A Beginners Prayer the Spirit of Prayer Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov

This is a study of the characteristics of prayer of those that are beginning their
journey towards God by walking the road of repentance. The main thoughts on
prayer have been singled out individually so one can focus on them more easily
and retain them in the memory. The reading of these reflections can direct the soul
in its prayerful feat and can also serve as preparation for this feat.

1) Prayer is the lifting up of our supplications to God

2) The basis of prayer is that man is a fallen being. He gravitates towards getting
back the state of blessedness that he had before but had lost. Thus he prays.
3) The consolation of prayer is in Gods great mercy towards mankind. It was for our
salvation that the Son of God offered Himself up to His Father as a sacrifice of
mercy and peace. For this reason, if you wish to pray, reject every doubt and
double-mindedness (James 1:6-8). Do not say to yourself, I am a sinner. God will
surely not listen to me! If you are a sinner, then it is to you that the Savior directs
His words of consolation: I did not come to call the righteous, but the sinners,
to repentance. (Matthew 9:13)
4) The following are the preparatory steps for prayer: a stomach that is not full,
cutting off all worries with the sword of faith, sincere forgiveness from the heart
of all offenses, thankfulness to God for all misfortunes that befall us, turning
away from distractions and daydreaming and a trepidation which is so
characteristic of a creature of God that has been permitted to converse with its
Creator according to His ineffable mercy.
5) The first words of the Savior to mankind were: Repent, for the Kingdom of
Heaven is near. (Matthew 4:17). Until you enter the Kingdom, knock on its door
with repentance and prayer.
6) True prayer is the voice of true repentance. When prayer is not infused with
repentance, then it does not meet its purpose and is not pleasing to God. A
broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart God will not despise (Psalm 50:19)
7) The Savior calls blessed those who are poor in spirit, that is to say those who
have a very humble opinion of themselves, who deem themselves to be fallen and
who consider this earthly life as their exile from their true homeland which is
Heaven. Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who pray while being deeply aware
of their spiritual poverty, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:3).
Blessed are they that weep in prayer, feeling their spiritual poverty, for they shall
be comforted (Matthew 5:4) by the grace of the Holy Spirit which consists of
peace and love in Christ and towards all fellow men. No fellow man is excluded
from the embrace of love of him who prays in this manner, not even the worst
enemy, for such a person is at peace even with the most dire of lifes
circumstances.
8) The Lord Himself teaches us how to pray by comparing the prayerful soul to a
widow seeking justice for herself from her adversary, and who continuously begs
a neutral and unbiased judge to help her (Luke 18:8-1). Let the disposition of your
soul be no different from this comparison. Let your prayer be, so to speak, a
constant lamentation of the sins that burden you. Look deep into yourself,

discover yourself through vigilant prayer, and you will see that you are in fact like
a widow in relationship to Christ, because of the sin which is in you, the sin that is
your adversary and that causes you to struggle and experience many troubles
which in turn alienate you from God.
9) Thus speaks the prophet David of himself: I am troubled, all day long in this
earthly life I am bowed down greatly, I walk around in blessed mourning for my
sins and my shortcomings, for my loins are full of inflammation and there is
no soundness in my flesh. (Psalm 37:7-8) The loins symbolize our journey on
the path of this earthly life. Man stumbles with every step on this path when he
walks it by his effort and means alone. In order to be healed we need Gods grace
which, however, heals only those who consider themselves to be sick. True
acknowledgement of ones sickness consists of living in constant and vigilant
repentance.
10) Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling (Psalm 2:11) says the
prophet David and another prophet says in the name of God: But to this man
will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my
word. (Isaiah 66:2). The Lord looks upon the prayer of the meek and shall not
despise their supplication. He gives life, that is to say salvation, to the contrite
in heart. (Isaiah 57:15)
11) Even if one should stand on the very top of the ladder of good works, if he does
not pray like a sinner, God will not answer his prayer. (Venerable Isaac of Syria,
Homily 55)
12) The day that I do not weep for myself, I consider myself to be in a state of
delusion, are the words of a blessed practitioner of the Jesus Prayer.
13) Even though we perform the most noble of feats, said St. John Climacus, they
are false and fruitless if they are not accompanied by the painful feeling of
repentance.
14) The sorrow of thoughts of sin is a priceless gift from God; they that bear this
sorrow in their hearts with due vigilance and piety are the bearers of sanctity. In
itself it substitutes all feats of the flesh when one lacks the strength to perform
them.
15) A person who prays is protected by a feeling of repentance from the snares of the
devil. The devil flees from those who live in prayerful feats for they shine with
humility which is born in the heart of one who is repentant. When the devil sees
a person who lives in lamentation, he does not abide there, for he fears the
humility that comes from lamentation, are the words of St. Gregory of Sinai.
16) When you pray, offer up to the Lord youthful stammering, without eloquence or
worldly wisdom, a unique thought that is childlike. Unless you are converted
and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of
heaven. (Matthew 18:3)
17) A small child expresses its desires by crying. Let your prayer always be
accompanied by tears. Not only in words of prayer, but also in prayerful silence,
let your desire to repent and make peace with God, your extreme need for Gods
mercy be expressed through tears.
18) The value of prayer lies only in the quality, not in the quantity. Quantity is
laudable only when it leads to quality. The quality of prayer always provides the

