How is dying with Christ understood in the life of asceticism?

In the Paradise of the Fathers it says:

“Abba Abraam of the Eastern region said, ‘If a man patiently mortifies his body, he shall attain victory and shall behold the power of the Lord and His wonders.’”

“On one occasion, a certain demoniac came to Scete, and having passed a long time without being healed, he complained about the matter to one of the old men, who made the sign of the Cross over him, and healed him. But the devil was angry, and said to the old man, ‘Now that you have cast me out I will come upon you’; and the old man said to him, ‘Come gladly, and I shall rejoice.’ And the old man passed twelve years with the devil inside him, vexing him, now he used to eat twelve dates each day, and after these years that devil leaped out of him, and departed from him. Now when the old man saw that he was taking to flight, he said to him, ‘To whom do you flee? Continue [with me] longer’; and the devil answered

503 St. Augustine of Hippo, Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount 1.6.17 (NPNF I/6:9) amended.

504 St. Cyril of Alexandria, A Commentary upon the Gospel According to St. Luke: Part II , trans. R. Payne Smith (Oxford University Press, 1859) 118: p. 548.

505 St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Vol. 2 10.2 (LFHCC 48:441).

506 St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Vol. 2 11.7 (LFHCC 48:499).

as said to him, ‘By Jupiter, God has made you useless, O old man; God alone is equal to your strength.’”⁵⁰⁷

Abba Pishoy said, “A person can never pray to the Lord with fear [of God] if he does not practice abstinence and the mortification of the self, and it is impossible for a person to purify his heart without abstinence and austerity. But if he perseveres in abstinence, the Lord grants him fear and purity of heart, and he is filled with the graces of the Lord.”

“A brother asked Abba Poemen , ‘Does fornication war against you also, the elders, as it does against us today?’ Abba Poemen answered, ‘Yes, my son, but hunger and thirst do not allow us to think about fornication. We watch the sun until the moment it sets so that we may eat our little bread and drink our small portion of water. In the past, we would eat honey instead of bread and honeycomb instead of water, because the mortification of the self changes the bread in our mouths to honey and the water to honeycomb. Even though we did not kill the body, we forced it to be content with what was sufficient; nor did we subdue the body excessively, but only to the degree given to us by the Lord.’”