with such strength that they will not soon attempt to rebel against her again, and calming and comforting her. Mn. For God there is no God whom He would fear, nor man whom He would be ashamed of. He has no sight on his face; the righteous always judge, protecting the offended, and taking revenge on the offender, according to His truth and mercy. 28b) Our good merchant (buyer, redeemer) attracts the grateful into his love by the speedy fulfillment of their request; and ungrateful souls, like dogs, are forced by hunger and thirst for what they ask to sit for a long time in front of them through prayer: for an ungrateful dog, having received bread, immediately moves away from the giver. Il. God, readily fulfilling the requests of His grateful servants, thereby attracts them even more into love for Himself; and he fulfills the requests of the ungrateful slowly, so that they pray longer, and having received what they asked after difficult prayer, they do not forget about the gift for the sake of work. For it often happens that having quickly received what they asked for, they soon forget about the good deed, as happened with Israel: “Jacob was satisfied and was satisfied, and his beloved was rejected... and forsaken God who made him” (Deut. 32:15). Af. Our good heavenly buyer, God, who seeks in every possible way to appropriate us to Himself, arranging the salvation of our souls, in order to arouse greater love for Himself in His good and grateful servants, and to gain them for Himself through marvelous mercy, immediately gives them what they ask for. But which souls are ungrateful and immediately move away from Him as soon as they receive grace, forgetting about the gift and not continuing the prayer, He makes them pray for a long time before Him, so that, hungry and thirsty for what they ask, they do not move away from Him, but remain in His holy will; and they were not like foolish dogs, who, as soon as they receive bread, immediately leave the one who gives it to them. 29) After being in prayer for a long time (and receiving nothing), do not say that you have not acquired anything. Because I have already purchased it. Because what greater good is there than to cleave to the Lord and remain in unity with Him unceasingly? Af. Don’t say that after standing for so long in prayer and begging God for so long, I got nothing. The good habit of prayer that you acquired through this is enough for you. For this truly is an angelic work and a great gift, to abide inseparably with God and stand before His face, like a beloved friend, and rejoice. Mn. Do not be sad if, when you pray to God for something, He does not quickly hear you and is slow to do according to your request. For you are no wiser than God. This happens to you, or because you are not worthy, perhaps, of what you ask; either because the ways of your heart do not correspond to what you ask for, but are contrary to it, or because you have not yet come to that measure to accommodate the requested gift: since you should not desire or seek ahead of time what belongs to higher measures, lest the gift of God be disgraced in you by your inability to use it. Moreover, what is easily acquired is easily lost; whereas it is acquired with sensitive labor and is preserved with all attention and care. 30) It is not so much the condemned person who fears (to appear to be heard) the verdict of his execution as a careful prayer-booker who fears to appear for prayer. Therefore, whoever is wise and attentive, by the action of this one memory can turn himself away from vexation, and from anger, and from care, which does not give rest, and from sorrow, and from satiety, and from every sinful thought. Il. Whoever has acquired the skill of praying, through the act of fear alone—to appear before God in prayer guilty of something—gets rid of many sins, the opportunity for which presents itself every day and hour. Af. The condemned man is not as afraid to hear the verdict of his execution and the death that awaits him, as a zealous and reverent man of prayer is afraid of the hour when he has to appear before God in prayer. Therefore, a reasonable person, remembering this, does all his deeds with all caution and fear, fearing that God, when he appears before Him in prayer, will condemn him as a Pharisee; and tries in every possible way to avoid anger, and condemnation, and getting bogged down in worries, and excessively satiating the belly, and being carried away by any unclean and sinful thoughts. 