Contents

Conversation 1. About the importance of prayer

Conversation 2. About the power of prayer

Conversation 3. About the Beneficence of Prayer

Conversation 4. About the need for prayer

Conversation 5. Signs and types of prayer

Conversation 6. About doxology

Conversation 7. About the Prayer of Thanksgiving

Conversation 8. About petitionary prayer

Conversation 9. About internal and external prayer

Conversation 10. On unceasing prayer

Conversation 11. On connecting internal prayer with external prayer

Conversation 12. On private and public prayer

Conversation 13. Who should pray

Conversation 14. When to pray

Conversation 15. About church prayer

Conversation 16. What is needed for true prayer and pleasing to God

Conversation 17. About faith

Conversation 18. On calling on the sweetest name of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ

Conversation 19. About love

Conversation 20. What else is needed for successful prayer?

Conversation 21. On calling upon saints during prayer

Conversation 22. What should you ask God first of all?

Conversation 23. About asking for moisture needed for temporary life

Conversation 24. About external goods

Conversation 25. A Christian should pray not only for himself, but also for others

Conversation 26. Prayer should howl constantly and relentlessly

Conversation 27. About patience and selflessness

Conversation 28. About spiritual wakefulness and sobriety during prayer

Conversation 29. How to resist the enemy of our salvation

Conversation 30. When prayer can be sinful

Application

Conversation 1. On the importance of prayer

God, who created the world and everything in it, being the Lord of heaven and earth, does not require the service of human hands, as if he needed anything, Himself giving to everything life and breath and everything. He is not far from each of us: for in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:24-28).

We call God All-Perfect because He is completeness and perfection, the treasure of all goods and the Giver of life, the inexhaustible source of all gifts, both spiritual and physical. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness or shadow of turning (James 1:17). God created us all and provides for every person: He commands His sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unjust (Matthew 5:45).

God knows what is good for us, knows all our needs and is able to fulfill them even without our request, but it is said: Ask, and it will be given to you (Matthew 7:7); pray for those who use you and persecute you (Matt. 5:44); pray to your Father who is in secret (Matthew 6:6); watch and pray so that you do not fall into temptation (Matt. 26:41); we must always pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1). The Lord commanded Christians to pray and gave them a model in the prayer “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9-13).

He explained to people why they should pray: Everyone who asks (from God) receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Is there a man among you who, when his son asks him for bread, would give him a stone? So if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him (Matthew 7:8-11). Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3).

The importance of prayer lies in the fact that a person in prayer communicates with God Himself, turns to Him as a Father and Benefactor and is rewarded with His love, help and all kinds of benefits, and, finally, realizes that true goodness lies in knowing God and getting closer to Him; prayer itself is the highest gift and benefit not only for man, but also for the Angels.

Prone to pride, in prayer a person humbles himself before God and realizes his complete poverty, both physical and spiritual; learns to recognize the omnipotence of God and his own helplessness, the inexhaustible love and mercy of God and his own damnation and inclination to evil.

Finally, by praying, a person becomes spiritual from the carnal; approaching God, he begins to renounce the world and its idols more and more, fear eternal destruction and seek salvation.

If a person does not pray, then he moves more and more away and turns away from God, becomes an enemy of God, a slave of his passions, the world and the devil.

Thus, prayer is the foundation and essence of the entire life of a Christian. The Lord commanded us to seek not temporary, earthly well-being, but first of all, eternal blessings, the Kingdom of Heaven (Luke 12:31), which is located inside, in the human heart (Luke 17:21); in other words, the Kingdom of Heaven is prayer that cleanses, enlightens and sanctifies the human heart.

All of the above is not exhaustive, but it already sufficiently shows the importance of prayer. The first thing a Christian needs to do is pray. But, unfortunately, not everyone prays, and even those who pray do not know how to pray, not knowing and not understanding what is required for our prayer to achieve its goal. Many people only think that they are praying and spend quite a lot of time staying in the temple or reading the rules at home, but at the same time, no matter how scary or strange it may seem, they never pray and therefore are far from their salvation.

How can this be? Remember about the Pharisee from the Gospel parable: not having a proper idea of ​​God, faith in His omnipotence, omniscience and other Divine and incomprehensible properties for us, not having the fear of God, the Pharisee thought that prayer was a reason for narcissism, a kind of external rite that should be performed very impressively and ceremoniously, for show to everyone around – let them be edified how pious and righteous he is, let them take an example from him. Such people have not known and loved God with all their hearts, therefore they draw near to Him with their lips and honor Him with their tongue, but their heart is far from God (Matthew 15:8); they are driven not by reverence or the fear of God, but by the commandments of men, that is, vanity, or man-pleasing, or fear of punishment from stronger people (see Is. 29:13).

St. wrote that this often happens among Christians. Tikhon of Zadonsk1 and other Holy Fathers, you can see this for yourself. Ask these “pagans” what they just prayed for – they will be extremely confused and, at best, will say that they read the rule or were in church. Maybe someone will honestly say in response: “I didn’t listen to the words of the prayer well (or didn’t think about prayer), because I was very worried about one problem, and I kept thinking about how I could solve it.” Ask him if he believes that God would easily solve his problem if he only asked Him with all humility and contrition. The answer would be silence and complete misunderstanding of the question. Alas, many “prayer people” do not believe that prayer will help them in any way, but rather tend to use all sorts of tricks and other not entirely appropriate measures to achieve their goals.

As we see, it is not enough to just come to church or read the rule, but you need to learn prayer in order to pray correctly, for the cleansing and forgiveness of your sins, and not for their multiplication, since incorrect prayer is a sin (Ps. 109:7). This brief digression has been made to call your attention to the importance of prayer and to awaken due diligence in learning to pray correctly.

Perhaps, having carefully considered everything that has just been said, someone will be confused and say: “But how can one take on such a task that requires the fullness of spiritual perfection and a truly Christian life? How far I am from everything spiritual, for my whole mind is nailed to earthly things!” We will console and encourage such a seeker of God’s truth: such words are already prayer2, such a disposition of spirit is already spiritual poverty, necessary for prayer. The main thing is to make a good start and realize that we do not know how to pray at all, then we will diligently seek spiritual guidance and sincerely desire to at least taste that grace-filled prayer that the reverend fathers acquired, who devoted their entire lives to prayer.

So, let us learn prayer by carefully reading and listening to the word of God, studying the experience and instructions of the Holy Fathers and teachers of the Holy Church, who knew its importance, power and dignity and experienced its blessed fruits in practice.

Here is what Saint John Chrysostom says about prayer: “It would be fair to call prayer the nerves of the soul: for just as the body holds, moves, stands and lives with the help of nerves, so a well-ordered soul easily passes the narrow and difficult path of piety through holy prayers. If you deprive yourself of prayer, you will be like a fish taken out of water: for just as water is the life of a fish, so prayer is the life of your soul.”3

Saint John Climacus teaches: “For the soul, food is prayer: for just as the body weakens without food, so does the soul without prayer; and the soul cannot otherwise receive from God the grace that revives and strengthens it, unless it asks for it through prayer.”4

“Prayer,” says St. Isaac the Syrian, “is an attraction of help, a source of salvation, a treasure of hope, a refuge that protects from unrest, a light in darkness for those sitting, strengthening the weak, protection during temptations, help in a serious illness, a shield protecting in battle, an arrow sharp against enemies – in a word, all the great benefits from prayer.”5

According to St. Theodore of Edessa, “prayer is a solid wall, a calm haven, a guardian of virtues, destruction of passions, strength of the soul, purgatory of the mind, peace for the weary, consolation for those who cry, angelic pleasure, attraction of blessings, Queen of virtues”6.

According to the teachings of St. Gregory of Sinai, “prayer is the fulfillment of hope, the manifestation of love, the Angelic movement, the power of the Bodiless, their occupation and joy, the gospel of God, the confirmation of the heart, a sign of sanctification, the guarantee of the Holy Spirit, the joy of Jesus, the joy of the soul, the sign of reconciliation, the seal of Christ, the ray of the intelligent sun, the dawn of hearts, the affirmation of Christianity, God’s grace and God’s wisdom, or better, the beginning of all wisdom, occupation monks, the life of the silent, the cause of peace, evidence of angelic life: and is it necessary to say more? Prayer is the Divine power that produces everything in everyone, for whoever produces everything through prayer in Christ Jesus has the same power with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”7

Prayer is so important! It embraces both heaven and earth; contains both the temporary and the eternal! Without prayer you cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven, you cannot perform a single truly good deed, you cannot think of anything good, and finally, you cannot take a single step in a Christian, God-pleasing life! Can anyone be more unhappy than that person who does not pray to God and does not care about acquiring prayer – this highest gift, a Divine gift? Only evil deeds and evil thoughts are characteristic of a person who lives without prayer. Anyone who does not pray is overwhelmed by passions, becomes all carnal, evil, envious and crafty – he is likened to senseless cattle and, worse, to the demons themselves. If your eye is bad, then your whole body will be dark. Therefore, if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness?(Matt. 6:23).

Brothers in Christ Jesus! Pray a strong prayer, so that you may be strong in everything; pray always, so as not to weaken in zeal; love prayer, and the Lord will love you; master prayer, and the Lord himself will master you; and if the Lord is with us, we will fear nothing, we will never be ashamed, we will never lack anything. Amen.

Conversation 2. About the power of prayer

What is the power of prayer? You can answer very briefly: nothing is impossible for prayer. So powerful is prayer to God!

Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself gave the following promise to all who believe in Him: Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you (John 16:23). “There is no such thing that cannot be asked from God by prayer; if only what was asked was good and was asked as it should be,” – this is how the great saint of our Orthodox Church, Demetrius of Rostov, taught8.

Through prayer, nature is conquered and its laws are changed. Barren Anna, the mother of the prophet Samuel, asked God for a son through prayer. The righteous Joachim and Anna, being barren and already elderly, did not stop praying and through prayer asked God for a Daughter, the like of whom was not on earth. The prophet Elijah closed the sky with prayer for three and a half years and then again with prayer brought down rain on the earth, which had dried up from such a terrible lack of rain.

Prayer is extremely necessary in the battle against enemies, visible and invisible, as a powerful weapon. Here is what St. John Chrysostom says about this: “If demons see us armed with prayer, they immediately run away with the same fear with which robbers and criminals evade the sword of justice, sharpened and aimed at their heads.”9 Victory over demons is granted to those who pray by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who said:In My Name they will cast out demons(Mark 16:17).

The Lord of Forces, called to help, also strengthens the strength of the warriors defending their people and the Fatherland, and makes them invincible. In the Old Testament we find a narrative in which spiritual warfare is likened to real battle. Between the ancient Israelites, led by Joshua, and their irreconcilable enemies – the Amalekites, descendants of Amalek, the grandson of Esau, the battle lasted the whole day; when the hands of the prophet Moses, who was looking at the battle from afar and praying, were raised to heaven, then victory leaned towards the side of the Israelites; and when they, weakening, sank, success passed to the side of the Amalekites. Aaron and Hur, seeing this, began to support the weakened hands of the praying Moses on both sides. And his hands were raised until the sun went down. And Joshua(Joshua) overthrew Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword (Ex. 17:8-13).

Prayer makes the impossible possible, for all things are possible with God (Mark 10:27). Joshua stopped the moon and the sun by the power of prayer (Joshua 10:13). The prophet Isaiah, through prayer, brought back the sun’s shadow ten steps in front of the king’s eyes (Is. 38:8). The prophet Moses, by the power of prayer, divided the waters of the Red Sea, so that they parted, and the children of Israel passed through the middle of the sea as if on dry land, and the waters stood as a wall on the right and on the left (Ex. 14:15-22). Three pious youths, thrown into a fiery furnace at the command of the king of Babylon, praying to God and believing that he was able to save them, remained unharmed (Dan. 3:24-95).

Prayer attracts the invisible power of God to us to deliver us from any troubles and misfortunes. The apostles of Christ Paul and Silas, thrown into prison, around midnight, praying, sang to God – suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundation of the prison shook; immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bands were loosed (Acts 16:24-26).

The prayer of repentance restrains the hand of God’s justice, already extended to defeat sinners. So the prophet Jonah, swallowed up by a whale of the sea for disobedience to God, did not die, but prayed with firm faith in the mercy of God, and The Lord commanded the whale, and it spewed Jonah onto dry land (Jon. 2). The Ninevites, having heard from the prophet that in forty days their city would be destroyed, believed God, and declared a fast, and dressed in sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them, turned from their evil way and cried out strongly to God, and so they turned away the wrath of God and asked for mercy (Jon. 3).

Rightly said St. John Chrysostom that there is nothing stronger than prayer10. Prayer works the most incredible miracles. But why do we have such powerlessness, such weakness of soul and body? We don’t have prayer, we don’t know it, we don’t know how to pray, but, what’s worst, we don’t like and don’t want to pray. God! Teach us to pray! Help us to desire to pray! Instruct us to pray to You to grant us prayer! Amen.

Conversation 3. About the Beneficence of Prayer

Prayer, having entered a person’s heart, leads with it all the virtues, like a queen accompanied by her retinue11. If those who talk with wise men soon become wise from frequent conversation, then what can we say about those who talk with God in prayer? What virtue, knowledge, wisdom, gift of grace will not prayer fill them with? Truly, he will not sin who recognizes prayer as the cause of all virtue and truth in man and who says that without prayer the soul cannot become pious at all.

The first beneficial fruit of prayer is the saving fear of God, which manifests itself in the prayer’s avoidance of all sin and in the desire to please God. According to St. John Chrysostom, whoever has ascended mentally to heaven and brought himself closer to the Lord, puts aside all worldly cares, takes inspiration and becomes above human passions13.

The most desired fruit of prayer, the whole goal of Christian life, according to the teaching of St. Seraphim of Sarov, is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). The Good Comforter in the sorrows and trials of this life, the Holy Spirit enlightens, admonishes, teaches us everything and accomplishes our salvation: encourages us to repentance, cleanses us from sins and sanctifies.

The gracious gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to us in the Sacraments of the Holy Church through the prayers of the clergy, through fervent prayer, and we must prepare ourselves to receive grace. Thus, in the Sacrament of Anointing, mental and physical illnesses are healed through prayer. Is any of you sick, let him call the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will heal the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they will forgive him. Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed: the fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much (James 5:14-16).

Prayer not only heals the soul and body, it gracefully changes the entire human nature: it makes the evil good, the angry into meek, the prodigal into chaste, the talkative into silent, the proud into humble, in other words, it makes a sinner righteous. The Holy Spirit, attracted in prayer, drives away passions and brings down gracious peace, consolation and tenderness into the heart, so that the one praying sings to God together with the Angels: Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:14).

St. Apostle Paul spoke briefly and expressively about the benefits of prayer in his Epistle to the Romans: Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom. 10:13). And St. John Climacus calls prayer God’s reconciliation, cleansing of sins, a source of virtues, a giver of grace-filled gifts, invisible prosperity, enlightenment of thoughts, affirmation of hope, destruction of sadness, quenching of anger, a foreshadowing of the coming glory14.

But do we all, who do not like and are lazy to pray, know what is useful and beneficial for us? Are we not like the prodigal son from the Gospel parable, who was burdened by being in the Father’s house? Whoever of us does not like to pray is an enemy to himself and an enemy to his eternal salvation! Amen.

Conversation 4. About the need for prayer

So, we have seen how important, powerful and beneficial prayer is. From these saving qualities of prayer follows its urgent necessity for man, who is weak in himself, oppressed from everywhere and, without God’s help, deeply unhappy.

Look what happens to us every day, almost every hour? We are constantly afraid of losing our health or our own life, someone close to us, our livelihood, property, housing, work; subject to thousands of other troubles and evils threatening from everywhere. We are constantly in danger of losing faith and falling into the most serious sins: the world seduces us, and our flesh rises up against us, and the devil walks around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

Who saves us and protects us from all the upcoming dangers that threaten our powerlessness, if not the Merciful Lord? Let us earnestly pray to Him. If any misfortune befalls us by the will of God, then prayer will help us to see the hand of God in what happened, accept righteous punishment, that is, God’s admonition, and say with gratitude to God: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, naked I will return. The Lord gave, the Lord also took away; as the Lord pleased, so it was done; Blessed be the name of the Lord!(Job.1:21).

When punishment befalls us from the Lord, we will immediately think about what we have that the Lord would not give us – only sins and failures. How many deviations from God’s law have we had, how many quarrels and bickering, how many insults and untruths; how much disrespect for superiors; how much failure to fulfill their duties; how much rioting, drunkenness and all kinds of debauchery; how much disorder there is in our families; how much infidelity there is between spouses; How much disrespect and disobedience do children show to the will of those who gave birth and raised them? How can we live without trepidation with all such and similar impurities; How have you not yet fallen under the heavy hand of God, which suppresses and eradicates all evil? But how can one appease the Righteous God, if not through the prayer of a contrite and humble heart?

Our wandering among this world is difficult and dangerous: the sea of ​​life is vast and great, waves of passions and confusion boil everywhere on it. The ship of our life cannot stay afloat without a reliable Pilot. Spiritual infirmities, physical illnesses and everyday sorrows are often so difficult and unbearable for us that we sometimes lose spirit, become discouraged and despair. Who will support us, who will give us strength, fortitude, hope, patience and trust, if not God Himself through our fervent prayer to Him?

Only prayer can be true reinforcement and firm support on all paths of our lives. It nourishes, encourages and lives us from above – from the Merciful God, brings down beneficial rays of faith, hope, patience and trust into our sad souls and sorrowful hearts and delivers us from all troubles.

Our Lord Jesus Christ extends His compassionate voice to everyone: Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28) – and He Himself invisibly comes to those who groan before Him in reverent prayer. And if it is easier and more joyful for our sorrowful heart when it opens its grief and shares it with its friend, then what kind of consolation can one expect for himself who, in devoted and earnest prayer, pours out his sorrow before the Lord and with trust places the burden of his sorrows on Him? None of our earthly friends can compare in kindness and generosity with our Heavenly Father, and none of the people is able to give us that consolation that God, incomprehensible in mercies and rich in His bounties, can always send down to us.

