“For the glory of God” and a little speech therapy / Pravoslavie.Ru

“For the glory of God” and a little speech therapy

Svetlana rightly considered humility to be the main virtue and took a very responsible approach to its formation and education. More often than not, others do. She saw herself as a humbling instrument, suppressing all passions and eliminating the shortcomings of her neighbors - especially anger, pride, theological ignorance and indiscipline.

Her character was rather complex. To begin with, she was no Svetlana: whoever dared to call her that received (for free) a small Greek lesson and - even more free - an exercise in angerlessness, which lasted a little longer.

Photinia taught everyone, crushing the idols of spiritual illiteracy with the hammer of humility

Photinia taught everyone, crushing the idols of spiritual illiteracy with the hammer of humility and desire for good to one's neighbor. Only the abbot was exempt from lessons, to whom she awarded the rank of “my father.” He rejoiced at the opportunity to skip classes: the tests from the dean and the tests from the metropolitan were quite enough for the constant cultivation of the seeds of the most important virtue. But, once faced with the tearful murmur of young parishioners, whom, together with the kids, Photinia considered the main object of her mission, he could not restrain himself and called her “The Hammer of the Witches.” Although he embarrassedly asked, firstly, not to talk too much about it, and secondly, to still have indulgence and bear Fotinya’s burdens: “Well, I have no one else to put behind the box and in the refectory too! She works for almost nothing!” Young parishioners and their children even wiped away their tears and smiled on this occasion. But not for long, of course: they had to take a course in correct vocabulary and hand-folding.

Worldly nasty words and phrases: “thank you”, “please”, “bon appetit”, “permit me”, “be kind”, etc. were completely banned throughout the entire territory of the seditious parish. Photinia very carefully monitored the removal of them from her charges and simply did not respond to requests, wishes, neutral informative messages expressed using incorrect, or even downright heretical, vocabulary. That is, neither buy a candle nor drink tea: speak correctly, for the glory of God, then God (and Photinia) will give, which is what you will receive.

The parish was humbled with all its might. How sincere is unknown

Hand folding is also important. So simply, without the correct angle at which you need to fold your palms, you cannot take a blessing from Father Fotiny. The degree of folding of the hands was determined by the Hammer himself, leading the parishioners and their children to the priest. Here everything was at her discretion: some people got a palm angle of 90 degrees, some 45 degrees, and some even got a “bucket” angle. True Orthodoxy, my brother, is a cunning science! The parish was humbled with all its might. How sincere is unknown.

The end of Photinia’s teaching activity was put by a five-year-old child who, despite the admonitions and even the prohibition of an uninvited teacher, stubbornly wanted to go to confession after the all-night vigil. She used, it seems, her entire forbidden arsenal: with her breasts she stood in the way of the child’s confession, who until the age of seven seems to be sinless and therefore does not need confession, and in a whisper capable of bringing back to consciousness a company of fainting deaf-mutes, she appealed to the conscience of her ignorant parents, In general, it was a big nuisance. While the adults were struggling with passions, the sinless child, with a force that came from nowhere, pushed Fotinia’s body away from the path to confession, where the sad abbot stood, and, looking into her eyes, smiling, lisped: “Aunt Fotya! Shut up for the glory of God, will you?” While Svetlana was gasping for air, the child walked to the priest, who was considerably cheerful. What they talked about there is none of our business, but the child’s confession, in addition to the remission of sins, greatly contributed to the establishment of silence at the services and the complete cessation of pacifying impulses not addressed to oneself. And Sveta somehow became kinder after this incident: she gives out candy to children, sometimes. And from the Witches Hammer she became the Candy Light. Which I seem to be very happy about. And we are so glad – we can’t describe it enough.

What does “to the glory of God” mean?

I admit, I was taken aback: they told me a story that made my hair stand on end. It is as terrible as it is simple, although there is a place for sad humor in it.

On the eve of the bishop's visit, the young archpriest responsible for its organization came to the parish. I went straight to the altar to talk privately with the rector about the intricacies of the bishop’s presence in the delighted parish.

