Ascending the Ladder Study Guide Step 19-20 Sleep is a nature occurrence It is said to be an Image of Death and an inactivity

of the senses. There are many causes of sleep: Food Drink-Demons - Fasting

Sleeping can occur as a habit. As most habits we need to be aware of them for we can allow them to interfere with our quest for God. Many put sleep before prayer. Saint John points out that; that which can awake us to prayer can also signal the demons to act upon us. This can be the little voice which keeps us in bed rather than leaping to attend prayer service. Saint John states that: it is possible for all to pray with a congregation; for many it is more suitable to pray with a single kindred spirit: solitary prayer is for the very few. Just as a furnace tests gold, so the practice of prayer tests the zeal and love for God Prayer does not come easy. It can be a struggle. John Mack recalls a spiritual fathers comments to his spiritual daughter, who was complaining about the distraction of her children during prayer. He simply said If it is not the children, it is the demons. It is never easy to pray undistracted. Our first battle is getting to the time and place of prayer. We have to become alert to prayer Not wanting to pray is part of our fallen nature and our sinful condition: This however is not an excuse. We need to rally towards prayer. Alertness is doing battle with our laziness and our lack of interest in prayer The inexperienced monk is wide awake when talking to his friends but half asleep at prayer time Prayer: is the time for us to triumph over our body and allow our will for God to overcome our physical desires. St. Silouan stated Preserving the mind and heart from all extraneous thoughts means prolonged struggle of an extraordinarily difficult and subtle kind Many think that prayer is a waste of time- But we need to look at a greater picture of what prayer gives us. Prayer is an exercise, the more you do the more you find strength in doing it.

In the liturgy in the 8th century book of the Constitution of the Holy Apostles, attentive participation is urged. Let the deacon oversee the people, that nobody may whisper, nor slumber, nor laugh, nor nod: for all ought in the Church to stand wisely; and soberly, and attentively, having their attention fixed on the word of God. Stop making excuses for sleeping in on Sundays. Set your priorities. Do not give up on prayer simply because it doesnt come easy. Engage your contemplation of the words being chanted. Do not engage in any work or distraction during prayer. Pray each night before bed. Concentrate and gain control over your thoughts and your body. Read ahead to learn about what and how we are worshiping Attend these classes. Facing our fears Cowardice. Step 21 In spite of what they say 90% of the chronic patients who see todays physicians have one common symptom. Its not the heart, the cough or hyperacidity. The first symptom is fear. Fear is a lapse from faith that comes from anticipating the unexpected. Fear is danger tasted in advance, a quiver as the heart takes fright before unnamed calamity. Fear is a loss of assurance. We heard this fear after the arrest of Christ, where were the disciples? They abandoned Christ in His Passion because they were afraid. It happened to them it happens to us. Natures of our fears : We are afraid that following Christ will cost us too much. We are afraid of our peers reaction. We are afraid that we will not be able to do what Christ asks of us. The why behind the nature Pride: We replace God for self. We start off with God and are comforted as time passes we rely less on God and more on ourselves until we are faced with a huge challenge. And then relying on ourselves we fall apart. How do we over come this? Put the armor of prayer and Christ on you. Knowing that he is the source of all. We cannot allow fear to keep us from God. How do we over come our fears We need to replace the demonic with the Heavenly. We need to start understanding how we can humble ourselves and trust of God. We need to reject the satanic fantasies which drive us toward self and evil. We need to become steward to the Lord and by doing so our fear will be to the Master alone.