Prayer is so necessary for us, the weak, the poor and the infirm, on the paths of our sorrowful life! Without it, it is impossible for a person to survive or to be saved, even on earth. We have already talked about the need for prayer for our eternal salvation in previous conversations.

Happy are those people who know how to pray; on the contrary, extreme disaster befalls one who does not know how to pray. Not being able to pray is tantamount to not having anything good and forever dooming oneself to languor and torment. Amen.

Conversation 5. Signs and types of prayer

It is truly impossible to express what prayer is in its essence, for prayer is the highest gift of God and true prayer is taught by the Holy Spirit Himself (Rom. 8:26). We, beginners, can formulate a general concept of prayer and begin to become familiar with it, studying and assimilating its characteristic features.

Until we are still able to pray in a dignified manner, we are like those who teach little children to walk. Always try to raise your thought to grief, or, better said, to deepen your thought into the understanding of the prayer words, and even if it becomes tired in its infancy, raise it again, for inconstancy is characteristic of our thought, but He who can affirm everything, of course, can restore your thought15.

So, the first sign of true prayer is complete detachment from earthly and worldly thoughts and concentrated attention on the words of prayer. And indeed, in order for prayer to have inner strength, the person praying must pray with his whole being, with all his thoughts and with all his heart, and only then will he most vividly feel the co-presence of the grace and power of God, which will help him lift his mind and heart to God.

According to St. Anthony the Great, that prayer is imperfect in which we do not even understand what we are praying for16. The second sign of true prayer seems to complement the first: one cannot concentrate entirely on what is not understood. When we pray about our needs, there is no need to explain them. But when we pray according to the prayer book and say the prayers of the Holy Fathers, often these prayers are not entirely clear, sometimes because they are written in an ancient language, but most importantly, because we do not yet understand their true meaning, we are still far from a truly spiritual life, we have not yet reached such heights in our thoughts, feelings and desires.

The third sign of prayer, which we will call perhaps the most important: due reverence. Prayer is a person’s heartfelt conversation with God, sometimes even in the depths of his spirit, without the mediation of external signs. To truly pray, one must have a filial relationship with God, while having faith in the omnipresence of God and His mysteriously gracious presence in us. One should talk to Him with filial love, as with a friend of the heart; must open your soul to Him and surrender yourself to His Holy will, just as a grateful and devoted child surrenders all of his thoughts, feelings, desires – in a word, all of himself to the will of his caring father. True reverence, in addition to filial love and devotion, also implies the fear of God, for we, sinners, praying, stand before the Lord of heaven and earth. The fear of God will greatly help us not to become distracted or distracted in our minds.

Finally, let us remember the Lord’s commandment that we should pray to Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23–24). Truth is Holy Orthodoxy, that is, perfect, infallible faith in the Holy Trinity, therefore the Lord rejects the prayers of heretics and those who sin against the truths of the Holy Church. To pray in spirit means to renounce everything earthly and worldly, ascending to God in thought and heart with all attention and zeal, reverence and understanding of the meaning of prayer. At the same time, it becomes obvious that to pray only outwardly, for show, in a pharisaical manner, as if performing some rite or custom, or, comparing prayer with some boring and difficult duty, to rush and pronounce the words of the prayer carelessly and quickly in order to finish quickly, is a great sin before God.

It is also necessary to say about the signs of pious and godly prayer in the temple: one must enter the temple and remain in it with the fear of God, for God Himself, His Most Pure Mother, Angels and saints are invisibly present here. It is necessary to make an effort to leave everything worldly behind the doors of the temple and, as diligently, to calm all your thoughts; You should pray silently, standing in one place. To the one who spins around in the temple, looks around, makes noise, talks, walks here and there, interferes with others’ prayers, pushes, gets bored, or, even worse, jokes and laughs, it should rightly be said: Friend, why have you come? (Matthew 26:50). Such a person shows with all his appearance that he does not fear or honor God at all, does not believe and does not understand that in this way he insults the holy temple, the assembly of believers and God Himself.

So, we see that, according to its characteristics, prayer can be true and it can be sinful. Now let’s see what types of true prayer can be distinguished. A person talking with God in prayer either glorifies Him for Divine perfections, or thanks Him for His benefits, or asks Him for his needs17. Therefore, there are three main types of prayers: doxology, thanksgiving and petition.

In doxology we glorify God as the all-perfect, all-righteous, all-holy, all-satisfied, all-blessed Creator. In thanksgiving we thank God as Provider, Redeemer and Sanctifier – all-good, all-generous, all-merciful. In the petition, we ask and pray to the All-Holy, Consubstantial, Life-Giving and Indivisible Trinity for the forgiveness of our sins and the sending down of benefits to us, firstly, eternal and spiritual, and secondly, temporary and physical.

Depending on the purity that someone’s mind acquires, and according to the nature of the state in which the person praying finds himself, these basic types of prayer become even more diverse, and therefore we can say that in general no one has a completely uniform prayer. According to some teachers of the Church, petition is especially appropriate for beginners, who are still bound by the bonds of life and are still wounded by the thorns of vices; thanksgiving – to those whose success in virtues has reached a certain higher degree of spiritual perfection, from where they gratefully and lovingly contemplate the mercies and bounties of the Lord; doxology – to those who, having plucked from their hearts the thorns of convictions of conscience, calmly, with a pure mind, ascend to the contemplation of the highest, Divine perfections.

It is obvious that a person, even if he has not yet achieved spiritual perfection, can sometimes send up pure and fervent prayers. Even the one who is still tied to the earth, but is indignant at the thought of the coming Judgment, sometimes comes into such contrition that his heart burns no less than the one who enjoys indescribable joy and joy when contemplating Divine perfections. Such a person, knowing that only for the sake of the Savior’s merits much is forgiven him, begins, according to the word of the Lord, to love a lot (Luke 7:40–50).

For the Heavenly Father is generous and abundantly merciful to us sinners! The sweetness of prayerful conversation with Him allows both the perfect and the imperfect to taste in the Christian life, in order to save everyone and bring them to the understanding of the truth; so that all the same and with the hope of God’s mercy alone, they ask, seek and push until the doors of God’s goodness are opened, merciful and saving us all, according to the one love of the Heavenly Father!

Brothers and friends! A great and lofty thing is true prayer! And which of us has even the smallest rudiments of true prayer? But do not grieve or despair, but only ask the Lord God so that the grace of the All-Holy Spirit may touch our hearts. Then we too will be able to glorify, thank and ask the merciful God as we should. Amen.

Conversation 6. About doxology

Having given a general concept of prayer of praise, thanksgiving and petition, let’s talk about each of them in a little more detail in order to see both the motivations and patterns for each of them.

In prayer of praise, we must glorify the Lord God for His high perfections, visible in all creation. If we are careful, we will see that nature itself constantly glorifies its Creator with the singing of birds or the solemn silent grandeur of the night starry sky, the triumph of vitality and beauty, obedience to Providence, which made everything good, harmonious and natural. According to the psalmist David, the heavens tell the glory of God, but the firmament declares the works of His hands (Ps. 18:2). In nature, no matter what you look at, everything is wise, everything is infinitely magnificent and harmonious. Everything in the world reveals the incomprehensible greatness of God and the goodness of the Creator. The sun, moon and stars, light, fire, water, earth, all the elements, all creatures, all animals and the crown of God’s creations – man – everything was created by the Word of God, enlivened by His Spirit and held by His strength and power.

Therefore, the psalmist calls on all created creatures, heavenly and earthly, verbal and wordless, animate and inanimate, to glorify God, His Creator: Praise the Lord from heaven, praise Him in the highest. Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His Powers. Praise Him, O sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars and light. Praise Him, heavens of heavens and waters that are above the heavens. Praise the Lord from the earth, from the fish, and from all the deeps; fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy wind, fulfilling His word; mountains and all hills, fruitful trees and all cedars; beasts and all livestock, reptiles and birds; the kings of the earth and all the people, the princes and all the judges of the earth; young men and maidens, old men and youths(Ps. 149:1-4,7-12).

In the Apocalypse we also read that to the Lord, sitting on the throne of Heaven, every creature that is in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and on the sea, and everything that is in them, gives blessing, and honor, and glory, and worship forever and ever (Rev. 5:13).

If all creatures, even the soulless and dumb, glorify the Lord and serve Him, how can one not glorify the Lord to man, God’s creation, rational, verbal and favored by Him to the highest degree, man whom the Son of God Himself served by His incarnation and the arrangement of his eternal salvation?

On the indispensable duty of Christians to glorify God with all the strength of the soul and bodily purity of St. The Apostle Paul wrote in his Epistle to the Corinthians: Glorify God both in your body and in your soul, which are God’s (1 Cor. 6:20). And our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, commanding to do good, set the goal of all Christian morality solely to the glory of God: Let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16), – and, instructing His disciples how to pray, first of all He commanded to say this: “Our Father, hallowed be Thy name.” (Matt. 6:9-13). And He Himself showed us an example of how to glorify God, having completed, according to the will of His Father, the work of human salvation. Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. I glorified You on earth, I completed the work that You gave Me to do (John 13:31,17,4). All those who have pleased God from time immemorial have found high bliss in the praise of the Lord. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house: they will praise You forever, testifies the prophet David (Ps. 83:5).

How should we glorify God, our Creator, worshiped in the Holy Trinity? Both in word and deed.

The main content of all our Orthodox worship is the glorification of the Lord: both at Vespers, and at Matins, and at the Liturgy, the Holy Church continually glorifies the Lord. All her prayers, readings and chants begin, or continue, or end with the praise of God.

At Vespers a touching song is sung: “The quiet light of the holy glory of the Immortal Father in Heaven, the Holy, the Blessed, Jesus Christ! Having come to the west of the sun, having seen the evening light, we sing of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, God. You are worthy at all times to be reverent in your voice, O Son of God, give life; In the same way, the world glorifies You.”

During the morning service every day, the Orthodox Church pronounces a touching doxology, which was sung by the Angels, glorifying the Nativity of the Savior from the Ever-Virgin Mary: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!” (Luke 2:14).

The Holy Church glorifies the Lord especially solemnly at the Divine Liturgy. For example, in the Cherubim Song, those praying in the temple are likened to the Cherubim, glorifying God and singing the Trisagion Hymn to the Life-Giving Trinity: “Whoever secretly forms the Cherubim and sings the Trisagion Hymn to the Life-Giving Trinity, let us now put aside every earthly concern.” Further in the Eucharistic canon, the worshipers bring praise to the Lord and a “sacrifice of praise”; the victorious song of the faithful sounds: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts, fill heaven and earth with Your glory; Hosanna in the highest, blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest.”

There are many songs of praise in the books of Holy Scripture, for example, the song of righteous Anna, who became the mother of the prophet Samuel, the power of whose prayer we cited as an example in one of our previous conversations (1 Samuel 2:1-10); song of the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:46–55); song of Moses (Exodus 15:1–19). There are many psalms of praise in the Psalter, with the inscription: alleluia, i.e., “praise God.” In this conversation we have already quoted Psalm of Praise 104. Read also Psalms 105, 106, 110, 111, 112, 134, 145, 147, 148 and 150 – and you will see a living image of the glory of God. There are many prayers of praise and akathists: to the Savior, the Mother of God and the saints, especially glorified by the Holy Church.

Christians! Go to God’s church more often, pray with her the way she prays; read Divine books, especially the divinely inspired psalms of praise of the Prophet David; Read more often with feeling and tenderness akathists to Christ the Savior, His Most Pure Mother and the holy saints of God. In this way you will learn how to pray correctly and glorify God, glorified by all creatures, with the living word.

But the highest and most beneficial glorification of God for a person is glorification by deeds worthy of God! Live honestly, irreproachably, in a Christian manner, as required by the holy law of our Orthodox Church and do what your good and clear conscience tells you. Live in such a way that those who do not worship the True God, looking at your good Christian life, will say: “Great and Holy is the God of the Christian faith, Whom those who bear His holy name serve so holyly and honorably.”

Whoever glorifies the Lord in this way, in spirit and in truth, will be glorified by the Lord Himself, if not in this life, then certainly in the future, according to His immutable promise: I will glorify those who glorify Me (1 Samuel 2:30)! Amen.

Conversation 7. About the Prayer of Thanksgiving

The very first and obvious duty of every person is to thank the Lord God, Creator, Provider and Giver of all good things. The very nature of man, who is born naked and poor, that is, having nothing and not knowing how to do anything and in need of everything, is disposed to grateful prayer – it is natural for us to be grateful to parents, educators, teachers, and any benefactor. But who is more beneficial to us than our Lord? He gave us existence, our life is in His hands, and He takes care of us in all its ways. In Him we live, move and have our being (Acts 17:28); From Him come all gifts, spiritual and physical; from Him we received our mind, our health, mental and physical, all our well-being. The Lord gives us food, clothing and cover; gentle parents and kind children; loving spouses, good bosses, progress in faith and peace between people. From Him comes all that is good, all that is necessary and useful for us.

He sends rains and good air, harvests in the fields and gardens; He not only takes care of our daily needs, but also gives us the joy of innocent pleasures and pleasures: the beauty and diversity of nature, the delicate aromas of flowers and the wonderful singing of birds.

He loves and nourishes us not only on earth and for earth, but with special Fatherly love leads us to blissful eternity and the Kingdom that He has prepared for us in heaven. He did not spare His only begotten Son, but for our sake and our salvation He gave Him up to death (Rom. 8:32). Not only does the Lord show His love for man in His countless gifts and bounties, but even when He is angry and punishing, He shows the constant highest Fatherly care and concern for man, for the purpose of His punishments is always our correction for eternal life.

In addition to this natural human need to thank our Benefactor, Creator and Provider, we Christians also have an apostolic commandment regarding prayer of thanks. The Apostle Paul clearly said: Give thanks in everything: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thess. 5:18). Let us also remember the case of ten lepers who asked the Lord for healing. By God’s providence, they were purified gradually while they went to show themselves to the priests. When one of them, seeing that he was healed, returned to Jesus, fell at His feet and gave thanks, glorifying God, then our Lord Jesus Christ said: Are not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? How did they not return and come to give glory to God?(Luke 17:12-18). Thus, the Savior Himself, denouncing nine ungrateful lepers, clearly points out the need to thank God.

Unfortunately, many people forget to thank God for His generous mercy or for any specific benefit. But we must thank God not only for pleasant things, but also for everything sorrowful that happens to us, for God sends everything to us for our benefit and admonition, for our good and eternal salvation. The one who not only does not thank, but also complains, sins greatly.

Where can I find guidance for learning to be grateful and offer prayers of thanks to God?

In the Divine services of our Orthodox Church, prayers of thanks are often also prayers of praise. And vice versa, contemplating the greatness of God, we also remember the benefits we receive from him, therefore at the same time we glorify and thank the Lord. At the Divine Liturgy, the priest exclaims on behalf of all believers: “We thank the Lord,” and then praises are offered to the Most Holy Trinity. With special reverence and awe during the Eucharistic canon, the choir sings: “We sing to You, we bless You, we thank You, Lord, and we pray to You, our God.”

So, whoever wants to thank the Lord should go to St. The Church prays and gives thanks with her. Moreover, sometimes a special prayer of thanksgiving or a thanksgiving prayer is performed in the church. Go, declare to the servants of the Church the joy of your heart and the need to pour out your grateful soul before your Lord. It will be sweet and comforting for you when the priests and other believers offer a grateful prayer to the Lord God together with you, and your prayer will be inspired!

A sample of an excellent prayer of thanksgiving – the prayer for Communion. And if you want to thank the Lord in your home with the prayer of your heart, we advise you to read the psalms of King David, who suffered a lot in life, many wonderful blessings from the Most High happened to him. The Prophet of God David loved the Lord with all his heart, and therefore he thanked and praised Him with all his heart, and wrote many songs of thanksgiving with his own hand (Ps. 17:123,128,115,117). Amen.

Conversation 8. About petitionary prayer

As mentioned above, petitionary prayer, more than other types of prayer, is understandable and close to beginners. After all, the word “prayer” itself means an intense request, petition. We turn to the Merciful Lord with a prayer when we feel the need for His help or ask Him for something necessary or even a special gift, also deeply aware of our unworthiness when we ask Him for forgiveness for the sins we have committed. This type of prayer is very close to a person and is necessary at every step of his life.

By ourselves we are weak, poor; Without God’s help we cannot do anything, nor think good, nor avert danger from ourselves, nor protect ourselves from evil; Without the blessings and gifts of God we cannot live at all, or even exist. And how many falls and sins do we commit literally every minute of our lives? Living under the fear of God’s judgment is very painful, especially when our conscience awakens and imagines the punishing hand of the Righteous God. Therefore, every day, every hour, every minute, a person must remember his weakness and ask the Lord for help and intercession, or to give him daily gifts, or to forgive his sins and have mercy.

Where can I find samples of petitionary prayer? Also in the divine services of our Orthodox Church, which begins each service with petitions (litanies) for all the necessary gifts of God’s goodness. And the highest and most exemplary petitionary prayer is the Lord’s Prayer “Our Father,” which came from the sweetest lips of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ Himself. It contains all kinds of petitions and all types of human needs: in it we ask for our daily bread, necessary for body and soul, we ask for the Kingdom of Heaven, we ask for forgiveness of our sins, and for deliverance from the danger of losing faith or falling into grave sin, and, finally, for the removal from us of all evil and the very spirit of malice, the enemy of our salvation. Every Christian should read this prayer constantly, and what’s more, one must learn, understanding the deep meaning of each word, to immerse one’s whole thought and soul in its hidden power and sweetness.

If you pray with feeling and heartfelt tenderness, then this is enough for a start, but, as St. Apostle Paul, we must strive for greater gifts (1 Cor. 12:31). Make the words of the Lord’s Prayer your heartfelt impulse and request, that is, beg the Lord to grant you the fear of God, knowing that it is the beginning of salvation; pray to Him to love Him with all your heart and grow cold towards the world; to learn to do the will of God and not serve one’s passions; finally, pray that the Lord will open the doors of true repentance for you and help you fulfill the commandment to love your neighbor and bear your cross. And thus the Lord’s Prayer will become your teacher, help you make your life truly Christian and teach you how to pray correctly. Pray, Christians, as our Lord Jesus Christ Himself taught us to pray. With the Lord’s Prayer you can ask God for everything; just remember that you need to pray not only with your lips, but with your whole mind, that is, without being distracted, and with your whole heart, that is, sincerely desiring what is said in the prayer.

