О непрестанной молитве

Pray without ceasing. (1 Thess. 5:17) 1. The skill of the Jesus Prayer is a means, not the essence of the matter. The Jesus Prayer is not unceasing prayer, but only an aid to it The desire to learn the Jesus Prayer came. God bless! But doing the Jesus Prayer is not unceasing prayer, but only an aid to it... Unceasing prayer is a gift of grace... and we must pray for this: Lord, grant me to pray to You unceasingly! This prayer does not consist of words, but of a persistent feeling for God. This feeling must be taken care of and warmed up. (15, p. 111) Whoever stops at just the Jesus Prayer stops halfway They say: “Acquire the Jesus Prayer,” that is, the inner prayer. The Jesus Prayer is a good means of internal prayer, but in itself it is not internal, but external prayer. Those who get used to it do it very well. But if they stop at one point and don’t go further, then they stop halfway... When praying with the Jesus Prayer, contemplation of God is still necessary: ​​otherwise it is dry food. It’s good for those who have the name of Jesus stuck on their tongue. But at the same time, you can not remember the Lord at all and even hold thoughts that are contrary to Him. Consequently, everything depends on a conscious and free turn to God and the work of maintaining oneself in this with reasoning. (11, p. 19) It's not a matter of words, but of faith and feeling Doing the Jesus Prayer is simple: become attentive in your heart before the face of the Lord and cry out to Him: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me! It’s not a matter of words, but of faith, contrition and surrender to the Lord. With these feelings you can stand before the Lord without words... and this will be prayer. (11, p. 224) It happens that there is the Jesus Prayer, and there is warmth, but there is no real prayer The skill of prayer is not formed suddenly... but requires long work and dedication. It is in this work of developing the skill of prayer that the Jesus Prayer and the warmth that accompanies it help best. Note [...] that they are means, and not the thing itself. Perhaps there is the Jesus Prayer, and there is warmth, but there is no real prayer. Strange as it may seem, this happens! (12, p. 63) Not everyone who has the skill for the Jesus Prayer eats its fruits Great is the power of this prayer, according to the image of St. fathers; and yet in reality we see that not everyone who has the skill to use it participates in this power, not everyone eats its fruits. Why is this? Because they themselves want to take it into your possession that which belongs to the gift of God and is the work of the grace of the Lord. Starting to repeat this prayer in the morning, in the evening, walking and lying down, at work and at leisure is our business: this does not require special help from God. Working in the same order, you yourself can reach the point that the tongue, even without our consciousness, will continue to repeat this prayer. This may be followed by a certain pacification of thoughts, and even a kind of warmth of the heart: but all this will be, as the monk Nikifor notes in the Philokalia, the work and fruit of our efforts. To stop there is the same as to be satisfied with the parrot’s ability to pronounce well-known words, even such as “Lord have mercy.” The fruit of this is this: you will think that you have, when you have absolutely nothing. This is what happens to those who, while becoming accustomed to this prayer, since it depends on us, do not reveal the consciousness of what its essence is. (23, p. 167) The essence of the matter is to be established in the memory of God The essence of the matter is “to be established in the memory of God or to walk in the presence of God.” You can say to anyone: “Whatever you want, just get to the point... Whether it’s to say the Jesus Prayer... whether to bow down, or go to church... Do whatever you want, just get to the point of always being in the memory of God.” I remember in Kyiv I met a man who said: I didn’t use any techniques and didn’t know the Jesus Prayer, but everything that is written here was and is. But how, I don’t know myself. God gave! This - what God has given or will give - must be kept for the purpose, and so as not to confuse self-made work with the gift of grace. (11, pp. 17–18) The skill of the Jesus Prayer must be with the thought of the Lord Get used to saying the Jesus Prayer so that it sticks on your tongue, but always with the thought of the Lord. If at the same time you sigh from your heart to the Lord, it will be mental prayer, and not the words of the Jesus Prayer. (12, p. 58) Others forget about crying from the heart and are empty of grace I say against this that others completely forget about crying out from the heart... Their whole concern is about the words and the position of the body, and, having read a certain number of Jesus prayers with bows in this position, they rest on this, with a certain conceit and condemnation of those who go to church for the general statutory prayer. Others live like this all their lives and are empty of grace. (15, pp. 189–190) Just repeating the words of the Jesus Prayer means nothing The Jesus Prayer is not some kind of talisman. Its strength comes from faith in the Lord and a deep combination of heart and mind with Him. With such dispositions, the invoked name of the Lord turns out to be multi-effective. Just repeating words doesn't mean anything. (30, p. 133) 2. What is unceasing prayer? A prayer that prays itself We all pray; but there is prayer, which prays itself and draws the entire inner man after itself. Whoever experiences this knows only that there is prayer. (23, p. 18) She is from grace and a clear conscience There is a prayer that a person himself says; and there is prayer that God gives to the one who prays (1 Samuel 2:9)... First, when someone approaches the Lord, the first thing is prayer. He begins to go to church and pray at home, with or without prayer books. But my thoughts are all running away. There's no way to deal with them. However, the more you work in prayer, the more your thoughts calm down and calm down, and your prayer becomes purer. However, the atmosphere of the soul is not purified until the spiritual flame in the soul is lit. This light is a work of God’s grace, but not special, but common to all. It appears due to a certain measure of purity in the entire moral structure of the person seeking. When this flame warms up or a constant warmth forms in the heart, then the seething of thoughts stops. What happens to a soul is that which bleeds: a flow of blood flows from it (Luke 8:44). In this state, prayer, more or less, approaches incessant prayer. Its mediator is the Jesus Prayer. And this is the limit to which a prayer performed by a person himself can reach! (14, p. 240) Deep prayer, unceasing prayer and other manifestations of prayerful grace are all from grace... Ours is feasible, but diligent and constant work. The prayer sought is grace. The time will come, and it will be given. You just need to not be lazy, search diligently and use everything possible. But the main thing is a clear conscience. For the grace of prayer is the grace of sincere communication with God. Nothing unclean can come into fellowship with God. (15, p. 35) She is a feeling for God that never goes away, that has no need for words. Have you heard that there is unceasing prayer? Desire and seek. You will search and you will find. You already have the germs of it: this feeling for God, which happens from time to time. You had it in force; but you allowed him to grow cold. And it comes from time to time. Try to make this feeling permanent - and it will be an unceasing prayer... Help you, Lord, to find such a feeling for Him, Then all mistakes, lethargy and laziness will end!!! (11, p. 212) The feeling that the soul is drawn to the Lord is secret prayer, and it alone can replace prayers... For this is unceasing prayer! (13, p. 238) Sobriety must be continuous, just as prayer is unceasing. Both will take root in the soul when a feeling for God is established in the heart - warm, sweet, and reverent, imbued with the fear of God (13, p. 242) The mind, standing in the heart, sees God and intelligently confesses to Him by calling upon Him... Feeling for God is unceasing prayer without words. (15, p. 221) May the Lord grant you unceasing heartfelt prayer, which does not need words, but stands on its own, is pleasing to God, and is fruitful for the soul. (13, p. 244) Holy Scripture commands to pray without ceasing Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). And in other letters of St. Paul commands to continue (Rom.12:12) and endure in prayer, to be watchful in it (Col.4:2), to pray with all prayer and supplication at all times in the Spirit (Eph.6:18). The Savior Himself teaches constancy and persistence in prayer with the parable of the widow who persistently begged an unjust judge (Luke 18:1ff). It is clear that unceasing prayer is not an accidental prescription, but an integral feature of the Christian spirit. The life of a Christian, according to the Apostle, is hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). He must constantly remain in God with attention and feeling, which is unceasing prayer. On the other hand, every Christian is the church of God, in which the Spirit of God lives (1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; Rom. 8:9). This Spirit, always abiding and interceding in him, always prays for him with groanings that cannot be uttered (Rom. 8:26), teaching him unceasing prayer. The very first effect of God's grace, turning a sinner to God, is revealed by the aspiration of his mind and heart to God. When later, after repentance and dedication of one’s life to God, the grace of God, acting from without, descends into him through the Sacraments and remains in him, then that aspiration of the mind and heart to God, in which the essence of prayer, becomes unchangeable and everlasting in him. It is found in different degrees and, like any other gift, must be rekindled (2 Tim. 1:6). It is warmed by its kind: by prayerful labor and especially by patient and purposeful stay in church prayers. (38, pp. 218–219) 3. The main event of unceasing prayer is the connection of the mind with the heart The main thing is to become your mind in your heart before the Lord and stand before Him relentlessly, day and night, until the end of your life. (10, p. 58) The secret of spiritual life is to “focus the mind in the heart” How do we understand the expression “focus the mind in the heart?” The mind is where the attention is. To concentrate it in the heart means to establish attention in the heart and intelligently contemplate before oneself the inherent invisible God, turning to Him with praise, thanksgiving and petition, making sure that nothing extraneous enters the heart. Here is the whole secret of spiritual life. (14, pp. 61–62) Do not forget the main thing - to combine your attention and mind with your heart and always be there before the face of the Lord. All prayer efforts should be directed towards this. Pray to the Lord to grant you this blessing. This is a treasure hidden in the village; These are valuable beads. (7, p. 359) The essence of Christian life is to become the mind in the heart before God and from there manage everything in oneself The essence of Christian life is to become the mind in the heart before God in the Lord Jesus Christ, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and, from there, controlling all internal movements and all external actions, turning everything in oneself, both small and great, into the service of the Trinitarian God, surrendering to Him entirely with consciousness and freedom. (30, pp. 21–22) The law of spiritual life: keep your heart in feeling and you will always be in the memory of God When attention descends into the heart, it will attract all the forces of soul and body there to one point... At first, attention is held in the heart by the tension of the will; by its force, attention generates warmth in the heart. This warmth then holds attention without much strain. They then support each other and must remain inseparable, because distraction of attention cools warmth, and diminishing warmth weakens attention. Hence the law of spiritual life: keep your heart in feeling towards God, you will always be in the memory of God. (12, pp. 64–65) The main thing is to keep attention from the Lord; this