In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit!
Dear fathers, brothers and sisters! Many dangers and hardships surround each one of us in this life. We must realize that we live, in a sense, in occupied territory. Occupied by whom? By demons. Following their fall, these angels turned black along with Lucifer, and they now surround the Earth’s atmosphere. Therefore, our lives are accompanied by numerous dangers brought upon us by demons. Of course, many of us know this only too well.
I would like to speak about something of great importance, which, unfortunately, is rarely discussed in Orthodox churches. Let us talk about the labor of prayer, its significance, and how to pray. To put it briefly, prayer is a conversation with God; it is a mystery that unites the human spirit with the Spirit of God. When we pray—if we pray properly—our spirit unites with the Spirit of God. That is what prayer is. Prayer is the thread that connects us to God.
We are all familiar with that state when someone says: “I feel God, but very far from myself.” And each one of us very often feels God as somewhat distant from us. And yet how we would love to be closer to God, to draw closer to Christ the Savior, to be near Him. This happens because we pray little, pray incorrectly, or do not pray at all. If prayer—the thread connecting us to God—breaks, then our communication with the Creator of the universe ceases. And without prayer, as we know, nothing happens. There is no spiritual life, no Christianity, and no love for God and neighbor. Prayer gives grace, which nourishes you, just as underground waters nourish plants.
The Lord said, This kind [demons] goeth not out but by prayer and fasting (Mt. 17:21). What is fasting? It is a continuous struggle against your passions. It is the desire to strip away everything superfluous that hinders your journey towards God. This is the essence of spiritual life and fasting. The Holy Fathers call prayer “angelic beauty” and “Heavenly wine that gladdens our souls.” Everything in this life passes away (as we can see for ourselves) and falls into ruin; everything material turns to dust. And only the grace of God, which accompanies prayer, is never destroyed but abides forever.
Prayer is “capital” that can be accumulated. When the pillars of our lives crumble, the spiritual strength we have gathered together beforehand serves as our support, and we can lean on it. And it is only in moments of prayer that we feel truly eternal and immortal.
We know from the Patericon how a demon once appeared to Abba Isaiah in the guise of an Ethiopian whose height reached the heavens. Then an angel appeared and said to the holy ascetic, “Engage in combat with him.” The elder was struck with fear and said, “How can I fight such a giant?” “Fight, and I will help you. The power and grace of God will be with you.” And with God’s help, this black giant, the “Ethiopian,” was cast down and vanquished.
We can do nothing in this life without grace. It is not we who conquer sins and passions, but the power of God—His grace—which cleanses us and overcomes the passions. One wise monk saw (beholding this with his spiritual eyes) how another monk was praying in his cell, practicing the prayer of the heart. The very moment that monk stopped praying, a demon was immediately able to enter his cell.
When we have no connection with God, the enemies of our salvation come into contact with us. A mind not sanctified by prayer constantly draws false conclusions, moving from one delusion to another. Some people say, “My faith is so weak. How I wish I could strengthen it, so that my faith would be steadfast!” Waves of grace from the other realm do indeed come to him who prays, warming him and watering his soul and heart like Heavenly rain. And then he clearly feels: “I believe—there is a God in the world!” And so, through prayer and our communion with God, faith is gradually strengthened.
When someone prays in a state of self-complacency, it is spiritual delusion. For one who prays, the existence of God and its proof are always clear. But whoever prays in a state of weak faith is in a lukewarm condition. And when a ray of light penetrates his soul, all passions flee from it like predators. Previously he did not see his illnesses and passions, but now the grace of God has illuminated all his flaws, his entire soul, and against the background of the Divine light, he sees his impurity and filth, and begins to purify his soul.
A nun had a vision that was published in a pre-revolutionary magazine. She entered the afterlife while still in this earthly life, and the condition of many people was revealed to her. She saw many of her close acquaintances, Christians, standing at the very threshold of hell, which terrified her. The angel accompanying the nun explained everything that was happening: “These are the people you regarded as good Christians. Yes, they did good deeds for the benefit of the Church, but they failed to do the most important thing in life—they did not make room for God in their hearts. They did not unite with God in prayer on earth and did not fulfill their spiritual marriage during their earthly lives. They did not pray, or they prayed very little. Consequently, their souls never united with God when they lived on earth. And here in the afterlife they are also without prayer prayer.”
We know that chrism is prepared from many fragrant components. Similarly, the essence of prayer consists of several components. It is impossible to speak of all of them, so let us focus on the main ones. I will mention three components without which our prayer cannot truly happen.
The first is attention during prayer. The Holy Fathers teach that attention is the soul of prayer. Without attention, only a dead shell remains of the soul. Therefore, if we pray without attention, we become like idols who have eyes but see nothing, and have ears but hear nothing. “O God, teach me to pray, and pray Thou Thyself in me,” said St. Philaret (Drozdov). And Archpriest Boris Nikolayevsky (1884–1954; a spiritual father of Leningrad in the post-war years who, having gone through the labor camps, held general confessions and wept during them) used to say that we must pray with the mind, the eyes, and the heart. We must experience and feel every word spoken in prayer with our hearts, so that an echo of every uttered word can resound in them. We must not hurry in prayer, otherwise it becomes a profanation, a counterfeit. Prayer must be offered up with reverence. Reverence, humility, and the fear of God must become the ultimate principle of our lives. Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully (Jer. 48:10), warns the Prophet Jeremiah. We must not utter the name of God the Father in vain, must avoid idle talk, and must not behave in church the way people behave on the street. Otherwise, we are nothing but idols standing at prayer; otherwise, we offend the majesty of God.
The second fragrant component of prayer is humility of soul. Humility raises you out of the abyss. But praying in a state of “spiritual success”—in the sense that you think you have some significance—is a prayer of delusion, a demonic state.
And the third thing that must be said: When we stand at prayer, opening our hearts, we must not become agitated; there should be no exaltation, daydreaming, sensuality, or imagination, lest we fall into spiritual delusion. Everything that comes from God is quiet and peaceful.
In the Old Testament, we read how the holy Prophet Elias fled into the mountains from the cruel woman Jezebel. There were fire, wind, and an earthquake, and each time the prophet asked, “Is it Thou, Lord?” “No,” came the answer. But when St. Elias felt a still, small voice, he asked, “Is it Thou, Lord?” “It is I,” the Lord replied. The Lord is still, peaceful, and gentle—and the touch of God on our souls and hearts is always accompanied by the light of peace and silence. This is the sign by which we recognize the touch of God and His grace, whereas any exaltation or agitation is the touch of demons on our hearts.
It must be said that the Optina Elders attained holiness not because they frequently received Communion (at that time, Communion was generally received rarely); they attained holiness through the “cell rule of five hundred prayers”.1 And they did not instruct about the Jesus Prayer as a formal technique. Instead, they spoke of the core principles of repentance, watchfulness, and humility. This is because this work of teaching is done by the Lord Himself, Who dwells in our hearts. Every person is unique, unlike any other, and therefore the Lord applies His teaching to each individual in a way that is personally suited to him. It is difficult to pray on our own, but the grace of God will guide the hearts of those who make efforts to enter that state.
“There is nothing more difficult than prayer,” the Holy Fathers say. The enemy hates our communion with God and tries his best to keep us from praying. Let us give up everything for the sake of prayer, as the Church Fathers teach. May the Lord help you all; and may the Lord help us also to labor for the salvation of our souls in the ascetic feat of prayer. Amen. Greetings with the feast!
