from the desert: how can we pray?

Abba Macarius was asked, "How should one pray?" The old man said: "There is no need at all to make long discourses. It is enough to stretch out one's hands and say, `Lord, as you will, and as you know, have mercy.' And if the conflict grows fiercer say, `Lord, help!' He knows very well what we need and He shows us His mercy."
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