31) Prepare yourself with inner prayer in your soul to stand at your prayer (prayer rule) - and you will soon succeed. I saw those shining with obedience (diligently undergoing obedience), and at the same time not neglecting, as much as they had the strength, to remember God with their minds; who, as soon as they stood up to pray, immediately took possession of their minds (gathering within themselves) and began to shed tears in streams, because they were prepared by holy obedience. Il. Before you begin to pray, tune your mind to prayer, and you will soon succeed in prayer if you always do this. Af. Before you go to prayer, learn to pray as you should within yourself. Try also to keep your mind always collected, and whatever you do, remember that you are before God. So you will soon learn to have your heart turned to God alone at the hour of prayer, and with the help of God’s grace and heavenly enlightenment, you will succeed in it, according to your labor and diligence. – I saw some who diligently completed the obediences assigned to them, and at the same time tried, as much as they could, to remember God; therefore, when they stood up to pray, they immediately conquered their uncontrollable mind, and kept it concentrated within themselves; at the same time, their hearts opened with great tenderness, and tears began to flow from their eyes like streams. This gift was granted to them by their kind and diligent obedience, and the pure prayerful thought that they had previously planted in their minds and souls. 32) Psalmody with others is accompanied by captivity and soaring; and solitary - not so much. But despondency attacks this, and the zeal (of others) contributes to this. Af. Those who sing psalms together with other brethren are promoted by zeal, aroused by example and the reluctance to appear weaker than others; but for this reason it happens that the mind becomes plundered, becomes vain and wanders here and there, and other similar things. But when someone sings the psalms alone, he is tempted only by the fact that despondency and boredom with the rule attacks him, forcing him to either complete it hastily, or completely abandon it, under the influence of the fact that he seems to be worn out and cannot sing alone for a long time. 33) The love of a warrior for the king shows war (how he fights), and the love of a monk for God reveals the time of prayer and the presence of it (how long he stands in prayer and how fervently he prays). 34) Your state (spiritual dispensation) will be shown to you by your prayer: for theologians called it the mirror of a monk. Af. Your prayer will reveal your state of mind, what it is; for the teachers of our church say that the mirror of a monk is his prayer, and it reveals whether he is good or bad. Just as a mirror shows a beautiful or ugly face, so prayer shows whether a monk is zealous or careless towards God. A zealous and reverent person immediately abandons all his affairs as soon as the hour of prayer comes, and runs to pray, as it is the most pleasant, joyful thing for him, and prays all the time with all his soul, but the unzealous and irreverent, if he comes or stands for prayer, he prays with great difficulty and reluctance, more with his body than with his soul. 35) Whoever does any work and continues to do it when the hour of prayer finds him doing it, he is mocked by demons; for that is the goal of these thieves, to steal from us one hour another. Af. Whoever, when the hour of prayer comes, does not leave his work and every task he is doing unfinished when he is caught, and does not run to prayer, remains to finish it in order to pray later, he is clearly ridiculed by demons: for the purpose of these is to laugh at us, teaching us to transfer the matter from a favorable time to an unfavorable one, and thereby disturb the order of our life, and with them the soul, and in relation to prayer also so that when the hour of prayer has passed, and in the meantime we are tired of work, prayer will be completely abandoned, or if we begin to pray, we will rush to do it somehow, with confusion of mind, fluently reading what is laid down without attention, feeling and tenderness. 36) Do not refuse to pray for the soul of another, although you have not acquired prayer (strong and effective); for often the faith of the one asking (to pray) saves the one who begins to pray for him with contrition. Af. If someone asks you to pray for his soul, then, even though you have neither virtue nor pure prayer, for all that, and seeing your unworthiness, do not refuse to pray for him; because for the sake of the one who humbles himself and asks you to pray for him, the salvation of both of you can be arranged: the one who asks for prayer, for his faith, and you, if you pray for him, for your heartfelt contrition. 