Preparation is important for praying

   “If while praying we don’t feel comfort, something is clearly going on: we must repent and correct it. Some people say that this happens because of the devil’s jealousy –but this isn’t true. Instead, it’s as though God is saying us, ‘I don’t understand the way you’re speaking to me”. Just like Holy Communion, prayer is mystical nourishment. In the same way, preparation is needed – i.e., a clean conscience”.

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“Someone once came to me and told me that he’d read a few books on the prayer, and that he later forced himself to apply what he read. The result, he said, was that he felt pain in his heart. I said to him: ‘You don’t have the material necessary for humility (i.e. sins)? Humble yourself; then you’ll feel how necessary God’s mercy is. And then, the prayer will gush for all by itself, without force’”.

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 “When we light a candle for the sake of one who has fallen asleep, that person is greatly benefited”.

Saint Paisios of Mount Athos

http://www.orthodoxpath.org/spiritual-life/preparation-is-important-for-praying/