An important aspect of this second stage is meditation and contemplation on the inner meaning of Holy Scripture. In the third stage, the soul returns to its original state of being without a body. All were given bodies, which was not to be considered a punishment but a means of healing. Thus the whole of Evagrius' stages of spirituality is directed to restoring the union that the souls had originally with God. Thus the Christian no longer approaches the Creator through the works of creation, but meets God directly, face to face, in a union of love.
Contemplation is simple, absolutely imageless.
Prayer is a communing of the mind with God and is effected by God's own condescension to the soul. Prayer of the lower stages is a possibility for man but of this highest stage it is always a gift of God alone. Blessed is the intellect that during prayer is free from materiality and stripped of all possessions. For Evagrius ecstasy is not the highest form of prayer. The mind does the work of emptying itself of all its contents and contemplates God.