Prayer of the Heart

Using the words of the Russian Orthodox spiritual teacher, St Theophan, that in prayer we should ‘stand with the mind in the heart’, Sandy Ryrie explains how to use short phrases to still the mind and enable us to rest with our attention set on God. In standing before God, we open ourselves to God’s work in us. The author then explores the particular situation of night prayer. In hours of darkness and sleeplessness, we are vulnerable to the anxieties and fears which daytime activity sometimes holds at bay, but at night the spirit may also become more aware of the reality of God and more ready to pray.