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PRAYER IN THE UNSEEN WARFARE by Jack N. Sparks

a companion volume to VICTORY IN THE UNSEEN WARFARE and VIRTUE IN THE UNSEEN WARFARE

PRAYER IN THE UNSEEN WARFARE

by Jack N. Sparks adapted and arranged from the classic work by Lorenzo Scupoli, Spiritual Combat, as edited by Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain and again by Saint Theophan the Recluse ANCIENT FAITH PUBLISHING Chesterton, Indiana

PRAYER IN THE UNSEEN WARFARE © 1996 Jack N. Sparks All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible, © 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984 by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee and are used by permission.

Ancient Faith Publishing (A division of Ancient Faith Ministries) P.O. Box 748, Chesterton, Indiana 46304

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sparks, Jack N. Prayer in the unseen warfare / by Jack N. Sparks p. cm. “Adapted and arranged from the classic work by Lorenzo Scupoli, Spiritual combat, as edited by Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain and again by Saint Theophan the Recluse.” Includes index. ISBN 1-888212-03-9 (pbk) 1. Spiritual life—Orthodox Eastern Church. 2. Prayer— Orthodox Eastern Church. 3. Spiritual warfare. 4. Orthodox Eastern Church— Doctrines. I. Scupoli, Lorenzo, 1530–1610. Combattimento spirituale. II. Title. BX382.S637 1997 248.4'819—dc21 96-37840 CIP

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This volume is primarily based upon selected chapters from: Spiritual Combat by Lorenzo Scupoli as edited by Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain and revised by Theophan the Recluse I have worked for the most part from the translation by E. Kadloubovsky and G.E.H. Palmer, first published in England in 1952 by Faber and Faber under the title Unseen Warfare, and later published in the United States by Saint Vladimirâ€™s Seminary Press. â€”Jack N. Sparks, Ben Lomond, California, 1996

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TABLE OF CONTENTS An Essential Preface ........................................................5 Building on Our Baptism / 6 A Brief History of this Work / 7 Chapter 1 Beginning to Pray ...........................................................11 The Proper Attitudes for Prayer / 11 STUDY QUESTIONS / 20 Chapter 2 Mental or Inner Prayer ..................................................21 What Is Mental Prayer? / 21 Learning to Pray from the Spirit and the Heart / 23 STUDY QUESTIONS / 33 Chapter 3 On Various Forms of Prayer .........................................35 On Praying in Our Own Words / 35 On Short Prayers / 39 On the Jesus Prayer / 42 STUDY QUESTIONS / 50 Chapter 4 The Habit of Prayer in the Unseen Warfare ..............51 Acquiring the Habit of Prayer / 51 The Role of Prayer in Unseen Warfare / 55 STUDY QUESTIONS / 59

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Chapter 5 Fasting, Alms, and Prayer .............................................60 Fasting and Prayer / 60 Giving: Tithes, Alms, and Prayer / 67 STUDY QUESTIONS / 73 Chapter 6 Personal and Corporate Prayer ....................................74 Praying Together and Praying Alone / 75 Lord, Teach Us to Pray / 79 STUDY QUESTIONS / 89 Chapter 7 The Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist .........................90 Essential Qualities of the Eucharist / 90 The Other Sacraments / 103 STUDY QUESTIONS / 106 Chapter 8 The Eucharist in the Life of Prayer ...........................107 Preparing to Receive the Eucharist / 107 Kindling Love for God through the Eucharist / 112 STUDY QUESTIONS / 122 Chapter 9 On Spiritual Communion and Thanksgiving to God .............................................................................123 Communion with the Lord in the Spirit / 123 On Giving Thanks to the Lord / 126 STUDY QUESTIONS / 130 Index ...............................................................................131

AN ESSENTIAL PREFACE The book you are holding contains essential information for all Christians. Its use, however, requires a context: the Church and Orthodox spiritual guidance. No one should undertake to follow all that is said here without guidance. Everyone needs a spiritual father or guide. A first reading of this volume can be puzzling. In one sense, it starts from the beginning, as if the reader were just beginning to inquire about following God. However, the content is so deep that any Christian, at any point in life, can receive help from starting at the beginning. And in another sense, this book is only for those who have become so serious about knowing God that everything else pales in comparison. This is partly due to the fact that Scupoliâ€™s Spiritual Combat (first published in 1589) and the editions of Unseen Warfare which were developed from it came into being within a monastic context. The book is, therefore, a distillation of ascetic spiritual experience. Though the principles of spiritual warfare involved are the same for monastics and laity, there must undoubtedly be adaptations in application, for these are different kinds of lives. It is not our intent to replace Spiritual Combat or Unseen Warfare in their monastic application, but rather to produce a work which will be of assistance to lay Christians in developing their life with God.

