Strive in prayer…
You should strive in your prayer for a pure conscience, a will that is wholly with God, and a mind truly set upon Him.
–Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591)
Approach God with…
When you come before God in prayer, be in your thought like an ant, like something crawling on the ground, like a child lisping. And in his presence make no pretence of knowledge. Approach God rather with the heart of a child. Go into his presence to receive the loving care with which parents look after their little children.
–Saint Isaac of Syria (Seventh Century)
Pray to acquire tears…
First of all, pray to acquire tears, in order to soften with mourning the savageness of your soul. You will then easily confess with honesty before the Lord all the sins that you have committed and you shall receive forgiveness from Him. Use your tears to succeed in every request of yours. For the Lord is greatly pleased when you pray with tears. If during your prayer you shed fountains of tears, do not pride yourself that you are above many others. This is not your accomplishment; it is assistance for your prayer from the Lord, so that you will be able to thus confess your sins willingly and appease Him. When you believe that you do not need tears in your prayer for your sins, consider how far you have drifted away from God, when “you should constantly be near Him” and then you will weep more fervently.
–Saint Nilus of Sinai (d. 430)
Pray as you were taught…
Do not pray for your desires to be realized, because they certainly do not agree with the will of God; but rather, as you were taught, say in your prayer: “Let Your Will be done” (Matt 6:10), and for every single thing, you should likewise ask God that His Will be done, because He wants whatever is best and beneficial for your soul.
–Saint Nilus of Sinai (d. 430)
Pray with joy…
If you are patient, you will always pray with joy. Strive to keep your mind deaf and mute during the hour of prayer. Only thus will you be able to pray.
–Saint Nilus of Sinai (d. 430)
Prayer must lead us…
Prayer must lead us beyond mind, words, and ideas to a more spacious place where God has a chance to get in.
–Richard Rohr (1943-
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