37) Do not be proud when you pray for others and are heard: because it was the faith of those who acted and took strength. Af. See that when you pray for others you are heard, do not attribute the success of the prayer to yourself, and do not be proud that God heard you because you are good, but keep it in your heart that the faith of those who asked you to pray interceded with God and He heard you in His great mercy, although you yourself were unworthy of it. 38) Every youth is tested every day without fail in all wisdom, as he learned from his mentor: it is required of every mind that in every prayer he demonstrate the power that he has received from God. For this reason it is appropriate to pay attention. Il. Every student, he says, reports to his teacher every day how he learned the lesson taught to him. Thus, in any prayer, the mind is required to have the same strength that it received from God for prayer. Therefore, we must pay attention, lest our prayer be careless when we can pray properly. Af. Every teacher and master tests the children whom he teaches literacy or art to see whether they have learned a given lesson well, or done the assigned work, and encourages them every day to move forward in order to later become teachers or perfect masters themselves. Likewise, each of us needs to test ourselves in all virtues, especially in prayer, what success we have in them, and whether we are moving forward in them towards perfection. For we have a heavenly Teacher, who teaches us every good thing and enlightens our minds to do it. And there will be a time when He will test us and demand an account of all the subjects of His teaching. Therefore, in order not to be disgraced then, we must now test ourselves to see if we are correct in everything, and if we find ourselves faulty in some way, try to get better. Let us especially take care of prayer, trying in every possible way to do it as it should, remembering in it the great blessings and good deeds of God to us, contrite with a grateful heart if we have sinned in any way and with tears asking forgiveness for that, so as not to be condemned in court and handed over to eternal torment. 38b) When you pray soberly, you will soon struggle with anger; for this is the goal (types, custom) of our enemies. Af. When we pray with all our mind and heart and all our strength, then evil demons will begin to fight us in order to plunge us into anger and rage as soon as possible, to bring us to the point where we say or do something inappropriate, and thereby lose the opportunity and even the desire to pray with the same fervor and reverence, for fear of meeting again the same strong temptation. 39) We will always perform every virtue, especially prayer, with much feeling (from the soul and heart). The soul will then begin to pray in feeling when it rises above anger. Af. Let us do every good deed, especially pray with all our souls and with all our hearts, so that they may be worthy of their name and attract God’s favor. A soul that has overcome anger usually prays with all its heart, but if it is still overcome by anger, then its prayer is not as good as it should be and does not bear real fruit. Mn. He who succeeds in life according to God gets rid of anger and does not hold any hostility towards his neighbor in his heart. 40) What is acquired through many prayers and over many years is durable. Af. What is acquired over a long period of time through great labor and prayer is firm, bearable, durable and will remain with us until our very end. 41) He who has acquired the Lord (having the Lord living in him) will no longer himself lead the words in prayer; for in this case “the Spirit intercedes for him in him with groanings that cannot be uttered” (Rom. 8:26). Af. The one within whose abode God has built for himself has no need to invent and come up with prayer words; for then God Himself, the all-powerful, all-merciful, will enlighten his mind, let it speak in prayer, and inflame his heart, let it pour out in feelings of tearful tenderness, and move his soul to unutterable sighs from strong desires and deep pains. Mn. Then, he says, the mind, by the grace of God, soars to the One who gives prayer to the one praying, and being inspired by Him, does not care about the words that he should pronounce in his prayer: it then comes from his heart, pouring out without words in fiery feelings of reverence, devotion and love. 42) Do not engage in any sensual daydreaming during prayer, so as not to be subjected to a frenzy. Af. Be careful not to accept any extraneous thoughts or dreams during prayer, do not listen to speeches that seem to be addressed to you and do not respond to them, especially when they relate in any way to faith. Only look to God with all your desire, begging Him, so that He will not allow your mind to deviate from the truth, or to fall into any error that damages your faith, or into any destructive heresy, and thereby lose the grace and gift of right faith, which requires that we believe the word of God as in no way true, and keep it unchanged, according to the Holy Fathers of our Church. Mn. When praying, he says, do not liken the divine to any sensory thing, so as not to deviate from the rightness of belief and confession. NВ. But it seems that this paragraph speaks of ghosts that appear to the senses during prayer - images, sounds, lights that come from the enemy. Others, believing them, went crazy. 