The prophet David has many psalms of petition, where with all his strength the feelings of the conscious soul ascending to God are depicted. There are many psalms in which the praying prophet, imbued with a deep sense of his infirmities, fervently asks the Lord – the Father of Light – to enlighten his eyes, strengthen his feet, grant him strength and comfort him on the path to the Divine light. There are many psalms where the unspoken groanings of the Spirit interceding for salvation are vividly poured out. Read psalms: 119, 16, 85, 89, 101, 141 and similar ones, and edify yourself for salvation.

When reading the psalms, do not be embarrassed by the fact that you will not immediately understand the full meaning of any psalm; complete understanding is not required here, as in other prayers, in view of the special meaning of the Inspired Psalter. The psalms teach the reader the very spirit of prayer, bringing down the grace of the Holy Spirit into the mind and heart, while mysteriously the Holy Spirit Himself prays for us if we read the psalms with due diligence and reverence, even if we do not fully understand them.

There are many cases where the reading of the psalms itself miraculously fulfilled even the cherished desires and urgent needs of the person praying, unexpressed in prayer, for God knows our needs and does not require the presentation of a request, but looks at the readiness of our heart to accept His gift, and the reading of the psalms precisely prepares the heart to accept grace, softens, pacifies, purifies and sanctifies it. With a full understanding of the meaning of the psalm, the heart of the one praying by the power of the Holy Spirit is strengthened in the desire to please God and the determination to evade evil. All the Holy Fathers and teachers of the Church attached great importance to the reading (and singing) of the psalms for a Christian.

In our Orthodox Church there are many prayers and canons written in the spirit of petitionary and at the same time repentant prayer. These include morning and evening prayers, the prayer canon to the Most Holy Theotokos, and many others. These prayers are extremely touching and touching; they calm the soul struck by any sorrow. Such prayers must be understood very well and not forgotten to be read constantly! And whoever cannot read should ask others to help him or listen to such prayers in the temple; it is best to learn several such prayers by heart.

There are also many prayers of actual repentance in our Orthodox Church. Particularly touching is the canon of St. Andrew of Crete, read in church at some services during Great Lent. To listen to this penitential canon, one must certainly come to all vespers in the first week of Great Lent and on Wednesday of the fourth week. The prayers before Holy Communion are amazingly touching. The shortest and most perfect example of a prayer of repentance is the 50th Psalm of David; This also includes psalms: 6, 12, 37, 38, and others. Here it must be added that it is especially advisable to read the Psalter during holy fasting for more complete repentance and proper preparation for receiving the Holy Mysteries, for the entire Psalter is an excellent prayer of a devoted, reverent and contrite soul before God, the Knower of the Heart. Amen.

Conversation 9. About internal and external prayer

Man consists of soul and body, and he must glorify God in both soul and body. Consequently, prayer can be both internal, that is, silent and secret, and external, that is, audible and visible to others.

During internal prayer, a person talks with God with his mind and heart, without external actions. Yes,
When Moses saw Pharaoh’s troops at the Red Sea, he did not say the words of prayer out loud, but the Lord said to him: Why are you crying out to Me? (Ex. 14:15). And Anna, the mother of Samuel, whom we have already mentioned twice, also poured out her soul before the Lord without words, although one could see how her lips moved (1 Samuel 1:13). There are indications of such a prayer in the prophet David: Lord, all my desire is before You, and my sighing is not hidden from You. But I, like a deaf man, did not hear, and like a dumb man, I did not open my mouth. For I have trusted in You, O Lord, You will hear, O Lord my God(Ps. 37:10,14,16).

During external prayer, a person expresses his requests and desires of his heart with words, bows, kneeling, the sign of the cross and other outward signs of reverence, for example: raising his hands to the sky, tears, sighs.

Which prayer is more perfect? As we have already mentioned, real prayer must be done in spirit and truth (John 4:24). That is, the mind, heart and spirit of a person must unconditionally participate in prayer as a means of communication between a person and God, for God is Spirit (John 4:24). The human spirit, renouncing everything earthly, immersed in a deep consciousness of the greatness of God and ascending to God, is a sacrifice pleasing to God (Ps. 50:19).

But a person cannot fully express himself without the participation of his body, even in prayer, for it is quite natural for him to devote himself to prayer entirely and completely, with his whole being. Therefore, the Lord said: Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matt. 12:34). A person, even unnoticed by himself, if he experiences something very strongly, begins to pour out his soul in words or singing, in tears or sobs, or even in external gestures. Therefore, external prayer, especially bowing and other signs of reverence, is a natural expression of internal prayer. Let us remember how the publican beat himself on the chest from an excess of repentant feelings, and the Lord accepted his prayer and set his repentance as an example.

But of course, such prayer, reaching the point of self-forgetfulness, will be pleasing to God only under the condition of solitude. If a person is in a temple or other crowded place, he must restrain himself and not outwardly show his piety, like the Pharisee. Especially during public prayer in church, it is necessary to maintain order and decorum in everything. Here, even singing along with a choir of singers will not always be appropriate, much less singing along with clergy or saying the words of a prayer out loud; bows and the sign of the cross in church must be done in accordance with the Church Rules.

In its pure form, without any external expression, internal prayer is appropriate and very convenient for a person who, for some reason, cannot be alone and must perform his prayer completely secretly from others. Wherever we are and whatever we do, we can always cry out to God with our minds and hearts: “Lord, have mercy on me! Lord, save me! Lord, don’t leave me!” If a person is on the road or among a crowd, you can quietly read psalms to yourself, for example, the 50th or 90th, or others that are stored in memory.

This is what St. said about this. John Chrysostom: “How is it possible, you tell me, a secular person who has the duty of service, to pray for three hours and come to Church? It’s possible and quite easy. If, however, when you cannot come to Church, you can, while in a public place, pray while going about your business, because this requires not so much a word as a thought; not so much the stretching of hands as the tension of the soul; not so much a certain position of the body as a state of mind. Anna, the mother of the prophet Samuel, was heard not because she uttered a loud and strong cry, but because she cried out strongly inwardly – with her heart. And her voice was not heard, says Scripture (1 Samuel 1:13). But God heard her.

Let us not say in our defense that the house of prayer is not close. The grace of the Spirit has made us ourselves temples of God, if only we are vigilant. Wherever you are, your heart can be an altar. Just show good will, and place will not hinder you in this, and time will not hinder you. Even if you don’t bend your knees, don’t beat yourself on the chest, and don’t stretch out your hands to the sky, but only show your ardent soul, then you will do everything necessary for prayer. It is also possible for a wife, sitting at a spinning wheel or engaged in weaving, to raise her mind to grief and cry out to God with zeal. It is also possible for a husband to perform attentive prayers while traveling. And for some, sitting in a workshop and sewing leather, you can lift your soul to the Lord. And the servant, while shopping, entering and leaving the house, or working in the kitchen (when it is not possible to go to church), can offer sincere and earnest prayer.

God does not shun place. It requires only a fiery heart and a pure soul. And in order to assure you that prayer, on occasion, does not require a specific body position, place, or time, but a firm and reverent thought, then remember St. Paul, who, lying in prison, prostrate and completely unable to stand (the log into which his feet were driven, did not allow him to do this), nevertheless prayed in this position with zeal. His prayer shook the prison to its very foundations, frightened the prison guard and disposed him to accept Holy Baptism. Likewise, King Hezekiah, not standing upright and not bending his knees, but lying on his bed, due to illness, and turning to the wall, only with ardent and sincere zeal from the depths of his soul cried out to God – and the sentence already announced to him was canceled. He regained God’s favor and received his former health. One in a ditch filled with mud, another in a lion’s den, and the third even inside a whale, calling on God, avoided every calamity and received heavenly mercy.

By saying this, at the same time I convince you,” continues St. John Chrysostom – come to church more often and at home to pray alone in every free time, kneeling and raising your hands. If at any time or in any place you find yourself among other people, then, in order not to abandon your prayers, you must perform them and call on God in the same way as I, out of my love, told you. Do not lose hope that from such prayer you will gain no less benefit and will spend your life in peace and receive the Kingdom of Heaven.”18

Let us also remember the wonderful Christian rule given by Vladimir Monomakh to his children regarding inner prayer. “My children,” he said, “on the road on horseback, without anything to do, instead of vain thoughts, read prayers by heart or repeat at least the shortest, but best: “Lord, have mercy!”

So, we see that sometimes internal prayer is not accompanied by external prayer, that is, by external signs of reverence. However, external prayer cannot be God-pleasing in itself, without internal prayer, for, as we showed above, it is just an external expression of internal prayer. Without raising the mind and heart to the Lord, without the fear of God and proper faith in Him, external movements depicting the act of prayer are hypocrisy and are not only not pleasing to God, but also anger Him. We partially mentioned such sinful prayer in the first conversation. Here we also add that the external external reading of a prayer without an internal prayer structure, without the participation of the mind and heart in prayer, is a sin of idle talk and taking the name of God in vain.

What must be done to avoid sinning with displeasing, hypocritical or vain prayer? Starting to pray, and even before prayer, one must mentally ascend to the mental sky and renounce earthly gravity and vanity, one must think about the incomprehensible greatness of God, His omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence; to remember that before Him with fear are multitudes of Angels and Heavenly Forces, incomprehensible to us; here we can remember that God created the whole world, earth, and heaven, and everything in them, that He hears not only our every word, but also knows our every heartfelt thought; finally, we must think that He is holy and righteous, and abhors all unrighteousness and uncleanness, and at the same time we must think about our sinfulness, uncleanness, vanity and in general insignificance. Whoever prepares for prayer in this way, especially in solitude, at night or early in the morning, will certainly be filled with the fear of God and be contrite in heart.

If someone’s heart is so hard that even this reflection does not soften, then you can make fervent bows and read psalms that arouse the fear of God in the heart, for example, Psalms 5, 10, 35, 36, 49, 50, 93, and especially Psalm 140. If this does not help, you need to change your life: make peace with everyone, forgive everyone, ask for forgiveness from those whom offended, and clear your conscience, correcting everything that it denounces. We must try to be more restrained in everything, especially to restrain our tongue, to remain silent more and more often to think about eternity, death and future punishment for sinners; read the lives of saints, mainly the reverend fathers, who acquired the gift of prayer, Holy Scripture and spiritual literature, try to understand the meaning of prayers. If the feeling of the fear of God still does not come, there is no need to despair, and there is no need to give up prayer, but each time properly try to prepare for it and pray attentively. Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you; For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened(Matthew 7:7-8). Amen.

Conversation 10. On unceasing prayer

The highest quality of inner prayer is unceasing prayer. It happens when a person, inside his heart and in the depths of his spirit, with humility and faith, constantly raises his thought and heart to the Knower of the Heart and the Master. Such a person prays always and everywhere, in every position and in every activity: while standing and sitting, while walking and resting, during private and public affairs, during conversations and silence, while eating and drinking, in solitude and in society.

People experienced in prayer, monks and hermits, pray unceasingly. They are also said to say the Jesus Prayer. The Jesus Prayer itself is very simple; it consists of a constant mental or heartfelt invocation of the saving name of Jesus Christ: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!” Or: “Jesus Christ, Son of God, save me, who am perishing!”

The name of Jesus Christ means a lot to the believer: for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). In the name of Jesus Christ alone, the apostles and saints performed miracles: they cast out demons, healed the weak, saw the secret, and predicted the future. The Lord gave the following promise to those who believe in him: If you ask the Father anything in My name, I will do it (John 14:13).

Our Lord Jesus Christ commanded his disciples to always pray and not lose heart (Luke 18:1), to watch at all times and pray (Luke 21:36). The Holy Apostle Paul also wrote to Christians: Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesusfor you (1 Thess. 5:17-18). He also commanded in another place: Pray at all times with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit (Eph. 6:18).

There is not a single moment in a person’s life when he is free from the possibility of sin, from the wiles of the devil, and finally, from any danger or threat to his life and health. Every minute a person needs God’s help, and therefore every minute he must call on the Lord in his mind and heart, Who alone preserves his life, constantly watches over him in all adversities, and saves him from all evil. The Lord is always ready to listen to our prayer or our appeal to Him, as long as it is done in spirit and truth.

According to the commandment of the Lord – to ask for everything in His name and to pray unceasingly – and out of the spiritual need for unceasing prayer, our reverend and God-bearing Holy Fathers established the Jesus Prayer, and wrote a lot of spiritual instructions about it. The experience of unceasing spiritual prayer and the teaching about it are widely presented in the works of Saints Macarius of Egypt, Isaac the Syrian, Nilus of Sora, Simeon the New Theologian, Gregory of Sinaite, and others, collected in a book called “Philokalia”. Elder Paisiy Velichkovsky and Venerable Seraphim of Sarov also taught about the Jesus Prayer.

Of course, we, beginners who do not yet know how to pray at all, cannot immediately master the most elegant and most perfect creation of mental prayer. This is understandable: someone who cannot walk will not try to climb a high peak. But we can also constantly think about God, about eternity, about the hour of death, about the life of the next century, about the Gospel events, commandments, about the Providence of God, about the lives of the saints and their edifications, in a word, study in the law of the Lord day and night (Ps. 1: 2), carefully monitor our thoughts and feelings, avoid all evil and all sin and force ourselves with fear God to fulfill all our duties. And this intense attention to ourselves, constant remembrance of God, that we walk before Him and He sees and hears everything, is also unceasing prayer.

This is what St. said about this. Basil the Great: “It is necessary not so much to conclude prayer in words as to see its power in spiritual will and in virtuous actions, always performed with prayer, throughout one’s whole life,” for it is said: Whether you eat, drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). “You sit at the table,” the universal teacher continues, “say a prayer.” If you eat bread, give thanks to the Giver. If you strengthen the weakness of the body with wine, remember Him who sent down this gift to you for joy in your heart and for the relief of ailments. Do you feed yourself with food – and then do not stop remembering the Benefactor. If you put on a shirt, turn with thanksgiving to the Giver. Put on outer clothing – and then lift up your mind to God, Who has given us a cover that is convenient for both winter and summer, capable of both preserving our health and covering our nakedness. The day has passed – thank the Creator of the sun, in the light of which we carry out our daily affairs, and the One who gave fire to shine for us during the darkness and serve for many other everyday needs. And when night comes, then other motives for prayer will open up for you. You look at the sky, captivated by the beauty of the stars – offer a prayer to the Creator, make a praise to the Supreme Artist of the world, Who created everything with wisdom. When it is time to sleep, prostrate yourself before the One who, through sleep, sometimes involuntarily calms us down from continuous labor and thereby restores the strength of our strength. Thus, you will pray unceasingly, not concluding your prayer in words, but throughout your entire life, drawing closer to God, so that your life will be continuous and unceasing prayer.”19

Saint Gregory the Theologian spoke about unceasing prayer: “Remembering God is more necessary than breathing, and without this remembrance one should not do anything.” And I am one of those who approve of the word, which commands us to study day and night, to cry out to God in the evening, and in the morning, and at noon, to know and bless the Lord at all times (Ps. 1:54,33). And following Moses I will add that we must remember God when we lie down, and when we get up, and when we walk the road (Deut. 6:7), and when we do our work, and by this remembrance we must constantly raise ourselves to purity.”20

So, we beg you: do not separate your hearts from God, but diligently guard them from every evil thought or feeling with unceasing memory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Conversation 11. About connecting internal prayer with external

Prayer is a person’s heartfelt conversation with God. Can there be such an interview without inner peace? No. Can there be inner peace without the consent of the soul and the body? No. Can there be harmonious harmony where the soul would like to ascend, would like to feel and reverence, and the body, bending down, would be in a sleepy, half-dead state? Obviously not! Consequently, true, heartfelt prayer – living, wakeful prayer, elevating the soul to heaven and making the human body light, as if unearthly and incorporeal – must be one that embraces the whole person, both internal and external.

We relate to the external world, which influences our internal world, therefore it is necessary to connect internal prayer with external prayer.

Living mostly in the outer world and being occupied with the subjects of earthly life, we have a need not only for internal prayer, but also for external manifestations of prayer. Thus, internal prayerful feelings encourage us to express them externally. And vice versa, external strong expressions – kneeling, bowing, etc. – impart greater strength and life to internal prayerful feelings.

Since a person consists of soul and body, he cannot do without external guidance to internal perfection. This was clearly proven by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself by the fact that in order to communicate the gifts of His grace, He established mysterious sacred rites in the Church, where there is a visible and invisible side, external and internal. On the basis of this, our Holy Orthodox Church, the one, faithful and unchanging leader towards perfection and eternal life, included in its worship services the external manifestations of prayers: the sign of the cross, bows, kneeling, raising the eyes and raising the hands to heaven, etc. And so that during prayer our eyes themselves are occupied with spiritual objects, and through this we would be disposed to prayerful feelings, teaches us to pray in front of holy icons. Due to the close connection of the soul with the body, prayerful, reverent, sweet and especially enthusiastic feelings cannot but be expressed outwardly, as was already mentioned in the previous conversation. With the exception of very few special cases, internal prayer cannot but manifest itself in external actions. Whose heart burns with the flame of prayer, everything calls out, everything speaks: the mouth moves, the hands rise, tears flow, the knees bow, the chest trembles! He who is awake in spirit does not sleep in his body.

From what we have said about internal and external prayer, note for yourself the most important thing:

1) Follow and adhere firmly to the rules and regulations of the Holy Church of Christ. Just as she teaches you to pray, pray so. No one can teach you better and more accurately. Read prayers, go to Church, be baptized, bow down and cry – to whom God gives tears. All this will contribute to the inner perfection of true prayer. Just know that the external without the internal insults the holiness of God and will not be useful to you. Therefore, in all external manifestations of prayer, be sure to participate with your heart. Try to let your inner feelings always correspond to your words and movements, and, as far as possible, avoid vanity, lest people praise you like pilgrims. Otherwise, your prayer will be useless and even offensive to God.