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Prayer in the Unseen Warfare BUILDING ON OUR BAPTISM Yes, the work developed in a monastic context, where the only aim is to know God and become like Him. But there, at that exact point of entry, we also encounter its application to the life of every Christian. Our baptismal vows amount to a total commitment to Christ, and it is to these vows, in fact, that the monastic pledge refers. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, when we come for baptism, we are first asked: “Do you renounce Satan and all his works, and all his worship, and all his angels, and all his pride?” Three times this question is asked, and three times we answer, “I do.” Then we are asked, “Have you renounced Satan?” Again, this question is asked three times, and three times we reply, “I have.” We are asked to blow and spit upon Satan, and we do so. Next, we are asked, “Do you unite yourself to Christ?” This question is also asked three times, and three times we commit ourselves to Him: “I do.” Immediately we are asked, “Have you united yourself to Christ?” And we emphatically reply, “I have.” Finally, we are asked, “And do you believe in Him?” Our answer is, “I believe in Him as King and God.” This we follow by repeating the Nicene Creed. I mention these baptismal vows so we may see that at our baptism we committed ourselves absolutely to Christ, to unite ourselves to Him, to believe in Him as King and God. No greater commitment is possible. But what does it mean to make this commitment? At the time of our baptism we probably know very little about how it can be practically worked out in 6 Copyright © 1996 by Jack N. Sparks. All Rights Reserved. Published by Ancient Faith Publishing.

An Essential Preface our lives. (If baptized as infants, of course, we have extremely little rational knowledge.) But we learn this step by step, if we follow Him. Once we begin to do so, our interaction with His commands, as given in the Sermon on the Mount, for example, is neverending. That is what this volume is all aboutâ€”progress in our life with Christ. We cannot do it alone or outside the Church. For we need the Holy Mysteries, the wisdom of the Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church communicated to us through the guidance of our fathers, the companionship and encouragement of our brothers and sisters, and all the prayers of the faithful. Consequently, the task set forth in this book must be seen as lifelong. That which cannot even be comprehended, let alone accomplished, at one stage in our spiritual journey will beckon us along sometime later. One thing we can do is to keep this volume, along with our Bible and prayer book, with us at all times, referring to it often, trusting that it will be continually usefulâ€”and that those parts which do not make sense or cannot be undertaken now will perhaps, at some time in the future, have their day in our lives. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THIS WORK As was noted, this work derives from a classic of ascetic theology first published by the Italian monk, Lorenzo Scupoli, in 1589, as Spiritual Combat. The first edition, published in Venice, consisted of just twentyfour chapters, but successive editions were enlarged to first thirty-three, then thirty-seven, forty, and sixty-six 7 Sample pages only. Purchase the full book at http://store.ancientfaith.com/prayer-in-the-unseen-warfare/

Prayer in the Unseen Warfare chapters. During the seventeenth century, editions were published under the name of John of Castanzia, a Spanish Benedictine monk. From the content, it is obvious that more than one man was involved in the book’s development, and that it is a distillation of Christian ascetic spirituality. During the latter half of the eighteenth century, an Orthodox monk on Mount Athos, one Nicodemus (now called Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain), began translating Spiritual Combat into Greek, making adaptations and changes for the use of Orthodox Christians, adding, as he went, illustrations from the Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers. Among the monks on Mount Athos and among the people of the Orthodox Church in Greece, the adaptation, titled Unseen Warfare, became widely read and applied. Later, in the nineteenth century, a copy of the Greek edition produced by Nicodemus came into the hands of Bishop Theophan the Recluse, a highly respected Russian theologian and spiritual director. Theophan translated Unseen Warfare into Russian, making additional changes he felt necessary for the benefit of the people with whom he worked. As a consequence, the work became widely distributed, read, and used in Russia, especially in the monasteries, but among the general populace as well. The volume you see before you is offered as a modern adaptation of selected portions of this spiritual classic. Though in its preparation I have made use of the English translation of Scupoli’s Spiritual Combat made in 1945 by 8 Copyright © 1996 by Jack N. Sparks. All Rights Reserved. Published by Ancient Faith Publishing.

