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(163) Two forces, in direct opposition to each other, influence us: one good, the other evil; one life-giving and the other deadly. As both are spiritual forces, both are invisible. The good power, through my free and sincere prayer, always drives away the evil power, which is strong only through the evil concealed with­in me. In order not to be subjected to the continual harassments of the evil spirit, we must constantly have in our hearts this prayer to Jesus Christ: "Jesus, Son of God, have mercy upon me!" Against the invisible one (the Devil) the Invisible God, against the mighty the Mightier.

(164) Having Christ in your heart, fear that you may lose Him, and with Him the peace of your heart; it is hard to begin again; efforts to attach oneself afresh to Him after falling away will be very grievous, and will cost bitter tears to many. Cling to Christ with all your might, gain Him, and do not lose boldness in approaching Him.

(165) Christ being led into the heart by faith, dwells in it with peace and joy. It is not without reason that it is said of God, "He is Holy, and rests in the saints." (Exclamation taken from the Vespers).

(166) As all my misfortunes arise in my invisible mind and my invisible heart, therefore I require the invisible Saviour, Who directs our hearts. O my strength, Jesus, Son of God! O Light of my mind! the peace, the joy of my heart - glory to Thee! Glo­ry to Thee, Deliverer from my invisible enemies, that fight against my mind and my heart, slaying me in the very source of my life, in my most sensitive part!

(167) With the mental eyes of my heart, I see how I mentally breathe Christ in my heart, how He enters into it, and suddenly tranquilises and rejoices it. O, do not leave me to dwell alone, without Thyself, the life-giver, my breath, my joy! It is hard for me to be left without Thee.

(168) When praying, keep to the rule that it is better to say five words from the depth of your heart than ten thousand words with your tongue only. When you observe that your heart is cold and prays unwillingly, stop praying and warm your heart by vividly representing to yourself either your own wickedness, your spiritual poverty, misery, and blindness, or the great bene­fits which God bestows every moment upon you and all man­kind, especially upon Christians, and then pray slowly and fer­vently. If you have not time to say a11 the prayers, it does not matter, and you will receive incomparably greater benefit from praying fervently and not hurriedly than if you had said all your prayers hurriedly and without feeling: "I had rather speak five words with my understanding than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue " (1 Corinth. XIV, 19). But it would, of course, have been very well had we been able to say these ten thousand words in prayer with due understanding and feeling. The Lord does not forsake those who labour for Him and who stand long before Him; for with what measure they mete, He will measure to them again, and he will reward them for the abundance of the sincere words of their prayer by sending into their souls a corresponding abundance of spiritual light, warmth, peace, and joy. It is well to pray long and continually; but "All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given " (St. Matth. XIX. 11. 12). It is better for those who are not capable of long prayers to say short prayers, but with a fervent spirit.

(169) You cannot conquer any passion, any sin without gracious help; therefore, always ask the help of Christ, your Saviour. It was for this that He came into the world, for this that He suffered, died and rose from the dead, in order to help us in everything, to save us from sin, and from the violence of the passions, to cleanse us from our sins, to bestow upon us power in Holy Ghost to do good works, to enlighten us, to strengthen us to give us peace. You ask how you can save yourself when sin stands at every step, and you sin at every moment? There is a simple answer to this: at every step, at every moment, call upon the S Saviour, remember the Saviour, and you will save yourself and others.

(170) I feel bright, warm, and tranquil, when I turn with My v whole soul to the mental sun, the Sun of righteousness, to Christ my God. Then the ice of my heart melts, all its darkness, impurity, and corruption, vanish; spiritual death flees, heavenly life begins in its stead and nothing earthly occupies me any longer.

(171) When you are praying to God, then do not represent to yourself His nearness otherwise than that you breathe every moment in Him, that you are enlightened, sanctified, rest, are comforted, and strengthened by Him - that, in a word, you live in Him, in accordance with the Scripture: "For in Him we live, and move, and have our being: He giveth to all life, and breath and all things" (Acts XVII. 25, 28). "God (the Word) is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thine heart ... that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt he saved" (Romans X. 8, 9).

(172) When you are very young, or leading the life of the sinful world, then you only know by name both Christ the Saviour, and the enemy of God and mankind, the most evil Satan, and think that Christ is very far away from you in heaven, and that there is a Devil somewhere, but not in any way near and around you, and though you hear that he is evil, you think his wickedness does not concern you; but when you grow older and enter upon the devout life, when you serve God with a pure conscience, then you will experience in your heart the difference between the easy yoke of the Saviour and the heavy burden of Satan, who pitiless­ly injures us.

(173) When you pray to the Lord, look with your spiritual eyes into yourself, into your soul. The Lord is there, in your thoughts, and in the right movements of your heart, as He is also outside you and in every place. "The Word" (the Lord) "is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart" (Romans X. 8) - that is, not in Heaven only, nor in the deep.

(174) Our heart daily dies spiritually. Only ardent, tearful prayer quickens it, and makes it begin to breathe again. If we do not daily pray with sufficient spiritual fervour, we may easily and speedily die spiritually.

(175) When the darkness of the accursed one covers you - doubt, despondency, despair, disturbance  - then only call with your whole heart upon the sweetest name of Jesus Christ, and in Him you will find all - light, strengthening, trust, comfort, and peace; in Him you shall find the greatest mercy, goodness and bountifulness; all these mercies you will find contained in His name alone, as though in a rich treasury.

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