is the same as affirming the memory of God in the heart. (14, p. 70) Those who wish to establish themselves in a single thought about God are commanded to leave their heads and descend with their minds into their hearts, and stand there with undiminished attention. Only when the mind is combined with the heart can one expect success in the memory of God. (7, p. 326) The constant memory of God is kept in the heart if there is a connection between the mind and the heart Having devoted ourselves entirely to the vigilant care of God, we must humbly and complacently endure this work for the sake of true good, which is given to the zealous prayer book from God in his own time, when God, by His grace, sets limits to our mind and sets it motionless with the memory of God in the heart. When such a state of mind becomes something natural and permanent, it is called by the fathers the union of the mind with the heart; with such a structure, the mind no longer has a desire to be outside the heart; on the contrary, if due to some circumstances or a lot of conversation it is kept out of the heart’s attention, then it has an uncontrollable desire to return inside itself again with some kind of spiritual thirst and, with new zeal, to begin building its inner home again. (15, pp. 227–228) The secret of spiritual life: you cannot become in the heart without painful quests Whether it happens for a long time or for a short time depends on the grace of God: some years, some tens of years, he spends working until he has time to become in his heart and receive what he is looking for, because, with all the work and searching, that system is not achieved through our efforts alone. The Lord gives it, but does not give it without searching and effort. He sees the diligent search, and the painful work, and the languor of the thirsty heart - he takes pity and gives the desired good. Why He does this, He alone knows: only without this painful quest no one reaches that normal order. This is the secret of spiritual life... You cannot enter into the treasury of God without experiencing the fidelity of the person being introduced. (30, pp. 22–23) Three powers of the soul are needed for unceasing prayer The brother said: What should I do, Father, so that my mind can be constantly occupied with God? The elder answered: the mind cannot be constantly occupied with God if it does not first acquire the following three virtues: love, abstinence and prayer. Love tames anger, abstinence extinguishes lust, and prayer removes the mind from all earthly thoughts and, naked from everything, presents it to God. These three virtues embrace all the others, and without them it is impossible to continuously abide in God. (28, pp. 72–73) Let there be the Jesus Prayer on your tongue, in your mind - contemplation of the Lord before you, in your heart - a thirst for God, or for communication with the Lord. When all this is constant, then the Lord, seeing how you force yourself, will give you what you ask for. (18, p. 94) The essence of the matter is conscious standing in the presence of the Lord with fear, faith and love. This mood is possible without words. It is necessary to restore it in the heart first of all. Words will then come in order to keep attention on this one thing and deepen those feelings and dispositions. (12, pp. 194–195) I am giving you a comprehensive recipe. Its reduction is in the memory of God, the memory of death and in the fear of God. When these take root in the heart, both prayer and everything else will go well. (16, p. 29) The fear of God is the main thing. When he comes, then, like a good master, he arranges everything in his own way in the soul... From the fear of God - the first child - the spirit is broken, the heart is contrite and humble... To maintain the fear of God, you must keep the persistent memory of death and judgment... Add to this the consciousness of the presence of the Lord near you and in you, so that He sees everything, even the most secret things. This consciousness - with the memory of death - is inseparable from the fear of God. When this trinity settles in your heart, then prayer will begin from your heart, with incessant appeals to the Lord the Savior. (13, pp. 251–252) 4. How to reconcile unceasing prayer and daily activities God does not oblige you to do the impossible. The Savior commanded to enter his cell and pray there to God his Father in secret. This cage, as explained by Saint Demetrius of Rostov, means the heart. Consequently, the commandment of the Lord obliges us to pray to God secretly in the heart and mind. This commandment applies to all Christians. So what does the Apostle Paul command when he says that we should pray with all prayer and supplication at all times in the Spirit (Eph. 6:18)? He commands mental prayer - spiritual, and commands all Christians without distinction. He commands all Christians to pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:17). But it is impossible to pray unceasingly except by mental prayer in the heart. So there is no arguing; that mental prayer is obligatory for all Christians; and if it is obligatory, then one can no longer say that it is hardly possible: for God does not oblige the impossible. That it is difficult is true; but for it to be impossible is unfair. But in general, everything good is difficult; all the more so should prayer be like this - the source of all that is good for us and its faithful support. (7, p. 382) Holy Scripture does not command anything impossible The brother said: how can the mind pray unceasingly when, by singing psalms, reading, talking with others, correcting our needs, we entertain it with various thoughts? The elder answered: Holy Scripture does not command anything impossible. And the Apostle himself, who wrote this commandment, sang, read, taught, worked and suffered, persecuted, and meanwhile prayed unceasingly. Continuous prayer is to keep the mind in great goodwill and ardent aspiration for God, to think about Him alone, to be occupied with Him alone, to contemplate His Oneness, to fall to Him in heartfelt prayer, to always hang on unshakable trust in Him and, in hope of Him, to be bold in all matters and adventures. (28, p. 76) Work should not distract from God You touched on the works. Since your work is not done out of obedience, but out of your own will, you can manage it in such a way that it does not in the least distract you from your internal activities. Follow this St. Isaac the Syrian. He does not favor work and allows it only when necessary, occasionally. Because it distracts the mind. You need to acquire a special skill so that you don’t get distracted. It is impossible not to work. There is a natural need for it, but you shouldn’t get carried away with it. Egyptian monks worked all day, but their minds did not leave God. (7, pp. 407–408) Physical labor sometimes deviates from God Physical labor humbles, fills gaps, and does not allow thoughts to wander. Replacing it with bows is good - this is the best work. But is this always possible? The Egyptian elders sat at work from morning to evening, in mental prayer and contemplation of God. The prayer rule was celebrated at night. And St. Isaac the Syrian does not favor work: he turns it away, he says, from God. It’s true when it’s hard work, but simple work is nothing. (12, p. 147) It’s better not to start things while prayer is in progress. When attention to God is alive and prayer occurs internally, then it is better not to start doing anything (at home), but to sit or walk, or better yet, stand in front of icons and pray; when it begins to weaken, warm it up with reading or meditation. (12, p. 176) We must do the work and not deviate from God with our minds We must do the work and not deviate from God with our minds, i.e. be as if they were standing in prayer. This is the law: to do work with your hands, but to be with God with your mind and heart. Write, but do not retreat from God with your mind, and do not allow your warmth to diminish and your sobriety to weaken. Business will teach you how to manage this. And now you will gain new experience - and you will become even stronger in your inward stay. (14, pp. 229–230) It is the duty of all to pray without ceasing As if all you do is pray? Prayer is one of the things and cannot replace all things. And pray, and correct your other affairs, everything as it should be. You need to get used to praying unceasingly with your mind and heart. This is the duty of everyone, it is the same as having the memory of God. (12, p. 80) How to reconcile deeds and constant attention to God We cannot be without things to do and activities. God has given us active forces, which require exercise. Therefore, everyone has their own affairs and activities. They require attention; but, on the other hand, moral progress, more important than anything else, requires that attention always be in God. How to reconcile both? We must do all our deeds and activities as the works of God, imposed on us by God, and dedicate them to God. Then, while doing them, let us not lose sight of God; for in this case the concern is inevitable, how to do everything that is done pleasing to God. (7, p. 450) How could the Apostles pray without ceasing? I remember that Basil the Great solves the question of how the Apostles could pray unceasingly: in all their deeds they thought about God and lived in unceasing devotion to God. This mood of spirit was their unceasing prayer. Here's an example for you. I, it seems, have already written to you that you cannot demand the same from active people, to whom you belong, as from sedentary people. Their main concern should be not to allow wrong feelings when doing things, and to try in every possible way to dedicate them all to God. This dedication will turn deeds into prayer. (14, pp. 8–9) Never approach God haphazardly. And always with great reverence. He does not need our bows, nor our verbose prayers... A cry from the heart is short and strong, that’s what is profitable!.. And this can be done casually... And therefore, pray unceasingly. Take care of this and direct everything here. They asked Saint Epiphanius: how should we set the clock? Watch?! There are no special hours for prayer: it must be all-hourly and all-minute. At St. Basil the Great was asked: how to pray unceasingly? He answered: have a prayerful disposition in your heart and you will pray unceasingly. Work with your hands, and lift your mind to God. The apostles walked around the whole earth, how much work?! Meanwhile, they prayed incessantly. And they wrote this commandment. The spirit of faith, trust and devotion to the will of God - this is what needs to be warmed in the heart. (12, pp. 78–79) This is what the Lord Himself commands to do. The question is, how can we keep the Lord in mind? So: whatever work you do, big or small, keep in mind that the Lord Omnipresent Himself commands you to do it and is watching how you do it. Conducting yourself this way, you will do everything with attention, and you will remember the Lord. This is the whole secret of successful action for the main goal in your position. Please delve into this and get it right. When you get comfortable like this, then your thoughts will stop wandering here and there... Why is everything not going well for you now? I think because you want to remember the Lord, forgetting about the affairs of life. But everyday affairs creep into the consciousness and crowd out the memory of the Lord. But you should, on the contrary, worry about everyday affairs, but as about the Lord’s assignment and as before the Lord. There, neither one nor the other works out for you... but here both will work properly. (14, p. 7) 5. Degrees of ascent to unceasing prayer Three degrees of prayer can be assigned. At the first, it is predominantly external: readings, bows, vigils, and so on... They begin with this, and others work on themselves for quite a long time until the beginnings of prayer appear, or light movements of the prayerful spirit... Prayer, as the highest gift, is sent down, as if little by little, in order to teach a person to value it dearly. At the second degree, the physical and the spiritual are in equal strength. Here, each word of prayer is accompanied by a corresponding feeling, or internal prayer movements, internally driven, are expressed and expressed in their own words... This is the most common prayer, common to almost everyone. It is common in those in whom the