43) A certificate of hearing the petition during prayer appears in the soul. Certification is the removal of all doubt; A certificate is an implicit, clear indication (not allowing bewilderment and hesitation). Af. A person must believe that, standing in prayer with the fear of God and all goodness, he will receive from God what is required for the good of his soul, that God accepts his words and heeds his request, favoring the loving aspiration of his heart towards Him. A sign of a pure and sincerely believing heart is when a person is free from every slightest flicker of unbelief, and believes purely, contemplating what is believed with the eye of the mind, as with the eye of the body he sees things in front of him in the light of the sun. 44) Be merciful and be very diligent in prayer: for (for this) the monks in it (in prayer) “will receive a hundredfold” (Matthew 19:29): the following (for this in the Gospel: “and they will inherit eternal life,” they will receive) in the next (century). Il. If, he says, you perfect your prayer, then you will receive a hundredfold the gifts from it, and in the next century you will inherit an eternal life. Af. You, who love that your prayer be pleasing to God, do alms yourself according to your strength; because for it the merciful monks here will receive from others a hundredfold alms, and from God a thousandfold help and all kinds of gifts, and in the next century, trefold eternal blessings and the kingdom of heaven, according to their labors, as the Gospel says: they will receive a hundredfold now in this time and eternal life and the kingdom of heaven will inherit (Luke 18:30; Mark 10:30). Mn. You have closed your womb for good; I will also shut up My bosom to have mercy on you on the day of retribution. Also: do a good deed to a pious person, and you will receive reward. Also: Why do you cry while praying, when you yourself see the tears of the poor and do not show him mercy? 45) Having found fire in the heart, it resurrects prayer, and after it has risen and ascended to heaven, there is a descent of fire into the upper room of the soul. Il. Divine desire, having entered, he says, into the human heart, arouses prayer in it; when this prayer ascends to heaven, then the descent of the Holy Spirit occurs on the one praying, as it was on the Holy Apostles. Af. When the fire of divine desire and divine love ignites the heart, then the soul is aroused to prayer and lifts it in pure thought to heaven, from where the grace of the All-Holy Spirit then descends into the upper room of the soul and illuminates its mind and heart, purifies them and makes them powerful, as it was in the Apostles. Mn. Here he calls fire the divine desire, which, aroused in the heart, elevates the mind to heaven. Then, finally, into such an upper room of the soul, higher than all earthly wisdom, there is an invisible descent of the Divine Spirit, which was on the Apostles with visible signs. 46) Some say that prayer is better than mortal memory; I glorify two natures in one person. Il. Some say that it is better to pray than to have mortal memory in oneself; But I, says the father, as in the one Christ our Savior, I honor two natures - divinity and humanity, so I put these two - prayer and mortal memory - in one order, or put them on the same line. Af. Some say that prayer gives greater tenderness and reverence than remembrance of death, but I inseparably praise and honor both of them, just as I glorify and honor the two natures in Christ, divinity and humanity, inseparably and inextricably united; for both of them together lead the soul to one grace and holiness. Mn. Both have an equally beneficial effect on the soul, filling it with divine tenderness. 47) A vigorous horse usually gets hotter as it travels and speeds up its pace. By running I mean singing, and by horse I mean a courageous mind. Such a one senses warfare from afar, and having prepared himself (for it in advance), the rest remains completely invincible. Il. In fact, he calls the mind and prayer a horse, suggesting that just like a horse, sensing an enemy from afar, becomes irritated, so the mind needs to, cheerfully approaching prayer and diligently performing it, courageously and with great enthusiasm arm itself against passionate thoughts, and not allowing them to approach itself. Af. A good horse, having started to run, warms up, and the more it runs, the more it flares up and increases its speed. Running is prayer, and the horse is a courageous mind, which the more it sings and prays, the more the soul inside is ignited by divine influence, and is clothed with strength to overcome all temptations and all obstacles, no matter what the enemy may put in its path, which it then meets being ready and armed, and overcomes, trampling on the enemy and destroying all his machinations, like a spider’s net. 48) It is cruel to take water from the lips