Chapter 108

The Actual Performance of Prayer

Having settled yourself inwardly in this way, stand before the icons, cross yourself, bow, and begin your customary prayers. Read slowly — understand every word, bring the thought of every word down to your heart, accompanying this with bows and the sign of the cross. In this lies all the work of prayer that is pleasing to God and fruitful.

Understand every word and bring the thought of the word to your heart, or in other words: understand what you are reading, and feel what you understand. You read: “cleanse me from all impurity” — feel your own impurity, desire purity, and — with full confidence ask it of the Lord. You read: “Your will be done” — and in your heart completely surrender your fate to the Lord, with full readiness to meet with gratitude all that the Lord sends you. You read: “and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors” — and in your soul forgive everyone everything, and so ask forgiveness for yourself from the Lord. If you act this way at every verse of your prayer, then you will have prayer as it should be.

And in order for you to accomplish it more successfully in precisely this way, here is what you must do. First, have for yourself a certain prayer rule — a small one, so that, with your usual tasks, you are able to fulfill it without haste; second, in your free time read through the prayers of your rule, understand every word of the prayer and feel it, so that you know beforehand what feeling should be in your soul and heart at each word, in order that — during prayer — it will be easy for you to understand and feel. Third, if your restless mind during prayer runs off to other matters, strive to keep attention and return your mind to the subject of prayer; it runs off again — return it again: repeat the reading until you read each word of the prayer with understanding and feeling. In this way you will train your mind away from distraction during prayer. Fourth, if any word of the prayer affects your soul deeply — stop at it and do not read further: stand at this place with attention and feeling — nourish your soul with it. Or: do not disturb this state with other thoughts that it may produce, until it passes of itself. This is a sign that the spirit of prayer is beginning to take root in you, and this state is the most reliable means for cultivating and strengthening the spirit of prayer within us.

(Letter 227. Vol. 2, pp. 35–36)

For our prayer to be an effective means for cultivating prayer, we must perform it in such a way that both mind and heart receive the content of the prayers that make up our prayer rule.

For this there are three very simple approaches: do not approach prayer without proper preparation, — do not perform it carelessly, but with attention and feeling, — and do not immediately upon finishing prayers move to your usual activities.

(Letter 227. Vol. 2, p. 34)