spirit of piety is alive. At the third degree, the inner, or spiritual, prevails in prayer - when, without words, and without bows, and even without reflection, and without any image, with some silence or stillness, the action of prayer is performed in the depths of the spirit. This prayer is not limited by time, place, or anything external and can never stop. This is why it is called the act of prayer, i.e. something that remains unchanged... But in order to reach this final level, it is necessary to go through the first and, therefore, raise all the labors of bodily activity for prayer, such as fasting, bowing, reading prayers, vigil, kneeling. Whoever goes through this will enter the second degree, when, as Macarius the Great says, you just bow and the spirit is already warmed up in prayer. Just as someone who does not know the alphabet should not start a warehouse, because it will be a useless waste of time, so it is here: who does not know how to swim in a shallow river, how can he be launched into the deep sea? But even then, as someone ascends to the final stage of prayer, external prayer does not stop, but also participates in internal prayer. The only difference is that in the first case the external precedes the internal, and here the internal precedes the external. How can you take on the internal alone when you have not yet learned through labor and experience to move from the external to the internal! (6, pp. 360–361) Mental prayer is powerful when the inward attraction comes Mental prayer is when someone, having established attention in the heart, from there lifts up a prayer to God. Smart doing is when someone, standing with attention in the heart with the memory of the Lord, cuts off every other thought that tries to penetrate the heart. (12, p. 56) Mental prayer consists of standing before God with the mind in the heart, either simply or with the expression of petitions, thanksgiving and praise. This is not the time to engage in reasoning: everything has its turn. When that attraction comes within, then mental prayer appears in force and in its present form, and until that moment it is only what is being sought; there is something to do here. Therefore, thoughts, reflections and reasoning, as well as all other self-actions, indeed, must be abandoned and suppressed, if they arose during the manifestation of an inward drive, but not mental prayer. She should not only not be abandoned, but should be supported in every possible way so that that state, good and useful, lasts as long as possible. (30, pp. 47–48) The transition from mental to heartfelt prayer - when the heart is filled with love for God From such mental prayer there is a transition to heartfelt inner prayer, if only there is an experienced teacher, very convenient and free. When we are with God through the feelings of the heart, and the heart fills with love for God, then such prayer is called heartfelt prayer. (15, p. 227) Mental prayer turns into mental-heart prayer with the emergence of warmth and attraction within Mental prayer turns into prayer of the heart, or mind-heart prayer. Its appearance is contemporary with the emergence of heartfelt warmth. There is no other prayer in the ordinary course of spiritual life. Mental-heart prayer can penetrate deeply into the heart and in this case be without words and thoughts, consisting only of standing before God and falling reverently and lovingly towards Him. Here it is the same as being drawn inward to God to pray or finding the spirit of prayer. (30, p. 132) Mental prayer, warming the heart, introduces it into mental-heart prayer At first, the mind prays with tension, forcing itself to pray through willpower. And this, of course, is mental prayer. Mental prayer little by little warms the heart and introduces it into another prayer – mental-heart prayer. The heart, having learned to pray under the influence of the mind and having warmed up, itself begins to move toward prayer and draw the mind into it. This heartfelt prayer is real prayer, as it should be, a prayer that embraces the whole being of a person, for where the heart is, there is the whole person. This state is revealed by an inward pull that occurs during prayer, reading, meditation, and even without all this, while doing something. The latter is higher than the former. (23, p. 483) Self-propelled prayer stands and acts by itself Mental prayer comes in two states: it exists (or labor, when a person himself strains at it, or self-propelled, when it stands and acts by itself. (30, p. 49) The more the heart warms, the more self-motivated the mental-heart prayer This saving prayer [of Jesus] is usually laborious and active at first. But if someone is not too lazy to work on it, it will become self-propelled, it will create itself, like a stream babbling in the heart. This is a great good, and it is worth working hard to achieve it... It is better to take up the task more zealously and not retreat until you achieve what you want, or until this prayer itself begins to move in the heart; after that just support. That warmth of heart, or burning of spirit, which was previously spoken about, comes precisely this way. The more the Jesus Prayer takes root in the heart, the more the heart warms up, and the more self-moving the prayer becomes, so that the fire of spiritual life in the heart kindles, and its burning becomes unceasing, at the same time as the Jesus Prayer will occupy the whole heart and become incessantly moving. (30, pp. 129–130) Two types of self-propelled prayer – free and unfree This kind of prayer is only self-propelled prayer when the spirit of prayer finds itself. But they are also of two types: in one, a person has the power to obey him or not, to assist him or to frustrate him; and in the other, he has no power to do anything, but is enraptured in prayer and kept in it by a different force, not having the freedom to act in any other way. (30, p. 135) The difference between mental-heart prayer and spiritual prayer is its self-action The Holy Fathers distinguish mental-heart prayer from spiritual prayer. The first is created by the conscious initiative of the person praying, and the second finds and, although conscious, moves itself without the efforts of the person praying. This prayer is spiritual. The latter cannot be prescribed, because it is not in our power. You can desire it, seek it and gratefully accept it, and not do it whenever you want. However, among purified people, prayer for the most part is spiritually moving. We must therefore believe that the Apostle prescribes mental-heart prayer when he says: pray in the spirit. One can add: pray with intelligence and heart, with the desire to achieve spiritually moving prayer. Such prayer holds the soul consciously before the face of the omnipresent God. By attracting and reflecting the Divine ray from itself, it disperses enemies. One can probably assume that the soul in such a state is inaccessible to demons. - This is the only way to pray at any time and in any place. (20, p. 487) Mental-heart prayer turns into unceasing prayer when inward attractions become constant Mental-heart prayer then receives independence and is either active, strained by one’s own efforts, or self-motivated, finding. In the latter form, it is the same as the shown inclinations [inward]: it is contemporary with them and develops from them. When later the state in which the soul is during those desires becomes constant, then mental-heart prayer becomes incessantly active. (30, pp. 43–44) Dynamics of the “quality” of prayer. According to the teachings of Theophan the Recluse The main condition for ascent to unceasing prayer is cleansing the heart from passions The main condition for success in prayer is cleansing the heart from passions and any attachment to anything sensual. Without this, prayer will remain at the first level, or reading. As the heart is cleansed, reading prayer will turn into mental-heart prayer, and when it is completely cleansed, then unceasing prayer will begin. (12, p. 61) 6. Contemplative prayer Finding Prayer and Contemplative Prayer In this state [of unceasing prayer], what is given is the prayer that is found, and not the prayer created by the person himself. The spirit of prayer finds itself and draws it inside the heart - it’s all the same, as if someone took another by the hand and dragged him by force from one room to another. The soul here is bound by an outside force and willingly stays inside as long as there is a spirit that finds it above it. I know two degrees of this finding. In the first - the soul sees everything, is aware of itself and its external position - and can reason and rule itself, can even ruin this state of its own, if it wants. And this should be clear to you. The Holy Fathers, and especially St. Isaac the Syrian, another degree of given or found prayer is also indicated. Above the one shown is his prayer, which he called ecstasy or admiration. And here, too, the spirit of prayer finds itself; but the soul carried away by it enters into such contemplation that it forgets its external position, does not reason, but only contemplates, and is unable to rule itself or ruin its fortune. Remember, in Fatherland books it is written that someone began to pray before his evening meal, but came to his senses in the morning. This is prayer in admiration, or contemplative. In others, it was accompanied by a clearing of the face, light around; in others by lifting from the ground. The Holy Apostle Paul in this state was raptured into heaven. And the holy prophets were in it when the Spirit took them. Marvel at the great mercy of God towards us sinners. Few people work hard, and what are they rewarded with? We can safely say to all working people: work, there is a reason! (14, pp. 240–241) Contemplation above activity Active and contemplative life proceed this way: they are established in deeds and doings, and develop contemplation in themselves. But activity does not stop even after this, it only gives way to contemplation... Contemplation is higher: for it is the forerunner of future bliss, and we live here in order to prepare for the future life. (12, p. 147) Contemplative prayer is the highest state of prayer, which from time to time appears in God's chosen ones. (30, p. 132) A distinctive feature of contemplative prayer is the loss of consciousness of everything around Contemplation is the captivity of the mind and the entire consciousness by some spiritual object so strong that everything external is forgotten, leaves consciousness: the mind and consciousness go into the object being contemplated, so that it is as if they are no longer in us. Here is an example: the elder was talking with his disciples and stopped, as if he had forgotten. When he later came to his senses, the disciples asked him: where was he? “I was,” he said, “on Golgotha, before the crucified Lord, where Mary Magdalene was at His feet.” – But this contemplation was only mental. Contemplative prayer is like this - forgetting everything and being captured in the invisible world. Another example: the elder prepared a meal for himself at the usual hour and began to pray; but he was caught up in contemplative prayer and stood in it until the next day, when he came to his senses. The distinctive feature of contemplative prayer of St. Isaac the Syrian delivers precisely the falling out of consciousness of everything around him and captivity in the heavenly world. According to his testimony, the mind still controls itself, but when it enters into contemplation or contemplative prayer, then it no longer has any power over itself. (30, pp. 44–45) The complete thoughtlessness of contemplation is alien to the holy fathers Only one feature expressed by Speransky 5 seems untrue, or untruely expressed.” The form, he says, of my contemplation has always been emptiness, the absence of any image and any thought.” Such complete thoughtlessness is alien to the holy fathers. They encouraged me to leave everything, but only to be united with the Lord. They stood during mental prayer and advised everyone to stand in the conviction that the Lord is near and listening, that is, to stand intelligently before the Lord and cry out to Him: I will seek Your face, as the Prophet sings, I will seek Your face, O Lord. When they say that it is necessary to drive away every thought, they always add: drive away every extraneous thought. (30, p. 228) Pure prayer is given to one in a