of a thirsty person; but it is even more cruel for the soul, praying with tenderness, to tear itself away from the long-desired task before its end. Af. It is great unmercifulness and cruelty to tear water from the lips of a thirsty person, not allowing him to quench the thirst that torments him; but an even more unmerciful and cruel thing is to tear away a tender and God-loving soul from the much-desired presence in prayer, before finishing it, and before quenching the thirst of the soul. 49) Do not turn away (from prayer) until you see the fire and water (warmth of the heart and tears) exhausted in the economy: for perhaps throughout your entire life you will not have such time to receive remission of sins. Il. He says, don’t interfere with your prayer until you see that the burning of your heart has subsided and the water of your tears has dried up; for in your entire life you will not find, perhaps, such a time to forgive your sins. Af. Do not retreat from tender prayer until the flame burning in your heart ceases and the tears are exhausted; for it may happen that in your entire life you will never again encounter such a good time to wash away your sins. It happens that God many times restrains them - the burning of the heart and tears - for your good, so that you do not become proud of such a God-moving deed that happens within you, but you yourself never dare to dissipate yourself and cool down. Mn. Do not leave prayer until the God-given tears and the fire of tenderness cease on their own - according to the economy, so that you do not ascend; for you don’t know that maybe you will never have such a strong intercession at another time. 50) He who has tasted prayer often defiles the mind with one erupted word, and when he begins to pray he no longer finds what he desires, as usual. Il. One word often defiles the mind, either for the sake of obscenity, or for the sake of self-praise, or for the sake of condemnation. Af. He who has tasted and known the sweetness of prayer often, with one word that came from his lips through inattention, or heard from others by chance, so defiles his mind that he can no longer, and is not vouchsafed, to present it in prayer as a whole, and to keep it pure, or to reach the former tenderness and tears, or to receive the desired taste of the divine, as was usually the case. 51) It is another thing to watch over the heart more often, and another to be a bishop in the heart with the mind, as a ruler and bishop who brings verbal sacrifices to Christ. Il. The mind is called a ruler when it keeps the bodily senses in order and teaches goodness; but as a bishop and bishop, when he brings both his inner thoughts and feelings to God pure and immaculate. Af. It is another matter for the mind to guard the heart, just as another gentleman guards his village and estate, not allowing evil desires into it, but driving out and destroying those who enter; and another is to consecrate it and, like a bishop, sacrifice it to God with all its movements. This latter is higher and holier: for dedicating all your actions and undertakings to God is more valuable in the eyes of God than rejecting only bad thoughts, desires and deeds. Mn. Another thing is to know oneself and examine oneself; it is another to be a bishop and ruler of the passions. The latter is higher than the former. Also: The mind is a ruler when everything in itself and around itself, such as mental forces and bodily feelings, keeps in order and controls properly; and as a bishop - when, through prayer, he brings pure and immaculate thoughts and feelings to the divine altar. Also, it is the job of the ruler to oversee what is outside, and the job of the bishop is to oversee both what is outside and what is inside. 51b) Some, as one of those who received the nickname from theology says, the holy and heavenly fire that descends burns out, due to the insufficient purification in them, and enlightens others, due to their achievement of a measure of perfection. The same fire is called both consuming (purifying) and enlightening. Why do others, starting from prayer, come out of a fiery furnace, feeling relief from filth and materiality; (and others come) as if from (the region of) light, enlightened, clothed in a double robe of humility and joy. Those who come from prayer, without either of these two actions, prayed physically, not to say Jewishly, and not spiritually. Af. On those, as Gregory the Theologian says, whose mind stands as a ruler and protects their hearts from all evil, so as not to tempt them, the Holy Spirit descends like heavenly fire, burning their passions, cleansing their impurities and delivering them from the violence that they suffer from sinful attractions. And those whose mind is awake and sober, like a bishop, sanctifying and sacrificing to God the heart with all its good movements, divine grace enlightens as pure, makes luminous, as