Chapter 105

Beginners Should Pray From the Prayer Book

Is it necessary to assign noetic prayer to young—to beginning—students?

Prayer without spiritual and heartfelt turning to God is not prayer. This must be explained to the beginner. Let him perform prayer from the prayer book, striving in every way so that thoughts and feelings go along with the words. Through this labor the novice will become accustomed to the turns of prayer speech, and then will himself perform prayer with his own speech, when it is moved from the heart. But one should in no way leave a beginner without a prayer book, except in the case where he was familiar with spiritual prayer to God before his beginning.

(Letter 915. Vol. 5, p. 196)