It didn’t work out completely tete-a-tete: after the liturgy, the altar servers remained here, but judging by the confident behavior of the archpriest, known only from publications about appointments on the decisively and irrevocably updated diocesan website, the presence of this little thing did not bother him at all. But the abbot was embarrassed. Especially when I saw how the newcomer sat down in a chair and crossed his legs. “It’s interesting what a meeting room we have!” - the abbot said to the uninvited guest, having come to his senses, and suggested moving from the altar to at least the refectory. He was not at all embarrassed: “Nothing, I’ll be quick. So, father, the day after tomorrow the bishop is serving with you - please, prepare envelopes of gratitude: to himself, to the choir, to the concelebrating guests, to the deacons. In general, you know it yourself. Plus lunch, this and that, the total is not much: forty thousand. We must honor our father."

It was not so much the mentioned amount that outraged the priest, it was the mention of some envelopes that aroused his anger. I remembered the hard years when he had his own business, how they tried to survive, and from time to time they had to “resolve issues” with the mafia, the “roof” and the police (not with Gleb Zheglov, of course). They behaved in exactly the same way: calmly, openly, insolently - “you need this for your own safety.” "We work together". Sometimes we managed to fight back, sometimes not. But the Father Superior had to stop the business in the end.

And now this “envelope archpriest” sitting in the altar, demanding “just a forty-year anniversary,” oh, how he refreshed that vile past in the rector’s memory. It never happened that bribes were collected. And here it’s so simple: “The father must be honored. Forty years old."

“Do you know it yourself?” No, I do not know. “That’s not our custom,” the abbot said sharply. – Who do you pretend the bishop is? We have a large family with many children, and if I come home and demand money from the children, to put it mildly, neither my spouse nor my children will understand me. They'll throw me out. Or they'll send you to a mental hospital. And they will do the right thing. It’s me who should give money to the family, and not her who should please me, don’t you think? The same applies to the church community. And besides, our parish is in debt for electricity and repairs - there is simply no money. By the way, would you like to help pay?”

The alien nervously asked: “What about your sponsors? Do you work with them? Don't they help you? He definitely didn’t like the priest’s answer: “Sorry, but the church doesn’t have “sponsors” - we have benefactors. And we don’t “work” with them, but serve God together. Yes, people help the temple, and thanks to their help we live. In difficult conditions, by the way.”

The reaction of the young interlocutor stretched out in a chair made, according to the rector, remember that same gospel whip and regret its absence. "Here! So you tell these sponsors that you need money to pay bills and repairs, and send this money in an envelope - what’s the problem?”

“The problem, you know, is that lying is an unworthy thing. The parish carefully pays diocesan dues; we understand perfectly well that there are other churches and communities that need our common help. But to lie to philanthropists, they say, they need to pay for “utilities”, and to put the money themselves in an incomprehensible envelope - excuse me, this is a very strange phenomenon. We are used to trusting each other and respecting the bishop. We will see the Bishop with joy, we will arrange a meal to the best of our ability, black caviar, however, we cannot promise. But the kind of behavior you propose is unlikely to promote love and respect, don’t you think?”

Here the person sitting at the altar switched to a semi-confidential “you”: “You are forgetting yourself, father. So you can lose your place. We'll take note of you." I thought it would scare me. Yeah, not in our area. Scared. I received a calm answer: “Yes, please.” This confused him, apparently, so much that he looked around restlessly. And he even stood up. I understand that threats will not help. Not the case.

And here he uttered a phrase that, in my opinion, is worthy of being included in the chronicle of the revival of spiritual life in Rus'. This chronicle is not always joyful. Either making excuses, or defending his uninvited presence, he said: “Well, sometimes we served in our south “for the glory of God.” And left.

After the bishop's visit to the parish, the priest was removed from his position as rector. But he wasn't upset at all. And he says “for the glory of God” without quotation marks. So you can still call Holy Rus'. His parishioners love him very much.

Petr Davydov, publicist

The glory of God is the call for our sanctification.

What is glory?

"God bless! God bless! God bless!" - how often do we say this!

And today we will reflect on glory.

Three baits, three temptations, three snakes take a person in a ring and try not to let go of his whole life - money, power and fame. Not everyone achieves them.

Most limit themselves to little things: to have authority, respect, fame, at least in their home, in their yard, on their street.

But those who have achieved at least one (money, power or fame), with the tenacity of a maniac, rush to the rest.

If you have money, give us power.

Power has appeared, give glory.

On the land where you and I live, from ancient times there has been a reverent attitude towards glory.

