— Geronda, can you tell us something about the immersion into the Prayer?
— About the sweet immersion? No one starts with that as the goal.
— Yes, Geronda, one does not set off to acquire that experience, but what is the struggle that must precede it?
— Basically, there must be no selfishness; there must be nobility of spirit and the willingness to sacrifice.
The surest way is for one to cultivate the Prayer in a noble manner. That is to say, one must think of the abundant benefactions of God and one's own tremendous ingratitude before God. Then the soul is pressed, humbly, on its own, out of a sense of philotimo, and, anguished, asks for the mercy of God. Thus, the need for the mercy of God is constantly increased, and the Prayer becomes a prayer of the heart that gradually brings the sweetness of divine solace into the soul, and divine exultation, later on.
(St. Paisios of Mt. Athos; On Prayer, page 194)