2) If someone does not go to Church to pray to God and does not pray with external prayer at all, even in solitude, that is, does not read prayers from the prayer book (if he does not know them by heart), does not cross himself, does not bow, does not shed tears, etc., he is in deception, thinking that he is praying in the spirit, in the depths of his heart. No, we are talking more about laziness here than about spiritual activity. Unfortunately, there are people who are too lazy to get up for Matins, who do not have the disposition to stand through the entire Liturgy, Vespers, and even read the morning and evening prayers, and in excuse for their negligence they say that they are already above others and therefore pray spiritually. But meanwhile, Jesus Christ Himself, being spiritual to the highest degree, expressed His spiritual prayer both in words and reverent movements of the body, for example, raising His eyes to heaven, and sometimes kneeling on the ground, even when He prayed alone in the Garden of Gethsemane (John 17:1; Luke 22:41; Matt. 26:39).

Judge for yourself: can someone who is cold and lazy, who prefers bodily peace to church service, be spiritual? No! He prays in spirit, for whom the night, like the day, flows in prayer; he sleeps little, eats little, in order to pray more and cry before the Lord – such were all our holy and spirit-bearing venerable fathers, great prayer books and miracle workers. And whoever is in carelessness, spiritual relaxation and says, to the temptation of others, that he prays to God spiritually, is lying against God and conscience, for which he will be condemned by the Heart-Knower of the Righteous God! Amen.

Conversation 12. On private and public prayer

There is a special mood of spirit and a certain special need – to move away from human gaze and from the noise of the world, in order to sweetly and unhinderedly pray to the Merciful God and pour out one’s soul before Him alone. Prayer performed in private is called private. Such prayer is of particular importance because it is commanded by Jesus Christ Himself: But when you pray, go into your room and, having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly(Matthew 6:6). And our Lord Jesus Christ Himself loved to retire to prayer. The evangelist talks about this: And having dismissed the people, He went up to the mountain to pray alone; and in the evening he remained there alone(Matthew 14:23); sometimes He went into the desert and prayed there (Luke 5:16); sometimes He spent whole nights alone in prayer to His Heavenly Father (Luke 6:12).

Solitary prayer, following the example of Christ their Savior, was loved by all ascetics of piety, especially those who devoted themselves to monastic life. In ancient times, even many heads of monasteries left their monasteries and sometimes retired to the desert for the entire Great Lent in order to pray to God sweeter and more tenderly in private, to bring repentance and to wash their souls with the tears of a contrite heart. Without any doubt, there are still many who love secret prayer, whose sighs, tears and prayerful deeds are known only to the Knower of the Heart.

Private prayer also includes family prayer, which is usually performed by one family or several persons who are close to each other by kinship or some kind of relationship. This prayer, which originated from the patriarchs, has been performed at all times and is now performed very often. Family prayer is extremely instructive and edifying. During home prayer, all family members are mutually edified and confirmed in faith and piety. This joint feat has a saving effect on everyone; here reverence and fear of God are transferred from one to another. Each member of the family, seeing how others pray, is convinced by their example and does the same himself. The influence of family prayer on the young members of the family is especially beneficial, when the elders, by their clear good example, confirm them in goodness, which is stronger than any word, any suggestions, demands and even threats. Young children, seeing the pious zeal of their elders, indelibly imprint on themselves a feeling of worship of God for the rest of their lives.

Public prayer is performed by a community of believers under the leadership of ministers of the Church in a certain order and only according to church rules. The importance of public prayer is obvious, since this prayer received its origin from God Himself, who, through Moses, appointed the ancient Israelites for public prayer both the place, the time, and everything necessary for its implementation. Jesus Christ himself confirmed by his example the importance of public prayer. Every Passover He came to Jerusalem and visited the holy temple (John 2:13-17); He often preached in the temple, constantly showed special respect to the temple, took care of establishing order and decorum in it, and, finally, promised His special grace-filled presence among those who gather in His name (Matthew 18:20).

Witnesses of the works of Christ, preachers of His Divine teaching – the apostles of Christ – themselves performed common prayers and generally established the order and rules of public and church prayer. The first Christians spent every day in the temple praying (Acts 2:46). Our Orthodox Church to this day strictly observes and preserves a certain order and order of worship.

The Lord God is very merciful to us sinners! He accepts prayer from us, both private and public, whatever one can bring according to his mood, according to his needs and wants. You want to cry and pour out your soul before one Heart-Knower, pray alone, pray secretly; just pray sincerely, reverently, with complete devotion to the Lord God. Do you want to pray with your home church, i.e. with your family, you have complete freedom and opportunity. However, no one should completely abandon public prayer in church. Here we all appear together before God, like children before the Father, glorifying Him with one mouth and one heart, here we mutually edify each other and learn; but even if someone is tempted because of the lack of reverence of others, the Lord will help and give him prayerful consolation. Here the presence of God is most tangible and obvious to us. In the whole world there is no place more gratifying than the place of public prayer – the holy temple. Never and nowhere in life are we so elevated as in church during common prayer, where we become like the Cherubim and Seraphim. Amen.

Conversation 13. Who should pray

Everyone should pray: both the righteous and the sinful; both healthy and sick; both old and young – all without exception.

People who have achieved the perfection of an immaculate life cannot help but pray. Prayer is such an internal need of their spirit, without which they cannot live. Prayer is their main occupation, their main treasure and delight of the heart. For a holy person not to pray means not to live. And if someone asked what was better for him – to die or not to pray, he would probably agree to the first.

Just as a righteous person finds in himself many incentives to pray and thank God, so a sinner has a need to turn to God. And who should we pray to if not a sinner, crushed by the weight of his sins? He has no peace in his conscience and no tranquility in his soul – he is in constant anxiety and excitement; life is a burden to him; family relationships are not a joy; official duties do not bring honor and glory. The sky itself seems indifferent to him, the earth – ungrateful. Everything weighs on him and torments him. How can he not pray and cry to God for help? The fact that he is a sinner, and God is righteous, should not confuse the sinner, who stretches his prayerful voice to heaven. God, in His goodness and mercy, who accepts the prayer of the righteous, does not reject the prayer of every sinner. He listened to the prayer of the righteous Moses, Elijah, Zechariah and Elizabeth, and other saints; He also accepted the prayer of the sinful Ninevites, Manasseh, the publican, the thief, and the like.

A sinner who feels the severity of his condition, take comfort in the fact that the Lord says to you: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Matthew 9:13). Weeping harlots were pardoned at His feet, and you can be pardoned—you just have to have a contrite heart, you have to understand your plight, so that the prayer is fiery and sincere. Is your sin serious? Be encouraged that there is no sin that overcomes the mercy of God. The sins of the whole world mean nothing before one drop of the Blood of Christ, shed by Him for our salvation and received with faith by us in the Divine Sacrament of Communion. Just believe and you will be saved. Believe sincerely this holy truth, that where sin abounds, grace from God also abounds (Rom. 5:20). God does not want the sinner to die (Ezek. 33:11) and will use everything to save him if he only wants to be saved.

A healthy person must pray and thank God for his health, which without God’s help is fragile and unreliable. And for those who are sick and longing for consolation, Christ’s prayer is the only hope and consolation. They must cry out to God day and night in the hope of His grace and mercy!

Old people who have lived in the world for many years, who have worked a lot, who have experienced a lot of everything and have seen a lot of good and evil in their lives, at the end of their lives have only consolation in prayer, so that the Merciful Lord will grant them a Christian death and a good answer at the Last Judgment of Christ. Since prayer gives us strength and strengthens us on all paths of our lives, it is necessary for those at any age. It is necessary for adults, ascetics and workers in the field of family and civil life; necessary for young men entering the same field or still preparing for it, so that the Lord opens their minds and directs their hearts to the search for truth and to doing good. Prayer is needed for children and infants, who have the most tender feelings and innocent hearts. The Lord and their saint are closest to them. Guardian Angels.

The grace of Christ and all that is good in a child’s heart is preserved as children from the very first days acquire the good skill of praying and rooting the fear of God in their hearts. Those who do not teach children to pray to God from the moment they develop the ability to speak act extremely badly. What a child learns from the first days, what enters his head from the cradle, will take root in him for the rest of his life. This is something that is easy to do later and something you will get used to from the very beginning. It is very sad and painful to see children who are already familiar with the values ​​of this world and babble lifeless words in foreign languages, but do not know a single prayer, not even the Lord’s Prayer! This sin will fall heavily on carefree parents and educators. This is not about forcing children to read prayers and thereby instilling in them some aversion to prayer. We mean the prudent teaching of children to prayer through the most gradual and easy exercise in memorizing short prayers, for example: “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us!”, “Virgin Mother of God, Rejoice,” “King of Heaven,” “Our Father,” etc.

In accordance with the development of their souls, their prayer can and should ascend to higher levels, but gradually. And from the very beginning it is enough to teach the child to cross himself and bow two or three times for himself, his father and mother. The main thing is that children know their first duty and their first, highest need – to pray. It is necessary to establish an indispensable rule so that the child gets out of bed and goes to bed only with the sign of the cross and a short prayer, so that he gets used to not eating anything until he has completed the prayer. At the same time, note, most respected fathers and mothers, once and for all: no one will replace you in teaching your children prayer, no one’s example in their eyes will be as edifying as your own. The habit of constantly praying at the appointed time will gradually become an indispensable duty for the child, and he will subsequently grieve if he does not fulfill it. Then we must try to help him with this, and even if any obstacles arise, do not make an exception to this rule. Everything must be arranged so that the desire to pray is truly achieved. Happy is the child who, from the first days, understands that without prayer there can be no blessed day, no success in anything. Both those who gave birth and those raising them can safely rejoice in such a child. Amen.

Conversation 14. When to pray

Inner prayer, that is, constant remembrance of God, as we have already said, should always be in the heart and mind, should begin when waking up and end when falling asleep (some remember God even in their sleep and even subconsciously think about divine things). For external prayer there is a certain time and place. In our Orthodox Church, following the example of the ancients, every Christian is supposed to pray in the morning, at noon and in the evening. In the evening, and in the morning, and at noon, I will pray and cry, and He will hear my voice, so said the psalmist (Ps. 54:18).

In the morning we pray to dedicate the first movements of the mind and heart to God and not begin anything without His help and blessing. Tomorrow I will appear before You, and You will see me; according to the abundance of Your mercy I will enter Your house, I will worship Your holy temple in Your fear (Ps. 5:4,8). If it is not possible to come to church in the morning, you can and should read morning prayers at home according to the prayer book with due preparation and reverence, which we have already talked about a lot. These prayers, beautiful, edifying and touching, were written by saints and venerable prayer fathers; carefully delve into their meaning, learn them by heart, read them constantly and learn to arouse in yourself the same feelings and thoughts that the saints experienced – and then you will certainly learn to pray!

“At noon,” says St. Basil the Great, we recognized the need to pray in imitation of the saints, and also in order to get rid of the snare of fishers and from the rebellious word, from the attacks of the midday demon (Ps. 90: 3,6)”21.

At the end of the day, we must thank God for the good that we did with His help on this day, and at the same time we must confess before God our sins that we committed during the day. Sleep is a semblance of death. When we go to bed, we seem to lie down in a coffin; At night, the soul feels somehow heavier than in the morning or during the day, when a person is awake, and if he falls asleep, he becomes completely defenseless; many have even died in their sleep. At this terrible time, we must confess our sins before God. Our strength is restored when sleep is peaceful and the soul is in a serene state.

Therefore, when going to sleep, we should pray to God that our sleep will be peaceful, easy and serene. In addition, during sleep there are often night visions or sleepy unclean dreams, so we need to ask God before going to bed that He, the Merciful, will deliver us from the snares of the evil one, overshadow us with the light of His face, help us sleep without dreaming, keep our thoughts unharmed, send an Angel of peace, the guardian and mentor of soul and body, who delivers us from all enemies visible and invisible. Evening prayers perfectly explain the importance of night time and are deeply imbued with the spirit of prayerful confession, contrition, tenderness and tearful petition for the protection of us, going to sleep, from any resistant situation. When, with God’s help, you read them with feeling and meaning, you fall asleep in a sweet, quiet sleep and get up from your bed with a light mood of soul!

Evening worship in the temple ends one day and begins the next. In this service, we either thank the Author and Provider of our lives, or pour out feelings of repentance, or ask for forgiveness of our sins, and, praying for a holy night, we glorify those saints of whom the next day reminds us. In relation to the time, the Holy Church prays to the Lord: “Grant, Lord, that this evening we may be preserved without sin”; and every evening repeats the prayer of St. Simeon the God-Receiver: Now you are releasing Your servant, O Master, according to Your word in peace (Luke 2:29). This dying prayer inspires us to wish for the death of the blessed one and, preparing for it, at the end of each day we could say the same thing that it is desirable for a Christian to say before the end of his life: “I depart in peace; I see Your salvation, Lord, accept my spirit!”

After the bustle of the day, being in church and listening to the evening service is very comforting. The time between evening and bedtime is spent with some special ease and pleasure. Ask those who love to go to church for Vespers, what makes them rush to the Church of God when others are still sitting at the tables or after the tables are resting on soft beds. They will answer you without a doubt: “Attend the evening service yourself and pray with the Holy Church, then you will know how sweet it is for a Christian when he surrenders himself into the hands of the Fatherly Providence of God and remains in peace and good hope.” Amen.

Conversation 15. About church prayer

Matins is usually performed in the church early in the morning, before the Divine Liturgy. This service begins with the Six Psalms. The six selected psalms (3, 37, 62, 87, 102 and 142) are so touching, comforting and instructive that in the greatest sinner they are able to arouse feelings of repentance and hope for God’s mercy, and are powerful to console and encourage a soul struck by the most severe sorrow.

Lord, why have you multiplied the cold that we suffer? – this is how the one who prays cries out to God at the sight of the many enemies of his salvation and calms himself with the firm hope of heavenly help: The salvation of the Lord is, and Your blessing is on Your people (Ps. 3:2,9).

Lord, do not reprove me with Your wrath, nor punish me with Your wrath (Ps. 6:2), prays the sinner trembling before the truth of God, feeling his guilt and realizing that there is and cannot be any healing or peace for a body burdened with the burden of iniquities. And since no one will console one who mourns his sins except Christ our God, he cries out to the Savior: Do not forsake me, O Lord my God, do not depart from me. Come to my help, O Lord of my salvation(Ps. 37:2,22-23).

O God, my God, to You in the morning! (Ps. 62) This is how a pious soul expresses its fiery desire for God: it always thinks about Him, remembers Him on its bed, turns to Him in prayer early in the morning, compares itself with a thirsty person in the desert, for whom prayer to God is so joyful; with the chick that finds safety under the shelter of His wings; with a baby clinging to his mother, who will tenderly hug and support him with her hand (Ps. 62).

O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried out to You by day and by night. For my soul is filled with evil, and my belly is filled with hell (Ps. 87:2,4). He who has recognized his damnation sees the abyss that is ready to swallow him, and therefore calls out to his Savior: Let my prayer come before Thee, incline Thy ear to my prayer (Ps. 87:3).

Bless the Lord, my soul, and all that is within me, His Holy Name (Ps. 102:1). When the heart of the repentant feels the consolation of grace, he, in holy delight, blesses the Lord, who cleanses all our iniquities, heals all our ailments, and delivers our life from corruption. Having experienced for himself and seen that the good Providence of God constantly takes care of all his creatures, he himself blesses the Lord and desires that all living things always and in every place bless His dominion (Ps. 102).

Who can boast of his integrity? Therefore, the sinner who has been pardoned and reconciled with God still feels his unworthiness before the Most Holy One, and therefore prays: Lord, hear my prayer! And do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for no one living will be justified before You (Ps. 142:1,2). The enemy never leaves us; but we raise our hands to God with hope, we thirst for Him like the waterless land of rain, and we pray – may He show us His way, may He teach us to do His will, and may He guide us on the right path with the Good Spirit (Ps. 142).

At Matins, other psalms are also read according to the Rule. We have already talked a lot about the great power and significance of the psalms for the prayer structure of a Christian; when read in church, they have an even stronger impact on the soul and heart.

Then the canon dedicated to the saint or holiday of the day is read. The prayers of the canon are always very edifying, and they should be listened to especially carefully.

After the canon at the great doxology, the priest, exclaiming: “Glory to You, who showed us the light,” thanks the whole Church to God both for the light that shone to us at the end of the night, and for the light of faith, which enlightened us like the sun, and made us sons of light and day (1 Thess. 5:5).

In general, the entire morning service symbolizes the dawn of Christianity after the darkness of the shadow of death (Job 10:22) and has as its goal the glorification of the name of God and the enlightenment of us with light from the face of God, so that our feet may be directed toward doing the Divine commandments (prayer of the 1st hour).

After Matins, the soul, inspired by the sweetness of God’s words, is light, kind and capable of doing the most important, good and useful things. You will never read like that, you won’t think like that, you won’t say like that, you won’t write like that, you won’t advise like that, you won’t dispose of anything like that, as happens after Matins, when the sweetness of church reading and singing is reflected in the soul and when the vanity of the world has not yet driven out from our soul that silence and that light that fills us at the morning service.

But the special role of Matins also lies in preparing those praying for the Divine Liturgy, which is the most important divine service of the New Testament Church, symbolizing the completeness and perfection of the salvation of the world. The Liturgy solemnly remembers and depicts the highest sacrament of redemption and requires special attention and reverence from those present and those praying. Preparing those praying for worthy participation in the high and mysterious sacrifice of universal redemption, the Holy Church compares them with Cherubim. When the bloodless sacrifice of the Body and Blood of the Lord is offered, it is necessary for every believing soul to stand before it with fear and trembling. At this moment, the highest miracle of God’s almighty love takes place: not fire descends from heaven, as it once descended on the Old Testament sacrifices, but the Holy Spirit Himself descends and transforms bread and wine into the true Body and Blood of our Savior. Here we must fall to the ground and render reverent worship to the Lord, who is materially present on the Holy Throne! The entire Divine Liturgy is accompanied by such sacred and significant actions that only a stony heart will not be touched, crushed and leave the temple of God without any special good feelings and without a reverent disposition of spirit.