thousand, and contemplative prayer is given to barely one in every thousand. As for contemplation, we do not find in any of the fathers that it is possible to enter into it ourselves, and, therefore, to do anything on our part to enter into it. Contemplation, according to them, was given precisely to those who had already managed to completely cleanse their hearts and deeply unite with the Lord. Out of a thousand, one manages to acquire pure prayer; and spiritual prayer, or, what is the same thing, contemplative prayer, in rodech and rodech hardly one turns out to have. (30, p. 215) Degrees of blessed life in God before this century Amazement, reverent fear, joyful praise of God and walking before God primarily comprise life in God. This is because in all of them both man himself and every creature disappear from thought, and God alone is contemplated... He who walks before God is consecrated in knowledge of the perfections of God and all perfection and becomes accustomed to the praise of God. He who has ascended to this point enters even deeper into the Divine and acquires reverent fear. Whoever after this is exalted for everything discerned in God tastes amazement. This is a limit beyond which you can no longer go. Whoever has gone through all these degrees is in a most blissful state and, before this century, lives in it, moving from amazement to awe, and from this to Praise of God, walking or moving spiritually, as if in some house, in Divine contemplation, filled with light and heavenly purity. This is life in God! (6, pp. 344–345) 7. Rule focused on unceasing prayer The Rule of Praying Without Ceasing When, where, how long to stand in prayer, and what prayers to use... everyone can determine according to their own circumstances - increase, decrease, move time and place... everything can be directed so that internal prayer is performed properly. Regarding internal prayer, there is one rule: pray unceasingly. What does it mean to pray without ceasing? Be constantly in a prayerful mood. A prayerful mood is a thought about God and a feeling for God together. The thought of God is the thought of His omnipresence, that He is everywhere, sees everything and contains everything. Feeling for God - fear of God, love for God, a zealous desire to please Him alone, with the same desire to avoid everything that is not pleasing to Him, and, most importantly, surrendering oneself to His holy will unquestioningly and accepting everything that happens as if from His hands directly. A feeling for God can occur in all our deeds, activities and circumstances, if it is not only sought, but is already planted in the heart. The thought may be distracted by various objects; but even here it is possible to learn not to deviate from God, but to do everything in the light of remembrance of God. It’s about these two – thoughts and feelings towards God – that we need to take all care. When they are there, there is prayer, although there are no prayer words. Morning prayer is intended for this purpose, in order to install these two things in the mind and heart... And then with them you can go out to do your work and do it. If you bring this up in your soul in the morning, then you have prayed properly, although you may not have read all the prayers... Let’s assume that you set yourself up this morning and went to work. From the first step, impressions of deeds, things, and persons will begin, distracting the soul from God... What to do? We must renew our thoughts and feelings... by turning our minds and hearts internally to God. And to make this more convenient, you need to get used to some short prayer and repeat it as often as possible. Every short prayer goes towards this... In case it is not possible to read all the prayers in the morning or evening, choose from the prayers which are more meaningful... and read... and most importantly, take more care to plant in your mind and heart the thought of God with the corresponding feeling. (16. pp. 20–22) The Direct Path to Continuous Prayer If 6 someone asked me how I should carry out the matter of prayer, I would tell him: learn to walk in the presence of God or keep the memory of God and be reverent; To maintain this memory, choose several short prayers or directly take 24 prayers of Chrysostom and repeat them often with appropriate thoughts and feelings. As you become more proficient, your head will be enlightened by the memory of God and your heart will be warmed. In this situation, the spark of God will finally sink into the heart - a ray of grace. You can’t produce it with anything, it comes straight from God... Then you can stay with the Jesus Prayer alone and use it to fan the prayer spark into a flame. This is the straight path. (15, p. 190) The general rule is to build up warmth in the morning and not do anything that upsets it. From the first time you wake up in the morning, take care to gather yourself inside and warm up. Consider this your normal condition. If you don’t have this, know that there is something wrong with you inside. Having put yourself in such a collected and warmed state in the morning, then - everything that is obligatory must be corrected so as not to ruin your inner mood, and from the voluntary - do what supports this state; Whatever upsets him, do not do it under any circumstances, for this would mean being hostile to oneself. This is your general rule. (14, pp. 175–176) While diligently following the rule, maintain sobriety of mind and warmth of heart. The latter, when it begins to decline, hasten to warm it up, firmly knowing that as soon as it is gone, this means that more than half the path to retreat from God has been passed. The fear of God is the guardian and activator of inner warmth. But you also need humility, patience, loyalty to the rules, and most of all sobriety. Pay attention to yourself, for God's sake. Disturb yourself in every possible way so as not to fall asleep, or wake up after dozing off. (14, p. 214) Try to do this: in the morning - according to your prayer rule, try to establish your attention before God so that then you can be before Him all day, no matter what happens. If you settle down like this and begin to contemplate the Lord before you with the prophet - with the corresponding feelings, of course - then you will pray unceasingly. And then you won't be bored. Do not depart from prayer - the rule - until contrition is reborn in the heart with devotion to God. (15, pp. 121–122) Example of a daily rule with unceasing prayer At all times, from waking up to falling asleep, walk in memory of God’s omnipresence, in the thought that the Lord sees you and counts all the movements of your thoughts and heart. For this reason, pray the Jesus Prayer unceasingly and, often coming to the icons, make several bows, according to the movement and demand of your heart, so that all your daytime is often interrupted by a few bows, and passes in unceasing contemplation of God and the saying of the Jesus Prayer during all kinds of activities. The rule is to do cell prayer, or home prayer, only before going to bed. Less reading and more of your prayer with bows... If these are the usual canons laid out for every day for the Lord Jesus, the Mother of God, the Guardian Angel, the daily (weekly) saint; then, having read all this, what else should I add? Do this reverently, slowly, listen to every word and limit your daily reading prayers to that. Get used to gradually leaving the canons and akathists you have collected and replacing them with mental prayer. (14, p. 166) Continuous prayer is not achieved suddenly, but through interspersed prayers. Such unceasing prayer, or the acceptance of the action of prayer, is not achieved suddenly, but by interspersed prayers performed at certain times, which are both the necessary means for acquiring unceasing prayer and the conditions for its preservation throughout life. The production of these prayers requires both a special external order and a special internal mood. (6, p. 359) Short prayers to St. Read Chrysostom both morning and evening, repeating each prayer three times. They contribute a lot to maintaining attention. They will lead us into a walk before God and to unceasing prayer. (13, p. 162) Darken yourself to gain memory of God God Himself instills the memory of God into the soul. But for this, the soul must sweat and work for itself. Work hard, forcing yourself to constantly remember God. And God, seeing how earnestly you desire this, will give you a memory of Himself. Short prayers are very useful in our own work on remembering God. Prayers... whatever you want... Lord have mercy! - Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me! – Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me!.. and others... Everyone is coming. Whichever one you like best, use it. (16, p. 49) Two Ways to Bring the Mind to the Heart Set yourself an hour - outside the prayer rule; take a prayer book and read - read, and think about the prescribed prayers, and bring the thoughts expressed there to your senses. When you then begin to perform the prayer rule, all those feelings will immediately be renewed in your soul, and your prayer will be in its order... This is the first method to attract the mind to the heart, namely through sympathy with the prayers read and heard: for the feelings of the heart usually rule over the mind. The second technique is the following: when you make your home rule, insert into the spaces between the prayers you read and your prayers, which are generated by the action of those prayers... This technique is stronger than the first and will more quickly bring the mind into the heart. But it can act only after the first dose or together with it. But you need to have some additional technique or sub-technique ready for it. If you make your prayer rule... according to the above method, then it may happen that a small rule, such as prayers for the future to go to sleep... will last a very long time... You need to determine the duration of your prayers... not by the number of prayers that should be read, but by the time; namely, to determine how much time to spend on this and that rule... without increasing it in any way compared to the time you usually use for this... Make it a law never to read prayers just to read what is required, but to be in prayer under the influence of reading. Read what is provided as a guide - to keep yourself in prayerful thoughts and feelings. By acting in this way, you will learn to always be in a feeling for God during prayers, and your mind, being attracted by this feeling, will stand in the memory of God. (17, pp. 327–329) While the mind is entering the heart, do nothing else except this prayer Do this: when you feel the entry of the mind into the heart and the impact of prayer, then give complete freedom to such prayer, removing everything unfavorable to it; and while it is there, don’t do anything else. When you do not feel such an attraction, then pray verbally with bows, trying in every possible way to keep your attention in your heart before the face of the Lord. This type of prayer will warm your heart. (15, pp. 228–229) The fear of God will lead you to your goal How to achieve a state of persistently standing before God? – Start by walking before Him with the appropriate feelings. From here the fear of God will come, which will lead you to the desired goal. This is a real way – spiritual to a spiritual state. But the mechanical one, like that of Gregory Sinait, is only a help and alone does not lead to the goal. But with mental techniques it is necessary to combine active ones: keep a clear conscience, refine the flesh, remain in prayer - all in a spirit of contrition and humility with reverence. (7, p. 453) Frequent remembrance of God without reverence dulls the feeling of the fear of God and thereby deprives it of that saving effect that belongs to it in the circle of spiritual movements and which, apart from it, nothing can produce. (7, p. 412) It’s good that you love the memory of God... add reverent fear to it. The memory of death does not suppress and does not induce gloom, but only arouses watchful vigilance over oneself... We must always keep the sobering and sobering alongside. - Love and fear both must be in force... The angels stand before God with fear and trembling... and the Apostle commanded us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. (16, pp. 84–85) What does it mean to “ignite trouble around you” Are you asking what