right measure, and quantity begets quality when a person prays vigilantly (St.
Meletius).
19) The quality of true prayer consists in the mind always being in a state of
vigilance, with the heart supporting the mind.
20) Immerse your mind in the words of prayer that you speak and you will preserve it
in a state of vigilance. Pay attention to the mouth, or else keep it shut in this
manner you will aid the mind to be united with the heart. Utter the words without
haste and it will be easier to keep the mind immersed in the words of prayer. Let
no word be uttered without due attention as you pray.
21) A mind that is immersed in prayer encourages the heart to support it. This support
of the heart is expressed through spiritual joy, that pious feeling that unites sorrow
with a quiet and humble consolation.
22) A necessary part of prayer is patience. If you feel coldness and bitterness, do not
abandon your prayer. If you wait and conquer this insensitivity of the heart<
Gods grace will descend on you in the form of spiritual joy. Spiritual joy is a gift
from God which is granted to those who continue steadfastly in prayer (Romans
12:12). This gift grows in them continuously and guides them towards spiritual
perfection.
23) A mind that stands in vigilant prayer before God who is invisible, should also be
invisible, like an image of the invisible Deity. This means that no images should
be present either in the mind or before it, and no images d\should come from it.
Imagination should be completely alien to the mind, even if it is seemingly sinless
and holy.
24) Do not look for exaltation in prayer, do not get your nervous system moving, do
not ignite the blood. On the contrary: maintain the heart in inner peace, to which
you have brought it by way of repentance. God rejects the fire of the flesh, the fire
of our fallen nature. Your heart needs cleansing through tears of repentance. When
the heart is cleansed, then God Himself sends into it His all-holy spiritual fire.
25) Vigilance in prayer brings the nervous system and the blood into a state of quiet.
It assists the heart to immerse itself in repentance and to abide in it. The silence of
the heart is unbroken even when Divine fire descends into the upper chamber of
the heart, where our thoughts are gathered in the manner of the disciples of Christ
and our feelings stem directly from the Gospels. This is not a fire that sets our
hearts and passions ablaze; rather, it sprinkles and cools it with the dew of peace,
it reconciles us with all our fellow men and all of our life circumstances, as well
as drawing the heart to an ineffable love towards God and our neighbor.
26) Distraction is like a thief that takes away from our prayer. He who has said a
prayer distractedly will inadvertently begin to feel an inner emptiness and cold.
And he who always prays in a distracted manner will be bereft of all the spiritual
fruits that are usually born out of vigilant prayer and permanently adopts this state
of emptiness and coldness. A cold relationship with God is a consequence of this
state, which is defined as depression, a darkening of the mind and the weakening
of faith, which in turn cause spiritual death a disinterest in salvation and life
eternal. All this together constitutes a sign that God does not accept prayer that is
distracted

