78) God does not require from the praying person beauty of speech and skillful composition of words, but warmth of soul and diligence. If in such a disposition he speaks before Him that which is pleasing to Him; then he will depart from Him, having received everything. Do you see how comfortable it is? It happens that when approaching someone with a petition, it is necessary to choose special words. And here nothing of the kind is necessary; but if you have a sober mind, nothing will prevent you from being near God. "God draweth nigh, saith the Lord, and not God from afar" (Jeremiah 23:23); so that if we are far from Him, we ourselves are the cause of this, and He is always near. "But what do I say that there is no need to worry about the art of the word?" Often there is no need for a voice. For if in your heart you only express your need to Him and call upon Him as you should, then even in this case He will hear you. Thus He heard Moses, so He heard Anna [5, 42].

79) This is the form of prayer pleasing to God! Approaching God with a sober mind, with a contrite soul and streams of tears, do not ask for anything worldly, seek the future, beseech for spiritual things, do not pray against enemies and do not hold grudges against anyone, expel all passions from your soul, grieve over your sins, keep your inner things in order, express your readiness for any concession and to turn your tongue only to good words about others, Do not get involved in any business, neither by consent, nor by cooperation, have nothing in common with the common enemy of the universe, i.e. with the devil. For in this way you will be righteous; but being righteous, you will be heard, having righteousness as your intercessor [5, 43].

80) "Be merciful to me, and hear my prayer" (Psalm 4:2). What are you saying? Above I mentioned the truth, but here you turn to generosity and mercy? — And what kind of consistency can there be? — Great and very consistent with the previous one. For though we have done an innumerable multitude of good deeds, yet we are heard by generosity and love for mankind; even if we ascend to the very summit of virtue, we are still saved by mercy. From this we learn that with righteousness it is necessary to have a broken heart. If someone is a sinner, but begins to pray with humility, which is already a part of virtue, then he can receive much; on the contrary, if someone is righteous, but approaches God in prayer with pride, he will be deprived of all blessings. Both were taught to us by the example of the publican and the Pharisee. Learn from the publican, not being ashamed to take as your teacher one who has done the work of prayer so beautifully that he has achieved everything with words alone. For his soul was well prepared; And one word was strong enough to open the heavens to him. How was it prepared? He cursed himself, struck his chest, and did not even dare to raise his eyes to heaven. If you pray in the same way; then you will make your prayer the lightest down [5, 44].

81) Prayers are not just heard, whatever they are, but prayers performed according to the law of God. What are they? Those in which they ask for what is proper for God to give, and do not ask for what is contrary to His laws. Who, you will say, is so bold as to ask God to do that which is contrary to His laws? He who prays against his enemies: for this is not in accordance with the law laid down by Him. He says: "Forgive" to your debtors (Matt. 6:14). And you call upon the very One Who commands you to forgive your enemies. Can there be anything worse than such madness? The one who prays must have the appearance, thoughts, and feeling of a supplicant. Why then do you accept another person, the person of the accuser? How can you receive forgiveness of your own sins when you pray to God to be the punisher of the sins committed by others? Therefore, let your prayer be meek, quiet, with a hospitable and benevolent face. Only such a prayer is worthy of the hearing of the King of Heaven, worthy of heaven — only such is the tongue of the angels. When she begins to intercede for those who have offended and offended, then the angels stand before her in great silence, and when she is silent, they do not cease to applaud her, praise her and marvel at her. When we approach God in prayer, let us not think that this is an ordinary spectacle. No, it is a spectacle of which the spectators are the whole universe, and even more so the hosts of the heavenly Powers, and among them is the King of Heaven, ready to hear our prayer. Let us perform it in such a way that it will be worthy of this spectacle. Let no guitarist, no lyricist be so careful in preparing for a performance on the stage for fear of allowing any unpleasant sound as we are when we intend to enter the spectacle of the Angels. Let us have a tongue that does not pronounce anything unpleasant, but one harmonious and euphonious, with the proper mood of the soul. Approaching God, asking Him and beseeching Him, let us propitiate Him also to our enemies: then, praying for ourselves, we will be heard [5, 45-6].

82) "Sons of mankind, how long are you heavy in heart" (Psalm 4:3)? The Prophet calls the sons of men people who are devoted only to the cares of life and inclined to evil. Wherefore what shall be the meaning of "heavy hearts"? Carnal, earthbound, inclined to evil, given over to vices, corrupted by voluptuousness. And what can make the soul light? A wondrous life, such as not to be carried away by anything here, and not even to attach anything to your feet that pulls you down. Of the material objects, some usually tend downward, as for example, stone, wood, and the like; and others upwards, as for example. fire, air, down, light in nature. If you tie to a light thing some thing that gravitates downwards, then its natural lightness will not help it in the least. So it is with the heart. By its nature it is created light and upward, and we, contrary to its nature, make it heavy by tying it to the earth. Let us not make it heavy, lest it sink like a ship that has too much cargo [5, 47].