it means to “ignite trouble around you”? This is a deep sense of the danger of one’s position and the extreme danger from which there is no other salvation than in the Lord Jesus Christ. This feeling will drive us to the Lord and make us cry out incessantly: help, protect! All the saints had it and never left them. Opposite to it is a feeling of contentment with one’s position, which calms a person and extinguishes in him all concern for salvation. (10, p. 6) Godly Thought Paves the Way to Unceasing Prayer Apply Godly Thought - at the beginning, and in the middle, and at the end - or... as you do it continuously... often, as you please. Thought on God is in-depth reflection on the economy of salvation, either in general, or on any one subject that is part of it. As soon as you wake up, you will immediately survey everything - from creation to the second coming, judgment and the decision of the fate of all... - Then take one object and delve into it until it embraces your heart... And in this embrace, then say a prayer... And so all day... mix God-thought with prayer. The Lord is close to all who call on Him. (16, p. 209) Thought of God – the general mood corrects and renews. It’s always good to bring it to the end, that is, to put yourself before God’s judgment, as if it were in reality, and then cry out: Lord have mercy! The Fathers write: the best way to stand during prayer is to stand in court. – From the thought of God, another object will lie closer to the heart than others. Then, after finishing this matter, you need to stop there and nourish yourself with it longer. This paves the way to unceasing prayer. (11, p. 227) Thought on God is the key to unceasing prayer If someone asked: how to always be with the Lord? - you can safely answer: have a feeling for the Lord - and you will be with the Lord... But how to have a feeling? It seems that just the memory of the Lord already sets in motion the feeling towards Him. If we add to this the thought of what He is, and what He has done and is doing for us, then I don’t know whose heart will remain untouched. Therefore, very righteously St. the fathers honor God-thought, or contemplation of the properties and actions of the Lord, as the key to prayer... and unceasing prayer. Because from this the feeling for God comes to life... and connects with the Lord. (16, p. 179) Every rule is good, which keeps the soul in reverence before God As for the rule, I think about it this way: whatever rule anyone chooses for himself, everything is good - as long as it keeps the soul in reverence before God. Also: read prayers and psalms until your soul stirs, and then pray yourself, outlining your needs, or without anything. “God, be merciful”... Also: sometimes all the time assigned for the rule can be spent reading one psalm from memory, making up your own prayer from each verse. Also: sometimes you can spend the entire rule in the Jesus Prayer with bows... Otherwise, take a little from this, that, and the third. God needs the heart (Proverbs 23:26), and as long as it stands in reverence before Him, then that is enough. This is what unceasing prayer consists of: always standing reverently before God. And in this case, the rule is only heating, or adding firewood to the stove. (11, pp. 8–9) The rule must be in your own will You can master the prayer rule yourself... Memorize the prayers you read, and read them from memory with understanding and feeling. Insert your own prayer here and there; The less you depend on the book, the better. Memorize a few psalms and, when you go somewhere or do something else, and your head is not busy, read them... This is a conversation with God. The rule must be in your free will. Don't be his slave. (12, p. 79) You can fulfill the prayer rule that you have chosen for yourself in full, half, or a quarter 6 . Have freedom in relation to him. Be his mistress, not his slave. Call on God wisely and heartily, and stand in prayer as long as you can, stand as long as you can, without being at all embarrassed by the fact that you won’t read everything. A heartfelt appeal to God will replace everything. (12, p. 80) When they come to certain internal sensations and especially to the warmth of the heart, rules are not strictly necessary. In general, one should not be attached to the rules, but should be free in relation to them, with one intention, no matter how reverent attention to God does not depart. (12, p. 176) All rules can be abandoned only by those for whom mental prayer has become incessant. What Schemamonk Vasily said about putting aside singing for mental prayer applies to hermits and those individuals for whom mental prayer has developed and become unceasing. These can do everything instead of church services and cell rules... The reading of the prayer then stops by itself. Thus, the postponement of singing does not apply to you and me, we need to stand up for church services, and fulfill what is determined for cell prayer. (12, p. 57) But prayer still needs to be done at the right time... All the great prayer books did this. This is necessary because tetanus attacks the soul, and it is good for nothing... Then even praying verbally and verbally with someone else’s prayer is still better than going to bed without praying at all... or spending the morning. – Can’t pray for a long time in a row? - Pray for a short time. (16, p. 101) 8. The fruits of unceasing prayer and their connection with natural fruits Natural Fruits of the Jesus Prayer Artistic doing of the Jesus Prayer 7 ... its simple creation with attention in the heart or walking in the memory of God is our work, and in itself they have their own natural, not grace-filled fruit. This fruit is: a collection of thoughts, reverence and fear of God, mortal memory, pacification of thoughts and some warmth of heart. All this is the natural fruit of inner prayer. You need to solidify this well so that you don’t blow your trumpet in front of yourself and don’t exalt yourself in front of others. As long as we have only natural fruits, until then we are not worth a penny, both in the essence of the matter and in the judgment of God. Price for us when grace comes. For when she comes, it will mean that God has looked upon us with a merciful eye. Until he comes, no matter what we do, no matter what feats we perform, it means that we are worthless individuals that God doesn’t even want to look at. In what exactly this action of grace is revealed, I [here] do not have to tell you [see. further]; but it is certain that it cannot come before all the above-mentioned fruits of inner prayer appear. (11, p. 18) The main fruit of prayer is not warmth and sweetness, but the fear of God and contrition. They constantly need to be warmed up, and live with them, and breathe with them. (15, p. 176) Progress in spiritual life is signified by a greater and greater awareness of one’s unworthiness in the full meaning of this word, without any restrictions... (14, p. 172) The path to perfection is the path to the consciousness that I am blind, and poor, and naked, in continuous connection with which there is contrition of the spirit, or illness and sorrow about one’s uncleanness, poured out before God, or - which is the same thing - constant repentance. Repentant feelings are the hallmarks of true asceticism. Whoever turns away from them and avoids them has strayed from the path. In the position of starting a new life there was repentance; it must also grow and mature with him. The one who matures matures in the knowledge of his corruption and sinfulness and deepens into contrite feelings of repentance. Tears are a measure of prosperity, and incessant tears are a sign of imminent purification. (1, pp. 199–200) God gave you tears. This is good. But temporary tears are not everything. There needs to be permanent ones. There are tears in the heart that are better than those flowing from the eyes. The flowing eyes feed the worm of vanity, but those from the heart are known to the One God. In public, it is better to hold back tears, remaining with heartfelt contrition. (12, p. 177) The spirit is contrite, repentant feelings and tears do not reduce strength, but add it: for they put the soul in a joyful state... There are also spiritual joys interspersed with contrition... True contrition knows how not to interfere with pure spiritual joy - and to get along with them in a friendly manner, somehow hiding under it. (14, pp. 154–155) The skill of always keeping your attention on the Lord will not allow you to grieve The whole point is to learn to keep your attention always on the Lord, who is omnipresent and sees everything, and who wants everyone to be saved, and is ready to contribute to this. This skill will not allow you to grieve - whether internal or external sorrow bothers you: for it gives the soul complete satisfaction, which, satiating the soul, will not give room to any feeling of poverty and insufficiency, plunging oneself and everything one’s own into the hands of the Lord and generating a feeling of His constant intercession and help. (15, pp. 197–198) Attention in the heart and warmth are natural actions of prayer The fruit of prayer is concentration in the heart and warmth. This is a natural action. Anyone can achieve this. And this [Jesus] prayer should be performed by everyone, not only the monk, but also the layman. (12, p. 193) A “sore” in the heart is a natural thing Try to create some sort of sore in your heart... Constant work will soon do this. There's nothing special here. This is a natural thing (the fact that a sore will seem painful). But this will also make you more focused. And the main thing is that the Lord, seeing the work, grants help and His grace-filled prayer. Then things will come to their own hearts. (12, p. 199) When a person does everything with full consciousness and attention With such a heart structure [the connection of the mind with the heart], everything in a person passes from the head into the heart, and then, as if some intelligent light illuminates his entire inside, and whatever he does, says, or thinks, everything is done with full consciousness and attention. He can then clearly see what thoughts, intentions and desires come to him, and willingly compels the mind, heart and will to obey Christ, and smoothes out any deviation from them with a feeling of heartfelt repentance and contrition with unfeigned pity and with a painful, humble fall to God, asking and expecting help from above for his weakness. And God, looking at his humility, does not deprive him of His grace. (15, p. 228) The first gift of the mind is concentration of attention in prayer To the extent of our zeal and humble diligence in prayer, God grants the first gift to our mind - composure and concentration in prayer. When attention to the Lord becomes persistent, then it is grace-filled attention; and our own attention is always forced. (15, p. 227) A “sore” in the heart and a persistent walk before God That [smart] rule, if you continue it properly, will create a sore in the heart, and this sore will chain thoughts to the One - and the wandering of thoughts will end. From this moment, when the Lord vouchsafes you to receive it, a new restructuring of everything internal will begin - and walking before God will become relentless. (7, pp. 368–369) Real warmth and natural warmth Real warmth is a gift from God; but there is also natural warmth, the fruit of one’s own efforts and free moods. They are separated from each other, like heaven for the fulfillment of every Divine and fatherly commandment; from the earth... The first fruit of God's warmth is the collection of thoughts together and their persistent aspiration towards God. The same thing happens here as with bleeding. That one has a hundred currents of blood... and then the flow of thoughts stops. (12, p. 181) The light always comes almost through the Sacraments You ask: “Isn’t it like a light when you stand in prayer with reverence and a feeling of your insignificance?” – It is connected with the light; but with him it does not waste. The light comes without discretion. And almost always through the sacraments of Confession and St. Participles. (15, p. 193) Heartfelt prayer is a gift of grace given through the Sacraments True heartfelt prayer is a gift of grace given through the sacraments of Confession or Communion. And after sending such a gift, it is fueled by the same Sacraments. A distinctive feature of this gift is the continuity of