The struggle of prayer against demonic terrors

Having acted, they easily wander into the material things; for some they strive to separate from the fatherhood through these, and others through other means. Work, and acquire, and live as a guest, inwardly desiring to acquire a good reputation for oneself; for from the seemingly good things, the chaff of wickedness is sown in part, and from the beginning they allow him to be flattered by vainglory, and to be sober through continuous fasting, and to stand up zealously in prayers and in assemblies, so that he might consider that, being a person of such kind, he did not happen by chance; for there are insults, sorrows, and disturbances, but here is peace, tranquility, and joy; there is the severity, fear, and shock of the Father, but here is carefreeness, fearlessness, and being unshockable. And thus, stealing his mind in such things, they seize it; and suddenly, standing over excessive sleep, they drench the soul with fear, and they neglect the assemblies through carelessness and acedia, and they remind him that hospitality is a burden, and they bring all the tools of malice, so that, having thrown acedia upon him, and having worked hatred toward his life, they might thus stand him naked of virtues to be an example to the angels.

Sometimes the demons magnify the labors through thoughts, and sometimes they belittle these as being of no use, so that where they may plant thoughtlessness, there they may sow ignorance. For to those who do not bend, they weaken, magnifying the labors so that they may plant thoughtlessness; but to those who do not yield to thoughtlessness, they do nothing more, but rather they belittle the labors as being of no use, so that, having weakened, they may sow ignorance.

Chapter 29. Therefore, when the thoughts magnify the labors, casting these aside, let us belittle the soul; but when they again belittle the labors as being of no use, we, with whatever power, let us magnify the mercies of Christ; for the more you harden your body, the more your conscience searches you. Know yourself, being aware of the secret thefts of the thoughts, lest, being carried along unperceivingly regarding their secret robberies, we should be shaded by hardness of heart alone, reaping the virtues. For thus some, having been imagined, were scattered from their wits like a...

They are terrors, those demons who act as deceivers of imaginations and who carry away visions, and even when they snatch away the soul through cowardice. To one of the brothers, while he was wakeful at night, the demons were striking out fearful imaginations, not only to the outward eye, but also with the inward gaze, so that the mind, being agitated by anxiety concerning the coming night, was in danger of having the faculty of reason snatched away; and for many nights the war was attacking the soul, while the one in danger was struggling inwardly to hold onto the ruler of the faculties, by seeing for himself the actions of the stings being brought against him, while withholding the soul from the giver of prayer; furthermore, they terrified him by scattering the soul with the fire of judgment, so that, by compounding fear upon fear, he might repel cowardice, just as it has happened, as the one who suffered the war said. For while the demons were terrifying the soul in many ways, he who was weary was seeking God through prayer; but those who were scattering the soul with their imaginations, he, weighing the weight of those stings, was demonstrating his state to the God who sees all; and those who were again blinding the eye of prayer, he, repaying the fear of judgment, made the fear of the phantasms vanish; for the other part of the fear, having overcome the other, wandering with God occurred; for the soul, having been humbled by the memory of sins and having been awakened by the fear of judgment, fled from the terrors of the demons through the things within; and the whole thing has happened by grace from above, both to drive away the terrors of the demons and to support the soul that was falling. 'For the Lord supports all those who are falling, and raises up all those who are broken' (Celsus, Cap. 44).

There is a time when we strive to make prayer pure, and perhaps we are not able. And there is again a time when, without our striving, the soul approaches pure prayer, because our weakness and the grace from above being called upon bring us back to the purity of the soul, while at the same time, being disciplined through both, we do not give ourselves credit in praying, but recognize the one who gives. For what we should pray according to, we do not know. Therefore, when we strive to make the prayer pure and are not able, but are darkened, then by tears...