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→Prelest and Jesus prayer: quotes from Sts. Gregory of Sinai and Macarius the Great
During practice of the Jesus prayer, the person always encounters an opposition from the demons through the thoughts. They attempt either to make the person abandon the prayer or to make the prayer unpleasing to God, i.e. to drive the person into pride and prelest. There is even such wrong opinion that one can fall into prelest because of the Jesus prayer. This opinion is denied by Valaam elder John (Alexeev): "One falls into prelest not because of the prayer but because of pride, self-conceit and following own will".<ref>{{Ru icon}}[http://valaam.ru/ru/letters_john/2651/ Letters of schema-hegumen John. On Jesus prayer.]</ref> This following own will includes neglecting Confession and advice of the spiritual father, as elder Joseph the Hesychast notes: "It is not just a matter of saying the prayer, but it is also a matter of being attentive. You must be vigilant with your thoughts, masterfully controlling them. Otherwise, they will take control of you and in the end you will become the laughing-stock of the demons. I have never seen a soul make progress in the prayer without frankly confessing secret thoughts".<ref>[http://oprelesti.ru/index.php/concealment-of-sins-in-confession/309-noetic-prayer-is-incompatible-with-concealment-of-thoughts Elder Joseph the Hesychast, Monastic Wisdom, From letter 55.]</ref>
Similar warning to those who follow own will is expressed by St. Gregory of Sinai: "it is impossible for all to be taught this discipline (i.e. unceasing prayer). Obedient<ref> Not according to the simple custom called so, but those who are in obedience to the spiritual father, with the cutting off of their own will and mind. {{in lang|ru}}[https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Makarij_Optinskij/predosterezhenie-chitajushhim-dukhovnye-otecheskie-knigi-i-zhelajushhim-prokhodit-umnuju-iisusovu-molitvu/ St. Macarius of Optina. A warning to those reading spiritual fatherly books and those who wish to practise the noetic Jesus Prayer.]</ref> illiterates and simples can be trained in it – yes – since obedience for the sake of humility is capable of all virtue. But the disobedient, whether simple or educated, are not taught this science lest they fall into prelest. For those who are a law unto themselves cannot escape conceit, which is usually followed by prelest as St. lsaac says. But some people, not thinking of the harm they may do, teach every newcomer the efforts they themselves make to keep remembrance of God, in order that the mind should become accustomed to this remembrance and begin to love it-which is impossible, especially for those accustomed to live as they choose. For, since their mind is impure owing to negligence and arrogance, and is not cleansed with tears, they mostly see images of shameful thoughts instead of prayer, while the impure spirits rooted in their hearts gnash their teeth, disturbed by the terrible name (of God), and strive to destroy the man who thus wounds them. Therefore, if a man, who acts on his own, hears or reads in books about this doing and wishes to practise it, he will suffer one of two things: if he forces himself to efforts he will fall into prelest and will remain uncured or, if he does not make efforts, he will remain unsuccessful his whole life". <ref>St. Gregory of Sinai. Instructions to hesychasts. On silence and prayer. 8. in: Writings from the Philokalia on the Prayer of the Heart. Transl. by E. Kadloubovsky and G.E.H. Palmer.</ref>
At the same time, it is not possible to succeed in the prayer if the person neglects the fight with passions, as St. [[Macarius the Great]] says: "if someone compels himself to the prayer until he attains the gift from God, and does not force or bother himself in the same measure to humility, love, meekness and to other virtues: sometimes the grace of God happens to him by his prayer and petition; because God is merciful, and he gives what is requested to those who ask of Him. But, without having prepared and accustomed himself to the virtues mentioned above, either he loses the grace, or he receives and falls, or does not succeed from arrogance; because he does not commit his will to the commandments of the Lord".<ref>{{in lang|ru}} [https://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Makarij_Velikij/sem-slov/ St. Macarius the Great. Seven Treatises. 1. 14.]</ref>
===False unceasing (self-moving) Jesus prayer===
