Somewhere it says in a Patristic text in Philokalia: “Pray immaterially to the immaterial God.”

That is, approach the immaterial and invisible God and speak with Him through prayer,

1. Without imagination, without shapes or images or ideas or other creations of the mind, since God is formless (has no form), unimaginable and

2. Denuding our minds of all things for the purpose of a simple approach to..

3. Depriving our mind of all sense and thought, since God is exactly above all sense, thought, and..

4. Mind that is not dispersed, returns to itself (according to Basil the Great) and through itself relates to God, Who is – as we have said – above every concept and..

5. Then, with the help of a light inhalation, we lower our minds within ourselves, in the region of the chest, and after removing all thought and knowledge of our self, let us pray inwardly, with a pure mind and a pure soul, immaterially to the immaterial Lord, concentrate to the words of the prayer (or of the Service) and focus our minds…

We add to the above the following:

1. As we said, we remove all personal knowledge, during prayer, and confine ourselves only to the words of the prayer (or of the Service); in other words, we become like little children (who know nothing and expect to hear…), according to the word of the Lord, when He said: “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3).
   And the kingdom of heaven, my brethren, is within us; according to the word of the Lord again: ” For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).

2. We have also said, that we remove every thought of our own, during prayer. What our Christ said elsewhere applies here also: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me” (Mt 16, 24).
   And indeed: What is more than own thoughts, which we are called upon to renounce at the time of prayer?

I wish you, my brethren and sisters, with God’s help, every success in prayer…