Happy, thrice happy is the one who always loves to visit the temple of God, but especially the Divine Liturgy! Vespers, Matins and Liturgy, with some exceptions, are celebrated every day of the year. Anyone who wants can always be in the temple of God when they are performed and pray. Also in our Orthodox Church there are many feasts of the Lord, the Mother of God and temples, when the service is performed more solemnly and has some special features. It is a shame not to come to the temple and not pray to the Lord God, for example, on the day of the Annunciation, the Nativity of Christ, Baptism, Transfiguration, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost or the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the Nativity of the Mother of God, Her introduction into the temple, Her honest Dormition and on other days, especially revered by the Holy Church. For each parish, in addition to the important holidays established by the Church, those holidays in honor of which churches and altars are consecrated are also considered special, for example, in honor of St. Nicholas, Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Barbara the Great Martyr, Nativity of John the Baptist and the like. It is even unforgivable for a parishioner, without a special reason, not to pray to the Lord God on his temple holiday and not to ask for mercy from the Saint who is the patron saint of the parish, and the Guardian Angel of the church whose name it bears.

In addition to holidays, there are many other occasions for obligatory visiting of the temple and prayer in it, primarily for participation in the Church Sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Repentance, Communion, Marriage, Blessing of Anointing. A Christian must be holy in everything and always: at home and at work, at the beginning of his affairs and at their completion, in prosperity and adversity, in health, illness and death itself. The Holy Church, with all maternal care, raising her children to holiness and Christian integrity, teaches us on various occasions her sanctification through prayers. She has special prayers for the consecration of not only churches, but also our houses, fields and pastures, springs, water, bread, food, fruits, herds, threshing floors and other needs of human life. There are also prayers that sanctify our endeavors and deeds; There are prayers in case of public disasters: drought, bad weather, pestilence, etc. Prayer accompanies Christians on their final journey, during the transition from this world to eternity. In all these cases, the prayer of the Holy Church is beneficial, touching and edifying. Resorting to Her prayers is the direct duty of a Christian, who always needs the help and consolation of Christ.

Of course, if necessary, you can pray anywhere, for God will always and everywhere hear us. But public services performed in the temples of God or in certain holy places, especially on holidays, require our participation in them. And that person would sin if, when preaching the gospel in the Church of God or during some procession or public prayer, he would say that he prefers to pray to God at home. In such words, firstly, the spirit of pride, contrary to God, reveals itself; secondly, spiritual relaxation and laziness; and thirdly, and most importantly, the spirit of unbelief and disobedience to our Mother, the Holy Church of Christ. And whoever does not have Her as his mother on earth will not have God as his Father in heaven. Amen.

Conversation 16. What is needed for true prayer and pleasing to God

We have already talked a lot about this in various conversations, but now we will talk about what is required of us in order for our prayers to be fruitful, that is, for the Merciful God to hear our prayers and fulfill our requests.

First of all, for this you must have true faith in God. The Lord Himself commands us to pray this way and tells us in the Holy Gospel: Have faith in God, for truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, “Be taken up and cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come true, whatever he says will be done for him. Therefore I tell you: whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you receive it, and it will be done for you. And when you stand in prayer, forgive if you have anything against anyone, so that your Heavenly Father may forgive you your sins. If you do not forgive, then your Heavenly Father will not forgive you your sins(Mark 11:23-26).

So, for our prayers to be saving for us, we must have perfect faith in God and perfect love for our neighbors. This is also said in another place: If you are bringing your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift (Matthew 5:23-24). Gift and sacrifice mean the prayer we offer to God.

How can we learn true living faith and all-forgiving love for our neighbors? Only through prayer, through the effort to rise above the earth, draw closer to God and become spiritual, for those who live according to the flesh set their minds on carnal things, but those who live according to the Spirit think about spiritual things (Rom. 8:5).

True faith in God is a living confidence in Him as the Creator and Provider of everything visible and invisible; such confidence appears only in the heart of a constantly praying person and gradually strengthens and becomes undoubted, reverent, complete and unconditional.

So, beloved, if we want to pray in a Christian, soul-saving and fruitful way, then we must turn to our Heavenly Father with all our hearts and all our souls, with true faith. We must open our soul, heart and all our thoughts to Him with all childish simplicity, with all filial devotion and hope. He, the Most Gracious One, will give us everything. He is the Father of all, He loves us and out of love for us He gave us His Only Begotten Son. So will He really not give us everything we need for temporary life, when He has already given us with His Only Begotten Son and through Him eternal life? Believe without doubt, beloved, that the Lord will give us everything we need, if we only ask in faith, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Sweetest Savior and Redeemer. Amen.

Conversation 17. About faith

All the power of prayer comes from true faith. Without such faith it is impossible to please God. But who will give us such faith that would please God? The Lord rewards those who diligently seek Him (Heb. 11:6). But how to look, where? Alas, so many people in the world wander in search of truth and sometimes do not find it or, thinking that they have found it, are terribly deceived and perish.

No one comes to God except through our Lord Jesus Christ! He is the light that came into the world, so that whoever believes in him would not remain in darkness (John 12:46). He is the way, and the truth, and the life (John 14:6); He is able to enrich us with the wealth of true reason and true faith; He is able to give us eternal life; From Him our holy faith comes (Acts 3:16).

So, not having perfect faith, let us ask it from our Merciful God Jesus Christ. We even have an example of such a prayer in St. Gospels. Let us remember what the Lord said to the father of the demon-possessed youth: “If you can believe a little, all things are possible to him who believes.” And immediately the boy’s father exclaimed with tears: “I believe, Lord! Help my unbelief”(Mark 9:23-24). And the Lord, of course, helped him!

We see that faith is asked for with heartfelt contrition and tears. How can one touch and crush one’s heart? Answering this difficult question, let us remember the remark of St. Cassian the Roman that there are countless cases through which, by the goodness of God, it is possible to destroy insensibility and disperse the heavy sleep of our souls22.

We have already talked about how we need to prepare ourselves for prayer in order to acquire the fear of God, and here we note the following: we need to think deeply about what happened to us along the paths of our lives, and see, on the one hand, God’s mercy towards us, His good Providence for us, and on the other, our own wretchedness, ingratitude, insensitivity. Think that everything that was good in us was all from God: He gives us breath, strength, and opportunities, He strengthens our mind and body, He protects us from evil and invariably loves and spares us. How much He tolerates our outrages, lawlessness, murmuring, ingratitude, and unbelief. Think about how we treat other people and how God treats us, and we will feel ashamed and bitter. What do we do with our Father, Creator, Benefactor! At the same time, we must be amazed at our poverty, complete dependence on God, feel all our nakedness and weakness. How does God even tolerate us! How incomprehensible to us His mercy, love, goodness are.

Having stayed long enough in such feelings and thoughts, one must strive to remain in solitude and silence, alone with one’s heart and with prayer, not to see or hear anyone or anything, and to reverently and humbly await the visit of God, that is, heartfelt tenderness and contrition. When everything worldly and vain becomes silent in a person, then the heart will warm up and be filled with love for God. If prayer is not disturbed by any doubt that deprives us of confidence in the fulfillment of the request, then we will soon feel that already during our very prayer we have acquired what we asked for. We should never doubt that our prayers are truly heard by God. And we must always remember that nothing is secret for God, nothing will ever be hidden or hidden from him.

True, sometimes they say that such and such a prayer or the prayer of such and such was not heard. This is said in the sense that it was not fulfilled, that the Lord did not grant what was asked. The Merciful, but at the same time the Righteous Lord, knows what is useful for us and therefore does not always give what we ask for. We must not only learn to believe in the Lord, but also learn to trust the Lord Himself: if He does not send what we ask for, then it really is not useful to us. There are other cases when the Lord gives what we ask for, but not immediately, giving us, in addition to what we ask, a reason for patience and humility. This is what He did with the Canaanite woman, who became for everyone an example of unshakable faith, patience and humility – the Lord Himself praised her faith. Be bold, poor and sinful soul, even realizing your unworthiness, approach your Lord with firm trust, pray to Him and cry out like the Canaanite wife: Lord, help me! The example of the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:22-28) shows us that true faith is characterized by persistence in prayer, unshakable hope in the goodness of God and His endless mercy!

A Christian who begins to pray to God! Cry from the depths of your soul to the Sweetest Savior of all Jesus Christ, may He grant holy faith to your heart, may His grace touch you, may His wonderful light enlighten your darkness. Cry constantly and with firm hope for His mercy. Having crossed yourself and thrown yourself to the ground, humbly and reverently, with all the strength of your soul, ask the Lord like this: I believe, Lord, help my unbelief! (Mark 9:24). Ask, and He, the All-Good One, will give you faith, as He once gave faith to His beloved disciples. Ask him to help your unbelief, as He once helped the father of the demoniac; ask with confidence, knowing that the Lord is near you; ask, talking with Him alone, in the depths of your soul, dousing your bed with the tears of a contrite heart. Ask so that one Knower of the Heart knows your request; ask, surrendering in everything to the holy will of God; ask fervently, relentlessly, without relying on yourself for anything; Finally, ask the way the Lord God Himself will teach you and help you ask! Amen.

Conversation 18. On calling on the sweetest name of the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ

Our God, although Trinity in Persons – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, is one in Essence: just as God the Father is Almighty, All-righteous and All-good, so equally Almighty, All-righteous and All-good are God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. According to this consubstantiality, all the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity equally participate in the work of our sanctification. Therefore, when the Orthodox Church commands us to pray to God, it means praying to the entire Holy Trinity – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

But since Jesus Christ accomplished the work of our salvation through His merits, and after His Ascension He sent down the All-Holy Spirit, Who acts in the Church, governs It and lives It, then we must pray to the Lord God through the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ.

The Holy Church usually begins all prayers and services by invoking the Holy Spirit: “To the Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Soul of Truth…”, then asks for all gifts from God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is sweet for the entire Church, fearful to the enemy of our salvation, comforting to heaven, and favorable to the Heavenly Father. The holy mentors and teachers of the Orthodox Church command to continually remain in prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus, so that the heart embraces the Lord and the Lord the heart, and so that they are united. You cannot distract your heart from God, you must always keep in it the memory of our Lord Jesus Christ, until the name of the Lord is established within, in your heart, and not think about anything else except for Christ to dwell in us. This is what St. taught. John Chrysostom23.

We have already talked about unceasing prayer and the Jesus Prayer in one of our previous conversations. Now let us pay attention to the following: although we do not dare to start doing smart things, to the best of our ability, we should, on occasion, say the Jesus Prayer to ourselves and carefully consider its words. The fact that we are not yet ready to begin the feat of the Jesus Prayer does not mean at all that we do not need it. On the contrary, we must strive to someday ascend to such a level when God will bless us to perform this prayer. Let not your heart be troubled; Believe in God and believe in Me (John 14:1).

The Jesus Prayer is an affirmation of faith in the Holy Trinity, for where there is faith in the Son of God, there is faith in God the Father, and where there is mercy and salvation for sinners, there is the Holy Spirit, giving them saving grace.

The Jesus Prayer will help us always think about what God and our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us. He is our Lord, but he died a shameful and painful death for our salvation. And we must endure everything for His sake and, above all, not spare ourselves in order to fulfill His commandments. He, the Master, washed the feet of His disciples, and we must, imitating Him, serve our neighbors with all humility and love. He, having ascended to heaven, continues to serve our salvation, listening and fulfilling our prayers, and we must serve Him with our whole lives, taking up the cross of self-sacrifice and following Him.

The Jesus Prayer will help us always remember our weakness, sinfulness and damnation – and avoid sin, all evil and temptation. How else can we ask for deliverance if we ourselves love sin and expose ourselves to countless temptations?

The Jesus Prayer will help us to be merciful to our neighbors, to forgive insults, to tolerate injustice, and not to judge anyone. After all, if we ask for mercy for ourselves, it means we must have mercy for others.

Finally, as we have already said, in one name of our Sweetest Lord Jesus Christ, called upon with faith, you can ask God for everything! Let us call on the name of the Lord Jesus with faith, without any doubt. The doubter is like a sea wave, lifted and tossed by the wind. Let such a person not think of receiving anything from the Lord. A double-minded person is not steadfast in all his ways (James 1:6-8). For a believer, nothing is impossible. Faith in the human heart is the highest gift of God. Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is omnipotent, it can work miracles. But it’s all about firm confidence. It is said: If he speaks and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass (Mark 11:23), then all the power of faith lies in certainty.

Whoever asks and thinks in his heart: maybe I will receive, or maybe I won’t receive, he will never receive; and whoever asks with such confidence that he will certainly receive will receive what he legally asks for. Therefore, we must ask as if we had already seen what we asked for in the hands of the All-Bountiful God; we must ask in such a way that it is already given to us and we already receive it. We must ask firmly, undoubtedly, with the conviction that God will give us what we ask, and we will receive it. The wonderful power of faith! If only our hearts do not double, if only doubt does not creep into us. But to the believer of our Lord Jesus Christ, all things are possible! Amen.

Conversation 19. About love

Heavenly wisdom, Christ’s grace and God’s power do not enter into an evil and unclean soul. Consequently, the Divine, saving power of faith and the spirit of prayer will not be established in our heart until it becomes capable of this. What is needed on the part of the person praying so that his heart is able to accept the faith of Christ and the gift of prayer?

We need to seek salvation, that is, God’s forgiveness of all our sins. Without such forgiveness, our heart can never be pure and capable of receiving the grace of Christ. It is said: Strive to have peace with everyone and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). Our holiness, that is, the forgiveness of our sins, is based on our love and forgiveness of our brothers. We will be forgiven when we also forgive; on the contrary, we will never be forgiven if we do not forgive others. Consequently, the main condition in order to receive forgiveness from God for our sins and salvation, in order to cleanse our heart and make it a temple worthy of containing the highest gift of God – living faith in Him – the main condition for all this is love for our neighbors and our forbearance.

All of the above is based on the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, which we spoke about in one of our previous conversations, but we will repeat them because of their great importance: And when you stand in prayer, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. If you do not forgive, then your Heavenly Father will not forgive you your sins(Mark 11:25-26). If you bring your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go, first make peace with your brother, and then come and offer your gift (Matt. 5:23-24).

Have fervent love for one another, – the apostle teaches us, – because love covers a multitude of sins (1 Pet. 4:8). Love does not harm one’s neighbor; Therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law (Rom. 13:10). Love is one of the incomprehensible properties of God, and therefore our soul is cleansed, enlightened, expanded and made capable of accepting and containing the highest Love – God Himself – with all the gifts of His grace. But malice and enmity, on the contrary, originated from the devil; with them the mind is darkened, the heart shrinks and our spirit is embarrassed, with them we move away from all goodness, from all virtue and are deprived of love.

So, beloved in the Lord, at all times, especially when approaching prayer, do not have any enmity or anger, but have peace and love with everyone. Peace and love are from God, and anger and enmity are from the devil. How can we, with properties hostile to God, dare to approach Him, dare to ask for His mercy and grace? Shall we not deserve His wrath instead of mercy, and, moreover, righteous one? Think about it: all that is required of us for our salvation is forgiveness of offenses, a task within our power. For forgiveness alone, we are promised a great reward above all our merit – the forgiveness of all our sins. If we are angry and hostile, we will not know peace and joy, and if we forgive, then our heart will become capable of accepting the gifts of God’s grace, we will find heavenly peace and spiritual joy in our souls. Will we really be so angry with ourselves that we will sacrifice a great gift and our own happiness – and for what?

Oh, think, think, you who do not want to forgive your neighbor: the only reason why a person does not want to forgive his neighbor is anger and hatred towards him, which is a grave sin. Can such an evil sinner expect goodness and mercy from God for himself if, like a demon, he hates His beloved creation, His beloved child – man. What gift from His bounty will be bestowed upon us, the unmerciful, what light from His holiness will shed into our dark soul?

No, no, beloved, do not begin to pray with anger and enmity; your prayer will not be a quiet outpouring of your soul before God. You will blaspheme the name of God, and you will deserve His wrath and punishment. And how can you say: And forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors? (Matthew 6:9-13) Will you really lie to God? Will you really say: don’t leave me, just as I don’t leave you? It’s scary to think about. Are you offended? Is your pride hurt? Humble yourself in your heart, think that it was not without the will of God that this happened to you; still humble yourself and think, maybe you really are to blame; if this time he was not guilty, it means that he was guilty of something similar once before and was not convicted then.

Finally, realize that this is a temptation from the enemy, who wants to sow enmity and hatred always and everywhere – do not be his servant or a toy in his hands, force yourself to forgive from the heart and thereby prove that you are Christ’s and not the enemy. Think that the person who insulted you is the same weak person as you, because of his weakness he did this to you – we, the strong, must endure the weaknesses of the powerless and not please ourselves (Rom. 15:1). Have pity on him, because he too is tormented and suffering from what happened – pray for him and give him a helping hand, that is, meek forgiveness of the offense. This is the only way you can correct your neighbor if he has sinned; anger and enmity are not capable of healing this wound.

Then just start praying when peace and silence settles in your heart. Then your soul will be able to accept the gift of grace and the spirit of prayer. Remember that enmity and malice revolt the soul, but God is the God of peace. The work of God cannot be there where there is no peace of Christ and silence of the heart. If for some reason you cannot ask for forgiveness from the one you were offended by, or explain yourself to him, do not be embarrassed, it is not scary: forgive him in absentia, make peace with him in your heart before the eyes of the All-Seeing God. You need the deed itself, you need love and mercy, but the external will be fulfilled and after, through your prayer, the Lord will arrange everything. It’s even better to first forgive in your heart and then explain. God sees our heart and accepts one good disposition as a great sacrifice. Amen.

Conversation 20. What else is needed for successful prayer?

In addition to true faith and Christian love, for the success of our prayer it is also necessary that it be performed:

1) With utmost purity of heart. “You must first purify yourself, and then talk with the Pure One,” says St. Gregory the Theologian24. We are all more or less sinners and guilty before God, but the Lord, according to the testimony of Holy Scripture, mercifully listened to the prayers of even sinners when they prayed, being in repentance and heartfelt contrition. Let us remember, for example, the prayer of Manasseh, the publican, the thief, and others like them. Consequently, for the success of the prayers offered by us sinners, we need at least the consciousness of our guilt before God, a decisive intention or even a vow to correct our lives, tears and heartfelt contrition that we anger God and serve Him unworthily.

