Chapter 103

Spiritual Sensuality Arises From the Loss of Fear of God and Contrition

Do you fear falling into spiritual sensuality? How would it get there?! For prayer is not made for pleasure, but for the duty of serving God in this manner; pleasure is a necessary accompaniment of true service. Moreover, in prayer the chief thing is the mind standing with attention in the heart before God with reverence and fear, a fear that sobers and drives away all folly and plants contrition in the heart before God. These feelings — fear of God and contrition, or a heart contrite and humble — are the chief marks of true interior prayer and the test of all prayer, by which we must judge whether our prayer is proceeding in proper order or not. When they are present — prayer is in order. When they are absent — it is not in order, and we must put it back in its place. In the absence of them, pleasure and warmth can breed self-opinion, and this is spiritual pride… and this will be pernicious delusion. Then pleasure and warmth will depart; only the memory of them will remain… yet the soul will still think it possesses them. Fear this, and more greatly kindle fear of God, humility, and sorrowful approach to God; walk always in the presence of God. This is the chief thing! (7, 146)