2). A person who is in delusion often takes upon himself such feats that, satisfying his personal taste, cause only grief to his neighbors and arouse in them, and then in himself, malice and quarrels.

Such, for example, are harsh denunciations of others from the very first steps of spiritual life, immoderate fasting, which produces irritability, family quarrels, and so on.

3). A person who is in delusion usually delights not in the content of prayer, but only in its duration, seeing in it a proof of the strength of his will and looking upon prayer as a merit before God, contrary to the words of Christ.

4). A person who is in delusion, considering himself above the church norm, proudly invents self-willed feats and his own rules "for prayer. It is known that the evil enemy, when he deceives zealous novices, is precisely through instilling in them great, but self-imposed prayer rules instead of those laid down by the elder. It happens that there is a special unparalleled zeal for such podvigs, but it is supported not by a clear conscience, but by a subtle thought of pride.

These are the main signs of "demonic delusion."

In order not to fall into this temptation and not to perish completely, it is necessary to strictly measure the duration of prayer and the intensity of spiritual feats with one's strength; try with all your might not to stand out from the number of other spiritual brothers and sisters in the outward way of life (it goes without saying that it is absolutely impossible to equate one's life with the life of this world: here the difference is inevitable); to perform one's special feats, if any, in deep secrecy, and the most important thing, finally, is to cultivate in oneself the spirit of humility by all means.

We will speak about the way in which humility develops in the soul in another place. Here it is only necessary to note that humility is the second indispensable condition for the fruitfulness of any prayer. At prayer, teaches St. Isaac the Syrian, be like an ant crawling, like a babbling child. Let us not forget that God resists the proud, but gives grace to the media (1 Pet. V, 5). The most striking thing about the prayer of the Syrophini Kiyanka is her extraordinary humility. There is no anger or irritation in her answer. One hears only a deep awareness of her unworthiness, when, without being offended by the words of the Lord, she equates herself with dogs and asks only crumbs of divine mercy. Undoubtedly, this amazing humility and worship of the Lord's mercy ensured the success of her prayer. God will not despise a broken and humble heart (Psalm. L).

Finally, the third indispensable condition for the fruitfulness of prayer is a worthy subject of petition. "This is the form of prayer pleasing to God! says St. John Chrysostom. "Approaching God with a sober mind, with a contrite soul and streams of tears, do not ask for anything worldly, seek the future, pray for spiritual things!"

This advice of the saint is very often forgotten. To our deep regret, very many Christians look upon prayer not as the greatest happiness of unity and conversation with God, but simply as a means of obtaining something necessary, and they resort to it only in calamities and difficult circumstances, they look upon God almost as a worker, they often ask for vain, worldly, and sometimes spiritually harmful things. Of course, during prayer we can say all our prayers, even petty ones that have no significance for our spiritual progress, for the Lord, as a loving Father, will listen to everything. But we cannot insist on the fulfillment of desires for the simple reason that we do not know what to pray for, how we should (Rom. VIII, 26), and often unwisely ask for that which can only serve to our harm. Even such prayers are sometimes performed by the Lord for our admonition, if they are offered persistently, but nothing good usually comes out of our perseverance.

The magazine "Historical Bulletin" contains the story of the mother of one of the Decembrists, Kondraty Ryleev, who suffered during the uprising of 1825. Here is given an interesting example of persistent prayer, fulfilled, but not leading to good results.

"Once in childhood," says Mrs. Ryleeva, "Kanechka (i.e., Kondraty) fell dangerously ill. I don't know what happened to him, but he was lying in the terrible heat, with his eyes closed, with his cheeks inflamed and flushed, and he was breathing heavily. There was little hope for recovery. The doctors did not promise anything good.

Who can describe my grief, the grief of a mother who is about to lose her beloved son? I cried and prayed. I spent long sleepless nights at my dear boy's bed, pouring glory on his bed and calling on God for help. The possible death of Kanechka seemed to me such a great misfortune, such an incredible cruelty, that I tirelessly, unceasingly, asked the Lord to work a miracle – to heal the baby. It seemed to me to be the greatest mercy that I needed more than life.

Once, during a fervent and persistent prayer, I dozed off, kneeling in front of the child's bed. My eyes closed, my head sank on the child's bed, and I had a strange dream.

Someone's voice was heard: