About Prayer. Pay full attention to the words of a prayer. If your thoughts start wandering, rebuke yourself, “open yourself to God” and force your attention again to focus on the words of the prayer. And little by little, your heart will soften, though from time to time it would object, and sometimes, tearfully. At such moments, wholly give yourself up to prayer and disregard the enemy’s inducements, who will find thousands of reasons for you to break up praying and start doing something else.
Read what Ignatius (Brianchaninov) wrote about prayer in the first volume, and especially in the 2nd volume of his works. An absent-minded prayer, in his opinion, must be considered as sin, as coming from the devil. Knowing how much good praying does to man, the devil is trying in every possible way to distract a praying person from the prayer. Detect devil’s plots and ignore him.
Having trust in oneself is not wise; and doing repenting is necessary. The Lord has come to save sinners, who are repenting sinners. Judas committed a sin but did not repent it, fall into despair and perished. Apostle Peter repented and was restored in his apostolic status. Jerusalem committed sins and underwent terrible destruction. The same fate befell Sodom and Gomorrah, Chorazin, Bethaida, Capernaum, but Nineveh repented and was saved. We all are sinners and all need repentance; only repentant are redeemed by the Sacrifice of the Savior on the Cross.
Also, the Lord said addressing those, whose sins he had forgiven: “Go and sin no more.” We should undertake every effort not to fall down into the abyss of sinfulness. When man stands on the brink of the abyss, it is easy to push him and he will fall down. When he is far from it, he will have to be drawn closer to it, in which case he will have time to cry for help. Therefore, a frequently given advice is to keep off the places where it is easy to commit sins.
Dear O., “draw yourself away from the earth and cling to God,” as St. Sisoy the Great advised. All earthly things will pass and disappear as mist, and if our soul was filled only with earthly things, with what will we be left? Do have compassion for yourself, seek salvation. What profit is it to you, if you “gain the whole world and lose your own soul?” Do not participate in Godless talks, do not read or watch the atheistic rubbish. May the Lord enlighten you!
* * *