Saint John Chrysostom says this: “It is fitting to pray to one who is not stained with filth. What do you say if I fall into sin? Cleanse yourself. How? Cry, groan, give alms, make peace with those you have offended, cleanse your tongue so as not to anger God any more.”25 Here we must add that condemnation of our neighbors, which many do not even consider a sin, in an instant deprives us of the fruits of long-term repentance and defiles our heart. Fear this sin in order to purify your heart and learn pure prayer;

2) Prayer must be performed with Christian humility. The Heavenly Father especially looks upon His humble servants (Is.66:2). The prayer of the humble, according to the wise, will pierce the clouds (Sir.35:17). God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). The humble prayer of the publican granted him remission of sins and justification (Luke 18:10-14); For his humble prayer, the centurion received the desired mercy and praise from the Lord (Matthew 8:5-13). Don’t be proud, brothers, of anything if you want to pray holy and soul-saving. God will not accept prayers from the proud and will not fulfill their prayers;

3) Prayer must be performed without vanity and hypocrisy. We must pray not before people, but before God, and firmly believe that our Heavenly Father sees our heart. According to the Savior, you must enter your room and close the doors, so as not to appear as a pilgrim before people (Matt. 6:6). Therefore, according to the teachings of St. John Chrysostom, during prayer there should be no crying, no unnecessary and immoderate movements. He says: “Many people act badly in that with their obscene cries they involuntarily attract attention to themselves and, thus, both with their position and with their cries, they make themselves ridiculous. One must perform prayer without unnecessary movements of the body and obscene cries, but with a good and sincere disposition; not with noise and sound, without showing oneself, but with all meekness, contrition of heart and unfeigned tears. Even if you grieved in soul and could not help but cry out, even in great sorrow it is more decent and more pleasing to God to pray and ask as I said”26;

4) The dignity of prayer should not lie in verbosity, but in the strength of feelings. “Do not flaunt words in your prayer,” says one of the holy men. – The Heavenly Father is pleased with the simplest and most ingenuous muteness of children. Also, do not worry about being verbose in it, so that, while searching for words, you do not dispel the thought itself. The publican propitiated God with one word; and the robber, with one short speech, spoken with faith, asked for salvation for himself.”27

The shortest prayer, but said with feeling and from the heart, is much more beneficial than a long prayer, but said without feeling and not from the heart. However, this in no way demeans more extensive prayers, such as, for example, our public services: Vespers, Matins and Liturgy, or the singing of akathists, prayers, etc. It says here that when we pray to God in private for our needs, we should not worry about the beauty of expressions, should not reason out loud or to ourselves, choosing words and as if admiring our eloquence. Thought and feeling, the fear of God, are the main thing in prayer; with unnecessary words or concern for their harmonious form, the thought is lost and the feeling goes away, instead of the heart, reason begins to speak, which is more characteristic of carnal wisdom, rather than spiritual.

During prayer, there is no point in floriding and there is no need to worry about how to express ourselves more precisely or explain what we need. We turn to God, who knows better than us what we need and what is useful for us. If we memorize and assimilate prayers from the prayer book or those read in church, even if they are quite lengthy, but written by holy people, this will only help us learn to pray correctly for our needs. In these prayers, the thought not only does not dissipate, but is even more supported by harmonious presentation and purposeful consistency.

If we are attentive during the service and do not allow our minds to be distracted, but pray fervently with everyone, imbued with the words of the prayers read in church, then we will be honored with heartfelt tenderness, a good feeling that is born not suddenly, but gradually, when many comforting words of readings and chants, many warm, heartfelt petitions and sighs, many living examples and comparisons amaze the memory, imagination and fill the entire mind of the reader or listener pilgrim;

5) Prayer is especially fruitful when it is combined with Christian fasting and almsgiving. “Whoever fasts,” teaches St. John Chrysostom – he becomes light and inspired, prays with a cheerful spirit, quenches evil lusts, appeases God and humbles his arrogant spirit. He who prays and fasts together has two wings, the lightest of the wind itself; such a one does not sleep, does not talk too much, does not yawn, does not relax in prayer, which happens to many, but he is faster than fire and higher than the earth, therefore he especially shows himself to be an enemy and warrior against evil spirits.”28 There is no stronger prayer than the one who stands before God with a tamed belly and a generous hand, for it is said: He who has mercy on the poor lends to God, and according to his giving he will be rewarded (Prov. 19:17);

6) The most important thing for the success of prayer is to pray to the Merciful God that He Himself teach us true prayer: for He gives prayer to the one who prays. And we ourselves don’t even know what or how we should pray; and if the Holy Spirit did not intercede for us, we would not have true prayer (Rom. 8:26).

Christian brothers! For successful prayer we need to lead a genuine Christian life, which alone shows the truth of our faith. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says that he has faith, but does not have works? can this faith save Him? If a brother or sister is naked and does not have daily food, and one of you says to them: “Go in peace, be warmed and fed,” but does not give them what they need for the body, what is the benefit? Likewise, faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself(James 2:14-17). Amen.

Conversation 21. On calling upon saints during prayer

Man in himself is weak and feeble, but God is both good and merciful to man. Therefore, in addition to His invisible guidance, He, the All-Good One, gives man help through His saints. Pleasers of God, belonging to the Heavenly Church and standing at the highest levels of approach to God, our weak and unworthy prayers with their holy prayers strengthen, purify and bring them to God. The merciful God, accepting the prayers of the saints as a fragrant aroma and a pure sacrifice, for their love and intercession for us sinners, for their holy prayers, accepts our prayers and gives us His mercies through the same saints, called upon by us with faith and love.

The doctrine of calling upon the holy saints of God in prayer is the most ancient. For example, when the prophet David prayed: Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel our fathers! (1 Chronicles 29:18) – then he remembered the holy forefathers in support of his prayer. In the same way, our Orthodox Church calls upon Christ our God through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother and all the saints.

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem speaks about it this way: “We remember the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs who have died first, so that through their prayers and intercession God may accept our prayer.”29

It is not in vain that the Orthodox Church calls on the saints for help: there is countless evidence that the Merciful God, through prayers and their intercession, accepts our prayers and gives us what we ask for. Take the lives of the saints, and on every page you will see their benefits to poor humanity; You will see how much the earnest prayer of a righteous man can accomplish (James 5:16). Let us turn, at least mentally, to the help of the saints of our Russian Orthodox Church: the whole host of miracle workers of the Kiev-Pechersk; Michael, Peter, Alexy, Jonah and Philip of Moscow; Sergius of Radonezh; Mitrofan of Voronezh, Afanasy Lubensky; Demetrius and Abraham – Rostov Wonderworkers, Sergius and German – Valaam Wonderworkers; Varlaam Khutynsky, Theodosius of Totemsky; David and Euphrosyne – Murom Wonderworkers; Michael and Theodore – Chernigov Wonderworkers, and others. We will see a sea of ​​miracles and indescribable blessings with which, like the seed of life, our beloved Fatherland has flourished and is flourishing. We will see that our pious ancestors lived and held on through their holy prayers and intercession, and we, many sinners and unworthy, live and hold on!

Brothers in the Lord! Each of us has our own special needs and finds ourselves in special circumstances when special help from the holy saints of God is needed. Read the lives of the saints, learn from their holy lives and miracles, and call on them for help. They, like the inhabitants of heaven, are filled with pure, perfect love. For one of our heartfelt appeals, for one prayerful appeal, they are ready with love to rush to the aid of us, the poor and weak. They themselves lived on earth, experienced all the difficulties of everyday life and know what our bitter earthly life is like; They know how many troubles and sorrows we have here, and therefore they quickly come to our aid and are ready to help us achieve the Kingdom of Heaven. Call, brothers, in your prayers the holy saints of God.

The merciful God grants His saints such grace and strength that they can always and everywhere hear us and help us in everything. It is good if someone can pour out his soul at the relics of saints. Here a particularly holy, reverent feeling is involuntarily born, and with it a lively faith and an ardent appeal to the help of the saints. Those who can and are able – pray at the relics of the holy saints of God. The relics of the saints, like the springs of salvation that the Lord Christ gave us, exude many different benefits. The relics of saints, due to the Divine grace dwelling in them, are equal to the souls of saints when they are touched or venerated with faith and reverence30. Standing and praying at the relics of saints means almost the same as talking with them in person.

The incorruptible and life-giving relics of the saint of God are a valuable treasure, which the God of miracles has given us. Standing before them, as the living saint of God, we fall down and pray that he will accept our prayers and offer them to the altar of God’s mercy31.

Whose heart will not be touched, whose spirit will not be touched, whose tears will not flow at the sight of the miracle of incorruption, at the approach to true holiness, at the thought that we have acquired good friends and benefactors of humanity who pray for the remission of our sins and to protect us from troubles and misfortunes? Whoever God has deigned to prostrate himself with a reverent soul before the relics of the saints will remember with me, a great sinner, how pleasing my heart was and how joyful my soul was. At that time, everything earthly is forgotten, and you are filled with something higher, you depart light and calm and do not want to part with those blessed places where the blessed relics rest. It is so joyful, beneficial and soul-saving to pour out your soul and prayers before the relics of the saints!

But whoever is deprived of this grace can pray to the holy saints of Christ in every place, calling on them for help with faith and love. They can hear us everywhere and from everywhere, by the grace given to them, they can help us. Whether at sea, or on land, in the mountains, or in deserts, in cities or towns – wherever we are and wherever we call on them for help, they, loving ones, are always ready to grant us the benefits we ask for. Their eyes always look upon us, the weak, and their ears are always open to our prayer. They are our brothers, they are our friends, they are our fathers and mothers, they are our intercessors and protectors.

You just need to pray to them fervently, fervently and with a vow to do some holy and godly deed in their honor. You can, for example, help a poor family, or provide housing for an unfortunate orphan, or give up any harmful passion: drunkenness, absent-mindedness, theft, and the like; or become more diligent in the work of God: go to Church every Sunday and holiday, or read the Gospel on Holy Pentecost, etc. By such and similar vows our prayers are made fruitful. Only this vow must certainly be fulfilled: otherwise, in the face of the holy saints of God, we will turn out to be deceitful, and thereby anger their love, and we will not be worthy of receiving any help from them. Amen.

Conversation 22. What should you ask God first of all?

We have already mentioned that some prayers are not heard in the sense that the one praying does not receive what he asks for. Why is this happening? Because often people who have not yet renounced carnal wisdom, not understanding their benefits and urgent needs, often ask for something they should not ask for, or ask on a whim, and not for the sake of their eternal salvation. Holy apostle James taught this: You ask and do not receive, because you ask not for good, but to use it for your lusts. Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity against God? So, whoever wants to be a friend of the world becomes God‘s enemy (James 4:3-4).

Our soul is more important than our body, and eternity is more important than temporary life. The soul is immortal, but the body is perishable. We will not live long in time, but in eternity our life will be endless. Consequently, reason itself inspires us to first of all ask for spiritual benefits, and then for physical ones.

The highest spiritual good is the Kingdom of God, and this is what we must ask from God first and more than anything else in the world. This will be in accordance with the need of our soul and with the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who said exactly this: Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33).

What is the Kingdom of God? According to the teachings of St. Apostle, it is truth, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). Truth or justification is given to us by the death and resurrection of Christ. Peace is established in our soul when our conscience does not torment us, when the flesh does not rebel against the spirit, when it is not low passion and the law of sin that reigns in us, but pure morality, in accordance with the Divine laws. Joy spills into our entire being when not only the present, but also the future, according to our faith and hope in God and His mercy, cheers us and feeds us with hope for a better, more blissful life.

You see, beloved, that the Kingdom of God, that is, the justification of us by the merits of Christ, His peace and His Divine joy, is the first and highest good. It is precious for eternity; it should be the only thing desired in temporary life. All eternity is based on it; and on earth it is primarily needed by those who are preparing for a blissful eternity. Beloved! Pray, pray to the Merciful God, may He, the Most Gracious One, grant us all His Kingdom, may He pour His peace, His joy, His justification into our souls and hearts. Constantly, intensely and relentlessly ask for this highest good.

Until your spirit, body, heart, desires and thoughts are pacified; until you feel the grace and power of God approaching you; until, finally, you desire nothing more in the world than to be in communion with God and serve Him with all your heart, until then you will still have nothing, even if you have much from earthly treasures: for you will not have the Kingdom of Christ. In this case, pray fervently, shed tears and persistently ask that the Heavenly Father will grant you His great grace – His Heavenly Kingdom; to open your souls and hearts to receive His gifts of grace. Great and unimaginable in itself is what the Merciful Lord gives to the human heart: to feel His closeness.

There is nothing and nothing can be sweeter, more comforting and calming for the human heart than the closeness to us of the grace and power of God. Ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ask for His great mercy – the Kingdom of Heaven! Soon He is ready to bestow upon us His Divine grace and His Kingdom. To establish His Kingdom in us, our Lord Jesus Christ came to us sinners. And now He, the Most Blessed One, is always with us, so that His kingdom may establish itself and He may reign in us forever. Amen.

Conversation 23. About asking for benefits needed for temporary life

We consist of soul and body, live in the material world, have different necessary needs, are connected by various relationships and responsibilities: family, civil, church, etc. Therefore, in addition to the one highest good on earth – the Kingdom of God, that is, the establishment of truth, peace and spiritual joy in us, we must take care of acquiring other goods necessary for the perfection of our earthly life. The Savior Himself did not prohibit caring for earthly goods. He only said that first of all we must seek the Kingdom of God, and everything else will be added (Matthew 6:33), – that is, everything we need will be given to us as we draw closer to God and His union with us.

Earthly goods, relating to the soul and body, can be internal and external. Internal benefits should include the education of the mind and the improvement of the heart. A person, as a member of the Holy Church and a certain society, while living on earth, must undergo various services in relation to God, his neighbor and himself. But he cannot perform any service worthily without true education of the mind and heart. He must know and find the truth, know and appreciate virtues, discover and persecute vice, spare and have mercy on humanity. How can he do all this without a bright mind and a kind heart? Consequently, every person needs to ask God for the enlightenment of his mind and the improvement of his heart, as necessary and saving blessings.

Enlightening the mind and improving the heart are blessings that sweeten the often bitter human life! Whoever has a sound mind and a kind heart, enriched with Christian feelings, is the happiest person in the world! He will become a wise and beneficent judge, a brave and at the same time good-natured warrior, the most useful and skillful mentor, a faithful and obedient son of the Church, a devoted and unfailing servant of the Fatherland, the best family man and the most pleasant interlocutor, the most useful friend and adviser in everything. What a wonderful creature – a person with a sound mind and a good heart! Who wouldn’t want to be both smart and kind? But how to achieve this? All wisdom and all intelligence are from God, the Source of all wisdom and intelligence, and all good and good heartfelt feelings are from him, the All-Good. Consequently, it is to Him, as the Supreme Giver of all good things, as the first Source of truth and goodness, that we must turn to Him with warm prayer, so that He, the Almighty, will give us both a sound mind and a good heart! He, the Almighty and All-Bountiful, has an abyss of grace and saving means for the weak and weak person. He acts both directly and indirectly on man and produces everything in him according to His will.

Whoever prays and asks Him often receives such knowledge that, regardless of human means, enlightens Him with higher intelligence and knowledge. All the saints who had the anointing of the Holy Spirit shared in such knowledge (1 John 2:27). And often the All-Good God gives us various opportunities to enlighten our mind and heart. Sometimes, for example, through the action of Providence, the opportunity opens up for us to have a well-known good mentor as a leader, to visit a well-known educational institution, to read several soul-helping instructions, to fall in love with reading good, moral books from childhood, and especially the Word of God, etc. All such and similar cases certainly occur through the action of God’s Providence, as we turn to God.

That is why, in the Orthodox Christian Church, before the beginning of the teaching of young men, there is a prayer sung to the Lord God for driving away foolishness from their hearts, for giving them wisdom from the Throne of God, so that they may be a joy and consolation to their parents; so that you can quickly accept, quickly learn, understand and remember the good and soul-saving teaching!

Pray, brothers, for yourself and for your children, and the Lord God will enlighten you with His light – the Light of Christ. Only this light truly enlightens every person and instructs him to do good. When praying for God’s direct enlightenment of our minds and hearts, take the most active measures on your part to ensure that the root and beginning of the education of your children is the fear of God, drawn from Holy Scripture, as from the main source of all knowledge and all knowledge of the most perfect paths leading to a pious life.

To do this, from the very first days, by your own example, arouse in your children a love for reading the Word of God. It contains everything that we need for earth and heaven, it contains lessons and instructions for our entire life, for all our needs and requirements, it does not contain scientific philosophical reasoning, there are no refined and refined rules necessary for light and worldly decency, but it contains something that is not in all books: it contains the spirit and power of the entire moral law. There is not a single vice that the Divine Gospel does not condemn, and not a single virtue that it does not command.

The Word of God contains such commandments that serve as the basis for the prosperity of all human communities. All Divine books breathe peace, truth and love. Happy are those who are familiar with these books!

To guide your children, choose as mentors honest and kind people who know God and honor His Holy Commandments.

In every possible way, beware of children’s contact with immoral people. They will show you thousands of pleasures to the detriment of the child; and every illicit pleasure in a young man is poison to his soul and abilities!

When God gives our children gifts, and through His Providence they develop and acquire knowledge, let this knowledge be dedicated to the glory of the name of God, for the benefit of one’s neighbor and one’s own happiness. Let your children pass the trials of life wisely and fearing God; let them do good, help their brothers, wipe away the tears of those who cry, heal the ulcers of the wounded! Let everyone do this out of gratitude to God’s Providence, without any selfish goals; and when they acquire blessings from God and trust and respect from people, then in maturity and old age they will taste true heartfelt joy and pleasure. This is happiness, known only to the smart and kind, in the truest sense of the word!

Maybe some of you will think: “Thank God, we have both a mind and a heart, but we don’t remember when we prayed to the Lord God to send us such blessings?” It is impossible not to pray, not to ever call on the Holy Spirit, the Life-giving and Enlightening Lord – may He, the Almighty, come into our hearts and thoughts. And if we did not pray, others certainly prayed for us: first of all, our spiritual mother, the Holy Church, with the grace-filled rebirth of us through Holy Baptism, prays for the enlightenment of us with reason and piety, so that we become sons of light. Then our parents or our good relatives, if not in church, then certainly in the depths of their spirit before the Omniscient revealed the desires of their hearts to bestow upon us both a sound mind and a good heart.