27) Imagination during the prayer is even more harmful than distraction. Distraction
renders prayer fruitless, while imagination is a bringer of false fruits selfdelusion (prelest) which the holy Fathers say comes from the devil. Images from
the visible world and those from the invisible a product of the imagination, stay
and abide in our mind making it more material and taking it away from the Divine
realm of Spirit and Truth to the realm of matter and lies. In this realm the heart
begins to support the mind not with the spiritual feeling of repentance and
humility but with carnal feelings produced by the blood and the nervous system.
These feelings are untimely, inconsistent and false, and reflect an imaginary love
of God. This impermissible and repulsive feeling may appear as holy to those who
are inexperienced in spiritual feats, while in reality it is just a random sentiment of
a heart uncleansed of passions, a heart that takes pleasure in vanity and a false
sweetness triggered by the imagination. Such is the state of self-delusion. If a
person remains in this state, then the images that appear to him become unusually
vivid and attractive. When these images appear the heart is set ablaze with the
passions and rejoices in them unlawfully in the words of the prophet David, it
commits adultery of sorts (Psalm 72:27). Then the mind considers such a state as
grace coming From God and the transition to demonic self-delusion (prelest) is
now imminent. From that moment on, the person has no more authority over
himself, he becomes a playground of cunning demons. Because it can and will
lead a person into this state, God rejects prayer which is accompanied by
imagination. Anyone praying in this manner is condemned according to the words
of the Holy Scripture: And let his prayer become sin. (Psalm 108:7)
28) Reject all seemingly good thoughts and illuminating insights that come to you
during prayer and draw you away from it. They come to you from that part of you
which has falsely been labeled reason. They come galloping to us firmly rooted
in vanity, like riders on horseback. Their dark faces are masked so that the one
who is praying may not recognize them for what they are his enemies. But it is
precisely their animosity towards prayer, the fact that they take the mind away
from prayer and into slavery, and because they leave the soul empty and deserted,
that confirms that they are indeed our enemies from the realm of the prince of this
world. Spiritual reason, the reason of God, always supports and aids prayer, helps
a person focus on himself, immersing him in vigilance and pious silence, fear and
trepidation that are born from an awareness of the presence of God and His
majesty. In its own time, this awareness can become heightened and the prayer
can turn into Gods terrible judgment.
29) Attentive prayer, which knows neither imagination nor distraction, is seeing the
invisible God with the eyes of the mind and a desire of the heart. The mind then
sees without images and is completely at is with the Invisible that surpasses
anything visible. The cause of this blessed invisibility is the infinite intricacy and
ineffability of the Object of our vision. God, the Invisible Sun of Righteousness,
lets out invisible rays. However, these rays can be perceived by feelings of the
soul. They fill the heart with a wonderful calm, with faith, courage, meekness,
mercy and love for our neighbor and for God. The works of Gods grace which
are manifest in the inner chamber of the heart, a person knows without any doubt
that God has heard his prayer. The persons faith is then alive and his hope in the

One who loves and the Loved One is strong. This is the beginning of the soul
coming alive for God and that of a blessed eternity.
30) These are the fruits of true prayer: a sacred peace of the soul united with a quiet,
silent joy that knows no imaginings, presumptions nor passionate urges and
manifestations; a love for ones neighbors that does not differentiate between the
good and the evil and between the worthy and the unworthy, but prays to God for
all as for the self. Such love is the fountain from which the purest love for God
will flow.
31) These fruits are a gift from God. The soul draws them in by vigilance and
humility and they are guarded by the souls faithfulness to God.
32) The soul is maintained in a state of faithfulness to God when it turns away from
all sinful words, actions and thoughts, and when it immediately repents for such
transgressions into which it is ensnared because of its weakness.
33) We prove our desire to acquire the gift of prayer by patiently knocking on the
door of prayer. We are rewarded by the gift of prayer for of our patient longsuffering and constancy. The Lord Himself says in the Holy Scriptures that the
gift of prayerful grace is given to those who pray patiently and struggle
according to their measure.
34) Brief and frequent prayers are more useful for beginners than long, spaced-out
ones.
35) Prayer is the most sublime of spiritual exercises
36) Prayer is the beginning, the fountain and the mother of all good deeds.
37) Be wise in prayer. Do not ask for anything corrupt or vain, always bearing in
mind the Saviors commandment: Seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:33), all
that is needed for this passing life.
38) If you intend to do something or you desire something, and also in any of lifes
hardships, direct your thoughts to prayer before God. Ask for that which you
consider useful and necessary, but leave the fulfillment or non-fulfillment of your
supplication to Gods will, all the while believing and hoping in the wisdom,
power and love of His will. This most sublime manner of prayer was given to us
by Him who had prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane for the cup that was given
to Him to pass from Him. But, He concluded His prayer to His Father, let not My
Will be done, Father, but Yours. (Luke 22:42)
39) Offer up to God a humble prayer for all the good deeds and blessed feats that you
perform. Purify and perfect them with prayer and repentance. Pray as the
Righteous Job prayed daily for His children: It may be that my sons have sinned,
and cursed God in their hearts. (Job 1:5) Evil is cunning it interferes with our
good deeds imperceptibly, corrupting and poisoning it.
40) Reject everything so that you may receive prayer. Raised up on the cross of selfdenial, offer up your spirit to God, as well as your soul and your body and receive
from Him holy prayer which, according to the teaching of the apostles and the
Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church is the work of the Holy Spirit in man when
the Spirit takes up His abode in him. (Romans, 8:26)