prayer, which is expressed by feelings towards God, sometimes with words of prayer, and sometimes without words. What grace gives, labor cannot give. He only prepares for the acceptance of the gift - and upon receiving it, he warms it up - along with the Sacraments. (15, pp. 195–196) Prayer from the heart is never premature Prayer from the heart is never premature. She is the beginning of the matter. By establishing it in the heart, God’s work will be accomplished. It must be developed without sparing labor. God, seeing the work, gives what is sought. (12, p. 93) A blessed mind is always collected, quick-to-understand and quick-witted, illuminated by the truth When prayer deepens into the heart and overshadows it with warmth, then the mind is always collected and present in itself, and therefore is quick to understand and quick-witted. From this time on, all the truths of revelation begin to enter the heart, each in its own time, as if suddenly, in the form of insight. (30, p. 228) Inner lightness, driving away evil, boldness in prayer, spiritual fire in the heart A distinctive feature of the state when the kingdom of God opens inward, or, what is also, when a non-waste spiritual fire is kindled in the heart from a relationship with God, is inward abiding. Consciousness is all concentrated in the heart and stands before the face of the Lord, pouring out before Him in humble feelings of repentance, with an inherent readiness to devote one’s entire life to serving Him alone. This system is established every day, from the moment of awakening from sleep, lasts all day, with all work and activities, and does not go away until sleep closes the eyes. Along with the formation of such a system, all the disorder that had existed inside until this moment ceases, during the period of searching, in this transitional state of languor, as Speransky calls it... The uncontrollable fermentation of thoughts stops; the atmosphere of the soul becomes pure and cloudless: there is only one thought and memory of the Lord. Hence the lightness in everything internal. Everything is clear there; every movement is noticed and worthily assessed in the intelligent light emanating from the face of the Lord being contemplated. As a result of this, every unkind thought and unkind feeling that attacks the heart meets resistance at the very beginning and is driven away. Here what Philotheus of Sinai advises is fulfilled: “In the morning, stand at the entrance of the heart and defeat the approaching enemies in the name of Jesus.” This driving away of evil can be instantaneous, but it can last hours, days, months and years; Meanwhile, the essence of the matter is always the same, namely, that nothing unkind is allowed into the heart, but meets with a decisive rebuff from the moment of awareness of its unkindness, and its persecution does not stop until the heart is completely abolished from it. Following this, whatever is thought, whatever is felt, whatever is desired, whatever is said or done, is thought, felt, desired, said and done with the exact consciousness that all this does not offend the relentlessly contemplated Lord, it is pleasing to Him and in accordance with His will. If, against the will, something contrary slips in, one immediately humbly confesses to the Lord and is cleansed by internal repentance or external confession, so that the conscience is always kept pure before the Lord. The reward for all such internal work is boldness to God in prayer, which incessantly warms in the heart. The warmth of unceasing prayer is the spirit of this life, so that with the cessation of this warmth, the movement of spiritual life also ceases, just as with the cessation of breathing, bodily life ceases. These few words say everything that brings with it the entry into the kingdom, or, in other words, the blessed fire that finally kindles in the heart; This also determines the essence of true spiritual life, or its essential functions. (30, pp. 80–83) Memory of God, contemplation of God's perfections, zeal for God, fear of God The grace of God draws the attention of the mind and heart to God and keeps it on Him. Just as the mind does not stand without action, then, being turned to God, it thinks about God. Hence, the memory of God is a constant companion of the state of grace... The memory of God is never idle, but it certainly leads into the contemplation of the perfections of God and God’s deeds: goodness, truth, creation, providence, redemption, judgment and reward. All this together is the world of God or the spiritual realm. The jealous one remains in this area forever. This is the nature of jealousy. From here, conversely, being in this area supports and enlivens jealousy. Do you want to observe jealousy? Keep the entire prescribed mood... Piece by piece - this is spiritual firewood... Always have such firewood on hand and as soon as you notice that the fire of jealousy is weakening, take some log from your spiritual firewood and renew the spiritual fire. And everything will go well. From the totality of such spiritual movements comes the fear of God, reverent standing before God in the heart. Behold the guardian and protection of the state of grace... (13, p. 25) Pure love is the crown of perfection in pleasing God Love for God is akin to our nature. I believe that it does not completely fade away even in sinners, but acts in them, calling them to repentance until they become hardened and despair. But love itself begins from the moment when, as a result of repentance, the determination to work for the Lord is born, not sparing one’s life. The works of pleasing God that begin thereafter develop it stronger and stronger, until it turns into flame and embraces his entire nature. There are so many shades of these degrees of love that it is impossible to list them. Another loves God because he has received much good from Him; another loves God because he expects some good from Him; another loves God because he expects all good from Him; another loves God because He is God. Love is revealed by action in such a way that another does only a part for God, leaving a part for himself; another does everything for God; and another sacrifices himself and everything he has to God unconditionally. Loving God as God, with complete self-sacrifice, without any pretenses, is pure love. Climacus says about himself that even if God sent him to hell, he will also invariably love Him there with all his soul. It is obvious that pure love is the crown of perfection in pleasing God, and is in force only at the end of the labors along this path. At the beginning, at the first manifestations of the Kingdom of God in us, it cannot be demanded: it may be in purpose, but not in reality; it reigns when God already absorbs everything we have. (30, pp. 46–47) 9. About deviations from the right path of unceasing prayer Two Wrong Ways of Prayer – Dreamy and Brainy The first wrong way of prayer depends on the fact that others act in it mainly with imagination and fantasy. These forces constitute the first instance in the movement from outside to inside, which should have been bypassed, but instead stop there. The second instance on the way inside is represented by reason, reason, mind, in general - reasoning and thinking power. One must pass it by and descend into the heart with it. When they dwell on it, then a second incorrect form of prayer occurs, the distinctive feature of which is that the mind, remaining in the head, itself wants to settle everything in the soul and manage everything; but nothing comes of his labors. He chases after everything, but cannot overcome anything and only suffers defeats... And while this fermentation occurs in the head, the heart goes on as usual; No one watches over him, and worries and passionate movements rush over him. Then the mind forgets itself and runs away to objects of worries and passions; and maybe someday he will come to his senses... The second image of prayer can properly be called mind-head, as opposed to the third – mind-heart. (30, pp. 170–173) Deviation of attention from the heart is deviation from the path to God Images keep attention outward, no matter how sacred they may be, but during prayer attention must be inward, in the heart: focusing attention in the heart is the starting point of proper prayer. And since prayer is the path of ascension to God, then deviation of attention from the heart is deviation from this path. (30, p. 144) There are deviations from the right path of this prayer. Therefore, you need to learn it from someone who knows it. Misconceptions are greater depending on where your attention is – in the head or in the chest. He who is in the heart is safe. It is even safer who painfully falls to God at every hour in contrition, with a prayer for deliverance from charms. (1, p. 245) Stand before the Lord, without images, in the presence of the Lord... and experience good feelings. What else? Everything is here. Are you the only one doing this in your head?!! - No, you have to stand in your heart. But do not remember the heart, but only contemplate the Lord. “Everything can be expressed this way: “Stand with your mind before the Lord in your heart and pray.” (15, p. 175) It’s discordant inside when the mind goes its own way and the heart goes its own way - they need to be united That’s why everything is discordant inside you, because there is a disintegration of forces there; the mind goes its own way, and the heart goes its own way. It is necessary to connect the mind with the heart; then the fermentation of thoughts will stop, and you will receive a rudder to control the ship of the soul - a lever with which you will begin to set in motion your entire inner world. (30, p. 54) Without repentant feelings, prayer is not a prayer That you have repentant feelings in prayer and tears is a real thing. Without repentant feelings, prayer is not prayer. So write her as if she was not an ex. Prayer without these feelings is the same as a dead miscarriage. So at St. fathers. And blow away your tears... Get used to howling over yourself as if over a dead person - and with lamentations... For the main thought, or the place where you should keep yourself mentally, is the hour of judgment, or the moment when God is ready to say: “Come” or “Depart!” Oh Lord, save me! And how not to cry, unable to say affirmatively that He will not say: “Go away!”? (12, p. 94) One who is carried away by the spirit of arbitrary self-indulgence will never learn to pray. In every possible way we must stand against the spirit of arbitrariness, or the desire and urge to act without being embarrassed by anything. This spirit whispers: I can’t do this, I don’t have enough time for this, or – it’s not time for me to take on this yet, I have to wait, or – the duties of obedience are interfering, and much more like that. Whoever listens to him will never learn to pray. – In collaboration with this spirit is the spirit of self-justification, which begins and begins to act after someone, carried away by the spirit of arbitrary self-indulgence, does something for which his conscience bothers him. Then the spirit of self-justification uses various twists and turns to deceive the conscience and make its wrong appear to be right. – May God protect you from these evil spirits. (15, pp. 229–230) Artistic creation of prayer All the techniques that are written about (sit down, bend over)... or the artistic creation of this prayer are not useful to everyone, and without a handy mentor it is dangerous. It’s better not to take on all that. One technique is universally obligatory: “stay with attention in the heart.” The other addition is all extraneous and not relevant to the matter. (11 p. 17) The artistic image of prayer can suppress spiritual life The artistic image of doing prayer is depicted by the fathers as an external aid and is subordinated to internal work. But now, for the most part, they assimilate only the external side, without worrying about the internal. – As soon as some warm movement appears in the heart, they decide: God gave it... and indulge in daydreaming about themselves. Then they condemn everyone who does not adhere to the artistic image of prayer, and not only this, but also church prayers, and those who strictly adhere to it, trying not to lower it. – Because of this, their progress in internal prayer ceases, and they are left with only external work. – And spiritual life ceases. (15, pp. 193–194) How to Beware of Artistic