To have faith in Christ means more than simply despising the delights of this life. It means we should bear all our daily trials that may bring us sorrow, distress, or unhappiness, and bear them patiently for as long as God wishes and until He comes to visit us. For it is said: `I waited on the Lord and He came to me.'

"Whoever hammers a lump of iron first decides what he is going to make from it, a scythe, a sword, or an ax. Even so we ought to make up our minds about what kind of virtue we want to forge, or we labor in vain."

One must always remember that success in any aspect of the spiritual life is the fruit of the grace of God. Spiritual life comes entirely from His most holy Spirit. We have our own spirit but it is void of power. It begins to gain strength only when the grace of God flows into it.

To love is easy and sweet. Oh! if we could only see the heart of a man who bears the evangelic yoke of Christ, you would see in it a paradise of joy and gladness, you would see there the Kingdom of God, even though on the surface he was worried and surrounded by grief and tribulations, as a rose is surrounded by thorns. There can be nought but comfort and true joy in a heart in which reigns the Kingdom of God.

Have unfeigned love among yourselves, keep the tradition, and may the God of peace be with you and confirm you in love.

The roof of any house stands upon the foundations and the rest of the structure. The foundations themselves are laid in order to carry the roof. This is both useful and necessary, for the roof cannot stand without the foundations and the foundations are absolutely useless without the roof - no help to any living creature. In the same way the grace of God is preserved by the practice of the commandments, and the observance of these commandments is laid down like foundations through the gift of God. The grace of the Spirit cannot remain with us without the practice of the commandments, but the practice of the commandments is of no help or advantage to us without the grace of God.

It's time little brother, it's time. Follow fearlessly after Christ. Blessed is the way on which you are setting out. For he that follows after Christ "shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." You absolutely will not regret having chosen this way, but will render every thanks to God for His wondrous mercy.

Nourish your soul daily with the words of life and with prayer and with every good work -- just as we nourish the body with various kinds of food and drink by means of which our exhausted strength is renewed and our life is preserved.

Let us therefore make use of this great benefit, and seek for personal experience of this most needful Gift. For the Apostle says, in words I have already cited, `But we have not received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we may know the things that are given unto us by God.' We receive Him, then, that we may know. Faculties of the human body, if denied their exercise, will lie dormant. The eye without light, natural or artificial, cannot fulfill its office; the ear will be ignorant of its function unless some voice or sound be heard; the nostrils unconscious of their purpose unless some scent be breathed. Not that the faculty will be absent, because it is never called into use, but that there will be no experience of its existence. So, too, the soul of man, unless through faith it have appropriated the gift of the Spirit, will have the innate faculty of apprehending God, but be destitute of the light of knowledge. That Gift, which is in Christ, is One, yet offered, and offered fully, to all; denied to none, and given to each according to the measure of his willingness to receive; its stores the richer, the more earnest the desire to earn them. This gift is with us unto the end of the world, the solace of our waiting, the assurance, by the favours which He bestows, of the hope that shall be ours, the light of our minds, the sun of our souls. This Holy Spirit we must seek and must earn, and then hold fast by faith and obedience to the commands of God.

Prayer is a ladder leading up to God; for there is nothing more powerful than prayer. There is no sin which cannot be forgiven by means of prayers, and there is no sentence of punishment which it cannot undo.

There is no revelation which does not have prayer as its cause, and there are no types of symbols which prayer cannot interpret.

Practice self-observation. And if you want to benefit yourself and your fellow men, look at your own faults and not those of others. The Lord tells us: "Judge not, that ye be not judged," condemn not that ye be not condemned. And the Apostle Paul says: "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant?"

Blessed is the man who realizes his weakness, for this knowledge becomes the foundation, the root and the beginning of every boon. For as soon as a man understands and truly feels his weakness, he immediately puts a restraint on the vain pride of his soul which obscures reason, and thus he gains protection.

When a man begins to perceive the love of God in all its richness, he begins also to love his neighbor with spiritual perception. This is the love of which all the scriptures speak. Friendship after the flesh is very easily destroyed on some slight pretext, since it is not held firm by spiritual perception. But when a person is spiritually awakened, even if something irritates him, the bond of love is not dissolved; rekindling himself with the warmth of the love of God, he quickly recovers himself and with great joy seeks his neighbour's love, even though he has been gravely wronged or insulted by him. For the sweetness of God completely consumes the bitterness of the quarrel.

