Prayer Is...Part Two

"Prayer is the lifting up of the mind and heart to God," the contemplation of God, the daring converse of the creature with the Creator, the soul reverently standing before Him, as before the King and the Life Itself, giving life to all; the oblivion of everything that surrounds us, the food of the soul; its air and light, its life-giving warmth, its cleansing from sin; the easy yoke of Christ, His light burden.

- Saint John of Kronstadt

Prayer Is...

"Prayer is the constant feeling of our own spiritual poverty and infirmity, the contemplation in ourselves, in others, and in nature of the works of the great wisdom, mercy, and almighty power of God; prayer is--a continually grateful frame of mind."

- Saint John of Kronstadt

The Pearl of Heaven

"As only those born of the seed royal can wear the costly royal pearl, so only the children of God are allowed to wear the pearl of heaven..."

- Saint Macarius the Egyptian

The Lord’s Teaching

“The enemy brings darkness upon everyone and they all think that it is light, when in their teachings they remain far from the Lord’s teaching.”

- Saint Theophan the Recluse

Christ's Holy Name

“The more the rain falls on the earth, the softer it makes it: similarly, Christ's holy name gladdens the earth of our heart the more we call upon it.”

- Saint Hesychios the Priest

The Poison of Doubt

"When the enemy strikes your heart with doubt in any word of the Savior and wounds you, say to yourself inwardly: every word of my God Jesus Christ is life to me, and the poison of doubt shall be cast out from your heart, and your soul will be tranquil and at ease."

- Saint John of Kronstadt

Enduring

"But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. However, not everyone who endures will be saved, but only he who endures on the Lord’s path. This life is given to us for that reason—to endure; everyone endures something, even through to the very end. But enduring does not lead to benefit if it is not for the sake of the Lord and His holy Gospels. Step onto the path of faith and the Gospel commandments; occasions to endure will multiply, but from that moment endurance will begin to bring forth crowns. That endurance, which before was empty, will be made fruitful. With what blindness does the enemy surround us, that only the endurance which is encountered on the path of good seems heavy and unbearable; but what he inflicts on those who serve the passions seems light and free, although it is actually heavier and more dismal than what people bear in struggling with the passions and opposing the enemy! But we are blind, and do not see this… We labour, endure, and strain ourselves to the breaking point for the sake of the enemy, and unto our own perdition."

- Saint Theophan the Recluse

Reference: http://days.pravoslavie.ru/en/Days/20120803.htm

A Ship Without Water

“A ship does not go far without water; and there is no progress whatsoever in the guarding of the intellect without watchfulness, humility and the Jesus Prayer.”

- Saint Hesychios the Priest

Obtaining Freedom

"When the enemy oppresses me by sinful thoughts and feelings, and I, having no freedom in my heart, make the sign of the cross several times with faith, then my sin suddenly passes away from me, the straitness vanishes, and I obtain freedom."

- Saint John of Kronstadt

A Faster and Prayer

“The demons can sense a faster and man of prayer from a distance, and they run far away from him so as avoid a painful blow.”

- Saint Theophan the Recluse

Call Upon God

“Call upon God to open the eyes of your heart, so that you may see the value of prayer and of spiritual reading when understood and applied.”

- Saint Mark the Ascetic

Christ Leaves the Soul...

“When the sun sets, night comes; when Christ leaves the soul, the darkness of the passions envelops it and incorporeal predators tear it asunder. When the visible sun rises, animals retreat into their lairs; when Christ rises in the heaven of the praying mind, worldly preoccupations and proclivities abscond, and the intellect goes forth to its labor - that is, to meditate on the divine - until the evening (cf. Ps. 104:19-23). Not that the intellect limits its fulfillment of the spiritual law to any period of time or performs it according to some measure; on the contrary, it continues to fulfill until it reaches the term of this present life and the soul departs from the body. That is what is meant in the Psalms when it is said, 'How I have loved Thy law, O Lord; it is my meditation all the day long' (Ps. 119:97) - where 'day' means the whole course of one's present life.”

- Theoliptos

Call Upon God

“Call upon God to open the eyes of your heart, so that you may see the value of prayer and of spiritual reading when understood and applied.”

- Saint Mark the Ascetic

Bearing Great Misfortunes...

If it falls to you to have to bear great misfortunes, sorrows, and sicknesses, do not grow faint-hearted or despondent; do not murmur; do not desire death for yourself; and do not speak audaciously before the all-seeing God--as, for instance: "O, what a cruel affliction! " "O, what an unbearable misfortune; let me rather die!" or "I would rather kill myself!" God save you from such faint-heartedness, murmuring, and audacity! But endure all this courageously, as having been sent to you from God for your sins; repeat with the wise malefactor, " We receive the due reward of our deeds," (Luke 23:41) and contemplate with your mental eyes the Saviour suffering on the cross.

- Saint John of Kronstadt

Praying

“Whether you pray with brethren or alone, try to pray not simply as a routine, but with conscious awareness of your prayer.”

- Evagrios the Solitary

The Numberless Trials

“For by contemplating the numberless trials that the saints joyfully accepted and the many sufferings that the Lord endured on our behalf, we become aware of our own feebleness.”

- Saint Peter of Damaskos

Comprehending the Works of God

“Without collectedness, without attentiveness and without self-searching it is impossible to notice or comprehend the works of God.”

- Saint Theophan the Recluse

Floods of Inward Sorrows

Beware, lest the floods of inward sorrows and afflictions should draw you away from the Lord Jesus Christ, for the enemy endeavours by every means to turn us aside from the Lord: both by the enticement of pleasures and by the weight of misfortunes, like Job, and especially by inward distresses and afflictions. Endure everything, thanking God, for '' all things work together for good to them that love God." (Romans 8:28).

- Saint John of Kronstadt

Spiritual Gifts

“If a man has some spiritual gift and feels compassion for those who do not have it, he preserves the gift because of his compassion. But a boastful man will lose it through succumbing to the temptations of boastfulness.”

- Saint Mark the Ascetic

Sick People

“Just as sick people need surgery and cautery to recover the health they have lost, so we need trials, and toils of repentance, and fear of death and punishment, so that we may regain our former health of soul and shake off the sickness which our folly has induced. The more the Physician of our souls bestows upon us voluntary and involuntary suffering, the more we should thank Him for His compassion and accept the suffering joyfully: For it is to help us that He increases our tribulation, both through the sufferings we willingly embrace in our repentance and through the trials and punishments not subject to our will. In this way, if we voluntarily accept affliction, we will be freed from our sickness and from the punishments to come, and perhaps even from present punishments as well. Even if we are not grateful, our Physician in His grace will still heal us, although by means of chastisement and manifold trials. But if we cling to our disease and persist in it, we will deservedly bring upon ourselves agelong punishment. We will have made ourselves like the demons and so will justly share with them the agelong punishments prepared for them; for, like them, we will have scorned our Benefactor.”

- Saint Peter of Damaskos