Prayer and the Spirit of God
“Prayer is constant communication with the Source of your life. Prayer is like the strings supporting the marionette. When you develop this blessed habit, you will be able to drive away every evil thought…Rather than ask: What would Jesus do, you will know… by the grace of the Holy Spirit what you should do in His name, and in His constant presence within your soul. Mental prayer, for that is what it is, will warm your soul in such a way that you will take notice of its heat, and feel yourself grow cold when you lose it. You will walk in the light of the Spirit of God, and a glow will radiate from your heart and whole self.” (Fr. Vladimir Berzonsky)
“…if prayer and watching gives you more of God’s grace, watch and pray; if fasting gives you much of the spirit of God, fast; if almsgiving gives you more, give alms. Weigh every virtue done for Christ’s sake in this manner….This indwelling of the Spirit of God makes it possible for us to know God and to apply His will directly in our daily decisions and actions.” (St. Seraphim of Sarov, Dynamis 11/9/2021)
“How can we escape in a definitive way from the spirit of this world that tries to seduce us at all times?...In the practice of unceasing prayer, we shut the entry to the thoughts from the enemy and to all the impressions of this world that assail our spirit. The enemy… knows that there is no more beautiful way towards sanctification than the practice of unceasing prayer. We stop every thought and every impression that comes from outside, not only by calling upon the Name of Christ, not only by resisting them through prayer, but also by building a spiritual state within us. This brings such strength to our heart that the thoughts of the enemy simply bounce off, sometimes even before we see what kind of thoughts they are. We feel the approach of the thoughts of the enemy and the heart is alert, wakes up and shuts the entries of the senses and of the whole being of man, protecting him…This spiritual state is the best positive way to preserve man from every foreign influence, to keep his spirit immersed in the Spirit of God.” (Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou)
“Every obedience to God is therefore exorcistic. Every time we pray, every time we receive the Holy Mysteries, every time we love, every time we give alms, every time we fast with devotion, every time we feed the hungry, every time we clothe the naked, every time we visit the sick and imprisoned, every time we humble ourselves—with all these faithful actions, we drive out the demons and invite into us the Holy Spirit of God. We become less like the evil ones and more like the Holy One.” (Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick)
“… Christ says that He is the vine and we are the branches. A branch can bear fruit only if it is united with the vine, but what is the fruit it will bring? The Lord explains this, saying: ‘If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you’ (John 15:7). If the word of Christ abides in man, it will surely lead him to prayer: it comes as a light and in the light of this word, man sees the holiness of God, His ineffable love and therefore is naturally attracted to Him. Man also sees that he is fallen, distorted and not fit for this love of God, and this urges him to turn to God with a strong cry. The words of Christ were uttered in the power of the eternal Spirit of God, and if we allow this word to dwell in us, then our own prayer will be uttered, keeping the proportions, in the same power of the Spirit of God, for we will speak to Him in the same language He spoke to us. If Christ’s word dwells in us, we shall turn to Him with prayer and whatever we shall ask, it shall be done unto us. This is how we will bear much fruit (John 15:8). This means that without the word of God we remain fruitless. He who does not read the word of God, will be poor in prayer.” (Archimandrite Peter)
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