Of course, you need labor and effort, both mental and from the heart. Do not spare yourself. If you do, you will ruin yourself. Do not spare yourself, and you will have salvation. Abandon a certain wrongful activity that often strikes and afflicts almost everyone: That is, the fact that we spare no labor on any matter except when it comes to that of salvation. We want to think that we have only to contemplate salvation and desire it, and everything is all set. That is not how it happens in reality. The matter of salvation is the most important thing. Consequently it is the most difficult. This is by virtue of its importance and by the labor required. Labor then, for the Lord's sake! Very soon you will see the fruit. If you do not set to work, however, you will be left without anything and be unworthy. Deliver us, Lord, from this!

St. Theophan the Recluse, The Spiritual Life and How to Be Attuned to It, Letter 51

The true Christian tests himself every day. Daily testing to see whether we have become better or worse, is so essential for us that without it we cannot be called Christians. Constantly and persistently we must take ourselves in hand. Do this: from the morning establish thoughts about the Lord firmly in your mind and then during the whole day resist any deviation from these thoughts. Whatever you are doing, with whomever you are speaking, whether you are going somewhere or sitting, let your mind be with the Lord. You will forget yourself, and stray from this path; but again turn to the Lord and rebuke yourself with sorrow. This is the podvig of spiritual attentiveness.

Bishop Theophan the Recluse

Every day, hour, and minute, keep a strict watch and consider every thought, desire, and movement of the heart, every word and deed, and do not let yourself be defiled by one sinful thought, desire, or movement of the imagination, in word or deed, knowing that the Lord is the Righteous Judge Who is judging you every instant and is evaluating the inner man. Continually keep yourself pure for God.

St. John of Kronstadt

To do this, put the law of God on one side and your own life on the other, and see where they are similar and where there is no resemblance. Take your deeds and subject them to the law to see if they are permissible, or take the law and see if it is applied in your life. So as not to omit anything in this important matter, you have to have an orderly system. Sit down and call to mind all your duties towards God, your neighbors, and yourself, and then go through your life in relation to all these. Or you may go through the ten commandments and the beatitudes, one after the other, and see if your life accords with them. Or read those parts of the Gospel of St. Matthew where the Saviour sets out the strictly Christian law, and also the epistles of St. James and the epistles of St. Paul, especially to the Romans and Ephesians. Read all this and then check your own life, how it conforms. Or, finally, take the rite of Confession and check your own behavior against it. The result of such an examination of one's life is to reveal a vast number of deeds, words, thoughts, feelings and desires that were against the law but were permitted, even though they should not have been; a vast number that should have been done but were not, and many that were done in accordance with the law but turned out to be defiled by an impure motive. From all this you will gather a vast number, and even your whole life, perhaps, will be made up only of bad deeds.

Bishop Theophan

St. John Chrysostom writes about prayer:

Prayer is a refuge for those who are shaken, an anchor for those tossed by waves, a walking stick for the infirm, a treasure house for the poor, a stronghold for the rich, a destroyer of sicknesses, a preserver of health. Prayer keeps our virtues intact and quickly removes all evil. If temptation overtakes us, it easily drives it away; if we lose some property or something else, which causes our soul grief, it removes it. Prayer banishes every sorrow, causes good humor, facilitates constant well-being. It is the mother of the love of wisdom. He who can sincerely pray is richer than everyone else, even though he is the poorest of all. On the contrary, he who does not have recourse to prayer, even though he sit on a king's throne, is the poorest of all....

On prayer in church and on attending church services, St. John Chrysostom says the following:

The right confession of dogmas should be combined with righteousness of life and deeds so that we do not achieve our salvation only by halves. Nothing can so facilitate righteousness of conduct and purity of life as being here, in church, and sincere attentiveness. As the body needs food, so the soul needs the study of divine Scriptures, for "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). For this reason those who do not participate in this meal (liturgy) usually suffer hunger. Hear how God threatens such hunger and places it alongside punishment and torture: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send forth a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the word of the Lord..." (Amos 8:11). Is it not madness to do everything and take all measures to avoid bodily hunger but willingly to incur spiritual hunger? No, I beg and entreat you, let us not be so badly disposed toward ourselves....

