How did St. Isaac the Syrian practice prayer without ceasing?

St. Isaac the Syrian relays to us his experience, saying, “When the spirit takes its dwelling-place in a man, he does not cease to pray, because the spirit will constantly pray in him. Then, neither when he sleeps, nor when he is awake, will prayer be cut off from his soul; but when he eats, and when he drinks, when he lies down, or when he does any work,

310 Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart.

311

Benedicta Ward. The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Alphabetical Collection . Trans., Benedicta Ward (Liturgical Press, 1984): pp. 21–22.

312 Also known as St. John Saba or simply, The Spiritual Elder. 313

St. John of Dalyatha, The Letters of John of Dalyatha , trans., Mary T. Hansbury (Gorgias Press, 2006) 51.3–4: p. 246.

even when he is immersed in sleep, the perfumes of prayer will breathe in his soul spontaneously.”³¹⁴