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

Prayer is a remedy against grief and depression.

If you want to pray properly, do not let yourself be upset or you will run in vain.

Every evening we must test ourselves as to how the day passed with us, and every morning we again should test ourselves as to how the night passed.

For while the body is bowed to the ground the mouth babbles idly, and the mind wanders here and there through the house, through the market place, how can such a person say he has prayed before the face of God? He prays before the face of the Lord who contains his soul in every direction, and withdraws it from all that is earthly, and, thrusting aside every human reflection, raises it up towards heaven.

What air is for the life of the body, the Holy Spirit is for the life of the soul. By means of prayer, the soul breathes this holy, mysterious air.

Before the war begins, seek out your ally; before you fall ill, seek out your physician; and before grievous things come upon you, pray, and in the time of your tribulations you will find Him, and He will listen to you.

Do you wish God to hear your prayer immediately, brother? When you lift your hands up to heaven, pray first of all, with your heart, for your enemies and God will grant you speedily whatever else you request.

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.

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.

A servant of the Lord is he who in body stands before men, but in mind knocks at Heaven with prayer.

When you are praying alone, and your spirit is dejected, and you are wearied and oppressed by your loneliness, remember then, as always, that God the Trinity looks upon you with eyes brighter than the sun; also all the angels, your own Guardian Angel, and all the Saints of God. Truly they do; for they are all one in God, and where God is, there are they also. Where the sun is, thither also are directed all its rays. Try to understand what this means.

If a man tries to overcome temptations without prayer and patient endurance, he will become more entangled in them instead of driving them away.

Feeding the hungry is a greater work than raising the dead.

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

You should not make long prayer, for it is better to pray little but often. Superfluous words are idle talk.

As a bird without wings, as a soldier without arms, so is a Christian without prayer.

Only the benumbed soul doesn’t pray. Preserve in yourselves the feeling of need, and you will always have stimulation for prayer.

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

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Archangel Michael Orthodox Church
5025 E. Mill Rd
Broadview Heights, Ohio 44147

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440-526-5192 (Phone)