§26
IF you become indignant [only] sparingly you will yourself be spared: and you will prove yourself prudent and be among those who pray.
§27
IF you arm yourself against indignation [thumos], you will never tolerate desire [epithumia]; because desire provides the matter for indignation, thus disturbing the noetic eye [and] abusing the state of prayer. cf. KG 2.28
§28
DO not pray solely with external postures, but instead direct your nous towards a sensitivity to spiritual prayer with profound awe.
§29
ON certain occasions when you stand for prayer you instantly pray well, while at other times, even after hard work you not achieve your purpose. This is so you will seek even more [vigorously], and upon receiving it keep your success secure.
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§30
WHEN on occasion an angel stands for us, then all who stand against us immediately vanish, and the nous is found greatly relieved, praying soundly. But at other times, when the usual battle is raging against us, the nous lashes out and is not permitted any concessions; for it has been prematurely aroused by the various passions. Nevertheless, if it goes on seeking, it will find, and if it knocks vigorously, [the door] will be opened (Mt 7:8).
§31
DO not pray that what you will should be done, because your [will] is not in full harmony with the will of God. Pray instead as you were taught, saying, Let your will be done in me (cf Mt 6:10, 24:2). And in all matters ask of him in this way that his will be done. He wills [only] what is good and profitable for the soul; but that is not always what you seek.
§32
I HAVE often prayed, requesting that something I thought was good for me be done for me, insisting on my request, and irrationally [attempting to] force God’s will. And [thus] I did not leave it to him who knows what is profitable to arrange (cf 1Cor 10:23). And when I eventually received what I asked for, I was very sorry I had asked for my own choice; for the matter did not turn out as I had imagined.
§33
WHAT other good is there but God? (cf Mk 10:18) So let us leave to Him everything that pertains to us, and [all] will be well with us. For He is wholly good and the giver of good gifts (cf Jas 1:17).
§34
DO not become distressed if you do not receive at once from God [your] request; he wishes to benefit you even more as you continue steadfastly in prayer (Rom 12:12). For what is higher than [enjoying] conversation with God and being taken up [lit distracted] with [conversational] intercourse with him?
§35
UNDISTRACTED prayer is the highest noetic [activity] of the nous.
§36
PRAYER is the ascent of the nous to God.
§37
IF you long to pray, renounce everything at once (cf. Lk 14:33) so that you may inherit all.
§38
PRAY: [1] first, for purification from the passions; [2] and second, for deliverance from ignorance [and forgetfulness]; [3] and third, [for deliverance] from all temptation (cf Mt 6:13) and abandonment.
§39
IN your prayer seek only righteousness and the kingdom, namely, virtue and knowledge; and all the rest will be added unto you (Mt 6:33).
§40
IT is just to pray not only for your own purification, but also [to pray] for your own [kindred], so as to imitate the angelic way [lit: the angelic mode].
§41
SEE whether you truly stand before God in your prayer; or whether you are a slave to human praise and eagerly hunt for it, using the display of prayer as a cover (cf. Mt 23:5).
§42
WHETHER you pray with [the] brothers or by yourself, struggle to pray not [only] in the customary way, but [also] with perception.
§43
SENSATION (=perception) in prayer is concentration (sunnoia), with reverence and compunction and distress of soul, as you confess your failures with silent groans.
§44
IF the nous is still staring around at the time of prayer, it does not yet know how to pray as a monk; it is still a secular, decorating the exterior tabernacle (cf. Mt 23:27).
§45
WHEN you pray, keep powerful guard over your memory: in this way, instead of placing its own passions before you, it will, instead, move you to the knowledge that you stand [before God]. For the nous is naturally disarmed [and plundered] by the memory at the time of prayer.
§46
WHEN you are praying the memory brings you fantasies of either: [1] ancient issues; [2] or new worries; [3] or the face of one who has distressed you.
§47
THE demon is very malignant towards [any] person who prays, and it employs every means to defeat his purpose. It does not cease [1] moving thoughts (noemata) of matters through the memory and [2] stirring up all the passions through the flesh, so as to be able to impede his excellent course and his departure to God.
§48
WHEN, despite all his efforts, the malevolent demon is unable to hinder the prayer of one who is earnest, it lets up for a time and then takes its revenge when he finishes praying. It either: [1] enflames him with anger, [thus] ruining the excellent state that, through prayer, has been welded together in him; [2] or it entices him to some irrational pleasure and so commits an outrage on the nous.
§49
HAVING prayed properly, expect what is improper; and stand courageously to keep guard over your harvest. Indeed from the beginning you were assigned this: namely, to work and keep guard (Gen. 2:15). So do not leave your work unguarded after your labor, otherwise you do not receive any benefit from praying.
§50
THE entire war between us and the impure demons concerns nothing other than spiritual prayer, because it is very hostile and burdensome to them, while it is salvific and very soothing for us.