perfect, and powerful, as worthy to be leaders in the heirloom of God, more and more successful in love for the Master of the House. These are thus the throne and dwelling, everlasting and abundant, of the great King of heaven. And let us not be surprised at the manifestation of such actions: for Scripture calls God a consuming fire (Deut. 4:24) and one who consumes evil, and a light illuminating virtue, and one who rejoices the soul. Why is it that others, when they come from prayer, feel that at this hour, by the grace of God, their hearts were washed as in a bathhouse, cleansed and relieved of passions: for these, God is, as we said, a consuming fire. And others come from prayer, as if from some kind of illumination of them with light, enlightened, illuminated and clothed in great humility and spiritual joy, as if Christ Himself, their Lord, had put on them at this hour his royal tunic. Those who come from prayer, without experiencing any of these actions, prayed only in the body, and not in their soul: these are more likely to be infidel Jews than good Christians. 52) If a body, touching a body, changes under its influence, then how can one who touches the body of God with clean hands not change? Il. If someone who takes a human hand with his hand suddenly becomes completely different due to the influence of Satan, then how can one who touches the body of God with clean hands not change? Af. If, when one body approaches another and touches it, its calm state changes into intense love; then how is it possible that the one who, after approaching God in fiery prayer, after many genuflections, after an outpouring of sincere thanksgiving and praise, does not miraculously change, is not purified and enlightened, stretches out his hands and with them embraces and receives the most pure body of the Lord: he partakes of Him and His most pure blood, in the wonderful sacrament of the Eucharist? This can only happen to someone who unworthily approaches this sacrament, like Judas the traitor, who held evil in his heart at the Last Supper. 53) It can be seen that, like the king of the earth, our all-good King, sometimes Himself, sometimes through a friend, sometimes through a slave, and sometimes in an unknown way, distributes his gifts to his soldiers - all, however, depending on the clothing of the humility inherent in us. Af. Looking at how the earthly king distributes gifts to his servants, soldiers and commanders, we can also make inferences about how God gives his gifts to his servants. For just as he sometimes gives a gift with his own hands, sometimes he sends it through a friend, sometimes through a slave, sometimes disguised as not to be recognized, he gives his gift in secret ways; so the heavenly and eternal King, in many wondrous ways and influences, honors and enriches his warriors - monks, especially those whom he sees clothed in the honorable clothing of humility. 54) Just as the king of the earth is disgusted by the one who, standing before him, turns his face away from him and speaks with his enemies - his ruler: so the Lord is disgusted by those who stand before Him in prayer and accept unclean thoughts. Af. How a temporary king is angry with those who stand before him to talk with him, and meanwhile, without fear, they turn their faces away from him, enter into conversation with his enemies, laugh with them and laugh; So our eternal King hates the one who, standing before Him in prayer, turns his mind and heart to His enemies, evil thoughts, feelings and desires, and talks with them inside noisily about indecent deeds and things, and is also vain and proud of this. 55) Drive a suitable dog with a weapon; and no matter how shameless he is, do not give in to him. Il. He calls a demon who wants to interfere with our prayer a dog. It must be driven out with the weapon of the honorable cross and prayer; and no matter how many times he approaches with shamelessness, strike him with prayer, doing it, despite his machinations. Af. Keep your mind kindly at every hour, especially during your prayer, and when you see this impudent dog approaching - a demon who creeps up with the crafty intention of stealing your mind and your heart from God and luring the Hindus away, drive him away without pity and do not allow him to approach you, so that he does not deceive you; and no matter how many times he approaches, do not cease to confront him and drive him away. Stand courageously and do not give him room under any circumstances, do not listen to him and do not allow him to entertain you in the least. Mn. Here he calls a dog a demon who attempts, under some pretext, to lure the mind away from prayer: it must be driven away by prayer against it to God. 56) Ask with weeping, seek with obedience: push with patience, for in this way “the one who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and the door is opened to the one who asks” (Matthew 