This is certainly true. The Most Merciful God, seeing the good desires of our parents and relatives and foreseeing good hope in us in the future, enriches us with reason and knowledge. Without God and His grace there can never be a sound mind or a good heart, for where will all this come from? From human nature? But he is all darkness! If sometimes something similar to light appears in those who do not know God, then this light is insignificant, soon disappearing, like the fires of the air. Look at the teaching of the God-enlightened Fathers of the Church and the strictly human teaching, called philosophical, which is not based on Divine Revelation. The first teaching is true, eternal, beneficial for one and all, and the second is something dreamy, having neither power nor life, losing credibility even after half a century!

Yes, brothers, that’s exactly it! Without God nothing happens. Consequently, without His grace we cannot have a good mind or a good heart. Everything we seek is from him. If we have anything, it is obviously without our merits, but certainly with the good and wise purposes of Providence. God gives us not so much according to our merits, but to call us to Himself with all the bounties of His love. If we have any intelligence, if we have a good heart, we thank the Lord! This treasure of ours is certainly from His goodness. So let us thank the Lord for everything in the present and ask for greater confirmation of us in truth and goodness, in Christian reason and piety, until we reach the measure of the age and fulfillment of Christ! Amen.

Conversation 24. About external benefits

External benefits include: firstly, our physical health, then our external well-being, and finally, honor or a good name. Health is the greatest gift from God: without health, life is painful and a person is a burden to himself. Without a certain state, a person in many ways does not achieve his goals: and the sciences love prosperity; and family life will not be pleasant without prosperity; and job duties are easier and, in some ways, safer when there is plenty. Sometimes wonderful talents and quick flights of spirit do not reach their goal because, in fact, there was not enough money to go there, to educate oneself there, to read this and that, to listen to this, to ascend to this or that field. Sometimes children are a burden, and family joys are not a joy, when there is nothing to live with, nothing to support yourself and your family, nothing to give to those in need, nothing to console yourself or your loved ones. It happens that the most noble, but poor person, as they say, his conscience involuntarily “asks to eat,” which is why his official duties are sometimes violated. And without honor and a good name, a person cannot be a trustworthy citizen, a good father, a faithful spouse, an exemplary servant of the Church, an irreproachable judge, or a decent boss. Without honor and a good name, a person will be as if dead to life.

The most God-enlightened people value honor and good name very much. Holy apostle Paul agreed that it would be better to die than to lose honor (1 Cor. 9:15). Consequently, you can and should ask yourself from the Merciful God for bodily health, daily bread, and a good name. All this in itself is not evil. But we should ask for physical health only with the goal that it does not hinder, but rather contributes to the movements of our spirit; so that our spiritual activity, through our care for the body, does not decrease, but, on the contrary, spreads, elevates and reaches the point that the body itself can be the dwelling place of the Spirit of God.

It is not always useful to ask for earthly treasures, but the Lord Himself commanded us to ask for our daily bread (Matthew 6:11). If the Lord gives us not only prosperity, but also abundance, we must ask Him so that, according to the will of God, we can use our surplus for the glory of God, for the benefit of our neighbors, and then for our own. Asking for honor is also not always useful, for even a moderate desire for honor can degenerate into immoderate ambition; but it is quite pious to ask the Lord to protect us from human slander and slander. If injustice befalls us on the part of people, we must accept it as punishment or admonition from the hand of God, not grumble at the offenders and not take revenge on them, but forgive them from the bottom of our hearts, then God will forgive us our countless sins. The Lord is able to leave a good memory of us on earth if we care only about His glory, avoiding glory for ourselves, for He said: I will glorify those who glorify Me (1 Samuel 2:30).

When the Lord God gives you health and bodily strength, use them for useful work and activities, and not for shameful passions – not for carnality, hooliganism, theft, robbery and all kinds of violence. Do not rely on robbery and do not be vain about theft; when wealth increases, do not set your heart on it(Ps. 61:11). He who builds his own house with other people’s money is the same as he who gathers stones for his own grave (Sir.21:9). Beware of covetousness, for a person’s life does not depend on the abundance of his possessions (Luke 12:15). It is a great gain for a Christian to be pious and contented with his condition. For we have brought nothing into the world; It’s obvious that we can’t take anything out of it. Having food and clothing, we will be content with that. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and harmful lusts that plunge people into disaster and destruction; for the love of money is the root of all evil, which, having given themselves over, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows (1 Tim. 6:6-10). Amen.

Conversation 25. A Christian should pray not only for himself, but also for others

Christian love embraces one and all. According to Christian brotherly love, what we desire for ourselves, we should also desire for our neighbor; what we ask of God for ourselves, we must ask for that of others. But among our neighbors, those who create and organize the good, both common to all and, in particular, to each of us, have a special right to our prayer for them.

The first and highest person for whom we must pray and ask God is His Holiness the Patriarch: he is the supreme patron of the Church and the Orthodox faith we profess. His faith and piety support, strengthen and encourage our faith and piety. We are obliged to pray for him, so that the Spirit of God may rest on him, planting and rooting the Church of Christ on earth.

Next, we should pray for those in power who ensure the legitimacy of the court, the preservation of order and the observance of laws. We are obliged to pray for them, so that the Almighty will send down to them the Spirit of the fear of God, the Spirit of wisdom and reason, so that the Lord will create them true zealots for the Orthodox faith and the benefit of the entire Fatherland; He created them to be honest, active, wise and beneficial to everyone and would reward them for their work on our behalf with mental peace, physical health, longevity and prosperity.

Then, we must pray for the defenders of our Fatherland from enemies external and internal, we must ask God for them, so that the Lord will grant them the Spirit of advice and strength.

Further, we must pray for our benefactors, for those who care about our well-being and do good for us, and, above all, for our parents and educators, for shepherds and spiritual fathers, for mentors, bosses and patrons.

Christian love obliges us to pray to God for all people, even for enemies. This is the commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ: Pray for those who use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:44-45).

The Christian duty lies on all of us to pray not only for the living, but also for the dead – our fathers and brothers in faith, who died in the hope of resurrection and eternal life. Pray for them here on earth, and they will pray for you there in heaven. Remember them and give alms for their souls. Remembrance in the Church of God and almsgiving for the dead is a great blessing for them.

Brothers! Pray for everyone: this is the will of God; Having fulfilled this will of God, we will live quietly and silently in all piety and purity. Amen.

Conversation 26. Prayer must be constant and persistent

It often happens that, asking God for the benefits we know for ourselves and not suddenly achieving the goal of our requests, we begin to become embarrassed and weaken in prayer. Such confusion is one of the first reasons why sometimes God’s mercy does not heed our unsteady and fickle petitions. It is very necessary for each of us to know how constantly and how persistently we should ask God to send us some good and when to stop our requests.

Let us listen to our Sweetest Jesus Christ, what exactly He said about this subject. For greater clarity, let us read His Divine words from the Holy Gospel. The Holy Evangelist Luke narrates that the Lord once proposed to His disciples a parable about how one should always pray and not lose heart, saying: in one city there was a certain judge who did not fear God and was not ashamed of people. In the same city there was a widow, and she came to him and said: “Protect me from my rival.” But for a long time he didn’t want to. And then he said to himself: “Although I am not afraid of God and I am not ashamed of people, but, as this widow does not give me peace, I will protect her so that she does not come to bother me anymore.” And the Lord said: Do you hear what the unjust judge says? Will not God protect His chosen ones who cry out to Him day and night, although He is slow to protect them? I tell you that He will give them protection soon(Luke 18:1-8).

For greater clarity, let us explain the meaning of this parable: A merciful God is always more loving than the kindest person. Consequently, it would be enough to point to a righteous judge with the conclusion that if a person listens and fulfills requests, then much more does God. But the Savior represents a cruel and inhuman judge, having neither conscience nor the fear of God, who granted the request of the poor widow only because of her persistence. So, if persistent prayer inclines the evil nature towards compassion and mercy, then what is it impossible for it to beg from the Most Good Heavenly Father, Who abundantly gives us everything we need for temporal and eternal life. After all, the Lord created us, redeemed us and promised us the Kingdom without any of our merits, just because of His inexplicable goodness and incomprehensible love for the human race!

Our Sweetest Savior explains this same idea that one must ask God relentlessly in another place. At the request of one of the disciples, Jesus Christ, having taught them to pray, said: If one of you, having a friend, comes to him at midnight and says to him: “Friend! Lend me three loaves of bread, for my friend came to me from the road, and I have nothing to offer him”; and he from inside will tell him in response: “Don’t bother me, the doors are already locked, and my children are with me on the bed; I can’t get up and give it to you.” If, I tell you, he does not get up and give him out of friendship with him, then, out of his persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he asks. And I will tell you: ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you; For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened(Luke 11:5-10).

So, we must ask constantly and relentlessly with hope for God’s mercy. We must ask until we beg; one should ask not in some way, crossing oneself and saying: “Lord, have mercy on me, Lord, help me,” as if fleetingly, fleetingly and unsteadily. We must ask not once, not twice, not three times, but if God wants to test our faith, we must ask several times, six months, a year, a whole life. Yes, this is what the holy forefathers Joachim and Anna and many others asked. It is difficult, you say, without receiving, not to weaken in hope. What to do? Really hard! But soon what we asked for is valued less and quickly forgotten, and the Lord wants us to remember His gifts, be grateful to Him and have firm faith and undoubted hope in Him until the end of our days. Amen.

Conversation 27. About patience and selflessness

Even if the merciful God refuses our request, it is not without a special reason. If He does not fulfill, that is, does not seem to hear our prayers, we need to figure out: are we asking what is in accordance with the will of God, with the happiness of our neighbor and with our salvation? What if we ask for permissible benefits, but God does not heed our requests? Then, probably, we do not have the proper faith in Him and love for our neighbor. This is certainly true! Therefore, God, without answering our prayers, thereby wants to admonish us so that we cleanse our hearts and ask more diligently. But we should never despair of receiving mercies from Him, the All-Bounteous, if our petitions are legitimate and we ask with faith and love. We will certainly receive if we ask as we should. It is only necessary to note that prayer is impossible without a special feat. We must learn to be patient: without patience we will achieve nothing.

The ways of God are incomprehensible to us, the weak. We cannot know why or for what purpose God sometimes delays the satisfaction of our petitions. Sometimes the Righteous God does not answer the most pious people suddenly. Even up. Paul also asked three times that the angel of Satan, who was oppressing his flesh, would depart from him, but the Lord answered him: My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Having understood this, the apostle learned to be content with weaknesses, insults, needs, persecutions, and oppressions for Christ’s sake (2 Cor. 12:7-10). It is obvious that the Lord gave him special grace for this and thus answered his prayer. The great prophet Daniel, wishing to achieve understanding, spent three weeks of days in fasting and in lamentation, and after three weeks an Angel appeared to him and told him a revelation of great power (Dan. 10: 1-13). What Abraham and Sarah were like, they also waited for the promised son Isaac until they were very old.

Is it surprising if sometimes our weak prayers are not immediately fulfilled? Often we ask for both the wrong thing and the wrong way to ask. Sometimes we want to pray and at the same time we ask how long will the service last? It is already difficult for many people to pray for more than an hour. And to go to the Church of God for several days; to listen to several evening and morning services and Liturgies; to – for Christ – get up earlier and go to bed later; to impose on oneself several voluntary fasts and deprivations; to go several times and venerate the relics of the holy saints – Kyiv, Voronezh, and others – for many, as they say, this is impossible and beyond their strength! Sometimes we are afraid of ridicule from foolish people! We are afraid that our family will misunderstand us; Yes, and what we are not afraid of, but we are not ashamed to stand before God and His saints with a cold soul!

It happened to see: in one room there is a prayer service, and in another – the owner or hostess is entertaining guests. How can you leave guests? – They will consider it for inattention. Yes, we are afraid of reproach for not paying attention to those like us, but we serve the Creator and God somehow! Sometimes you read the Holy Gospel, and there is no one to give Him a kiss; sometimes prayers run out, and there is no one to kiss the Holy Cross. What kind of life and power is there in such absentee prayers: I ordered a prayer service, submitted a note, and let them pray for me – is it really possible to beg something in this way even from a decent person?

No, no, brothers, if we want to pray fruitfully and soul-savingly, then we ourselves must come to the prayer service, to the church service and pray not just hastily, but persistently and constantly. Successful prayer requires feat. The apostle said: Be constant in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving (Col. 4:2). For the success of prayer, in addition to external sacrifices, one’s own self-sacrifice is required. We must ask and ask that our weak and often impure prayers ascend to the Most Holy God; one must seek and seek in order to obtain spiritual benefits; we must knock and knock so that the door of mercy, which we often close, will open!

But God’s mercy towards us sinners is amazing! We often ask God, our Heavenly Father, and we ourselves realize that our prayer is weak and unworthy. But despite all this, He, the Most Gracious One, hears our prayers and, covering our shortcomings with His love, like a compassionate Father, grants what we ask for. What would You, Lord, All-Bountiful and Blessed, not grant us if we always asked You with faith and love, with patience and gratitude?! Amen.

Conversation 28. About spiritual wakefulness and sobriety during prayer

Prayer is the most powerful weapon against the devil and his wiles. The devilish race is not defeated by anything more than by prayer and fasting. Therefore, the enemy of our salvation, greatly afraid of prayers, tries with all his might to interfere with our prayers. He acts on our imagination with images that seduce or outrage us; entertains our thoughts with foreign objects; finally, through satiated or weakened flesh, it induces drowsiness and spiritual impotence on the soul. Therefore, the person praying must strictly look after himself and cheerfully repel all the machinations of the enemy.

Imagination is an ability in a person through which external images are received and transmitted to our soul. The more perfect and moral a person is, the stronger and more vivid his imagination; and the more vivid the imagination, the more clear and striking are the images it receives. On the other hand, the devil, as a being of higher and spiritual origin, can take on different images or types of external objects. It cannot directly act on the human spirit, but can act on it indirectly, that is, through the world of phenomena, or the external world. Seeing a person praying, he can, if God allows, take on various images that are harmful to the person praying, and he presents these images to the person’s imagination either to excite some passion, for example, the passion of ambition, greed and carnality, or to create imaginary joy, or imaginary sorrow and fear. In the lives of saints, such cases are numerous. The Savior Himself, praying in the desert, was tempted by the devil. And the apostle tells us: Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Pet. 5:8).

But cases when the devil acts on a person through images and phenomena rarely happen to beginners. Usually the enemy tries to dispel the thoughts of a person standing in prayer, awakening in him completely inappropriate and unnecessary memories of long-past affairs, or concern for everyday needs, or fears about possible and even impossible troubles. From our own experience and from the experience of others, it is known that when a person prays – and prays, apparently, in a good mood – suddenly, unknown why, without any causal connection, thoughts come that disturb the soul and deprive it of inner peace. As a result, all the sweetness of prayer disappears, and we leave prayer with despondency. And when we stop praying, then we seem to calm down. This state at the beginning of prayer brings upon us a kind of darkness and even sorrow, until God’s mercy helps us to resist the enemy’s slander, which aims to destroy our disposition to prayer.

Such absent-mindedness of thoughts through memories is especially characteristic of worldly people; therefore, in order to combat absent-mindedness, one must wean oneself from worldly habits and attachments, and be more indifferent to the vain hobbies of this world. It is also characteristic of weak human nature to experience some kind of heaviness, drowsiness and spiritual sleep during prayer. This often happens to us for a variety of reasons, ranging from a full stomach to an elevated temperature. It’s as if our soul is pressed down to the ground by some kind of weight, unable to ascend to heaven, unable to engage in spiritual things, contemplate God, talk with the holy Angels and holy saints. It happens that prayer is a burden to us, we are not able to bow; we cannot stand cheerfully; We are looking for places to lean or lean on.

Yes, we are not disembodied Angels, but people covered with weak flesh. But what to do? Watch and pray, so that you do not fall into temptation: the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matt. 26:41). You must force yourself to pray, and to do this, take for yourself a feasible rule from your spiritual father and fulfill it at all costs, every day. Let us pray, and imperceptibly our flesh will get used to prayer and effort, and will be more submissive to the spirit. The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force, and only those who use force take it away (Matthew 11:12). Amen.

Conversation 29. How to resist the enemy of our salvation

What can be done to ensure that the enemy of our salvation does not act on our imagination with images that disturb us, on our thoughts with slander and temptations, on our weaknesses with drowsiness and exhaustion?

There are entire books on spiritual warfare, which describe different methods that must be used with proper reasoning when applying them to oneself. In connection with the subject of our conversation, we will pay attention to the following:

1. The enemy of our salvation is horrified and trembles at the crucified Savior. The Cross of the Lord is the most terrible thing for him, and for the faithful the most omnipotent weapon, at the sight of which the devil, according to the teachings of the Holy Church, shakes and runs, “not being able to bear to look at his power.” Consequently, the machinations of the enemy, invented to disturb our imagination with various types and images, can and should be destroyed by the Cross of Christ. Whatever appears to our imagination during prayer, whatever views arise that captivate us and flatter our pride, or disturb our inner peace and excite awe, we must protect ourselves in silence and tranquility with the Honest Cross of Christ. At the same time, if possible, one should not externally reveal the inner state of the soul, but calmly and with contempt for the enemy internally call on the name of Christ with faith and trust in the only Victor of death and hell. This is enough to put the enemies of our salvation to flight.

But when the darkness that surrounds us does not dissipate and the enemy of our salvation does not retreat, then we must constantly have before us the image of Christ crucified. And until then, do not take your mental and physical gaze off this image and do not stop your inner prayer, calling on the name of Jesus Christ, until His, the Sweetest, promise is fulfilled: In My Name they will cast out demons (Mark 16:17). In this way, all unclean, harmful images in our imagination will dissipate.

To strengthen our weaknesses, we should fast and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Through prayer and fasting the enemy is defeated, and in communion we are most closely united with Jesus Christ, the Conqueror of death and hell. Those who fast and partake of the Holy Mysteries often and hold before them the image of the crucified Christ the Savior always and at all times do well. Those who, from infancy, wearing the visible cross of the crucified Lord Jesus, protect themselves with the sign of the cross – both entrances and exits, and food and drink, and clothing and beds!

