Walked? After all, they always interfere with prayer? — Yes, they do, but only for lazy, stretching, boring people. And whoever keeps himself cheerful, and at the ringing of the bell and at the time of prayer immediately abandons all his affairs, they depart from him, because they do not want a person to acquire crowns because of them. They see in advance that the one who prays to them will not yield an inch, I will die, I will say, and for these half an hour or an hour I will pray properly, so they do not bother him, because they are envious, and I repeat, they do not want us to receive crowns from God for prayer and even for fighting with them. And only when they see that we "have prayed for something, in their opinion, for a long time," they come up again, urging us to finish the prayer as soon as possible and tempting us with the necessary deeds. Otherwise, they say, if you are late, leave it, and then you will be overwhelmed. But if we give in, then, of course, we will no longer have to pray.52

For this reason the Holy Fathers command:

"Stand tirelessly, pray intensely, avoid all thought of cares and worldly calculations; they confuse and disturb you in order to relieve the tension

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of your strength."

But even because of his weakness, without even any temptations of demons, a person is scattered and weighed down, standing in the most favorable environment for prayer. What should he do?

St. St. John Climacus54 teaches: "Try always to bring back to yourself your deviant thought, or, rather, enclose it in the words of prayer. If, in your infancy, it becomes tired and falls into distraction, then again introduce it into the words of the prayer; for inconstancy is inherent in our mind. But He Who is able to affirm all things can also give constancy to our minds. If you strive unceasingly in this work, then the boundaries of the sea of your mind will come to you, and will say to it in your prayer: "Until now you will come and do not pass away" (Job 38:11). It is impossible to bind the Spirit, and where there is the Creator of this spirit, there everything is subject to Him."

Thus, let us not be surprised and not believe, hearing how the demons were powerless to bring the saints out of the state of prayer, despite the fact that they used the most incredible methods. After all, we compare this with our own human nature, and the saints deified it. What do they say about themselves? "But we are the mind of Christ, imams" (1 Corinthians 2:16). Understand, then, O men, they have the mind of Christ, and therefore they are not scattered.

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But let us not grumble, despair and be lazy. St. John Climacus acquired this Christ's mind in no other way than in the simple way he has just communicated to us. Let us follow it.

15. Feeling. This is a very important condition – that our prayer be inspired, prompt and profitable. But this quality in itself is already a gift of God, obtained by intensified and prolonged, fervent prayer. However, we must strive with all our efforts so that our prayer is accompanied by "reverence, contrition [of the heart] and spiritual pain in the confession of our falls, with silent sighs".55

Although we are not ascetics, in conclusion I will also mention the real demonic temptations that people encounter at prayer. For the enemy hates her more than anything in the world. In my opinion, the most effective and radical means for non-believers to know demons is to go to the cemetery at midnight (I even take a holy but solitary place; and not some swamp or thicket of forest) and stand up for prayer, of course, earnest, long and sincere, so that the demons see that this is not done out of curiosity. And then, depending on the feeling, such a person may even have to work for a short time before they come. I am only not sure whether they will not lose their minds after such an experience... So, I say, demons hate

prayer and in every way they try to drive the ascetic from it. Therefore, let a little be said about this. I will begin with invisible actions and end with visible manifestations.

1) "Some demons stir up laughter in us during prayer, in order to move God to be indignant at us," says St. John of the Ladder.56 Some urge us out of laziness to hurry when reading prayers and singing (sticheron, for example, in church), while others, on the contrary, urge us to sing more slowly... from self-gratification. Such is the cunning of demons! They can turn anywhere, now in one direction, in a minute in the opposite direction. And at the moment when a person thinks that the demons have departed and that he has a grace-filled tenderness from God, it is then that they tempt him and again and with greater force begin to imperceptibly attack him. And we do not even notice how we are being robbed by these invisible