An Essential Preface William Lester and Robert Mohan, and published by Tan Books in 1990, I have paid closer attention to the translation of Theophanâ€™s Russian edition of Unseen Warfare by E. Kadloubovsky and G.E.H. Palmer, published by Faber and Faber of London in 1952 and later republished in the United States by St. Vladimirâ€™s Seminary Press. In addition, I have reorganized the material, combining chapters where appropriate, and arranging the content into three thematic divisions. (This volume represents only one third of the entire work. The other divisions cover victory and virtue.) Like all previous editors of this work, I have incorporated some additional material. I have also added questions for thought or discussion at the end of each chapter. Though this work is designed primarily for personal study and use, I believe significant value can be gained from its use by small groups studying together. Therefore the questions are so constructed that they may be used either as personal study guides or as means of entering into group discussions.

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CHAPTER 1 Beginning to Pray In the two previous volumes (Victory in the Unseen Warfare and Virtue in the Unseen Warfare), we have discussed three things which are essential to our spiritual warfare: refusing to rely on ourselves, trust in God, and constant effort. In this volume, we will discuss the fourth and most important weapon of all: prayer. Through prayer we are enabled to acquire the first three weapons and use them to their fullest. Further, through prayer we obtain every other blessing of God. THE PROPER ATTITUDES FOR PRAYER Prayer is both the means for attracting, and the hand that receives, all the blessings God pours out upon us from the inexhaustible supply of His infinite love and goodness. In spiritual warfare, it is by prayer we put our weapons in the hand of God, so He fights our enemies and overcomes them. But in order for prayer to manifest its full power in us, it must become our constant companion, a natural activity of our spirit. In addition, we can protect and inspire this activity of prayer within our spirit by cultivating the following attitudes. Struggle to Serve God Always maintain an enthusiastic struggle to serve only 11 Sample pages only. Purchase the full book at http://store.ancientfaith.com/prayer-in-the-unseen-warfare/

Prayer in the Unseen Warfare God in all we do, and to serve Him in a manner acceptable to Him. In order to establish this tendency and keep it alive, we must have (and always keep in mind) the conviction that every reasoning creature should give the Lord worship, praise, and service. His divine and sacred qualities—His goodness, greatness, and wisdom, as well as His other innumerable and immeasurable perfections—are certainly in themselves sufficient reason for us to do this! Then, we may add to this a constant remembrance that, in an indescribable way, He Himself served and helped us through all He did in His Incarnation: redeemed us; freed us from the great curse of the Fall; ministered to the wounds caused by the poison of sin and healed them—not with medicine of any kind, but with the precious blood which flowed from His most holy side and with His holy flesh tortured by whippings, thorns, and nails. When we remember all this, how can we fail to zealously dedicate to His service every moment of our life, by word, thought, and deed? Furthermore, we must not forget the benefit we receive from such a service, since it makes us masters of ourselves, conquerors of the devil, and children of God. Have Faith in His Blessings Maintain a warm and living faith that God Himself, in His great mercy and lovingkindness, wishes and is ready to give us all that is needed for us to serve Him properly—and to bestow upon us every blessing we need. Such faith will become for us a container into 12

