171. The same elder, suffering in illness, again asked the same Elder (John) to pray for him.

John's answer. Thy sickness hath come to thy test; be patient with thanksgiving, and you will soon be pardoned by God. I greet you in the Lord and ask you to pray for me.

172. The same again asked the Great Elder for the same thing.

Answer. So Brother John said that God will soon have mercy on you; What shall I, the last, say? I would be glad if this were to come true today, and I believe that the Lord will send you relief today, through the prayers of His saints. Pray for me, my beloved!

173. After this answer, immediately on the same day (Elder Andrew) recovered and sent to the Elder, thanking him and announcing to him the mercies of God received through him.

Answer Barsanuphius. Our Lord Jesus Christ, announcing joy to His disciples and apostles, said to them: "Rejoice not, for they obey you in My name, but for your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20).

To him be glory, and power, and power forever, Amen.

174. A brother said to this Elder: "Behold, Elder, you have been renewed by the prayers of the saints"; and he answered him: "Every time you have told me this, the demons have crushed my body, and I have noticed this for almost the fourth time." Another Elder was asked about this, and he answered.

John's answer. Envy and unbelief are at work in this matter: envy because the demons do not rejoice when a person is beneficial; Unbelief is such that a person, seeing his weakness, falls into doubt.

Question 175. Tell us, our father, do we suffer from unbelief, or do the demons lead us into it?

Answer. The demons, out of envy, inflict unbelief on us; and if we accept it, we become their servants and accomplices.

Question 176, the same to the Great Elder. My father, when I feel relief from illness, how should I pray then, and what should I practice daily?

Answer. Rejoice in the Lord, and again I say, rejoice (cf. Phil. 4:4)! Thou hast now rejoiced me with thy question (and not only with me), but even more with God and His angels. To what you wrote are the words of the Lord: "This is fitting to do, and not to forsake it" (Matt. 23:23). You must practice psalmody a little, pray a little orally; It also takes time to test and watch over one's thoughts. Whoever has a lot of different foods at dinner, eats a lot, and with pleasure; and whoever eats the same food every day, not only tastes it without pleasure, but sometimes feels, perhaps, disgust from it. So it happens in our state. Only the perfect can accustom themselves to eating the same food every day without aversion. In psalmody and oral prayer, do not bind yourself, but do as much as the Lord strengthens you; Do not abandon reading and inner prayer either. A little of this, a little of that, and so you will spend the day pleasing God. Our perfect fathers did not have a definite rule, but throughout the whole day they fulfilled their rule: they practiced psalmody a little, read prayers orally, tested their thoughts a little, but cared little about food, and did all this with the fear of God. For it is said: "If you do anything, do it all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). May the Lord Jesus preserve us from all evil. Amen.

Question 177, the same to the same Great Elder. How should one examine one's thoughts and how should one avoid captivity (passionate thoughts)?