How to Teach the Soul to Turn Often to God

Having grown accustomed with your mind and heart to turn to God with outside help—through prayer books—it is then necessary to make attempts at your own drawing toward God, so that the soul itself, so to speak, in its own words enters into prayerful conversation with God, rises up to Him and reveals itself to Him and confesses what is in it and what it desires. And you must teach the soul this. What should be done to succeed in this science?

And the habit, with reverence, attention, and feeling, of praying from prayer books itself leads to this; for from a heart filled by means of prayers with holy feelings, of itself will begin to pour forth its own prayer to God. But there are also special rules for this, leading to the proper success in prayer.

The first method of teaching the soul to turn often to God is meditation on God, or reverent reflection on the divine attributes and acts: reflection on God’s goodness, justice, wisdom, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience—on creation and providence, on the arrangement of salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ—on grace and the word of God, on the Holy Mysteries, on the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever one of these matters you begin to reflect upon, this reflection will necessarily fill the soul with reverent feeling toward God: it directly directs all the being of a person to God and therefore is the most direct means to teach the soul to rise to God. Having finished your prayers, especially in the morning, sit down and begin to reflect—today on one divine attribute or act, tomorrow on another—and produce in your soul the corresponding disposition. Say with Saint Demetrius of Rostov: ‘Come, holy meditation, and let us plunge into reflection on the great deeds of God’—stir your heart thereby, and you will begin to pour out your soul in prayer. Little effort, but much fruit. Only desire and determination are needed. Suppose you begin to reflect on God’s goodness—you will see that you are surrounded by God’s mercies both physically and spiritually—and you will fall before God in an outpouring of grateful feelings; suppose you reflect on God’s omnipresence—you will understand that you are everywhere before God and God is before you—and you cannot but be filled with reverent fear; suppose you think about God’s justice—you will be convinced that no evil deed will go unpunished—and you will surely resolve to cleanse all your sins through heartfelt contrition before God and repentance; suppose you reflect on God’s omniscience—you will know that nothing in you is hidden from the eye of God—and you will surely resolve to be strict with yourself and attentive in all things, so as not somehow to offend the all-seeing God.

The second method of teaching the soul to turn often to God is to offer every deed—great and small—to the glory of God.[1] For if we make it our rule, by the apostle’s commandment, to do everything, even eating and drinking, to the glory of God, then we will certainly—with each deed—remember God, and remember not simply, but with fear: lest we not act rightly in any case and offend God with some deed. This will make us turn to God with fear and prayerfully ask for help and understanding. And since we are almost constantly doing something, we will almost constantly turn prayerfully to God; and, consequently, almost constantly practice the science of mental turning to God in the soul. Thus we will teach the soul to turn as often as possible during the day to God.

The third method of teaching the soul to turn often to God is frequent cries from the heart to God during the day with brief words, according to the needs of the soul and present circumstances. When you begin something—say: ‘Lord, bless!’ When you finish a deed—not with the tongue only, but with the heart’s feeling say: ‘Glory be to You, Lord!’ When some passion rises—say: ‘Save me, Lord, I am perishing!’ When darkness of troubled thoughts comes—cry: ‘Bring my soul out of prison!’ When unrighteous deeds stand before you and sin draws you to them—pray: ‘Guide me, Lord, on the path’ or: ‘Let not my feet be troubled.’ When sins weigh you down and draw you into despair—cry out in the voice of the publican: ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner.’ And so in every circumstance. Or simply speak more often: ‘Lord, have mercy! Theotokos, save me! Holy angel of God, my guardian, protect me!’ Or cry out with some other words. Only—as much as possible—make these cries more often, striving in every way for them to come from the heart, as if wrung from it. When we do this—there will be frequent mental ascents from the heart to God—frequent turnings to God—frequent prayer; and this frequenting will give us the habit of mental conversation with God.

So, besides the prayer rule, to teach the soul to rise to God in prayer, there exist also three methods that introduce into the prayerful spirit. These are: devote some time in the morning to meditation on God—offer every deed to the glory of God, and—turn often to God with brief cries. When in the morning meditation on God is well done—it will leave a deep disposition toward thinking about God. Thinking about God will cause the soul to perform every action—both inner and outer—carefully and to the glory of God; and both will place the soul in such a position that from it brief prayerful cries to God will often pour forth. These three: meditation on God, performing everything to the glory of God, and frequent cries are the most effective instruments of noetic and heartfelt prayer. Each one of them raises the soul to God. Whoever has resolved to practice them will soon acquire the habit of placing ascents in their heart to God. Separated from earth, the soul will enter its own realm and will dwell sweetly on high—here heartfelt and mentally, and there—and essentially will be worthy to remain before the face of God.

(Letter 227. Issue 2. p. 37–40)