Breaking the night for prayer!! The very idea either never comes into the mind of modern Christians or it sends a shudder through the heart. The idea of limiting something like sleep for the sake of prayer, of humbling the mind and body in such a way on purpose and regularly seems to express a type of insanity. Would I not make myself sick or incapable of working the next day if such a practice were embraced in modern times.
Yet, it is a constant practice throughout the spiritual tradition; to sanctify time and foster an urgent longing within the heart for God that causes the soul to rise, even in the night, to seek him. Admittedly, this may require that we simplify our lives. There is already a frenetic pace in our day-to-day lives; a busyness that is almost suffocating. Such makes the idea of adding night prayer to that seem impossible and even frightening.
One can only come to know the fruit of this through experience. In the stillness of the night, impediments that often plague us throughout the course of the day fall away. Creation itself grows quiet and with it the human heart. Such a heart filled with urgent longing for the Lord will rise eagerly and with joy to taste the sweetness of his presence!
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Text of chat during the group:
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXII: On Vainglory, Part III
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XLV, Part II
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XLIV, Part III and Hypothesis XLV, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXII: On Vainglory, Part II
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XLIV, Part II
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXII: On Vainglory
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XLIII, Part II and Hypothesis XLIV, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XXI: On Unmanly and Puerile Cowardice, Part I
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XLII, Part IV and Hypothesis XLIII, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XX: On Bodily Vigil, Part II
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XLII, Part III
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XX: On Bodily Vigil, Part I
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XLII, Part II
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XIX: On Sleep, Prayer, and Psalmody with the Brotherhood
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XLII, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XVIII: On Insensibility
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XLI, Part III
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XVI: On Avarice, Part II and Chapter XVII, On Non-Possessiveness, Part I
The Ladder of Divine Ascent - Chapter XV: On Chastity, Part XI and Chapter XVI: On Avarice, Part I
The Evergetinos - Hypothesis XLI, Part II
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