I much appreciated the expression of what the desert fathers meant by prayer, as well as how their way of life was infused, or "caught", and nothing they could create of their own ideas or to be "taught."
Turning all in our lives, day and night, to God is prayer. I agree, and I'm just learning the depths of this reality with thoughts, emotions, and all facets of any aspect of daily life. One can turn it all to God; or perhaps more accurately, God Who Is Love and Creator is receptive of all that we offer Him; and beyond what we consciously are aware that we can offer, we offer to Him.
From the introduction in The Hermit Fathers: the Spirit Born, by Fr. Samaan El Souriany:
"The essence of the spirituality of the desert is that it was not taught but caught; it was a whole way of life. It was not a secret doctrine or a predetermined plan of ascetic practice that would be learned and applied. The Desert Fathers did not have a systematic way; they had the hard work and experience of a lifetime of striving to re-direct every aspect of body, mind and soul to God. That is also what they meant by prayer: prayer was not an activity undertaken for a few hours each day; it was a life continually turned towards God."
Multum in parvo: much in little.
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