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

One should nourish the soul with the word of God: for the word of God, as St. Gregory the Theologian says, is angelic bread, by which are nourished souls who hunger for God. Most of all, one should occupy oneself with reading the New Testament and the Psalter, which one should do standing up. From this there occurs an enlightenment in the mind, which is in the mind, which is changed by a Divine change.

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

The head of every good striving and the pinnacle of all corrections is to persevere in prayer, by which we may ever obtain, through entreaty of God, all the other virtues as well. By prayer those who are worthy partake of the sanctity of God and spiritual activity and the union of the mind with the Lord in unutterable love. He who constantly forces himself to endure in prayer is roused by spiritual love to Divine fervor and flaming desire towards God, and he receives, according to his measure, the grace of spiritual, sanctifying perfection.

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.

Prayer is a remedy against grief and depression.

Undistracted prayer is the highest doing of the mind.

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

The Scriptures were not given merely that we might have them in books, but that we might engrave them on our hearts.

The most important thing in any good effort and the height of all activities is to persevere in prayer, by means of which we can always acquire through supplication the other virtues from God as well.

Prayer is the breathing of the soul.

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.

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

We have become so inattentive to the work of our salvation that we misinterpret many other words in Holy Scripture as well, all because we do not seek the grace of God and in the pride of our minds do not allow it to dwell in our souls. That is why we are without true enlightenment from the Lord, which He sends into the hearts of men who hunger and thirst wholeheartedly for God’s righteousness or holiness.

Reading the scriptures is a great safeguard against sin.

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

The best form of prayer is one that implants the clearest idea of God in the soul and thus makes space for the presence of God within us.

He who has tasted the things on high easily despises what is below. But he who has not tasted the things above finds joy in possessions.

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

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

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440-526-5192 (Phone)