Believe it or not, this is a good sign. Let me explain:

If the devil knew that your prayers were going to be useless, he would leave you and your thoughts alone and let you spend your whole life praying from the Agbia. But the fact that he is attacking you with temptations at the very time of prayer means that he is running scared. He knows that those prayers are going to put you into closer contact with God, and that’s the last thing he wants.

So don’t lose hope! You by yourself can never defeat the devil. He’s just too smart, too crafty and has too much experience (apart from being an ex-archangel!) But you and God make an unbeatable team. So what you need to do is get God involved in this battle. Here are a few ideas you could try – see what works for you:

• Pray your own little prayer asking for God’s protection at the beginning of your Agbia prayer.
• Humble yourself before God. The devil just can’t stand humility.
• Slip in a few little cries for God’s help in between the Agbia prayers.
• Do a metania every time the battle gets too hard. Bow before God and confess to him how weak you are, and beg Him to come to your aid.
• When things get really tough, stop the Agbia prayers for a few minutes and just focus on repeating the Jesus Prayer (“O, my Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner�) and saying its words from the depths of your heart.
• Are you praying too fast? This can make it difficult to concentrate and feel the words you are praying so your mind wanders off.
• Are you praying too slowly? This can lead to tiredness and boredom. Prayer sessions that are longer than a person can cope with can sometimes lead to a person avoiding prayer altogether!
• Before you start, remind yourself why you are praying – hopefully, because you love God and you miss Him. Then think of the Agbia prayers as beautiful ‘love poems’ written by the saints that helped them to open up their hearts and lives to their beloved Saviour. Use them for the same purpose.
• Never give up. Never lose hope. Settle it in your heart that you will keep fighting these thoughts, even if it take you for the rest of your life.

May God bless you in your prayers.