Further, St. John Chrysostom continues:

To be here in church is the source of all blessings. When they leave here, it seems that a husband is more respectful to his wife and a wife is more kind to her husband, since it is not the physical beauty of the body that makes a wife loving, but the virtue of the soul, not cosmetics and beauty aids, not gold and rich clothing, but chastity, meekness, and constant fear of God. This spiritual beauty nowhere develops to such an extent as in this wonderful and divine place (church), where the apostles and prophets wash away, reform, and cleanse old sin and bring forth the brightness of youth; where they extinguish every stain, every blemish, every defilement of our soul .... Let us try, husbands and wives, to rejoice in our inner beauty.

St. John Chrysostom says this about mercifulness:

Consider mercifulness not for what you give but for what you get, not as a loss but a gain, because through it you receive more than you give. If you give bread, you will receive eternal life. You give clothing and receive the robe of immortality; you give shelter under your roof and you receive the heavenly kingdom. You give perishable joys and receive eternal blessings.

The Inward Temple. There is no need to weep much over the destruction of a church; after all, each of us, according to God's mercy, has or should have his own church—the heart; go in there and pray, as much as you have strength and time. If this church is not well made and is abandoned (without inward prayer), then the visible church will be of little benefit.

Archbishop Barlaam to Abbess M., Russia's Catacomb Saints, p. 281

Another work widely acknowledged as an outstanding "handbook" on the Jesus Prayer is The Art of Prayer (Faber & Faber; now back in print). Here is an excerpt from that classic work:

"There are many among you who have no knowledge of the inner work required of the man who would hold God in remembrance. Nor do such people even understand what remembrance of God means, or know anything about spiritual prayer, for they imagine that the only right way of praying is to use such prayers as are to be found in Church books. As for secret communion with God in the heart, they know nothing of this, nor of the profit that comes from it, nor do they ever taste its spiritual sweetness. Those who only hear about spiritual meditation and prayer and have no direct knowledge of it are like men blind from birth, who hear about the sunshine without ever knowing what it really is. Through this ignorance they lose many spiritual blessings, and are slow in arriving at the virtues which make for the fulfilment of God's good pleasure." (p. 43)

Starets Macarius of Optina Hermitage wrote to a wife regarding prayer:

The joint prayer of husband and wife is a great force. That may be one of the reasons why the enemy is trying to get both of you to break this excellent habit. [This is] one more temptation which God permits so that you should learn to overcome it and come out of the testing stronger than before!

The example of harmoniousness of the household has been given for Christians by St. John Chrysostom.

Consider Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac and the three hundred and eighteen born in his house (Gen. 14:14). How the whole house was harmoniously knit together, how the whole was full of piety and fulfilled the Apostolic injunction. She also "reverenced her husband;" for hear her own words, "It hath not yet happened unto me even until now, and my lord is old also" (Gen 18:12). And he again so loved her, that in all things he obeyed her commands. And the young child was virtuous and the servants born in the house, they too were so excellent that they refused not even to hazard their lives with their master; they delayed not, nor asked the reason. Nay, one of them, the chief, was so admirable, that he was even entrusted with the marriage of the only-begotten child, and with a journey into a foreign country (Gen. 24:1-67). For just as with a general when his soldiery also is well organized, the enemy has no quarter to attack; so, I say, is it also here: when husband and wife and children and servants are all interested in the same things, great is the harmony of the house. Since where this is not the case, the whole is oftentimes overthrown and broken up by one bad servant; and that single one will often mar and utterly destroy the whole.

Read the words of St. John of Kronstadt on praying for each other:

"Behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat" (Lk. 22:31). It is he who so greatly distracts our thoughts in the temple during Divine Service and at home during prayer; it is he who draws away your thoughts from God, from our souls and the souls of others, from heavenly and eternal things; it is he who occupies us with early trifles or with earthly vanity, with earthly nothingness, with earthly allurements, with food, drink, dress, houses, etc. We must pray for each other that our faith should not fail as the Savior prayed for Peter.

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem writes about making the sign of the Cross:

Let us not then be ashamed to confess the Crucified. Be the Cross our seal made with boldness by our fingers on our brow and in everything; over the bread we eat, and the cups we drink; in our comings in, and goings out; before our sleep, when we lie down and when we awake; when we are in the way and when we are still. Great is that preservative; it is without price, for the poor's sake; without toil, for the sick, since also its grace is from God. It is the Sign of the faithful, and the dread of evils; for He has triumphed over them in it, having made a shew of them openly; for when they see the Cross, they are reminded of the Crucified; they are afraid of Him, Who hath bruised the heads of the dragon. Despise not the Seal, because of the freeness of the Gift; but for this rather honor thy Benefactor.

