The spiritual heart 3

After this sincere self-examination and investigation of the heart, there follows the first and very important way of its purification, prayer. An ardent prayer. Whichever prayer, but especially the prayer of the heart, "Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon me a sinner" which we must repeat many times daily. The prayer of the heart, or otherwise known as noetic prayer (νοερά προσευχή - noera prosefhi),

has spectacular results on the heart's purification. It acts miraculously and has cleansed numerous hearts throughout the ages. Whoever wants to clean his heart, must use it as a strong medicine, and take the required "doses" often. The average "dose" is for a Christian to say this prayer 200 times in the morning, 200 times at noon or afternoon, and 200 times at night after the compline service. A prayer rope (κομποσκοίνι - komboskini) would be practical for this.

St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain similarly instructs Christians who live in the world, saying "And if you can't constantly occupy yourself with this -- noetic prayer -- due to the concerns and disturbances which you have in the world, set aside one or two hours, best in the afternoon or at night, and when you withdraw yourself to a quiet and dark place, occupy yourself with this holy and spiritual work of noetic prayer." But again, this canon is not absolute. Our spiritual father can proportionately regulate our canon. But then, let us not still think that in applying this canon we are finished. No. The prayer of the heart must be said secretly all day, and in this way we execute the commandment of the Holy Scripture which states, "Pray continually."  This continual prayer of the heart will definitely bring the desired results.

                                                                            Abbott Spyridon, The Heart