They composed epics and songs about glorious people... They gave names that were supposed to bring glory to their bearers - Yaroslav, Vladislav, Mstislav, Rostislav. The cities were named Slavgorod, Pereyaslavl.

Watchmen in old Slavic cities shouted at night not “Everything is calm on the street of blacksmiths!”, but “Glorious is the blacksmith’s end!”, “Glorious is the carpenter’s end!” (the streets in those days were called “ends”)

We are called Slavs because, apparently, the word “glory” was most often on the lips of our ancestors.

There are three meanings of the word "Glory" -

honorable fame as evidence of universal recognition of merit, talent, and universal respect; (“glorious commander, famous singer”)

rumors, rumors; (“how he was glorified”; “good glory lies, but bad glory runs along the path”)

generally accepted opinion, reputation. (“He enjoys the reputation of an outstanding speaker”)

How is a person glorified?

They will know that he exists. They learn that he can do something outstanding (sings beautifully, is a great commander, is rich, has power).

When his name is mentioned, they remember who he is and what he did (Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Alla Pugacheva, etc.) - and then they say: “Wow, this is a famous man!”

There are 8 different Hebrew words for glory in the Bible (3 of them appear most often, 5 appear only once):

Hod – “fame, fame” – something that causes admiration;

Tipharah - splendor, goodness, glory;

Kabot – meaning, honor, glory (most often) – God of glory, King of glory, “shekinah”)

New Testament (Greek) – doksa – the glory of the Creator and the glory of creation.

What is the glory of God?

The first thing that comes to mind is the “Shekinah” - the pillar of fire and cloud that led the Jews from Egypt, and which stood over the lid of the Ark of the Covenant.

Exodus 13/21 “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, showing them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire, giving them light, that they might go day and night.”

The second thing that comes to mind is that the Glory of God is light.

The shining face of Moses.

Exodus 34/29 “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses’ hand as he descended from the mountain, Moses did not know that his face began to shine with rays because [God] spoke to him.”

Acts – Paul's blindness.

Acts 22/6 “Now while I was on the road and approaching Damascus, about noon suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.”

Illumination of the New Jerusalem.

Revelations 21/23 “And the city has no need of the sun or the moon to give its light, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and the Lamb is its lamp.”

And finally, the Glory of God is the glory that is repeatedly raised to heaven by biblical heroes, and which believers have been giving to God for several millennia:

Our God is Almighty, Omnipresent, All-Wise, Eternal, Merciful, Just, Loving, Kind, Generous, Merciful, Triune, Creator, Savior, Comforter, Healer, etc.

What do these words mean? The qualities of God - we are trying to describe in our weak human language what He, our Lord, is like. In fact, this is information about God:

We got it from the Bible. We bring it to the world by evangelizing. We return it to God - glorifying Him.

The glory of God - information about God - how dry, prosaic, unspiritual - isn't it? How crazy it sounds: “I will write My law on the CD-ROM of your heart.” And how much more spiritual and poetic: “...on the tablets of your heart.”

But after all... “No one has ever seen God.” John 1/18

How could he tell people about Himself, about His perfection, and attract them to Himself? Only by showing people His Glory.

Exodus 16/10 “And as Aaron spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, they looked towards the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.”

So, the Glory of God is the visible qualities of God, which He decided, in His great mercy, to show to people.

What the Glory of God can do and how the Glory of God works.

For the first time, the glory of God appeared on Easter night before the chosen people to illuminate their path in the darkness to freedom.

Exodus 13/22 “The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from the presence of the people.”

Isn't that the case now? We are in trouble: I had a quarrel with my wife, there was trouble at work, I was cursed at on the trolleybus, I was climbing the stairs - I tripped and fell, I turned around awkwardly - I also tore my jacket, you are waiting in horror - what's next - there is pitch darkness all around, but God has glorified himself, having told through His word about Himself as a source of Light, saying:

Isaiah 60/1,2 “Arise, shine, [Jerusalem], for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and darkness the nations; and the Lord will shine upon you, and His glory will appear upon you.”

And now we have cheered up, and boldly look forward, and not anxiety, but joy that our Savior is with us fills our hearts. Was it not the Glory of God that illuminated our path? That knowledge about our God that turned us to the source of light!

The glory of God led the people of God at night. Isn't that the case now? We are often in difficulty and don’t know where to go, what decision to make: take this job or wait for another, get married or not get married. Psalm 119/105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

And the only right decision suddenly comes either through a person, or through revelation in prayer, or through circumstances. And what are our first words after God’s answer? God bless!