St. John of Damascus in Exposition of the Orthodox Faith tells us

to search the Scriptures is a work most fair and most profitable for souls. For just as the tree planted by the channels of waters, so also the soul watered by the Divine Scripture is enriched and gives fruit in its season, viz., Orthodox belief, and is adorned with evergreen leafage, I mean actions pleasing to God. For through the Holy Scriptures we are trained to action that is pleasing to God, and untroubled contemplation. For in these we find both exhortation to every virtue and dissuasion from every vice.

Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov gives advice on the reading of the Gospel:

While reading the Gospel do not seek enjoyment; do not seek ecstasies; do not seek glittering thoughts; seek to behold infallibly Holy Truth.... Read the Gospel with the greatest reverence and attention. Do not consider anything in it of little importance, little worthy of consideration. Every iota of it emits a gleam of life. Neglect of life is death.

If anyone disparages marriage, or abominates or disparages a woman sleeping with her husband, notwithstanding that she is faithful and reverent, as though she could not enter the Kingdom, let him be anathema. [42]

If anyone should remain a virgin or observe continence as if, abominating marriage, he had become an anchorite, and not for the good standard and holy feature of virginity, let him be anathema. [43]

If anyone leading a life of virginity for the Lord should regard married persons superciliously, let him be anathema. [44]

If any woman should abandon her husband and wish to depart, because she abominates marriage, let her be anathema. [45]

The offering of incense to God is a practice which dates back to the time of Moses when God gave commands as to how to burn it.

You shall make an altar to burn incense upon . . . And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it; every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it, and when Aaron sets up the lamps in the evening, he shall burn it, a perpetual incense before the Lord throughout your generations. You shall offer no unholy incense thereon (Ex. 30:1, 7-9).

. . . in fasting one must not only obey this rule about food, but refrain from every other sin in order that, while the stomach is fasting, the tongue also may fast, refraining from slander, lies, idle talk, disparaging one's brethren, anger and every other sin committed by the tongue. One should also fast with the eyes, that is, not look at vain things, not give freedom to the eyes, not look shamelessly and without fear at anyone. The hands and feet should also be kept form any evil action.

St. Abba Dorotheus, "Directions on Spiritual Training," Early Fathers from the Philokalia

…and asks, in a general way, their forgiveness, he does not mention any particular offense unless there is a special reason for doing so; the answer has become a formula: "May the Lord forgive!" This custom is founded on two convictions. When men offend each other it is God that they offend; and it is to God that men confess their sins. But confession must be done in the presence of a priest, and can honestly be done only by him who can think that he is reconciled with all men.

Macarius

"One who does not observe the fasts is not a Christian, no matter what he considers or calls himself ... and you should not pay attention to him, no matter what he says."

St Seraphim of Sarov

"Fasting appears gloomy until one steps into its arena. But begin and you will see what light it brings after darkness, what freedom from bonds, what release after a burdensome life...."

Bishop Theophan the Recluse says of fasting:

"Outward prayer is often performed at the expense of inward prayer, and inward at the expense of outward; that is, when I pray with my lips or read, then many words do not penetrate into the heart, I become double-minded and hypocritical; with my lips I say one thing, whilst in my heart I feel another. The lips speak truth, whilst the disposition of the heart does not agree with the words of the prayer. But if I pray inwardly, heartily, then, without paying attention to the pronunciation of the words, I concentrate it upon their content, their power, gradually accustoming my heart to the truth, and thus entering into the same disposition of spirit in which the words of the prayer were written. In this way I accustom myself, little by little, to pray in spirit and truth in accordance with the words of the Eternal Truth: They that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

"When a man prays outwardly aloud, then he cannot always follow all the movements of his heart, which are so rapid that he is necessarily obliged to pay attention to the pronunciation of the words, to their outward form. Thus the prayers of many...who read rapidly become quite untrue; with their lips they seem to pray; in appearance they are pious, but their hearts are asleep, and do not know what their lips say. This proceeds from the fact that they hurry, and do not meditate in their hearts upon what they are saying. We must pray for them, as they pray for us; we must pray that their words may penetrate into their hearts and breathe warmth into them. They pray for us in the words of holy persons, and we must pray for them also." "When praying, we must pronounce each word from the heart with the same power that is contained in each one of them, just as medicines are usually taken with a curative power corresponding to each of them, and bestowed upon them by the creator. If we leave out the power or the essence of the medicine, then it will not take effect, but will only set our teeth on edge; likewise, if during prayer we pronounce the words, disregarding their power, without feeling in our heart their truth, we shall not derive any benefit from the prayer, because true, fruitful prayer must be in spirit and in truth."

