Bless My Enemies, O Lord

Prayer LXXV, Prayers by the Lake, St. Nikolai of Zica

Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

Enemies have driven me into Your embrace more than friends have. Friends have bound me to earth, enemies have loosed me from earth and have demolished all my aspirations in the world.

Enemies have made me a stranger in worldly realms and an extraneous inhabitant of the world. Just as a hunted animal finds safer shelter than an unhunted animal does, so have I, persecuted by enemies, found the safest sanctuary, having ensconced myself beneath Your tabernacle, where neither friends nor enemies can slay my soul. Bless my enemies, O Lord. Even I bless them and do not curse them.

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Russians Defend Christianity

"And when you hear that we look for a kingdom, you suppose, without making any inquiry, that we speak of a human kingdom; whereas we speak of that which is with God, as appears also from the confession of their faith made by those who are charged with being Christians, though they know that death is the punishment awarded to him who so confesses. For if we looked for a human kingdom, we should also deny our Christ, that we might not be slain; and we should strive to escape detection, that we might obtain what we expect. But since our thoughts are not fixed on the present, we are not concerned when men cut us off; since also death is a debt which must at all events be paid." - St. Justin Martyr, First Apology, Chapter 11

A Forerunner of the Jesus Prayer

Abba Isaac in his second conference on prayer sets forth a formula for ceaseless prayer:

"O God, incline unto my aid; O Lord, make haste to help me." - Psalm 69(70):1 

He goes on to teach that ceaseless and pure prayer is learned similarly to how a child learns to write by tracing letters daily over a long period of time (The Conferences: 10.10.1).  Therefore, a simple prayer, also called an arrow prayer by St. John Chrysostom, should be constantly repeated to control the distracted and wandering mind.  St. Chrysostom prescribes a different formula for ceaseless prayer in his hourly prayers for the twenty-four hours of the day, yet the end goal is the same--to obtain a pure heart that constantly abides in Christ.