Conclusion:
He that is careless in prayer and repentance is far from spiritual progress, far from
spiritual fruits and lives in the darkness of countless self-delusions. Humility is the only
altar onto which it is permitted for men to offer up prayerful sacrifices to God, the only
altar from which God accepts sacrifices of prayer.
He that has attained unceasing prayer has attained the very pinnacle of good deeds and
has become an abode of the Holy Spirit, said St. Isaac. Prayer is he mother of all true,
God-pleasing good deeds. It is impossible to progress spiritually for a person who has
discarded humility and who has no interest in entering into a sacred relationship with
prayer. The work of prayer is a patrimony from none other than the apostles: Pray
unceasingly (1 Thessalonians 5:17), says Apostle Paul. The work of prayer is a
commandment given to us by the Lord Himself, a commandment united with a promise:
Ask, and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to
you. (Luke 11:9) Prayer will not slumber nor sleep until it has revealed the place of
eternal sweetness Heaven - to the one who practices it diligently and loves it. There it
will be transformed into an eternal sacrifice of praise. Praise will be unceasingly heralded
by the chosen of God who will be in a perpetual state of grace and eternity, sprung from
the seed of repentance in this earthly life and cultivated with vigilant and sincere prayer.
St. Ignatius Bryanchaninov on the Jesus Prayer
1) The holy fathers consider the Jesus Prayer to be a prayer in the real sense of the
word. This prayer is said in the following way: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
have mercy on me, a sinner.
2) One should at first get accustomed to saying the Jesus prayer aloud. After that, an
ascetic may begin the prayer of the nous (mind), when the prayer aloud becomes
attentive.
3) The Jesus prayer is said while standing on ones feet, and when the body is
exhausted, then it may be said sitting and even lying down. The main qualities of
this prayer are attentiveness, closing the mind into the words of prayer, an absence
of haste or hurry and contriteness of the spirit.
4) In the beginning set a goal of offering up at least one hundred Jesus prayers,
slowly and without haste. Later, if you feel that you can offer up more, add
another hundred. With time you may multiply the number of prayers. Do not utter
them quickly, one after the other. Pause briefly after each one and you will help
the mind to concentrate. Saying prayers without pausing results in a distracted
mind. Breathe carefully, quietly and slowly, for this, too, keeps one from
distraction.
5) Upon completing the Jesus prayer, i.e. a certain number of prayers, no not
abandon yourself to other thoughts and daydreaming, for they are always empty,
false and lead to delusions. Instead, bide your time continuing in the direction you
received during your prayer, until it is time to sleep. As you are falling asleep,
keep repeating the prayer and fall asleep with it. Your first thought upon waking,
your first thought and action should be the Jesus prayer. Learn to do this.

