Would you obtain patience to bear up against adversities, be assiduous in prayer. Would you obtain strength to overcome trials and temptations, be assiduous in prayer. Would you become acquainted with the subtle deceits of Satan in order to avoid them, would you cheerfully persist in the service of God, and tread the paths of mortification and affliction for his sake; woudl you renounce all carnal desires, and wholly betake yourself to a spiritual life, be assiduous in prayer. If you wish to destroy evil thoughts, be a man of prayer. If you are desirous to enrich your mind with holy reflections, and your heart with virtuous, fervent, and pious desires, be a man of prayer. If you are willing to strengthen your good purposes with manly resolution and steady perseverance, be a man of prayer. In a word, whether you mean to extirpate vice from, or implant virtue in your breast, make prayer your constant study.
[Bonaventure, Life of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Chapter XXXVI), in Saint Bonaventure: A Collection, Aeterna Press (2016) pp. 155-156.]
