What is prayer,its necessity.

Testimony of spiritual writers does not solve the problem of the necessity of prayer speculatively; they consider it useless. Instead, they seek to lead people to pray frequently practically. They illuminate its need by equations. According to Didache (Doctrine of the 12 Apostles), prayer belongs to the way of light. Sv. Ján Zlatoústy compares it to a spring that jumped in the middle of paradise and gave it to all living things. Without it, paradise would become a wasteland: the soldier’s sword, the Christian’s prayer. For the Church, prayers are a wall against enemies. Sv. John Klimek places praise of prayer into nuclear metaphors: «Prayer is saving the world, peace with God, mother, and daughter of sweet tears, reconciliation of sins, lifting the bridge against temptations, beating against attacks of distress, soothing wars, engaging angels, a diet of souls, future joy an activity that will last forever, virtue, the bearer of all the graces of God … »In the same place of st. Klimek personifies the prayers and presents them: «Give to me all who are labored and overloaded, and I will strengthen you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am quiet and humble in heart, and find rest for your soul. My yoke is pleasant (Mt 11: 28-29); it is the healing of sins. » Russian spiritual writer Teofan Zatvornik (f 1894) divides three layers between man according to the Eastern tradition: body, soul, and spirit. The Spirit is God’s life in us, given by the mysterious presence of the Holy Spirit. Each of these parts has its own characteristic life. The body feeds, breathes, moves. The soul thinks, wants, feels. The characteristic activity of the spirit is prayer, which can be called the “breath of the spirit.” By breathing oxygen penetrantes into the blood and spreads throughout the body. So prayer absorbier the grace of the Holy Spirit and transmits it to all our work. The Holy Spirit is a fire burning in the heart. He needs air to keep the light out. Prayer stirs this holy flame. Otherwise, prayer can compare to basking in the sun. One warms up easily, comfortably, and effortlessly, while in the cold shade, one would have to move and strain a lot. It can, therefore, be said, as Theophan writes, that prayer is a “barometer of spiritual life,” “queen of all virtues,” “science of all sciences.” We end up with a similar quote from St. Augustine: «Is there anything better than prayer? Is something more necessary for life? Is something sweeter for feelings? Is there anything nobler in the whole religion?