So isn’t it the glory of God that stands before and behind this decision, for we glorified God for it! Was it not a pillar of cloud, or the glory of God, that stood between the Jews and the Egyptian army, protecting Israel from what seemed inevitable destruction.

Exodus 14/19,20 “And the angel of God that went before the camp of Israel moved, and went behind them; The pillar of cloud also moved from before them and stood behind them; and he entered into the midst between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel, and was a cloud and darkness [to some] and illuminated the night [to others], and the one did not draw near to the other all the night.”

Isn’t it so even now, the Lord protects us from danger with the glory of His Name alone. I remember how one sister testified in our church, how at night she was returning home and some man attacked her - she just told him that she believed in God, and he, embarrassed, did not touch her and ran away. Was it not the glory of God's Name that saved her?

And how many times is it the glory of God, like our memory that we are children of God (or, more simply, that information about our adoption by the Lord, which is in the mind of each of us) kept us from rash actions - from swearing, from the desire to appropriate someone else’s property? , from adultery, and even from murder? Who has this happened to?

The glory of God was between the cherubim above the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. Through her, God communicated with his people: Exodus 25/21,22 “And put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and put in the ark the testimony that I will give you; there I will reveal myself to you and speak to you above the mercy seat, in the midst of the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony, about everything that I will command through you to the children of Israel.”

Through His Glory, the Lord gave the Law and guided His people. And today does the Glory of God give the law and guide God’s people?

No tabernacle, no ark, no mercy seat!!! But His Glory is!!! Let us remember the prosaic conclusion at the beginning of our reflection: The Glory of God - information about God: Here it is!!! (Show Bible).

She tells us about God?! Through her does God lead His people?!

And finally, the Glory of God appeared before humanity in the flesh and accomplished its main work in the universe. Isaiah predicted this 700 years before the fulfillment of the prophecy: Isaiah 40/5 “...and the glory of the Lord will appear, and all flesh will see [the salvation of God]; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.”

And 2000 years ago this happened: Hebrews 1/3 “He, being the radiance of glory and the image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, having made an atonement for our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high...” He, Jesus Christ, The Glory of the Lord still saves – here before me are the saved Children of God! Who saved us?!

And now about the future:

This does not exist yet, but I believe it will happen. The day will come when we will fully see the glory of God: Revelations 21/10,11 “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, which came down out of heaven from God. He has the glory of God."

Revelations 21/3 “And I heard a loud voice from heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them; they will be His people, and God Himself with them will be their God.”

And now, from what we have now found, we will build the chain of our life, and I will ask you to say amen, if you agree that the path of each of us began this way, continues this way and will end this way:

We are found in this world by the glory of God - we are told about God and salvation. We have been saved by the glory of God from the curse of sin - Jesus, the glory of God in the flesh, saved us by his death and resurrection. The glory of God illuminates our path, guides us, protects us, heals us, preserves us. We will come face to face with the glory of God in the New Jerusalem. Amen?!

The Christian's calling is to reflect the Glory of God.

But then who are we, standing before God and looking at him through His glory? (take a mirror out of your pocket) A true Christian is simply a mirror in which God is reflected, or rather that part of God that He allowed a mortal to see - His Glory.

Do you know how mirrors are made?

They take glass fragments (glass scraps: old bottles, scraps from glass workshops, broken glassware, etc.) or silicon oxide (ordinary sand, dust). Does the source material remind you of anyone? Genesis 2/7 “And the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground...” Psalm 1/4 “Not so the wicked; but they are like dust blown by the wind.”

...and throws himself into a furnace heated to 1000 degrees...

Our repentance. Our test is loyalty to God.

Matthew 3/11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who comes after me is mightier than I; I am not worthy to carry His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."

...then the molten mass is poured onto a perfectly flat surface...

We find ourselves in the Church of God and here our crooked, sinful person begins to straighten out...

...as soon as the glass begins to harden, it is fed between two steel rollers, where its planes become even more even...

Already in church, we are surprised to see that God continues to work on us: he convicts, changes, teaches...

...what sticks out too much in us lowers – pride, anger, selfishness...

...what is too low raises – love, kindness, mercy...

But for glass to turn into a mirror, rolling it through rollers is not enough. The glass is polished.