Beginning to Pray which God will pour all the treasures of His blessings. And the bigger the container, the more our faith and trust, the richer will be the gifts which our prayer will carry back to that which is deepest within us. For how could we imagine that the almighty and unchanging God—who commanded us to pray to Him and promised to give us the blessings we ask—would refuse them to us, or that He would not send us His Spirit when we diligently and patiently ask Him? Desire the Will of God Approach prayer with the attitude that we desire only the will of God, not our own—both in asking and in receiving what we have asked. Let us, in other words, be moved to prayer because God wishes us to pray; let us wish to be heard because He wishes to hear us. In summary: We must steer our mind and heart to completely unite our will with the will of God—to obey His will in everything, and in no way to desire to bend God’s will toward our own. Why should we approach prayer in this manner? Because our will is always mixed with self-love, is very often mistaken, and does not know what it should wish for. The will of God, on the other hand, is always good, wise, just, and beneficial, and will never lead us astray. Since God’s will is an unchangeable law for all that is and will be, obedience to that rule must be central for us all—to be followed submissively in all things. Consequently, we must always desire, ask for, and seek only what is acceptable to God. And if we are in 13 Sample pages only. Purchase the full book at http://store.ancientfaith.com/prayer-in-the-unseen-warfare/

Prayer in the Unseen Warfare doubt as to whether one thing or another is acceptable to Him, let us pursue it and ask for it, with the thought that this is what we wish to do or to have—if God also desires it. As to things we are sure are acceptable to God, such as virtue, let us also pursue and ask for them only in order to please God more and serve Him better—and for no other purpose, even a spiritual one. Work for What You Pray for Furthermore, we should come to prayer bringing deeds and works corresponding to what we ask. Then after prayer, let us work still harder to become worthy to receive the grace and virtue we are asking for. Thus, the work of prayer should be accompanied by self-motivated action and exertion of all our strength toward what we ask. In the pattern of spiritual life, asking for something and going after it with our own efforts follow one another in an alternating pattern. So if we pray to God for some virtue and then carelessly neglect to pursue it—neither using nor acquiring any definite means to gain this virtue, making no effort in that direction—then we are tempting God rather than praying. That is why we read: “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16). What serves to make prayer effective, according to Saint Maximus the Confessor, is (in addition to asking a saint to pray for us about it) to pray about it ourselves, industriously doing everything we can to obtain the results of our request. 14

Beginning to Pray Include the Four Elements of Prayer Let us combine in our prayer the four actions Saint Basil the Great describes: • first, glorify God; • then give thanks to Him for the mercies He has shown us; • confess our sins and transgressions of His commandments; • and finally, ask Him to grant what we need— particularly in regard to our salvation. In line with this, we might, for example, pray in this manner: O Lord my God! I sing and praise Your inexpressible glory and Your infinite greatness. I thank You that by Your goodness alone You have given me life and allowed me to share in the life-giving blessings of Your Incarnation. I thank You that You have often, even without my knowledge, saved me from catastrophes which threatened me, and delivered me from the hands of my unseen enemies. I confess I have, time after time, stifled my conscience and fearlessly transgressed Your holy commandments, showing myself ungrateful for Your many and varied gifts and generous helps. O my most merciful Lord, do not let my lack of gratitude and appreciation be too great for Your mercy, but overlook my sins and transgressions. Look with kindness on the tears of my repentance, and according to what is needed for my salvation, guide my life toward pleasing You, so that, unworthy as I am, I too may glorify Your Holy Name.

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Prayer in the Unseen Warfare At the end of this prayer, it is also appropriate and right to tell all our present needs—those of the spirit, those of the soul, and those of the body. And if we happen to be working on building up some particular virtue, let us mention it as well, praying for God’s help in making progress toward perfection in it. Also, if we are being bothered and distressed by some passion, the proper thing is to pray for help in resisting and overpowering it. If we are suffering some injustice, some mistreatment, undergoing a loss or hardship, let us not forget to give thanks to God for it—since being sent in accordance with His will, which is always good, this experience has come for our own benefit. Pray with Faith—and the Help of the Saints In order to make our prayer effective before God, attracting His generosity, it is our duty to adorn it and give it wings by a pure faith—not only in His infinite generosity and the unchangeable truth of His promise to hear us when we call to Him, even before our prayer is ended (cf. Isaiah 58:9), but most of all in the power of the special dispensation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who assumed flesh for our sake, suffered death on the Cross, was resurrected, ascended to heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father, where He unceasingly intercedes for us. For “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). For further assistance (for we always need all the help we can get), let us also offer the intercessions of the 16