2. We are guided in everything by faith, so we can take it as a rule that any vision that appears against our will during prayer is a temptation for us. For this reason, let us not think about having any contemplation or vision during prayer. The prayer should be performed simply and humbly, trying to arouse in the heart a feeling of tenderness and contrition. However, this rule is only for beginners or those who are imperfect in spiritual life. Those who have the anointing of the Holy Spirit, according to the gift of this anointing, according to the riches of love poured out by the Holy Spirit into their hearts, know everything and can easily recognize the Spirit who is from God and the spirit of lying. Without fearing the enemy and his obsessions, they can and do have some pure visions among prayers, as we know from their lives and spiritual instructions.

The Monk Macarius the Great described a similar state of saints during prayer, during which all earthly cares and thoughts are forgotten and the whole mind is filled and captivated by the Divine, heavenly, boundless, incomprehensible and some wonderful things that cannot be expressed in human words; and when the light of grace shining in the heart reveals the inner, deepest and most intimate light, the whole person is immersed in sweetness and contemplation and is no longer in control of himself, but becomes, as it were, a stranger and hostile to this world because of the highest love, sweetness and hidden mysteries that he contemplates32. We, beginners, need to be afraid and wary of such states, for we, unnoticed by ourselves, can fall into demonic delusion, which leads a person to destruction.

3. It is difficult to fight the devil when he acts on the imagination, but it is no less difficult to defeat him when he scatters human thoughts with various temptations during prayer. In order to keep your thoughts within the required limits and so that various extraneous and intimate memories and things do not disturb the feelings and mental gaze of the praying person, you must:

Firstly, always prepare yourself for prayer and do not begin it without feeling the fear of God, without thinking that God listens to our every word, every thought and can punish us if we show negligence, inattention and disrespect for Him. The slightest deviation from the purpose of prayer should be considered a criminal matter (which, in essence, it is), prompting our Heavenly Father not to mercy, but to anger. We need to concentrate all our attention on the words of the prayer, but if it has deviated due to our weakness, we also should not be embarrassed, but immediately, as we note this, direct it again to the words of the prayer.

Secondly, if we do not pray according to a prayer book, but ask the Lord in private for our needs, we need to pray with confidence that our Heavenly Father, even before our request, knows what we want to pray for, and that He will certainly give us what is useful, and what we will ask for with faith and hope. Therefore, we must pray for our needs very briefly, ask for what we want with a devoted and reverent heart, relying in everything on the will of the Heavenly Father and not worrying about how best to express our request, not remembering unnecessary details and all the circumstances of the case, and especially not thinking about what we ourselves should do. This commandment was given to Christians by St. ap. Paul: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (Phil. 4:6).

Thirdly, when thoughts are so scattered that a person is no longer able to master them, then, without trying to remember or think about anything, let us concentrate all our mental strength on one short inner prayer, for example, on these words: “Lord, have mercy on me!” Having stopped all external actions and not paying attention to sensory sensations, let us enclose ourselves, so to speak, with our whole being in the depths of the spirit or heart and begin to wait until the whirlwind passes and silence comes. Then you can continue the prayer again. And it is better to acquire in advance such a skill and the ability to contain oneself and talk in the depths of one’s spirit with God; It can be advised to practice this at a convenient time, when, having abandoned external activities, we could stand before God in the solitude and silence of our hearts, not only to offer Him our needs, but more so to open our souls to Him.

This must be done in simplicity and humility, without waiting to see if God will produce any action or impression in us. He Himself knows what is good for us. At first, for our nature this will seem boring and difficult, but over time it will become easy and, finally, it will turn into a habit for the soul, so that it will be sweetness and consolation for it in all the labors, sufferings and sorrows of everyday life. Such a state will take her to heaven while her body is still alive, will give her peace that surpasses all understanding, and will shed joy that no one can take away from her (John 16:22)!

4. In case of physical health, fatigue and spiritual drowsiness during prayer usually occur from satiety or overwork. The spirit becomes more cheerful if we fast, then less sleep is required. Saturation induces sleep and weakens all spiritual activity in a person. And therefore the Savior gave all believers the following commandment: Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be burdened with gluttony and drunkenness (Luke 21:34).

Listen, brothers, pray, protecting yourself with the honest Cross of Christ; pray, constantly having before your physical and spiritual gaze the image of the crucified Christ the Savior; pray without distraction or distraction, but with a chaste mind and an undisturbed heart; Finally, pray in fasting and abstinence, then the enemy will not do anything against you, and your prayer will be sweetness for you and a fragrance before God! Amen.

Conversation 30. When prayer can be sinful

God not only does not accept sinful prayer from us, but also punishes us for it. We have already talked quite a lot about both true and sinful prayer, but now we will briefly repeat, the most important thing in view of the special importance of the subject and for the special warning against sin.

Firstly, those who pray without correct and sincere faith in God and our Lord Jesus Christ sin; for without faith it is impossible to please God, according to the teaching of St. ap. Paul (Heb. 11:6), and according to the word of St. ap. According to James, adoubter is like a wave of the sea, tossed and tossed by the wind. Let such a person not think of receiving anything from God(James 1:6-7).

Secondly, those who pray while in a quarrel, in anger and enmity with someone sin. The Savior Himself said: If you do not forgive people their sins, then your Father will not forgive you your sins (Matthew 6:15). Don’t even think about praying with anger and hostility towards your neighbor: such prayer greatly angers God, Who is all goodness and love. A prayer pronounced by a heart that has not been reconciled with its neighbor is pleasing to one enemy of our salvation: for he is the father of malice, and everything done in malice is his gain.

Equally sinful are those who, calling on God’s mercy and asking for benefits for themselves, are themselves hard-hearted towards the requests of the poor and do not provide them with help. That is why it is said: He who stops his ear from the cry of the poor will also cry and will not be heard (Prov. 21:13). The Lord expects from him only a prayer of repentance for his cruelty towards those who are called the lesser brethren of Christ.

Thirdly, those who pray arrogantly and arrogantly, like the Pharisee from the Gospel parable, greatly sin, highlighting their own merits in prayer, while condemning others in their thoughts. We often pray this kind of prayer without noticing it ourselves. Let us recall these words of the Pharisee so that we do not forget and not be imbued with such thoughts: God! I thank You that I am not like other people, robbers, offenders, adulterers, or like this publican: I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of everything I get (Luke 18:11-12). Such a proud prayer, based on the opinion of one’s own righteousness, and not on faith in God’s mercy, not only did not justify the Pharisee, but was also imputed to him as a sin, as ungodly (Luke 18:14).

Fourthly, the one who prays hypocritically, without due reverence and fear of God, in order to show himself pious before people, in essence, according to his heart and inner feeling, is especially sinful, without being not only pious, but even at least somewhat a believer. Does he believe in God who prays in order to be praised and is not at all afraid of God’s wrath? The Lord angrily denounced the Pharisees: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour the houses of widows and hypocritically pray for a long time: for this you will receive all the more condemnation (Matthew 23:14).

Fifthly, as we have already said, those who pray without attention and zeal, quickly or absent-mindedly, pronouncing the words of prayer only with their tongue, but with their soul and feeling being in another place, also sin. Such prayer is like idle talk or the empty ringing of metal. The Lord said about such prayer books: Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied well about you, saying: This people draws near to Me with their lips and honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; but in vain they worship Me(Matthew 15:7-9).

Sixthly, those who pray unrepentantly remain in sin sin, that is, feeling reproached by their conscience, do not want to leave any specific sin, do not ask forgiveness from the Lord in their prayers, do not promise to leave their sin and not return to it again. And when you stretch out your hands, I close My eyes from you, says God.- Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove your evil deeds from before my eyes; stop doing evil; learn to do good, seek truth, save the oppressed, defend the orphan, stand up for the widow. Then come(Isa. 1:15-18). And in another place the prophet Isaiah says: Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have turned His face away from you, so as not to hear (Is. 59: 1-2).

Finally, seventhly, those who bring unreasonable prayer to God sin, ask for the impossible or useless for us, ask not for a good purpose, as the apostle says. Jacob: You ask and do not receive, because you ask not for good, but to use it for your lusts. Don’t you know that friendship with the world is enmity against God? So, whoever wants to be a friend of the world becomes God’s enemy (James 4:3-4). For example, asking for wealth for a luxurious life, asking for revenge on enemies or even their death, and generally asking God for help to commit a sin is extremely sinful and reckless. Amen.

Think and constantly keep in mind that God is your God, Creator, Lord, King and Provider; Although He is the God of all, and although He commands everyone equally to shirk evil and do good, accept this command as if it concerns you alone. Then, with His help, a new movement and a new spirit will be born in you; and the more often you practice this reflection and teaching, the more day by day you will feel within yourself a greater zeal for worship and piety. But prayer is needed everywhere: without God we cannot think about God properly.

Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk

APPENDIX

The manifestation of the power of God

Home Trouble. 1862

About twelve years ago an extraordinary incident happened in the city of K., which, for the glory of God, I present simply, without any embellishment or change.

The official’s wife, a young woman named K.M., was naturally in poor health and was always so relaxed and thin after giving birth that the doctors predicted to her that if she got pregnant and gave birth again, she would not survive it and would have to die. But a little time passed, and she became pregnant again. The poor woman was very worried, afraid of her situation, and with great fear awaited the resolution of childbirth, as an ill-fated and inevitable end to her life. She became even more depressed and suffered when she saw in front of her three beautiful little ones, her children, who were supposed to remain orphans. She cried without hope of ever wiping away her bitter tears.

At this time, the miraculous Kaluga Icon of the Mother of God was brought to the city. K.M. went to church (although she was a Lutheran) and fervently prayed with tears in front of the holy image of the Intercessor of all who mourn, so that She, our only hope and Intercessor before our Savior, would help her to be successfully relieved of her burden. The woman made a promise that if there was a successful resolution and she was healthy, she would accept the Orthodox faith. As evidence of devotion and love for the Mother of God, she took out a small image of the miraculous icon and kept it secretly, without telling her husband, a stubborn Lutheran, about it.

Having promised to convert to Orthodoxy, K.M. became calmer, her sadness diminished, and she no longer looked forward to the fateful day with such fear. Several months passed in this way, and finally the time of birth approached. Much to the surprise of her husband and everyone who knew her, she safely gave birth to a son and began to recover without feeling any particularly bad consequences. In such a calm and safe state, she no longer thought of fulfilling her promise to the Mother of God – when suddenly, for no reason, she fell ill, the illness quickly intensified, she went to bed; the best doctor T., (German) treats her, prescribes and gives her medicine, but does not help; convene consultations to which doctors B. and G. are invited. (also Germans), and the patient is getting worse and worse; the doctors positively said that she must die, that there was no hope of recovery. In such a desperate situation, she remembered her promise, burst into tears and said to the woman who was taking care of her children: “Give me the image of the Mother of God; it’s hidden there, get it out quickly and give it to me.” She found it and brought it. The patient began to kiss him and shed tears; her husband was not at home, and when he came, the patient persistently expressed a desire to accept the Orthodox faith and began to ask him to invite an Orthodox priest. The husband was terribly worried. “You’re crazy,” he told her, “I’m a Lutheran, and you want to be a different faith – it’s impossible, no, no!” The dying woman cried and begged, but the stubborn man did not agree; he told the doctors and his friends about this, who were all Lutherans; they began to convince her to abandon her reckless intention and finally decided that she was crazy (her husband himself told me this). Meanwhile, the patient did not stop tearfully begging him to invite a priest. Seeing her persistent prayer and bitter tears, the doctors advised her husband to allow her to be anointed in the Orthodox faith, since the patient, as was evident from everything, would not live even three days. “All the same,” they said, “she will certainly die, why watch her cry and kill herself!” The husband agreed, fully convinced that in two or three days his wife would be lying on the table. They invited the well-respected Archpriest A.B., who first asked her privately about the reason for her conversion and whether she had firmly decided to accept Orthodoxy and follow all the decrees of the Orthodox Church. Then he taught her the main tenets of the Orthodox faith and the next day anointed her with holy myrrh, after which he confessed and communed her with the Holy Mysteries. The sufferer was so sick and weak that she lay motionless, could not turn over and rise in bed, did not take any food and had no sleep for several days, but when the priest asked if she could repeat the prayer after him: “I believe, Lord, and confess…”, the sick woman herself rose in bed and spoke the entire prayer after the priest clearly and firmly. After communion she fell asleep and slept for quite a long time; and when she woke up, she took some food, her pulse became smoother, and day by day she began to visibly get better and come to life. The surprised doctors attributed this, of course, to a happy crisis and explained in their own way this outcome of the disease; the husband absolutely hated his wife, and not a day passed without him causing the most outrageous scenes in his family. Meanwhile, the patient soon completely recovered. Having become Orthodox not only in name, she went to church unfailingly, observed all fasts, was meek, humble and patiently endured the harsh treatment of her husband, who became more and more irritated against her and finally drove her away completely; the poor woman had to go to another province to visit her brother.

Such cruelty and blatant injustice of her husband, such disbelief in the miracle that had taken place and blasphemy against Orthodoxy ultimately brought upon him the righteous wrath of God. Soon after his wife left, he fell ill, became mentally disturbed and, due to illness, was dismissed from service. What is remarkable in this case is the manifestation of God’s justice: since the husband assured everyone that “his wife had gone crazy” and at the same time blasphemed the Orthodox faith, the Lord God took away his own reason. As soon as his wife found out about this, she immediately returned to him, took him with her to K., and there she looked after him with true Christian love and selflessness. But he became increasingly restless and irritable, so his relatives were forced to take him to Moscow and put him in a hospital, where he died six months later.

Self-witness X.

The Healing Power of Prayer

The prayer of faith will save the sick (James 5:15)

Blessed Augustine, in his book about the City of God (22, chapter 8), describes the miraculous healing of one sick person, which he witnessed, which shows how powerful the prayer of the righteous, offered from a contrite and humble heart, is before the Heavenly Father.

“Upon arrival in Carthage,” says Blessed. Augustine, my brother Alypius and I were invited to stay in the house of a pious and God-fearing man named Innocent; Unfortunately, we found this righteous man suffering from a serious illness: his entire lower back was covered with many old fistulas. The doctors exhausted their art to heal the sick and, through a painful operation, managed to close most of the wounds, but there remained one so cruel and dangerous that their efforts, for a long time, remained unsuccessful. Finally, after all the efforts of art, the doctors announced that the only thing left was to suffer hopelessly, or decide on a secondary operation. At this word the patient felt such horror that for some time he could not utter a single word. His severe suffering, his bleak situation conveyed an inconsolable grief to the whole family, so that it seemed as if we were in the house of the deceased. Every day the saints33 and among them the bishop of the city of Uza came to visit the sick person. We consoled him and convinced him not to lose hope in God, to patiently and confidently surrender to the will of His Providence. Then we started to pray. When, as usual, we knelt down and prostrated ourselves on the ground, the sick man did the same after us so quickly that it seemed as if someone had pushed him out of his sick bed. It is impossible to describe with what fervor, with what tears, with what cries and lamentations he prayed! It was truly amazing how a body that was almost dying could endure all these strong shocks! I do not know whether others were praying, or whether their attention was absorbed by such an unusual spectacle; as for me, I could not come to my senses and only secretly said in my soul: “Lord! If You do not hear this prayer, then what other one will be accepted by You? For it seemed to me that even at the doors of the tomb, prayer could not have been offered with greater fervor. When we finished the prayer, the bishop gave us his blessing, and we parted, wishing firmness and complacency to the sick man, who, for his part, asked us to visit him the next day (scheduled for the second operation).

This is what Christians were called in the first centuries of Christianity.

On the morning of this day, we gathered to see the patient; as promised, the doctors prepared everything for the operation and laid out their instruments, the look of which made everyone present involuntarily shudder. Those who had more firmness tried to calm and encourage the sufferer. Meanwhile, the doctor took off the bandages and, with an instrument in his hands, looked for the wound, examined it several times, felt it, but the wound was no longer there! In its place there was only one tightly closed scar. At this sight, we all exclaimed joyfully in amazement and, with tears, gratefully glorified the grace and mercy of holy Providence.”

***

God demands in prayer not the beauty of speech or refined words, but the beauty of the soul, and when it proclaims what is pleasing to Him, it receives everything.

Christ gave us a model of prayer, teaching us that being heard by God does not depend on a lot of words, but on the vigilance of the soul.

St. John Chrysostom

* * *

Notes

Spiritual treasure collected from the world. Ch. 15.

Prayer to St. John the Baptist.

The 12th word is about prayer.

Ladder. Word 28.

A word about drawing closer to God.

Philokalia. Part IV. P. 116.

Philokalia. Part IV. P. 77.

A word about prayer at the beginning of the war with the Swedes. Creations. Part II. P. 204.

See “Synopsis of St. Demetrius of Rostov. P. 129.

St. John Chrysostom. Word 8. Against the Anomeans.

See St. John Chrysostom. 2 word about prayer.

See Catechetical teachings of Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko. About Christian prayer.

Conversation 11. About Anna, the mother of the prophet Samuel.

Ladder. Sl. 28.

See Catechetical teachings of Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko. About Christian prayer.

Venerable John Cassian the Roman. Interviews of Egyptian ascetics. Abba Isaac about prayer. Ch. 31.

Catechism of St. Philaret of Moscow.

A conversation about Anna, the mother of the prophet Samuel.

Conversation five, in memory of the martyr Ulitta.

Word 27. Against the Eunomians.

St. Basil the Great. Questions and Answers, Question 37.

Interviews of Egyptian ascetics. Abba Isaac about prayer. Ch. 35.

Philokalia. Volume 2. Ch. 21.

Word 39.

Discourse 19 on the Evangelist Matthew.

Discourse 5 on the Evangelist Matthew.

Ladder. Word 28.

Discourse 57 on the Evangelist Matthew.

The fifth occult teaching. Ch. 9.

St. Gregory the Theologian. The first accusatory word on Julian.

See the second prayer to our venerable father Sergius.

Venerable Macarius the Great. A conversation about what happens to Christians during prayer.

This is what Christians were called in the first centuries of Christianity.