6) Endeavor to become so accustomed to saying the Jesus prayer that it becomes

your unceasing prayer.
7) For this reason, he who dedicates himself to continually serve God with unceasing
Jesus prayer must beware of distracting thoughts and must never permit his mind
to produce a chatter of thoughts. Never pay attention to thoughts and images that
appear in the mind. Let the repeating of the Jesus prayer be a safehaven for you
from such thoughts and imaginings. Believe that Jesus protects His servant who is
continually at His side by remembering Him at all times.
8) Humility in the form of tears protects us surely and completely from self-delusion
(prelest) while practicing the Jesus prayer. Tears, or lamentation, is a heartfelt
feeling of repentance and salvific sorrow for our sins and our many different
human weaknesses. Lamentation is a broken spirit, and a contrite and broken
heart God will not despise (Psalm 50)
9) Let our prayer be immersed in the feeling of repentance, let it be united with
lamentation and self-delusion will never have any impact on us
10) Never look for spiritual sweetness or visions. We are sinful and as such unworthy
of experiencing spiritual sweetness or visions, in fact, we are unable to experience
them because of the old in us. Let us, with attentive prayer, ask God to turn our
vision inwards, so that we may see our sins. When we discover our own
sinfulness, let us stand before the Lord together with the lepers, the blind, the
deaf, the crippled, the weak and those who are possessed. Let us begin to cry out
to Him with tears, out of the poverty of our spirit, out of a heart broken by sorrow
for our sins.
11) How should we stand at prayer? While practicing the Jesus prayer we should
stand before God in deepest piety, with the greatest fear and trepidation, directing
all of our attention to Him. St. Isaac the Syrian described this wonderfully: When
you stand before God in prayer, be like an ant in your thoughts, like a reptile, like
a leech or like a small child that cannot speak yet. (Homily 49)
12) The name of our Lord Jesus Christ is divine. The power and the action of His
name are divine. It is all powerful and brings salvation. St. Barsanouphios the
Great said that the constant invocation of the name of god is like a medicine that
destroys not only the passions, but the work of the passions as well.
13) Quietly reject, as though you were refusing it because of your sinfulness, any
vision of light you may have, or any visions of angels, or even of Christ Himself
or His Most Holy Mother, or any other vision. Let your mind focus only on the
words of the words of the prayer, with no image in your mind whatsoever (no
matter how attractive the image is), without any accompanying thoughts, in a total
abandonment of self. We have fallen because we abandoned the Godly and
embraced the self. The self is nothingness, it is non-being, for all that we have
ever had since our creation, including our very creation, was given to us by God.
14) If you abandon any inclination towards self-guided progress and leave the entire
matter of your progress to God, offering Him your entire transient and eternal life,
if during prayer you only ever strive to be vigilant which leads one to spiritual joy,
then you will be performing the feat of prayer correctly. This will give you a
considerable peace of mind. Your calm will be a sign of Gods mercy. Also, I do

not advise you to analyze your own sinfulness too deeply. It is enough if you are
aware of it. A spiritual feat should be as non-complex as possible.
15) You have done well if you have abandoned all techniques and are content to lock
your mind in the words of prayer. This will give the best results, unsullied by
delusions that could trick you, and which most probably already have tricked you
by using techniques not suited to you. As for me, if I adhere to anything during
prayer, it is only to keeping my mind locked inside the words of prayer.
Everything else happens if it happens on its own.
THE TEACHING OF BISHOP IGNATIOUS ON THE JESUS PRAYERS FOR
BEGINNERS
1) St John Climacus advises us to keep the mind in the words of the prayer, and
regardless of how many times the mind strays from them, it should again and
again be directed to the words of prayer. When the mind reaches this level of
vigilance, the heart will support it by rejoicing. Thus the prayer will be uttered
with both the mind and the heart.
2) The words of the prayer, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a
sinner, should under no circumstances be said hurriedly. On the contrary, they
should be drawn out in order to give the mind an opportunity to lock itself into the
words.
3) Teaching and consoling monks in monastic communities who performed different
obediences, and encouraging them to be vigilant on their ascetic feats, St. John of
the Ladder said: God does not demand perfect prayer from those monks that go
about their daily obediences in the monastery. Despair not because of distractions
that disturb your prayer. Be of good will and consistently force your mind to go
back to itself. Total freedom from distractions is a quality that belongs only to the
angels.
4) You who are enslaved by passions! Let us pray to God consistently and without
vacillation, for it is by this prayer that the dispassionate have rid themselves of the
passions and entered the state of dispassion (St John of the Ladder).
5) If you train your mind consistently not to stray from the words of prayer, it will
stay with you even at mealtimes. However, if you allow it to wander without
restraint, your mind will never stay with you.
6) We should be like children and pray as long as possible, while being mindful of
the quality of prayer. Quantity leads to quality. The Lord gives the gift of pure
prayer to him who prays from the heart, often and consistently, even if prayer is a
hardship to him. (28th Ladder)
7) Monks who are beginners need more time to learn how to pray. A monk will not
be able to harness his mind quickly. It will not be easy for him to abide in the
words of the prayer as if he were locked or imprisoned inside them. Ensnared by
the passions, by impressions, memories and cares, the mind of a beginner
constantly tears the strings of salvation, abandons the narrow path of prayer and
takes up the wide path. Wasting of time is decreased with the weakening of the
passions.

