When temptation comes upon the unworthy they don’t dare asking the help of God, because in peaceful times (when they were not tempted) they had left the godly will. You shall seek for allies before starting a war and before getting ill, seek for the remedy.

Before being overcome by trouble you shall pray to God and then you will have Him as an ally. Call Him and pray before the struggle comes, and before prayer think about your promises, as they are the spiritual nurture of the soul. Noah’s Arch was prepared since peaceful times and a hundred years before cutting the wood for it. But when the flood came, the bad were vanished and the good had a shelter.

(Translation from Sfântul Isaac Sirul, Cuvinte despre nevoință, Editura Bunavestire, Bacău, 1997, p. 51)