Bishop Theophan the Recluse says of fasting:

"When you ask for life, faith, and spiritual understanding for others, do you ask sincerely, not hypocritically, only with your tongue? Do you desire from all your soul that they should progress in these? Are you yourself progressing in the same? Do not you yourself remain in the bondage of the passions? Beware, the Master sees everything with His clearest eyes; it is necessary to pray to Him with understanding, in the simplicity of your heart, with a fervent spirit."

"Why has our sincere prayer for each other such great power over others? Because of the fact that by cleaving to God during prayer I become one spirit with Him, and unite with myself, by faith and love, those for whom I pray, for the Holy Spirit acting in me also acts at the same time in them, for He accomplishes all things."

"Endeavor to attain to a child-like simplicity in your relations to men and in your prayer to God. Simplicity is man's highest good and dignity. God Himself is perfectly simple, for He is perfectly spiritual and perfectly good. And do not let your soul be divided between good and evil."

St. John of Kronstadt:

«…the demons, are exceedingly jealous of those pursuing the ascetic way under obedience to a spiritual father… They do and suggest everything possible so as to separate a monk from his spiritual father‘s care. They propose plausible excuses, they contrive irritations, they arouse hatred against the father, they represent his admonitions as rebukes, they make his words of correction seem like sharpened arrows. Why, they ask, since you are free, have you become a slave – a slave to a merciless master? How long will you wear yourself out under the yoke of servitude and not see the light of freedom? Then they make suggestions about giving hospitality, visiting the sick and caring for the poor. Next they extol above measure the rewards of extreme stillness and solitude, and sow all sorts of evil weeds in the heart of the devout warrior, simply to cast him out of the fold of his spiritual father… Finally, when they have enslaved him to their own authority, they use him according to their own evil desires.»

St. Theodoros, the Great Ascetic in A Century of Spiritual Texts

“ These are the things which befall someone who approaches God: first temptation (πειρασμός), then tribulation (δοκιμασία), then toil (μόχθος), despondency (αποθάρρυνσση), nakedness (γύμνια), sufferings (βάσανα), anguish (αγωνία), contempt (περιφρόνηση); in these the endurance and testing of believers is manifested; and in all these the person who gives himself wholeheartedly to God’s direction, and submits to his will, triumphs completely. For God only asks of us a perfect intention, and he himself will give us the strength and grant us the victory; as it is written, He is the champion of all who hope in Him. And again he says, The Lord is near to all who call upon him in truth. He will do the will of those who fear him and will listen to their supplication (ικεσία) and will save them.”

St.Theodore the Studite

“Prayer is converse with God, contemplation of the invisible, the angelic mode of life, a stimulus towards the divine, the assurance of things hoped for, making real the things for which we hope”.

St. Theodoros the Great Ascetic

« {On becoming a teacher:} … it is right always to wait, with a faith energized by love, for the illumination which will enable us to speak. For nothing is so destitute (κενό) as a mind philosophizing about God when it is without Him”

St. Diadochos of Photiki “On Spiritual Knowledge”

“Talkativeness is the throne of vainglory on which it loves to preen (υπερηφανεύεται) itself and show off. Talkativeness is a sign of ignorance, a doorway to slander, a leader of jesting (αστεϊσμός), a servant of lies, the ruin of compunction (τύψεις), a summoner (που συγκαλεί) of despondency (αποθθάρυνσις), a messenger of sleep, a dissipation (διασκορπισμός) of recollection (αναπόληση), the end of vigilance (επαγρύπνηση), the cooling of zeal, the darkening of prayer” … “Intelligent silence is the mother of prayer, freedom from bondage, custodian of zeal, a guard on our thoughts, a watch on our enemies, a prison of mourning, a friend of tears, a sure recollection of death, a painter of punishment, a concern with judgment, servant of anguish (αγωνία), foe (εχθρός) of license (ασυδοσία), a companion of stillness (ηρεμία), the opponent of dogmatism (δογματισμός), a growth of knowledge, a hand to shape contemplation (στοχασμός), hidden progress, the secret journey upward.”

St. John of the Ladder, “Step 11 - On Talkativeness and Silence”