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Our Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples: Watch ye therefore, and pray always (Lk. 21:36). And the Holy Apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: Pray without ceasing (1 Thess. 5:7).
Unceasing prayer is the greatest weapon against the enemy and his temptations, bringing man the highest, spiritual pleasure. Let not people in the world think that this is a supernatural activity that deters them from work and the fulfillment of their duties and is therefore something harmful. There have always been debates about unceasing prayer and many have fallen into error. Some, like Origen, considered good deeds to be prayer; others reproached monks who avoided work under the pretext of prayer; still others judged the ascetic practice of prayer by looking at the so-called Euchites1 who formed a sect and boasted that they prayed unceasingly. These sectarians indeed avoided labor, lived on alms, and wandered the streets in a drowsy state. Of course, there have always been plenty of people who incorrectly and senselessly fulfilled the wise Apostolic command about unceasing prayer.
But there have also been found true men of prayer at all times in Christianity who called unceasing prayer “noetic prayer.” In addition to the Church’s prayer books, compiled to maintain and arouse prayerful vigilance, the holy elders living the contemplative life established the practice of reciting, at certain hours of the day, one prayer beloved by all, as frequently as possible. Thus, Palladius tells about monks who said up to 100 prayers a day, and Abba Paul who lived in the desert and said 300 prayers daily and would keep 300 pebbles in his bosom and throw out one for each completed prayer so as not to lose count. However, this ascetic Paul found out that there was a pious virgin living in his area who fasted five days a week and said 700 prayers daily. There were saints who prayed for several days in a row or spent whole nights in prayer until sunrise, for a week, and only then rested.
In ancient times, there was an Abba Lucius living in Egypt who was distinguished by his austerity of life, diligence, and clear understanding of the word of God. One day, some people came to him who placed all their salvation in prayer alone, and Abba Lucius, among other things, asked them what kind of handicrafts they did. They responded that they didn’t do any work, but only unceasingly prayed, according to the Apostolic commandment. “Do you eat?” the elder asked. “Of course,” they said. “Do you sleep?” Abba Lucius asked. “How could we not sleep?” the men of prayer exclaimed. “Who prays for you when you eat and sleep?” the elder continued. They had no answer, of course. Then the saint explained to them that they were preaching falsehood and that you can pray incessantly even while doing handiwork. “For example, I weave baskets out of reeds,” said Abba Lucius, “and I say: ‘Have mercy on me, O God.’ Isn’t that prayer?” “It’s prayer,” they said. “Thus, I spend the day in labor and prayer,” the saint explained. “I earn money, of which I give half to the poor. They pray for me while I eat and sleep.”
Unceasing prayer is the highest wisdom, which consists not in words, in reading aloud, in prostrations, in standing before icons, but requires only that we remember God everywhere and always, undertake everything with our thoughts on Him, and do everything to the glory of God; then our entire life will be continuous and unceasing prayer. Every Christian needs this prayer for salvation, not only monastics, as they think in the world. Anyone who wants to renounce sin, to strive for seclusion in his heart with love for Christ, to build a monastery or a desert within himself, will never achieve all this without the habit of unceasing prayer.
To compel the mind and heart to ceaselessly remember God, experienced spiritual elders chose one prayer and established rules for how to pray it. This practice is quite simple: You must place your mind in your heart, that is, concentrate your thoughts and desires in your heart, free the mind of distraction and force it to surrender to the feelings of the heart, and then, standing before the Lord, say the Jesus Prayer: “Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!” Pray this everywhere, at home, on the road, during work, in church, always and everywhere, every day.
At first glance, such a rule seems impracticable, but unceasing prayer depends only on habit, and then it doesn’t interfere with any duties or activities, because you can pray mentally, which is sometimes even better than orally.
The holy elders, and indeed many living men of prayer, testify that this is a good work and it’s worth laboring to train yourself in unceasing prayer. Fr. Partheny of Kiev, a well-known ascetic in his time, vividly explained that this salvific prayer is at first laborious, but if you don’t get lazy about it, it becomes self-moving and begins to pray itself, resembling a brook babbling in the heart. In short, unceasing prayer leads the one praying to a state where the heart itself prays and the body labors and does its work. We need the habit and to feel the need for unceasing prayer, and the heart begins to thirst for such a spiritual effort as its sweetest nourishment. Such prayer purifies the human heart of everything sinful and draws the grace of God into it, with the result that the whole man is reborn and becomes Spirit-bearing, enlightened by the truth of Christ and possessing spiritual vision.
Beloved brothers and sisters! This is a blessed state for man! To live and labor this way is always joyful and consoling, but only those who are experientially assured of the truth of the words and testimonies of Christian ascetics can comprehend all that has been said. All are able to achieve this blessed spiritual transformation through the unceasing Jesus Prayer and to taste the sweetness of drawing near to the Lord Christ with the heart. May the Son of God help us also to be resolute in such prayer, that we might know the truth and not be separated in this temporal life on earth from Him, Sweetest Jesus, through the intercession of our Lady the Theotokos and the Heavenly powers.
Amen.
