The elder said: Whether we pray for ourselves or for others, the prayer must be from the heart.
The problems of others should become our problems.
You have to prepare for prayer.
Read a bit of the Gospel and then pray.
It requires an attempt to take the mind to the divine space.
Study is like a gift which God gives us to direct us to greater spirituality. With study the soul is warmed.
Elder Paisios of the Holy Mountain