Prayer.

        Prayer occupies a central position in the spirituality of the Orthodox Church. Progress in spiritual life is virtually identifiable with progress in prayer. By prayer is meant not only frequent private and corporate prayer, but a life of prayer, a spiritual condition of the heart by which the believer prayerfully lives, thinks and acts with spontaneous awareness of the presence of God. Because of the personal nature of prayer and the immediacy with which it brings the believer before the living God, prayer is the delicate instrument which, by its depth and warmth, measures a person's spiritual growth. Silouan's life was dominated by prayer. From the day he entered the monastery he practiced the Jesus Prayer and soon was granted true prayer of the heart through the grace of the Holy Spirit. It is no wonder that Silouan found prayer a mighty weapon in his struggles, a key to the spiritual life.

        The Staretz had some simple but profound thoughts to share with his readers on prayer. Prayer is equally for all. The best thing one can do is simply to pray with whatever strength and knowledge he may have. God will honor the longing and the efforts of one who struggles in prayer and will give him more strength and knowledge in prayer. A child cannot walk except by taking his first steps. Prayer comes with praying. But it must be contrite and sincere. Instructs Silouan: “The Lord will give prayer to him who prays; and he of experience will know the assurance and love for God that comes to the mind. Although he be a sinful man‑the Lord will grant him to taste the fruits of prayer.”^[113]

        Silouan does not provide a formal definition of prayer. Yet it is clear from his notations that true spiritual prayer is to dwell with the mind and heart unceasingly with God. To think of God is already a prayer. The Staretz counsels that he who makes it a habit to think of God always carries God in his soul, just as one who always thinks of worldly things is absorbed by them. The more a believer thinks of God, the more he is fired with love and fervor towards Him. He who loves the Lord is always mindful of Him. Remembrance of God begets prayer. But without prayer who can love God? If one is forgetful of God, he will not dwell in the love of God, for the grace of the Holy Spirit which inflames the soul with divine love comes through prayer.

        Prayer is always and everywhere possible. The soul is the true temple of God. For the man who prays in his heart the whole universe is a church, says Silouan. Unceasing thanksgivings, spiritual songs and praises can go on in the believer's heart whose life is thus transformed into a living sacrifice to God. This is the true spiritual worship of which Christ spoke. No form of activity necessarily interferes with the person who yearns to abide in Christ and to practice daily inward prayer. The person who loves God can keep Him in mind day and night. But, warns Silouan, fault‑finding, idle talk ,and self‑indulgence are the death of prayer.

        What is one to ask in prayer? The believer should pray for understanding in all things and about what to do in all situations. Genuine prayer is accompanied by peace of God in the soul and by a tender feeling towards every living thing. For the believer who prays in a humble manner, the Lord Himself is the teacher. The Lord, who mercifully watches over us, will not lead us astray. Silouan was aware of people's doubts about the efficacy of prayer and their fears about deception. For Silouan the fruits of prayer, such as divine love, humility, compassion, peace and joy, testify to the veracity of prayer:

Some there are who say that prayer beguiles. This is not so. A man is beguiled by

listening to his own self, and not by prayer. All the saints lived in prayer, and called

others to prayer. Prayer is the path to God. By prayer we obtain humility, patience

and every good gift. The man who speaks against prayer has manifestly never

experienced the goodness of the Lord, and how greatly He loves us. No evil ever

comes from God. All the saints prayed without ceasing: they filled every moment

with prayer.^[114]

What about the problem of unanswered prayer? According to Silouan, not one prayer nor a single good thought is lost with God. However, God sometimes seems remote to us. We pray but God seems not to hear us. There may be several reasons for this, says the Saint. First, what we ask may be improper. Secondly, it may not be to our spiritual benefit. Finally, pride may separate us from nearness to God and invalidate our prayers.

        The highest form of prayer is the interior prayer of the heart, a spontaneous invocation of the Name of Jesus Christ. This uninterrupted calling upon the Name of the Lord, which is a gift, must be sought with great care, love, and humility. God bestows His gifts on the humble. When a person is mindful of the Lord, obedient and humble in all things, he receives the gift of interior prayer from the Lord Himself, and such prayer continues without difficulty deep in the heart. When one attains to such perfect prayer and continually dwells in God, he acquires exceeding spiritual sensitivity. In all his conversations with others, and in all his dealings with things, he does not speak and act, as it were, from “his own mind” but he speaks and acts according to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Such a person has become the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit and has acquired the mind of Christ. This dynamic state of prayer is a sublime gift and, cautions Silouan, one should not be presumptuous to think for himself that he has attained it. It is best to keep one's mind on Christ and avoid self‑conscious attention either to the fruits or heights of prayer.