7:8). Af. Ask for God's help with tears, seek it with obedience, and push through the door of the Lord's mercy with patience and waiting. Thus is fulfilled what the Lord promised: “If you ask, he will receive,” and so on. 57) Be careful, no matter what happens, to pray in your prayer for women; so as not to be otherwise robbed by your gums. Il. For a woman, he says, do not say a prayer, so that in this, of course, good deed, the enemy does not rob you. Af. Beware of praying for any beautiful woman, the memory of whom produces an alarming movement in your blood, so that the enemy does not lead you to unclean thoughts, and through them to lust; so that if you want to do good, you yourself are in danger of falling into evil. Why jump away from this thought, as if from a demonic net that the enemy began to spread before you, so that you can then laugh at the inexperienced doer of good - the prayer book. 58) Do not expose your carnal deeds in detail as they were, so as not to become a slanderer to yourself. Af. When in your prayer you beg God for forgiveness, do not confess your carnal sins in detail with all the circumstances, as you did; How not to disturb sinful lust with such a memory and become a traitor to oneself, defiling oneself with a revival of bad desires. Mn. Note that you should not expose your shameful deeds in detail in your prayer. 59) Let the time of prayer not be for you an hour of consideration of necessary things, at least spiritual ones: otherwise, you yourself will every time ruin your best. Af. When you pray, do not go into reasoning about anything, not even about scriptures and other spiritual subjects, otherwise you will destroy the best fruit and lose the most important. Therefore, it is necessary for you at that hour to keep your mind completely collected within yourself, and whatever the words spoken by your tongue say, talk within to God with your mind without any other extraneous thoughts. For a thought directed towards God and attached to Him is the most wondrous, the most precious and the most necessary of all the good thoughts that ever visit your mind. Is it therefore appropriate to prefer any of them in your prayer to this, the only thought God needs, over the upcoming thought? Leave everything else and keep her alone. 60) He who constantly holds the rod of prayer will not stumble, and if this happened, he will not fall in the end: because prayer is a pious impulse of God (to help). Af. Whoever always holds the staff of prayer to lean on, his soul will not be stumbled. If she happens to stumble and fall into some kind of sin, she will not end up falling, or falling to death; because prayer can again immediately support her and set her straight on her feet. Prayer is some great, sweet and beloved compulsion of God, standing before Him and forcing Him to show mercy to the repentant soul, so that, like the many-compassionate Father, he will flow with open arms with joy to receive the prodigal son, and to his inexpressible joy, rest him on his chest. 61) Let us conclude about the benefits of prayer from the demonic hesitations that occur during church services, and about its fruit - from victory over the enemy. “In this knowledge,” says the Psalmist, “because you have desired me, because in the time of battle my enemy will not rejoice over me” (Ps. 40:12). Af. We can understand the benefit of prayer from the obstacles that demons erect for us during the hours of worship, before we go to church - so as not to allow us to gather before the face of God - the Judge, to cry out against them, and to overcome them with our prayer, to defeat and torment them. If prayer were not pleasing to God and useful for us, demons would not try so hard to make it difficult for us to go to church, and in every possible way to prevent us from praying as we should, in church, externally through the eyes and ears, and internally through the stimulation of thoughts. We can know the fruit of prayer from the love that God shows us, filling us with joy when we pray to Him with all our hearts, and delighting us with victory over our enemies; when we see how, through the power of prayer, our enemies - demons - are defeated and run away from us, along with their offspring - passions and vicious thoughts. Seeing such a covering of God, such God's grace and power acting in us through prayer, the soul rejoices, but the enemies grieve and are tormented, as St. David: from the fact that You did not abandon me, Lord, in the hour of my prayerful battle, and did not allow my enemy to defeat me and rejoice over me as he wanted, I know that You love me, watch over me and keep me as Your servant and friend. 