If this is not done, we will see in a mirror made of such glass not our own face, but a freak with different eyes, a distorted mouth and a square head...

Have you ever been in a laughter room - it’s funny there, but in real life it’s sad.

God is constantly perfecting us: Romans 8/29 “For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”

...and finally, the last operation, silver is applied to the polished glass.

Apply in a continuous layer, avoiding gaps and scratches.

Isn’t silver reflecting the image of God – that Word, that Law, which we, with God’s help, transfer from here (the Bible) to here (the heart).

Look, (point the mirror into the hall) it reflects the light, as we should reflect the glory of God.

Let's see if on the surface of our mirrors there are any traces of the dirty fingers of this world - money-grubbing, pride, impurity - they obscure the glory of God.

Are there scratches on it from constant, “small” sins that we have not yet gotten rid of - they cut the image of God in the mirrors of our hearts with black lines and distort It.

Let's look at our souls from different angles to see if they are distorted by intentional or unintentional exaggeration of some aspects of the Word of God and understatement of others.

Let's see whether the silver completely covers the surface of our mirror - whether all the commandments of God really live in our hearts or only those that we like. After all, if in some places there is no silver, in the mirror we see not a reflection, but the world behind its surface. And if we are called to reflect the glory of God, then whoever looks at us will see not the glory of God, but the world!

And if everything in us is finally perfect, and the person or God looking at us really sees in us the glory of God, we may someday be able to proudly say like the Apostle Paul: Galatians 2/19,20 “By the law I died to the law, to live for God. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”

And finally, the last thing - in what direction do we reflect the glory of God?

First, to the world: And if we are a good mirror, then the one looking at us will say: “Oh, this man is truly the son of God!” But if we allow deviations from God’s principles in our actions, and vanity and impurity in our words, we may hear the distressing: “Yes, I know these Christians! They are exactly like us! They’re just pretending to be clean!”

What?! Have you ever heard?!

The world should see us as a reflection of God's glory in our evangelism and in our lives. And if our life does not reflect the glory of God, the good news of salvation that we proclaim is in vain. But if we live according to God and do not preach the gospel, we are simply hiding part of the glory of God from the world.

And now, we will turn our mirror like this (turn the mirror up). Then we reflect the glory of God to heaven. What kind of image is this?

Well, of course! We glorify God! Praise in church occupies an important place in the life of a Christian: with our weak voices we sing of the greatness, holiness, mercy, love of our God in song and prayer.

But the glory of God ascends to heaven even in the case when we simply act in the Divine way - remember, our deeds will go with us into the Kingdom of God, and condemns or praises us for them.

So what did we learn today?

What is the glory of man and the glory of God. What the glory of God can do and how it comes to us. We learned that it is more blessed for man and Christian to be a straight and pure mirror, reflecting the glory of God into the world and into heaven.

Is all the Glory of God revealed to us? Most likely no:

Can finite man comprehend the full glory of the infinite God?

But the time will come when the faithful will see the full glory of God.

First, changing now, reflecting the glory of God: “But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:18).

And secondly, appearing before him face to face: ... and blessed is the name of His glory forever, and the whole earth will be filled with His glory. Amen and amen. (Ps. 71:19)

And then......saved nations will walk in its light... (Rev.21:24)

I say to those who do not glorify God as their personal Savior: Join those saved who will see the fullness of the glory of God. Become a mirror reflecting the glory of God.

Amen

Preacher: Brother A.

golgofa.kiev.ua

The Royal Path to Salvation

St. Apostle Paul said: “pray without ceasing,” and “do everything for the glory of God,” “this is acceptable and acceptable in the sight of our Savior God” (1 Thess. 5:17; 1 Cor. 10:31; 1 Tim. 2:3) . To pray unceasingly does not mean to stand before St. icons and pray all day, although you need to pray at a certain time. You can and should pray for every task, as St. John Chrysostom: “You can pray while sitting at a spinning wheel and raise your mind to the God of minds, who looks at our mind and heart.” So, while doing everyday things (which no one can do without), one can and should pray, and from the visible, tangible objective world, transfer one’s thoughts to the invisible name of God.

