Quotes

A collection of scriptural meditations from Saints and Fathers of the Church.

Prayer

He who prays with the lips, but neglects his soul and does not guard his heart, prays to the air and not to God; and he labors in vain, because God attends to the mind and fervor, and not to prolixity. One should pray with all one’s fervor, with one’s soul and mind & heart, with the fear of God, and with all one’s strength.

St. Dorotheus of Gaza

Prayer

There is yet another reason that may cause our prayer to go unanswered: namely, that though we pray we yet continue in sin.

St. John Chrysostom

Prayer

Bear in mind that prayer alone, unaccompanied by moral improvement, is useless.

St. Macarius of Optina

Prayer

Ask the angels and the saints to intercede for you, just as you'd ask people who are alive. Stand face to face with them, in the belief that they are also standing face to face with you.

St. John of Kronstadt

Prayer

The prayer of one who does not consider himself sinful is not well-pleasing to God.

St. Isaac the Syrian

Prayer

Prayer demands that the mind should be pure of all thought and should admit nothing not belonging to prayer, even if it were good in itself. As if inspired by God the mind should withdraw from all things and hold its converse with Him alone.

St. Nilus of Sinai

Prayer

Prayer attunes us for converse with God and, through long practice, leads us to friendship with Him.

St. Nilus of Sinai

Prayer

To pray with self-constraint is in our power, whereas to pray with compunction depends upon God. We must pray with what prayer we can, and for our self-constraint God will give us compunction also in due time, when this is pleasing to Him.

St. Joseph of Optina

Prayer

The fruit of prayer consists in illumination of mind and compunction of heart, in the quickening of the soul with the life of the Spirit.

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

Prayer

The joint prayer of husband and wife is a great force.

St. Macarius of Optina

Prayer

Pray firstly to be purified of passions, secondly to be freed from ignorance and forgetfulness, and thirdly to be delivered from all temptation and forsaking.

St. Nilus of Sinai

Prayer

It is natural for the poor man to beg, and it is natural for man made poor by the fall into sin to pray.

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

Prayer

If someone should ask: how am I to pray?, the answer is very simple: fear God. Experience of the fear of God arouses attention and consciousness in the heart and forces it to stand with devotion before God.

St. Theophan the Recluse

Prayer

How can one avoid distractions in prayer? If one abides in the presence of God. Indeed, when in the presence of one's judge and one's master, and speaking with him, one does not let one's eyes wander elsewhere. How much more should the one who approaches the Lord never turn away the eye of his heart, but fix it on Him who searches the reins and the heart.

St. Basil the Great

Prayer

To bear a grudge and pray, means to sow seed on the sea and expect a harvest.

St. Isaac the Syrian

Prayer

Tedium is the granddaughter of despondency, and the daughter of slothfulness. In order to drive it away, labor at your work, and do not be slothful in prayer. The tedium will pass, and zeal will come. And if to this you add patience and humility, then you will be rid of all misfortunes and evils.

St. Ambrose of Optina

Prayer

That prayer may be poured forth with that fervor and singleness of heart that it ought to have, these rules must always be observed. In the first place, anxiety concerning the things of the flesh must be altogether be put away; then we must not allow to enter our minds any thought or even memory of worldly cares or business. We must cut off slanderings, vain words or many words, jestings and the like. We must root out the disturbances of anger especially, and despondency, and also tear up the evil roots of carnal lust and avarice. And so with these and similar faults done entirely away with and cut off, - things which can also be discerned by human eyes - and with such a cleansing and purifying as we have mentioned first carried out in the sincerity of simplicity and innocence, we must lay the unshakable foundations of humility strong enough to sustain a tower which shall pierce the heavens.

St. John Cassian

Prayer

When you pray fervently, watch, for there will be temptations. This happens to everyone.

St. Ambrose of Optina

Parish

Faith

Ministries

News

Calendar

Contact

There is yet another reason that may cause our prayer to go unanswered: namely, that though we pray we yet continue in sin.

Bear in mind that prayer alone, unaccompanied by moral improvement, is useless.

Ask the angels and the saints to intercede for you, just as you'd ask people who are alive. Stand face to face with them, in the belief that they are also standing face to face with you.

The prayer of one who does not consider himself sinful is not well-pleasing to God.

Prayer demands that the mind should be pure of all thought and should admit nothing not belonging to prayer, even if it were good in itself. As if inspired by God the mind should withdraw from all things and hold its converse with Him alone.

Prayer attunes us for converse with God and, through long practice, leads us to friendship with Him.

To pray with self-constraint is in our power, whereas to pray with compunction depends upon God. We must pray with what prayer we can, and for our self-constraint God will give us compunction also in due time, when this is pleasing to Him.

The fruit of prayer consists in illumination of mind and compunction of heart, in the quickening of the soul with the life of the Spirit.

The joint prayer of husband and wife is a great force.

Pray firstly to be purified of passions, secondly to be freed from ignorance and forgetfulness, and thirdly to be delivered from all temptation and forsaking.

It is natural for the poor man to beg, and it is natural for man made poor by the fall into sin to pray.

If someone should ask: how am I to pray?, the answer is very simple: fear God. Experience of the fear of God arouses attention and consciousness in the heart and forces it to stand with devotion before God.

To bear a grudge and pray, means to sow seed on the sea and expect a harvest.

Tedium is the granddaughter of despondency, and the daughter of slothfulness. In order to drive it away, labor at your work, and do not be slothful in prayer. The tedium will pass, and zeal will come. And if to this you add patience and humility, then you will be rid of all misfortunes and evils.

When you pray fervently, watch, for there will be temptations. This happens to everyone.

St. Romanos the Melodist, Kontakia on Fasting

Join our Parish Mailing List