Beginning to Pray Holy Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, who prays for us day and night, and of all the saints; of archangels and angels, apostles and prophets, shepherds and teachers, together with the martyrs, holy fathers and mothers, and those who have pleased God in every possible way; of our guardian angel and our patron saint, and the saints to whom are dedicated the churches in which we were baptized and in which we pray. By prefacing our prayer with these intercessions, we preface it with humility, which is, of all things, most pleasing to God, for He looks upon no one with more lovingkindness than the person who is meek and humble. “A broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). Be Persistent in Prayer Our prayers are always to be said with tireless persistence—as the Apostle Paul directs, saying: “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2). For, mystically and in a way we do not understand, humble patience, tirelessness, and persistence in prayer conquer the unconquerable God and incline Him to mercy. We recall the Lord’s parable of the insistent requests of the widow who, by her persistence, caused a wicked and unjust judge to grant her petition: “And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me’” (Luke 18:4, 5). The 17 Sample pages only. Purchase the full book at http://store.ancientfaith.com/prayer-in-the-unseen-warfare/

Prayer in the Unseen Warfare Lord gave us this parable for a special purpose—to teach us not to become weary and give up, but to pray patiently, as He said: “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1). If, as we have seen, an unjust judge was persuaded to grant the petition of the widow because she was so persistent, how can God fail to incline His ear to our prayers if we persist in imploring Him—since He is the very essence of lovingkindness? Therefore, when we beg God to grant us something and He seems slow in hearing us, let us continue to pray, keeping firm trust in His help alive in our heart. For diligent prayer is never left unrewarded by God, and He is always ready to pour out rich blessings in return. These blessings will far exceed the expectations of those who pray, if they have no inner obstacles and are not in a condition such that it is better for them that their petition should remain unfulfilled. In this case, God sends them, instead of what they ask, some other good, more profitable for them (whether they are aware of it or not). Consequently, we can see that the confidence that prayer never remains unheard is truly justified. What actually happens is this: when we ask, unaware that what we ask is not profitable for us, God does not send what we ask. And what He does send remains unseen, because seeing it can be dangerous for the one who receives it. Let us, then, always be patient in prayer, convinced that prayer never goes without fruit. If we do not receive 18

Beginning to Pray what we ask, let us believe we are receiving, or will receive, another good in its place. And if we do not see this good, or come to see it, let us not try to find out why this is so. Rather, let us turn to our own unworthiness and fill our soul with humble thoughts and feelings. If we provoke and encourage such thoughts in ourselves, making them firm and solid as a consequence of prayer, then even if we receive absolutely nothing—visible or invisible—let us accept these feelings themselves as the fruit of prayer, beneficial to ourselves and pleasing to God. It is profitable for us to listen to some words of Saint John Chrysostom on prayer: Prayer is a great blessing if practiced in a proper inner state and if we teach ourselves to give thanks to God— both when we receive what we ask and when we do not receive it. For when He gives, and when He does not give, He does it for your good. Thus, when you receive what you ask, it is quite clear you have received it; but when you do not receive it, you also receive, because you thus do not receive what is undoubtedly harmful for you. And not to receive what is harmful means to be granted what is useful. So whether you receive what you ask or not, give thanks to God in the belief He would have always given us what we ask were it not often better for us not to receive it.

Let us, then, always pray to God with patience. And let us render thanks to Him for all things, believing and professing our belief that He is good to us—wisely 19 Sample pages only. Purchase the full book at http://store.ancientfaith.com/prayer-in-the-unseen-warfare/

Prayer in the Unseen Warfare good—and is our loving Benefactor, both when He gives and when He does not give what we ask. Firm in this faith, let us remain humbly obedient to divine Providence, meeting gratefully and gladly everything that happens—pleasant or unpleasant.

STUDY QUESTIONS 1. Write down the content or outline of your present “rule of prayer”—the pattern of prayer you ordinarily follow. Consider (preferably in consultation with your spiritual guide or father) how it might be improved. 2. How do you believe you can implement in your life the recommendations given under the first four subheads in this chapter? (Try to tackle them one at a time.) 3. How could you integrate the recommendations of Saint Basil into your present rule of prayer? Or, if they are already there, how are they incorporated? 4. How do you enumerate your present needs within your present rule of prayer? Are there ways this chapter leads you to make changes in that aspect? What are they? 5. Of all the recommendations given in this chapter, which seem most important and practical to you?