3. Abba Dula, a disciple of Abba Bessarion, said, "Once I went up to the cell of my abba, and found him standing at prayer, and his hands were stretched out to heaven. He did this for fourteen days. After that he called me and said, "Follow me!" And when we went out, we went into the wilderness. Feeling thirsty, I said to him, "Abba, I am thirsty!" The elder, taking the mantle, departed from me to cast a stone, and, having made a prayer, brought a mantle full of water. We went to Liko until we came to Abba John and, greeting him, we made a prayer. Then they sat down to talk about the vision that each had seen. Abba Bessarion said that there was a command from the Lord to destroy the temples (doubtful – ed.). And so it happened, and they were destroyed.

4. The elder said: if you are careless, then pray as it is written. Pray with fear and trembling, soberly and vigilantly; — this is how we should pray, especially because of our invisible enemies, who are evil and insidious in this, who want to do us harm.

5. He also said: When an enemy's thought comes to your heart, seek nothing else but prayer; And on the enemy sharpen the sword of tears.

6. Once upon a time, Blessed Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, heard from the abba of a certain monastery located in Palestine: "By your prayers we do not abandon the rule, but with zeal we fulfill the rule at the third, sixth, and ninth hours, and perform evening prayers. And he, having understood the matter, announced to them, saying, It is evident that you spend the other hours of the day in idleness from prayer; for a true monk must constantly have prayer in his heart.

7. Once Abba Moses came to the well to draw water, and saw Abba Zacharias praying, and the Spirit of God sitting on him like a dove.

8. When there was a supper of love, when the brethren were eating and talking, Abba Isaiah, the presbyter of Pelusium, rebuking them, said, "Be silent, brethren! I saw a brother eating with you, and drinking the same cups of yours, and his prayer rises like fire before God.

9. Abba Lot came to Abba Joseph and said to him, "Abba! according to my strength I do little fasting, and prayer, and meditation, and silence, and according to my strength I keep myself undefiled from thoughts; So what else should I do? The elder, having risen, stretched out his hands to heaven, and his ten fingers were like ten fiery candles. And he said to him, "If you will, then be all fire."

10. Once upon a time certain monks, called Euchites, came to Abba Lucius in Enatus, and the elder asked them, saying, "What is your needlework?" They answered, "We do not do handicrafts, but, as the Apostle says, we pray without ceasing." And the elder said, "Do you not eat?" We are eating, they answered. The Elder says: Who prays for you when you eat? And he said to them, "Do you not sleep?" We are asleep, they answered. The Elder says: "Who prays for you when you are sleeping?" And there was no answer to him. Then the elder said to them, "Forgive me, you do not do as you say." I will show you that, while doing my needlework, I pray without ceasing. Having soaked a few twigs, I sit down with God, and, weaving a rope out of them, I say: "Have mercy on me, O God, according to the commands of Thy mercy, and according to the multitude of Thy mercies, cleanse my iniquity" (Psalm 50:1). And he said to them, Is this not prayer? They answered: yes. The Elder said: spending the whole day at work, I earn more or less sixteen coins. Two of them I give to the poor at the door, and with the rest I eat; — and he who accepts two coins prays for me when I eat or when I sleep, and by the grace of God I pray without ceasing.

11. Some asked Abba Macarius, saying, "How should we pray?" The Elder answered them: "There is no need to talk too much, but often raise your hands and say: Lord, as You wish, and as You know, have mercy! But if temptation strikes, say: Lord, help me! And He knows what is good for us, and He does the same to us.

12. In the time of Julian the Rebel, when he descended with his army to the bottom of Persia, he sent a demon to go west as soon as possible and bring him some answer from there. When the demon came to the place where the hermit lived, he remained motionless for ten days, unable to go forward either day or night, because the monk did not cease to pray during these days; and the demon, being idle, returned to him who had sent him. And he asked him, Why hast thou tarried? The demon answered, "I tarried and came back, having done nothing; for I had been ten days guarding Poplius the monk, when he would cease to pray to go further, but he did not cease, which is why I could not go, but returned without having done anything. Then the impious Julian, being angry, said, "Turning back, I will take my vengeance on him." But a few days later Julian was killed by the will of Providence. And immediately, one of the military commanders who were with him, went, took all that he had, and distributed it to the poor, and came to the elder to be a monk — and, having become a great ascetic, he died in the Lord.

13. It was said of Abba Tiphoius, that when he stood at prayer, if he did not immediately give up his hands, his mind was delighted with grief. Therefore, when he happened to pray with the brethren, he tried to lower his hands as quickly as possible, so that his mind would not be enraptured and would not slow down.

14. A certain brother came to a clairvoyant elder and asked him, saying, "Pray for me, father, for I am weak." In response, the elder said to his brother what one of the saints had once said: "He who pours oil on his hand to anoint the weak, himself first receives the fat of the oil, so he who prays for his brother, before he benefits him, himself receives benefit according to the will of his love. Let us pray, my brother, for one another, that they may be healed; for the Apostle also convinces, saying: "Pray for one another, that ye may be healed" (James 5:16).

15. The Elder said that unceasing prayer soon leads the mind to correction.

16. One of the fathers said: just as it is impossible for anyone to see his face in muddy waters, so the soul, if it is not freed from alien thoughts, cannot pray contemplatively.