Images of Prayer The Jesus Prayer, done with faith in the simplicity of the heart, is always soul-saving. “The art that is associated with it can be harmful.” We must guard against this... You can’t suddenly lean into this prayer, but first let everyone get used to praying from the heart with the prescribed prayers and prayers in church. Then, when you notice that someone begins to go deeper into prayer, you can invite him to say the Jesus Prayer unceasingly, and at the same time guard the memory of God with fear and reverence. – Prayer is the first thing. The main thing that is sought through prayer is the receipt of that light that was given to Maxim Kapsokalivit 8... This light is not attracted by any art, but is given freely by the grace of God. Why is prayer work required... Teach this to everyone... But add that the house of prayer is a pure heart, and a calm conscience, and zeal for every virtue, and seeding them in the heart. (15, pp. 190–191) You can avoid drifting into delusion only with the help of an experienced leader or mutual guidance The right path of ascent through the degrees of prayer is the right path of ascent to communion with God, or, what is the same, there is right mysticism. Deviation from the right ascent of prayer to perfection is at the same time a deviation into false mysticism. It is not difficult to notice the place of this deviation, or the first point of departure into deviation: this is the transition from verbal prayer, according to ready-made prayers, to personal prayer, in other words, the transition from external prayer to internal, mental. To remove delusion from this point will mean to remove the deviation into false mysticism. The deviation into false mysticism among the fathers, sober ascetics, is called deviation into delusion. We have seen these deviations from rightness, on the path of movement from the outside to the inside... Some get stuck on the imagination, others stop on the mental doing. The true step is taken by those who, bypassing these stations, go to the heart and take refuge in it. But here, too, error is still possible, because part of mental-heart prayer is self-made, laborious; and where we are, there is always the possibility of falling into delusion, just as into sin. Security begins when pure and unadulterated prayer is established in the heart, which is a sign of the overshadowing of the heart with tangible grace, for here feelings are formed that are trained in the judgment of good and evil. So, from the very beginning of the movement from outside to inside until this blissful moment, deviation into false mysticism is possible. How to avoid this misfortune? The fathers indicate one way for this: do not be left alone, have an experienced adviser and leader. If there is none, get two or three together and be mutually guided in the light of the fatherly writings. I don’t know of any other way to avoid the errors of mysticism, except perhaps for the special grace-filled guidance that God’s chosen few were granted. But these are features; and we are talking about ways of life that are common to everyone. (30, pp. 233–235) Mental prayer itself has an urgent need for guidance Mental prayer itself has an extreme need for guidance as long as it is self-made or laborious. It is at this time that mental prayer, not guided by a skilled hand, most often goes astray... For all the fathers who wrote guides to spiritual life, the first point in the rules for those entering the inner life is: to have a spiritual father-guide and to obey him. I will cite here one or two of their speeches... This is what Gregory of Sinaite says: “Without a teacher, it is impossible to succeed in smart doing. What you do on your own, and not on the advice of those who have succeeded, gives rise to dangerous conceit. If the Son of God did not create anything about Himself, but as the Father taught Him, He did so, and the Holy Spirit did not speak about Himself, then who is this among us who has reached such a height of perfection that he no longer requires anyone else to guide him? This is pride, not virtue! Such a person is already in delusion, that is, he has embarked on the false path of evasion into error.” And in active life, rarely does anyone manage without stumbling, remaining with only their prudence. But here, at least, the harm is not so great: one thing done wrong, if necessary, and it’s easy to redo it or do it properly another time. In smart doing, deviation from the right path gives its direction to everything internal, which cannot suddenly be changed. Some of these, as we have seen, become entangled in the networks of imagination, others stop at mental activity, or, according to Simeon the New Theologian, at the first and second degrees of attention and prayer or mental activity. And when they are entrenched in this system, the most experienced and most diligent mentor will hardly be able, if only he can, to knock them out or lure them out of these slums in which they imprison themselves, finding them extremely delightful. (30, pp. 236–239) Mental prayer avoids the danger of delusion when self-esteem burns in its fire So, when mental prayer is established and reaches the final degree of its perfection, at which the mind, clinging to God, becomes numb in unity with Him (filled with love and devotion to God), then self-love burns in this fire, and as a result, the danger from delusions passes. (30, pp. 235–236) When mental prayer does not pose any danger and serves as its own protection Mental prayer is when you, standing in your heart with attention, cry out to the Lord and ask, or repent, or thank, or glorify Him. There is also no danger in this action; such a prayer serves as its own protection. For the Lord is here if you turn to Him with faith. Now you can actually try this. (12, p. 57) Two wrongs with warmth: love of warmth and lustful sweetness Since the warmth that accompanies the Jesus Prayer is not accompanied by spiritual feelings, it should not be called spiritual, but simply warmth of the blood; and she, being such, is not bad if she is not in connection with lustful pleasure, although light; and if it is, then it is bad and must be expelled. This wrongness happens when warmth goes below the heart. The second wrong is when, having fallen in love with this warmth, you limit everything to it alone, not caring about spiritual feelings and even about the memory of God, but only about the existence of this warmth; this wrongness is possible, although not for everyone and not always, but from time to time. It is necessary to notice this and correct it, because in this case it will remain blood warmth, animal... (12, p. 65) Lustful irritation should be stopped immediately The fact that there was lustful irritation is very bad. It could be an accident; but this should not be allowed, but must be stopped immediately... Otherwise, instead of a spiritual matter, it will turn out to be sensual and, instead of good, it will bring evil fruit. Read about this in the Philokalia, especially about how to keep your attention. (12, p. 195) Spiritual voluptuousness from increased attention to warmth In-depth prayer to the Lord arouses warmth. Experienced fathers strictly differentiate between physical warmth, simple, which occurs as a result of concentrating forces on the heart through attention and tension; bodily warmth, lustful, which is sometimes immediately instilled and supported by the enemy, and spiritual warmth, sober, pure. It is of two kinds: natural, due to the union of the mind with the heart, and gracious. Experience teaches us to distinguish between each of them. This warmth is sweet, and it is desirable to maintain it both for the sake of this sweetness itself and for the sake of the fact that it conveys good mood to everything internal. But whoever strives to maintain and strengthen this warmth through one sweetness will develop spiritual voluptuousness in himself. Therefore, teetotalers strain, bypassing this sweetness, to establish themselves in the presence of the Lord with complete devotion to Him, as if placing themselves in His hands; they do not rely on the sweetness emanating from the warmth and do not pay attention to it. But it is possible to cling to it with attention and, resting in it, as in warm peace or clothing, support it alone, without stretching your thoughts higher. Mystics [in seduction| They didn’t go further than this; they considered this state to be the highest: there was complete thoughtlessness, immersed in some kind of emptiness. This is the state of contemplation of mystics. It has nothing in common with the state of contemplation that existed among the great teetotaler fathers. (30, pp. 219–220) Spiritual voluptuousness from the departure of the fear of God and illness Are you afraid of falling into spiritual lust? How will it get here?! After all, prayer is not done for sweetness, but because it is a duty to serve God in this way; sweetness is a necessary accessory to true service. In addition, the main thing in prayer is to stand before God with the mind in the heart with reverence and fear, which sobers up and drives away all whims and implants pain in the heart before God. These feelings: fear of God and pain, or a contrite and humble heart, are the main features of real inner prayer and the test of any prayer, by which we must judge whether our prayer is proceeding in the proper order or not. When they are there, prayer is in order. When they are not there, it is not in order, and it is necessary to insert it into your rank. In their absence, sweetness and warmth can give rise to conceit, and this is spiritual pride... and this will be a destructive charm. Then the sweetness and warmth will go away; only the memory of them will remain... and the soul will still think that it has them. - Fear this and kindle more the fear of God, humility and painful falling towards God, always walking in the presence of God. This is the main thing! (12, p. 146) The humble have nothing to fear from charms There is nothing to be afraid of. It happens to those who are proud... who begin to think that once the warmth has gone into the heart, this is already the end of perfection. But this is just the beginning, and perhaps not a lasting one. For both warmth and tranquility of the heart are natural, the fruit of concentration of attention. But we must work and work, wait and wait until the natural is replaced by grace. Anyway, it’s best to never consider yourself to have achieved anything, but to always see yourself: poor, naked, blind and worthless. (12, pp. 195–196) He who walks painlessly will not receive fruit You need to know that a sure sign of the goodness of a feat and at the same time a condition for success through it is pain. The one who walks painlessly will not receive fruit. Heart disease and physical labor bring into manifestation the gift of the Holy Spirit, given to every believer in the Holy Spirit. In Baptism, which by our negligence about fulfilling the commandments is buried in passions, but by the ineffable mercy of God is resurrected again in repentance. Do not give up on your labors because they are painful, lest you be condemned for infertility and hear: take the talent from him. Any feat, physical or mental, that is not accompanied by pain and does not require labor, does not bear fruit: the Kingdom of Heaven is in need, and the needy women delight it (Matthew 11:12). (30, pp. 187–188) There will be no memory of God - there will be no spiritual life We must remember God. We must bring this to the point that the thought of God becomes akin to and dissolves with the mind and heart, and with our consciousness. In order for such a memory and such a thought to be established, one must work on oneself without laziness. Work hard - God willing, you will achieve this; If you don’t work, you won’t achieve it. If you don’t achieve this, nothing will come of you; you will not receive any success in spiritual life; Yes, it will not exist at all, for this is spiritual life. That's how vitally important it is! (3, p. 181) 10. Conclusion. He who has received unceasing prayer is already on the threshold of heaven. The mystery of unceasing prayer in love for the Lord Pray unceasingly—work in prayer—and you will acquire unceasing prayer, which itself will begin to take place in your heart without much strain. It is obvious to everyone that the commandment of St. The apostle's work is not fulfilled by simply performing the prescribed prayers at certain hours, but requires always walking before God, dedicating all affairs to God, the all-seeing and omnipresent, kindling a warm conversion towards Him with the mind in the heart. All life, in all its manifestations, must be imbued with prayer. Its secret is love for the Lord. Just as a bride, who has loved the groom, is not separated from him in memory and feeling; So the soul, united with the Lord in love, remains relentlessly with Him, turning warm conversations to Him from the heart. Cling to the Lord; there is one spirit with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17). (38, p. 219) Thoughts and a short prayer nourish the feelings of the heart While straining to hold the thought of God, do not keep it bare, but combine with it all the concepts you know about God, Divine properties and actions, deepening your mind in this or that. Think more about God’s creation and providence, about the incarnation of God the Word and the work of our salvation completed by Him, about His death, resurrection and ascension into heaven, the sending of the Holy Spirit, the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. The Church, the guardian of truth and grace, and about the preparation of heavenly mansions for all believers in the Kingdom of Heaven - and for yourself. Consider also the properties of God - ineffable goodness, wisdom, omnipotence, truth, omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience, all-bliss and greatness. Please discuss all this during prayer, or better yet, especially while reading. When you discuss everything and clearly contemplate, then when you think about God you will not have a bare thought, but a thought accompanied and attracting many saving thoughts that act on the heart and excite the energy of the spirit. You can compose your own short prayer of praise to God, which would combine all this. For example, even in this form: Glory to You, God, worshiped in the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Soul! Glory to Thee, Who created all things! Glory to You, who has honored us with Your image! Glory to You, who did not abandon us in our fall! Glory to You, Lord Jesus Christ, who came, became incarnate, suffered, died for us, rose again, ascended into heaven and sent down the Most Holy Spirit to us, established Your Church for our salvation and promised and established the Kingdom of Heaven for us! Glory to You, Lord, who wonderfully arranges the salvation of every person and entire nations. Glory to You, Lord, who draws me to salvation. (3, pp. 181–182) Love does not allow you to forget your beloved Lord even for a minute Look over your entire life from the beginning, as you began to remember yourself, and notice all the cases of unexpected deliverance from trouble and unexpected receipt of joy. We don’t even notice many troubles, because they pass us by unnoticed by us. But, looking back, we cannot help but see that there was trouble here and there and it passed us by: but how it passed, we cannot say. Look at such cases in your life and confess that it was the mercy of God, who loved you, towards you. Know that the hidden mercies of God for us - for each of us - are countless, for everything is from God. Confess these mercies and thank God with all your heart. But if you delve well into the course of your life, you will find many cases of God’s obvious mercy towards you. There would have been trouble, but it passed - you don’t know how. God delivered. Confess this and thank God who loves you. And the knowledge of the mercies common to all warms the heart, all the more so will it be warmed by the sight of mercies specifically for you. Love kindles love. Having felt how much the Lord loves you, you cannot remain cold towards Him: your heart itself will be drawn towards Him with thanksgiving and love. Keep your heart under the influence of such a conviction of the Lord’s love for you - and the warmth of your heart will soon grow into the flame of love for the Lord. When this is accomplished, then you will not need any reminders to remember God, and no instructions on how to succeed in this. Love does not allow you to forget your beloved Lord even for a minute. Se is the limit. Please accept this in your mind, and accept it with conviction. And then, to this end, direct all the work undertaken to establish thoughts about God in the mind and heart. (3, pp. 183–184) To stand with your mind in your heart means to ignite in it the fire that the Lord came to bring to earth. First God created the light poured out; and on the fourth day he concentrated it near the sun. So it is in spiritual life - both when reading and when thinking about God, during prayer, and in church, and during conversation, there is warmth in the heart; but somehow light, inspired, not grafted. It must be concentrated in the heart, grafted onto it, smolder and burn. Then whatever. This is the fire that the Lord came to bring to earth. God bless you. Work hard; but do not think that you yourself can do anything, but cry out with contrition: Lord, help. Lord, light it up! “One old man begged the Most Pure Mother of God for two years, and she gave him fire, and, he says, it became good. – And you pray and work, i.e. look for how to establish yourself in the heart. And the Lord, seeing your work and the fact that you sincerely desire this good, will give you the grace of heartfelt burning. This means standing in the heart. Then you can only stand when it lights up, and until then it’s hard work. Don't be timid. Run around with different imaginations. There is nothing special about all this. This is the general way. Be strong. The Mother of God is your helper... Father Fr. Seraphim will teach. Remember how once during mass he was embraced by the fire of his heart. What a blissful state! – It is possible in us too. “And it requires a lot of work, just constant work.” This is heaven! - Seek and you will find. Push and it will be opened to you. (6, pp. 44–45) Start a mental feat and see for yourself The brother said: what is mental feat? The elder answered: mental feat is the effort of the mind to preserve the memory of death, judgment, retribution, etc.; but mainly, there is the contemplation of the Lord before me and the constant thought of God. (28, p. 72) God is everywhere, and our soul is completely before Him through and through. You must also stand before Him with your consciousness. How all the Angels and Saints see Him and do not take their eyes off Him; so we, who still exist in the body, need to behold Him. Just as the sun holds the planets and leads them along with it, so the entire spiritual world, including our souls, must hold on to God and be led by Him. And this is not an hour or two, but continuously, from the moment of awakening until oblivion in sleep. You can’t suddenly put yourself in this state. A feat is needed. - This is what is needed now. - Grab it! There is nothing to be afraid of. – To explain the matter, read the articles on sobriety in the Philokalia. Attention must be placed above the heart. You need to get out of your head and into your heart. Now you have the thought of God in your head, but God himself seems to be outside - and it turns out that this is external work. While you are in your head, your thoughts will not calm down and everything will melt like snow or summer pushers. As your attention enters the heart, thoughts will begin to subside, and then completely subside - and the atmosphere of the soul will become pure, pure. Then the fly will fly by, you’ll notice, but before that it’s all darkness. The beginning of the fruit is a concentrated and unceasing warmth in the heart. And that's it. – Only familiarity with the Lord must be abandoned. Great fear is required. Just as great nobles stand in order before the King, so let the soul also be before God. What is the indecent position of the body before the face of the King, are the faulty thoughts of the soul before God; and forgetting about God, even for a minute, is the same as turning your back to the Tsar... Fill your soul with fear. It is not painful, but refreshing. He is the beginning; but it doesn’t leave it the whole way, it just gets cleaner and cleaner. Solitude and reading are two wings of this activity. But start - and see for yourself everything. What helps and what ruins will be revealed now. But we must strictly implement what we have learned. Conscience will come into its own and begin to scold. Listen. How many quibbles there will be! Do it. Afterwards everything will equalize and go smoothly. God help you! (6, pp. 48–49) False states are not a reproach to the truth, but a call to renounce everything Like a tied bird it flies and falls to the ground again, although it is tied by the smallest member; just as one who has a dusty eye opens it, but sees nothing with it, so one who has an addiction thinks that he has gone deeper into God, but thereby only deceives himself. In this state there are false visions, the seduction of fantasy, and together - the charm of Satan, who loves and knows how to take advantage of all our weaknesses. Many were amazed at this and died forever. However, this should not serve as a reproach to the truth or stop the zeal and desire of those who seek. One should only not forget the wise rules left by the God-wise fathers, that is, when striving towards God, one should not forget to renounce everything and strictly begin with the latter, or turn primarily to it. (6, p. 345) It’s more convenient for monks, but life in God is not impossible for laypeople either The degrees of this renunciation are distinguished first by the painful rejection of the heart from sensory things through anger, then by lack of taste for them, and then by contemplating them from God, without turning away from God. For renunciation from everything, as well as for life in God, it is best for those who are willing, able, and called to choose a special kind of life - monastic or hermit. Moreover, it is more convenient that both appear in all their purity and maturity. And in the course of ordinary life this is not impossible, but it is associated with great difficulties and obstacles. It happens better when someone, having established himself to live in God at a distance from the world, then comes out or is called upon to work in the common life. In this, life according to God has a special effect, he is God’s representative for people, spreading His blessing to everything. (6, pp. 345–346) The fruits of unceasing prayer prepare the soul for the future vision of God God has no form or image, therefore those who love the truth try by all means to elevate themselves to the state of seeing the Lord before them without an image, with simple, pure thought. This is the height of perfection in walking with God. The fruits of this walk are countless; but, most importantly, from him the purity and purity of words, thoughts, desires, deeds naturally passes into our lives... Another fruit from this is a certain warmth of spirit. God's vision cannot be cold if it is true. As you improve in your vision of God, your warmth also increases. Afterwards they merge and, both vision and warmth, turn into a single, continuous action of the spirit. This mood of spirit is the best preparation for the future, all-blessed vision of God. Whoever has established himself in it is already standing on the threshold of paradise, he is ripe for it. Anyone who does not know how to see God or, having thought about Him, turns away from Him, feeling that this is unpleasant and scary and obliges him to a lot, let him take care of himself; for from this one can also infer about the future. (6, pp. 343–344) We are talking about the book of St. Theophan “Letters on Spiritual Life”, compiled regarding the letters of Count M.M. Speransky. – Approx. comp. This rule, given by Saint Theophan, is applicable only at a certain level of prayer, and its implementation should be discussed with the confessor. – Approx. comp. We are talking about the artistic making of the Jesus Prayer according to St. Simeon the New Theologian. – Approx. comp. The Monk Maxim Kapsokalivit (Kavsokalivit) asceticised on Holy Mount Athos in the 14th century. He led a particularly strict ascetic life in extraordinary feats of spiritual life. He received the special grace of mental prayer “through the intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos for his special reverence for Her and for his deeds.” – Approx. comp.