Babbling, reciting prayers…
Never believe that true prayer consists in mere babbling, reciting so many psalms and vigils, saying your beads while you allow your thoughts to roam.
–Johannes Tauler (c. 1300-1361)
Sometimes during prayer…
Sometimes during a lengthy prayer only a few minutes are really pleasing to God, and constitute true prayer, true service to Him. The chief thing in prayer is the nearness of the heart to God.
–Saint John of Kronstadt (1829-1908)
When the Spirit dwells in a…
When the Spirit dwells in a person, prayer never from then on departs from his soul. Whether he is eating or drinking or sleeping or whatever else he is doing, even in deepest sleep, the fragrance of prayer rises without effort in his heart. Prayer never again deserts him. Even his silence is prayer, and the movements of his heart are like a secret and silent voice that sings to God.
–Saint Isaac of Syria (Seventh Century)
Prayer is a harbor…
Prayer is a harbor in the storms of life, an anchor for those who are storm-tossed, the treasure of the poor, the security of the rich, the healing of the sick, the preservation of health. Prayer banishes evil things, and preserve the good.
–Saint John Chrysostom (347-407)
Prayer is a conversation…
Prayer is… a conversation with God. Though whispering, consequently, and not opening the lips, we speak in silence, yet we cry inwardly. For God hears continually the whole inward conversation.
–Saint Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215)
Prayer and meditation…
Prayer and meditation are as necessary for the life of the spirit as fresh air, food, and sunlight are for the body. If we think of prayer as talking to God, with or without words, our own or those of others, then we can think of meditation as listening to God — an attitude of open, silent receptiveness.
–Molly Monahan (20th Century)
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