(83) Why are many not heard? Sometimes because they ask for something useless: in this case, it is better not to be heard than to be heard; and sometimes because we ask negligently: in this case, God teaches us to be zealous for prayer by the slowness of almsgiving. God knows how to give and knows when to give and what to give (Matt. 7:11). "And Paul asked and did not receive; because he asked for what was useless (2 Corinthians 12:8); and Moses asked, but God did not hear him either (Exodus 32:32). Therefore, let us not retreat when we are not heard, let us not be discouraged and weakened, but continue to ask with earnestness; because God does everything for good [5, 48-9].

84) "As you speak in your hearts, be touched on your couches" [Psalm 4:5]. What do these words mean? —

Let this be every day, and do not fall asleep first, O man, until you have thought about the sins you have committed during the day; then, without a doubt, the next day you will not try to do this so soon [5, 51].

85) "It is fitting to precede the sun to give thanks to Thee" (Wis. 16:28). With a king you would not suffer anyone inferior to you to worship him before you; but here, when everything is already worshipping God, you are still asleep, you give up the primacy of creation, you do not warn all the creatures created for you, and you do not give thanks to Him, but when you get up and wash your face and hands, you leave your soul unclean. Or do you not know that just as the body is cleansed by water, so the soul is cleansed by prayer? Therefore, wash your soul first of your body. Many stains of evil clinged to it. Let us wash them away with prayer. If we protect ourselves in this way from the first hours after waking up, then we will lay a good foundation for the day's activity [5, 65].

86) The furnace will not burn if you do not put a fire on it, and lust will not flare up if you do not give it food: you will not look at beautiful faces, you will not go to spectacles, you will not fatten the flesh with gluttony, you will not drown the mind in wine. "And that's enough, you say?" No, this alone is not enough, but something else must be added: unceasing prayers, communion with the saints, appropriate fasting, constant abstinence, tedious lack of idleness, and above all the fear of God, remembrance of the future judgment, of unbearable torments and promised blessings. By observing all this, you can curb the fierce lust [5, 75].

87) It should always be remembered that one should not only pray, but pray in such a way as to be heard. For prayer alone is not sufficient to obtain what we desire, if we do not send it in a way that pleases God. And the Pharisee prayed, but received no benefit, and the Jews prayed, but God turned away from their supplications; because they did not pray the way one should pray. What do you need? Tears, sobs, sighing, separation from vicious people, fear and apprehension of God's judgment are needed. I will say in general: we will be heard, if we prove worthy to receive what we ask for; if we pray in accordance with the laws of God about prayer; if we pray without ceasing; if we do not ask for anything, God unworthy; if we ask for what is useful; if we do what is due on our part. In this way many were heard: Cornelius was heard in life; Syrophoenicisa — for persistence in prayer; Solomon — for a worthy subject of petition; the publican for humility, others for something else. We are not heard when we ask for what is useless, and also when we pray and do not forsake our sins, and even when we ask for vengeance on our enemies [5, 84-5].

88) Do the prayers of the saints have power or are they superfluous and in vain? Thus St. Peter resurrected Tabitha not only by his prayer, but also by virtue of her almsgiving. In the same way, the prayer of the saints helped all whom it helped. But this happens only here, on earth, and not so there — there is your salvation from works alone [5, 229].

89) "From the depths I have cried unto Thee, O Lord" (Psalm 129:1). What does it mean from the depths? Not merely with the lips, not with the tongue, for words can flow without thought, but from the depths of the heart, with great zeal and zeal, from the very foundations of the soul. Such prayers have great power and strength, they do not scatter or waver, even if the devil attacks with great boldness. As a strong tree, which has taken root very deeply in the earth, and has encompassed the bowels of it, resists every gust of wind, and a tree that holds on to the surface falls at the slight breath of wind, is uprooted, and falls to the ground: so also the prayers that proceed from the bosom of the soul, and have their root in the depths of it, remain strong and unrelenting, and do not waver, even though they approach, innumerable thoughts and the whole host of the devil; and prayers that come only from the mouth and from the tongue, but do not come from the depths of the soul, cannot even ascend to God, because of the indifference of the heart in them. Whoever prays in this way, his mouth makes a sound, but his heart is empty, and his mind is idle [5, 373].

90) He who prays from the heart, even before he receives what he asks for, already receives great blessings from the very act of prayer. Such prayer tames all passions, subdues anger, banishes envy, suppresses lust, weakens love for worldly things, gives the soul great tranquility, ascends to heaven itself. As rain, falling on solid ground, softens it, or as fire softens iron: so such prayer, even stronger than fire, and better than rain, softens and irrigates the soul hardened by passions. The soul itself is tender and receptive: but just as the water of the Danube is often petrified by cold, so our soul hardens from sin and carelessness and becomes a stone. For this reason we need a great deal of heat to soften its hardness. This is mainly done by prayer. And so, when you begin to pray, take care not only to receive what you ask for, but also to make your soul better by means of prayer itself [5, 374].