For example: looking at the fire, either in a stove, or in a primus stove, or in a lamp, or anywhere, say to yourself mentally: Lord, deliver me from eternal fire! And in this way you will humble your thoughts and a sigh will imperceptibly appear in your chest and by this you will attract the grace of the Holy Spirit, which at the moment of sigh in your soul in an imperceptible way creates your salvation.

For the Holy Scripture also says: “Whenever you breathe, then you will be saved” (Is. 30:15). And also: “St. By the Spirit every soul is alive and exalted by purity,” i.e. purity of heart, and this purity comes from purity of mind.

This is how important it is for us to pay attention to our thoughts and imagination, from this “the origin of the belly and death!” those. Either eternal life or eternal torment!..

We must move from a visible object to the invisible name of God in all our cases and activities without exception: whether you are washing clothes, or anything else, or cleaning any object - say to yourself (mentally): Lord, cleanse the filth of my soul! Also, when you begin to drink or eat after the usual prayer, think about how the Lord our God tasted our bile and ocet for the sake of salvation, and offers us all good things! In this way, you will humble your proud thoughts and sigh and thank the Lord who suffered for us!

When you go to bed, say to yourself mentally: Our Lord and God did not have anywhere to lay our heads, but He granted us every comfort.

When you wake up, cross yourself, and when you get up from sleep, say to yourself: Glory to You, who showed us the light!

As you begin to put on your shoes, say mentally: Lord bless, Lord help!

When you get dressed, say to yourself (mentally): Lord, enlighten the robe of my soul and save me!

When you begin to wash yourself, be sure to cross yourself to drive away the enemy’s action coming through the watery nature.

As you begin to comb your hair, remember how the Roman soldiers tormented our Savior for His pure hair when they led Him to the crucifixion, and then say: “Glory to Your Passion, Lord!”

If you see a beautiful object worthy of our Creator and Provider of His creation - glorify the Creator of all!

Before leaving your room, read mentally: “It is worthy to eat...” to the end, and also, when you come back, read the same prayer.

When you leave a room (or cell) and grab the door handle, mentally read the prayer: “Doors of mercy...” to the end.

So, always, with every visible object, switch (mentally) to the invisible name of God.

Here are just examples, but whoever undertakes to do this with zeal will be taught by the grace of the Holy Spirit how to relate to every (without exception) subject and do everything for the glory of God, with appropriate thoughts and feelings, i.e. movements of the soul: either glorifying, or grateful, or repentant, or self-deprecating; This kind of movement of the soul is already prayer, as St. Basil the Great.

By acting in this way, a person will be in a state of unceasing prayer, according to the word of St. Apostle Paul, and, therefore, in unity with God, Who said: “Whoever is not with Me is against Me” (Matthew 12:30).

Therefore, always, in all deeds and undertakings without exception, accustom yourself to the memory of God; and in order to get used to it, we must ask the Lord for gracious help and blessings to strengthen our will, in order to move mentally from a visible object to the invisible name of God, which brings down gracious help to us in the matter of saving the soul and for all our deeds and undertakings.

By acting in this way, you will do everything for the glory of God according to the teachings of St. Apostle, and at the same time you will have a godly and saving prayer, which, so to speak, is prompted by every object that exists before our eyes.

And when despondency or hardness of heart attacks us, preventing us from praying, then, in order to drive away such demonic temptation, we must say to ourselves: “Lord, I have neither tenderness, nor zeal, nor contrition to pray to You properly!”

After such heartfelt contrition, God will give a godly and saving prayer, since God will not despise a contrite and humble heart, i.e. will not leave you without help.

With such concern for the glory of God and the creation of the weakness of our nature, the gracious power of God will dwell in you and you will be among those about whom the Apostle of Christ spoke; “children, I am sick for you until Christ dwells in you” (Gal. 4:19)!

The Kingdom of God does not open to those in whom Christ has not yet entered here on earth (according to his faith); and where Christ is, there is unstoppable light and there is no darkness; and you will have peace and joy in your soul because of the presence in your heart of the grace of the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of our salvation and eternal joy in heaven.

Orthodox Life

To pray unceasingly does not mean to stand before St. icons and pray all day, although you need to pray at a certain time. You can and should pray for every task, as St. John Chrysostom: “You can pray while sitting at a spinning wheel and raise your mind to the God of minds, who looks at our mind and heart.”

So, while doing everyday things (which no one can do without), one can and should pray, and from the visible, tangible objective world, transfer one’s thoughts to the invisible name of God.