Power of God

Power of Prayer

FORCE YOURSELF TO PRAY
(2 min read)
It is necessary to force yourself to pray!

They say: if you don’t like to pray, then don’t pray. This is cunning carnal wisdom.

Do not stop praying, otherwise you will give up praying altogether. Your body wants you to give up on prayer. But “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and violent people take it by force” (Mt. 11, 12). Without forcing yourself to pray you will not be saved.

People who pray little have a weak heart; thus, when they want to pray, their heart weakens and their hands, body and thoughts weaken, and it is difficult for them to pray. You need to master yourself. Make that effort to pray with all your heart, because it is good and easy to pray with all your heart.

Learn to pray, force yourself to pray. At first it will be difficult, but then, the more you force yourself, the easier it will be, but in the beginning you always have to force yourself.

Realize, man, the misery of your soul and strongly, constantly pray to the Savior of men, so that He will save you from misery. Don’t say to yourself: I’m not in danger; I’m not in misery; I don’t need to pray. I don’t need deliverance from trouble, which I don’t even know about. That is being miserable. If you are not aware of your misery, you are in great trouble. Your sins are your great trouble.

Spiritual and physical life are at war with each other; they are not in agreement. This is the reason why you sometimes feel beautiful in your body, but not in your soul. Start praying and you feel the beauty in your soul. Start praying and your body will become your submissive servant. Prayer will revive you.

Do not trust your body, which threatens you with sloth during prayer. Your body lies. Always remember that the body is deceptive.

• Saint John of Kronstadt