8) Concentration, or the absence of wandering, is given to those ascetics that prove

the sincerity of their desire to receive the gift of prayer by their consistency and
heartfelt prayer.
9) Our compatriot, the Holy Hieromartyr Dorotheus, a great teacher of the prayer of
the nous (mind), advises beginners to first utter the Jesus Prayer aloud. He says
that a prayer spoken out loud will by itself become a prayer of the mind. The
prayer of the mind is born out of the prayer of the mouth. The prayer of the mind
gives birth to the prayer of the heart. The Jesus prayer should not be said in a very
loud voice, but quietly, so that only you canhear it.
10) When the influence of distraction, sadness, despair or slothfulness is particularly
strong, then it is very useful to say the Jesus prayer out loud. The soul is gradually
awakened by the uttering of the Jesus Prayer from the heavy and deep sleep into
which it has been pushed by sorrow and depression.
11) It is also very useful to say the Jesus Prayer out loud at times when one is
accosted by an increased flow of thoughts and images, carnal desire or anger, and
when the blood is restless and the heart is deprived of peacefulness and quiet.
12) It is also very useful for a beginner to follow a cell rule that consists of a certain
number of prostrations and bows, according to ones physical ability.
13) One should not perform the prostrations hastily. These should be performed as an
act of repentance. With each prostration say, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have
mercy on me, a sinner.
14) It is best to perform the prayer rule with prostrations before going to sleep. At this
time the prayers can be said with more attentiveness and focus. Still, it is useful,
especially for young monks, to perform prostrations in the morning and at night
from 12 to 20. This prayer together with the prostrations facilitates a prayerful
disposition and the crucifixion of the body and increases the zeal for ascetic feats.
15) Venerable Meletius the Confessor said, A teacher is not needed in order to learn
prayer. What is needed is attentiveness and heartfelt zeal. Then God becomes the
teacher. If you have only a few minutes of spare time, do not squander them! Do
not spend these minutes in fruitless and empty daydreams, or any vain activity.
Use this time to practice the Jesus Prayer. If, because of our human weakness, or
to be more precise because of the quality of our fallen nature, your imagination
and thoughts get the better of you, do not give up and do not despair. Repent
before God for becoming distracted and acknowledge before Him your fallen
nature and passion, bow down to Him in your thoughts and take steps of
precaution against false imaginings and thoughts. He that cannot get used to
frequent prayer will never receive the gift of unceasing prayer. Unceasing prayer
is a gift from God given by God to His slave and servant whose faith He has
tested. It is impossible to draw near to God in any way other than by constant
prayer. (St Isaac the Syrian, Homily LXIX). Unceasing prayer is a sign of Gods
mercy towards man, a sign that all the forces of the soul are directed towards God.
Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I cry to Yu all day long. Rejoice the soul of Your
servant. For to you, O Lord I lift up my soul. (Psalm 85:3-4)
16) Let us draw near to God in prayer as they that are lost, as they that truly long for
salvation that is given to those who repent.

17) While practicing the Jesus prayer, beginners must be piously attentive, they must
lock their minds in the words of the prayer, and breathe quietly and freely.
18) Here is my advise to you, O beginner: do not seek the place of the heart! Do not
seek explanations as to what exactly the place of the heart is. When the time
comes you will get a satisfactory explanation from your work alone. If it pleases
God to grant you that explanation, He will grant it to you when the time comes.
Your lot is to pray vigilantly and contritely. Endeavor to offer up repentance
together with your prayer.
19) We should pray consistently, patiently and steadfastly. In His own time, God will
grant the gift of blessed and pure prayer to those who pray constantly without
laziness, albeit in an imperfect manner, to those who are not weak-spirited and do
not give up their ascetic feat just because the gift of prayer has not been give to
them.
20) The feat of serving God, the feat of prayer, should be performed from the soul,
consistently and unceasingly. It is very dangerous to put off prayer or to interrupt
the prayer rule.