How often do we practice prayer from the heart? Do we even understand what it is? Have we asked the Holy Spirit? Do we concentrate on actually feeling it?

It’s how we pierce Heaven—draw the paradisaical—and also how we effectively ward off the evil one.

“To pray more,” the Virgin at Medjugorje said on March 1, 1984, “does not mean an increase in the amount of prayers, but a more intense desire for God.”

“A great struggle is about to unfold, a struggle between my Son and Satan,” she said on August 2, 1981, a bit over a month after the first apparition. “Human souls are at stake” (August 2, 1981).

“Satan exists. He seeks only to destroy” (February 14, 1982).

“Do not fall asleep in prayer,” she said on February 7, 1985. “Satan attacks the parish insidiously.”

“Pray that every trial of Satan be transformed to the glory of God” (February 7, 1985).

We cite these early messages because they were foundational, recorded by the great Mariologist, Father Rene Laurentin (in an out-of-print book called Messages and Teachings). They are timeless, resembling Scriptural passages with their potent economy of language.

“I do not need a hundred or two hundred Our Fathers. It is better to pray one, but with the desire to encounter God” (March 9, 1985).

“I invite you to prayer of the heart; do not pray in a routine fashion” (May 2, 1984).

A year later (May 30, 1985): “I invite you again to prayer made from the bottom of the heart. Let it become your daily bread.”

“If you pray with the heart, every obstacle will disappear” (January 23, 1986).

“Every trouble comes from Satan,” she explained on August 25, 1983. “Satan is enraged against you. He seeks above all to plunge you into confusion.”

Always remember that evil marker: confusion. Also, animosity. Harsh thoughts. Division.

“I invite you to engage in battle against Satan through prayer, because you know he is active; he also wants to intensify his action” (August 8, 1985. “It is only through prayer that you will conquer the influence of Satan, wherever you may be” (August 7, 1986).

And so it goes.

“Arm yourselves against Satan with the rosary in hand” (August 8, 1985).

We must watch and defend ourselves particularly against deception, for Satan, says Scripture, is the “father of lies.”

Christians can be especially susceptible if they do not hold everything in that prayer from the heart.

“Be on your guard,” she said. “This period is very dangerous for you. The devil tries to lead you astray. Those who give themselves to God will be the subject of attacks” (July 26, 1983).

Messages to be read and re-read and put into action.

[resources: Spirit Daily pilgrimage to Medjugorje]