St. Ephrem about Prayer

"Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance. Prayer suppresses anger. Prayer prevents emotions of pride and envy. Prayer draws into the soul the Holy Spirit and raises man to Heaven."



- St. Ephrem





(Notice the beautiful order of his thoughts on prayer. For example, one does not pray because one has virtue; virtue is in formation by praying. Also, as I wrote below, prayer is not the process of demanding an answer. Rather, prayer draws the Holy Spirit into the soul, almost like a sponge allows water to slowly seep into it. And then this act of prayer brings the person closer to heaven. This is a truly wonderful and great way to comprehend true prayer.)