61b) “I cried,” says the Psalmist, “with all my heart” (Ps. 119:145), that is, with body, soul, and spirit; for where the last two are gathered, there is God in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20). Af. In church it is sung: “I cried out with all my heart,” that is, with my lips, soul and mind, to God, the most merciful, and He heard me and delivered my soul from hell. And the Lord says in the Gospel: where two or three gather in His name, out of love for Him, there I am with them in the midst of them. And so that prayer, in which the soul and mind are combined in reverence, contrition and tenderness, is truly inherent in God Himself, who gives it effective power. 62) Both the physical and the spiritual are not all the same for everyone (and for everyone). Haste in psalmody is more suitable for some, and slowness for others: for they say that they are fighting against captivity, and these - against lack of training. Af. Both physical strength and mental gifts are not the same and equal for everyone. As in relation to the physical, one wants one thing, and another another; This also happens in relation to the soul. Therefore, in psalmody, some like to sing quickly, while others like to sing slowly. Those who sing quickly say that they do this so that when they are slow, their mind will not be captivated and plundered by other thoughts. And those who sing slowly say that they are doing something in order to better understand what they are reading and not make mistakes, because they have not yet learned properly and are not skilled in reading. However, one must balance both with reasoning, taking into account time and other matters. 63) If you continually cry out to the King against your enemies when they approach you; then go ahead, you won’t work for long. For they themselves will soon retreat from you, because these indecent ones will not want to see you receive a crown for fighting them with prayer; but, in addition, they will flee, scourged by prayer as if by fire. Af. If you persistently beg the heavenly king to protect you from your enemies when they surround you with temptations; then have trustworthy boldness towards Him: you will not have to work for a long time to drive them away. They themselves will soon run away from you: for they have come to prevent you from praying and, having tired you with an attack and exhausted your courage and patience, force you to stop praying: but seeing that you firmly resist them and fight without sparing yourself, and knowing that for this you will receive the most red crown, the more you remain in the courageous struggle, they will immediately run away, reluctantly, out of envy, to deliver crowns for you with their battles. So and therefore they will run away; especially because they cannot bear the flame of prayer, which burns them like fire and burns more painfully than the fire of hell. 64) Acquire all kinds of courage, and you will have God as a teacher in your prayer. Seeing with your eyes cannot be learned from words: it comes naturally. And the beauty of prayer (cannot be seen) by the interpretation of another - it itself has God as its mentor, who teaches man reason, gives prayer to the one who prays, and blesses the lives of the righteous (1 Samuel 2:9). Il. Acquire courage, that is, great diligence and diligence in prayer, and you will be worthy to have God as your mentor in it. Af. Force yourself to always stand in prayer with zeal, patience and courage, and you will achieve the point that God Himself will strengthen and teach you in it. Like the eye, it has a natural ability to look and see, and does not require verbal instruction for this; so when a good soul rushes to God in its prayer, He naturally enlightens it and teaches it to stand in prayer before Him with fear and love. And with words, no one can let another know the beauty of prayer, nor interpret the way in which the Lord Himself guides the soul to remain with Him. For He is the One who teaches man understanding. He clothes the mind with enlightenment and puts good aspirations in the heart. He blesses with long life every good servant of His who prays to Him with faith and warm desire. This is truly how it is, this is what Scripture teaches us, and experience shows us everywhere. Mn. It is not a teacher, he says, that you need for prayer: but your own zeal for it, for the sake of which God Himself will be your mentor in prayer. To the one who prays patiently and earnestly, God, through His immediate enlightenment, teaches prayer and delivers his mind from wandering and his heart from captivity. In the same place, St. Maximus: He who sincerely loves God prays without distraction, and he who prays without distraction sincerely loves God. One whose soul is attached to earthly things cannot pray unentertained. Therefore, one whose mind is bound by attachments to human things does not love God. In the same place St. Nile: Prayer is the ascension of the mind to God. Attention that seeks prayer finds prayer, for attention will naturally be followed by prayer. Let all our concern be about this. 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: