193. The same to the same Great Elder, a petition for prayer. Pray for me, my father, I have fallen into daydreams.

Answer. Brother Andrew! Let us exclaim with St. Paul: O depth of the riches and wisdom and understanding of God! For His judgments have not been tried, and His ways have not been searched (Romans 11:33). As He does not allow us to boast much of our bow and think that our sword will save us: (saves us) the grace of His goodness; for it is said: "For by grace thou art saved" (Eph. 2:8). For this reason He leaves us to fall into daydreams and other passions, so that we may know our weakness, and where else we are. In His goodness He leaves us, for our own benefit, so that we may place our hope and hope in Him, and not in ourselves. But beware of thinking that by the will of God we fall into daydreams and other passions (this is not the will of God), but for our negligence God allows this to happen to us, and in His love for mankind leads us from evil (our deeds) to humility, for our own salvation. What then? Shall we attribute our salvation to evil passions? Let it not be so! Not to the passions, but to His goodness and omniscient wisdom. Understand, then, how He stirred up our minds, so that we do not forget to say: "If the Lord had not helped me, my soul would have dwelt in hell" (Psalm 93:17), and so on. Therefore, knowing that we are subjected to this because of our weakness and because of our negligence, according to our strength, let us try not to fall into the same thing again; and He, in His mercy, will deliver us from these (temptations). He showed the same thing in Peter and Paul: He removed His power from them for a little time, that they might know that they also were men. And one renounced Christ, while the other was lowered in a basket out of the window, so that they might learn to trust not in themselves, but in the Lord of all. Know also who you are; be merciful to him who serves you, and condemn yourself. Humble yourself truly, not only before God, but also before men, and cast all your cares on Him Who is able to do incomparably more than all that we ask or think of (Ephesians 3:20), and He will fulfill all that has been promised to you, because He will not reject those who sincerely asked Him, His own and honest servants, who through Him and in Him were completely freed from the old man, and with inexpressible joy heard from Him: if ye bind them on earth, they shall be bound in heaven (Matt. 18:18), and so on. And He will give them all power in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). Therefore, work for the Lord with fear, and rejoice in Him with trembling (Psalm 2:11). And with unsilent lips thank Him, that through His servants He has had mercy on you and many others. To Him be the glory forever, Amen.

Answer 194, of the same Great Elder to the same one who asked for prayers. May the Most High, Generous and Merciful God give you from above the strength to always learn from what is written to you, and to strive in a truly spiritual matter, that is, to struggle with the thoughts that trouble you. May you also be among those who have received talents and multiplied them, that you may hear the same things that they have heard, and that you may compel yourselves to endure one another; let your land bring forth good and timely fruit to God, a hundredfold, sixty, and thirtyfold. Such is my prayer to God, that when you have done this, I may see you, my sincere friends, in the Kingdom of my God, rejoicing in the Lord.

Question 195, the same to the same Great Elder. Tell me, my father, from what came the temptation that was with us? What does it mean and how is it abolished? And pray that I'll get rid of it.

Answer. The hater of good, the devil, knowing that he benefits your souls, and that there is no way of life more salvific than to bear one another's burdens, envies you and tries to confuse you. That is why the temptation has come to you, which may the Lord abolish. Such temptation is abolished by bearing each other's burdens and praying for the person through whom the temptation occurs. Without attentive podvig, there is no deliverance from temptation. And what comes to your mind to withdraw from here is a temptation that comes from the envy of the devil, through self-justification, in order to separate you from the love of the saints who pray for you and to deprive you of their help. Behold, I have shown you the entrance and the outcome of temptation. Be patient a little and you will be relieved by these temptations in Christ Jesus, Amen.

Answer 196, of the same Great Elder, moreover, when he was exhausted from the temptations that rose up against him.

Andrey! Our unanimous brother, do not faint. God has not forsaken you, nor will He forsake you; but know that the sentence pronounced by the Lord to our common father Adam: "In the sweat of thy brow thou shalt bear thy bread" (Gen. 3:19), is immutable. And just as this commandment is given to the external man, so the inner man is commanded to assist the prayers of the saints by his feats, and they will help man a lot, so that he does not remain barren. For just as gold, which is kindled in a furnace, held with tongs, and struck with a hammer, becomes pure and fit for a royal crown, so a man, sustained by the mighty and abundant prayer of the saints, is inflamed by sorrows, accepts the blows of temptations, and, if he endures everything with gratitude, becomes a son of the kingdom. Therefore, everything that happens to you serves for your benefit, so that you also may receive boldness before God, both through the intercession of the saints and through your own labors. Do not be ashamed to offer their firstfruits to God now, so that instead of spiritual joy sorrow will not overtake you, and believe that He who gave the promises will fulfill them (cf. Heb. 10:23). Hail in the Lord, my beloved.

Answer 197, of the same Great Elder, who also fell into great despondency.

Brother Andrew! May our loving God not allow the enemy who hates good to sow his sorrow and despondency in you, lest he lead you to despair even about what the Holy Spirit has promised you, beloved by the blessed God, but may the Lord open your heart to understand the Scriptures, as He once took the heart of Cleopas (cf. Luke 24:31-32). How, then, did God, even after the promises given to the holy patriarch Abraham, still tempt him? For it is said: "And according to these words" (Gen. 22:1), that is, the promises given to him as a friend of God, who offered such a sacrifice to God and was worthy to suffer no more sorrows, whose faith God imputed to righteousness (cf. Gen. 15:6; James 2:23), and such a man He allowed to fall into temptation, to its trial, and to the unaccountability of the dark powers, that Abraham may be an example for the faithful, for through many tribulations it behooves them to enter into the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22), that by their patience they may save their souls (cf. Luke 21:19), giving thanks to God for all things (Ephesians 5:20). Moreover, remember also St. Job, the ever-present friend of God, true, truthful, blameless and righteous, pious, and shunning every evil thing (cf. Job 1:1), — how God, who did not deserve to endure sorrow, gave him over to temptation, to the test of his virtue, until Job put to shame his enemies and slanderers, so that they fell under rebuke through him. In order to strengthen your faith, bring to mind the author and finisher of our salvation, Jesus (Heb. 12:2), Who delivered us from the curse imposed on us (cf. Gal. 3:13), as He, approaching the time of His cross, showing us the way of patience and salvation, said: Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me, but not as I will, but as Thou wilt" (Matt. 26:39). For our sake, He who once rebuked Peter did this, when he said: "Thou art merciful, O Lord, Thou shalt not have this to be" (Matt. 16:22), showing that He is ready and blesses to suffer; And He prayed to pass over that cup only for the sake of our weakness, so that we would not grow weary when we pray and are not soon heard. Let us kiss the sufferings of our Saviour, Who was made man, and together with Him let us endure reproaches, wounds, humiliation, insult through spitting, the reproach of the scarlet robe, the shame of the crown of thorns, the pain of the piercing of nails, the piercing of the digging, the outpouring of water and blood, and borrow from this the consolation of your illnesses. The Lord will not forsake your labor in vain. He has allowed you to suffer a little sickness, so that you may not be a stranger to the saints, when you see them in that hour, bearing the fruits of endurance of sorrows and glorified, so that you also may be a partner with them and with Jesus, having boldness with the saints before Him. Do not grieve, God has not forgotten you, but cares for you as for His sincere son, and not as an adulterer. You strive well when you carefully pay attention to yourself, so that you do not fall away from the fear of God and from thanksgiving to God. Blessed are you if you have truly become strange and poor, for such will inherit the Kingdom of God. Be of good courage and be strong in the Lord. I do not get tired of writing the same thing to you, but I wish that the Lord grant it to you. Pray for me.

198. A petition to the same Great Elder for the affirmation of his heart and the forgiveness of sins committed throughout his life from his birth.

Answer. May the Lord Jesus Christ heal and strengthen your soul and body, and may He strengthen your heart, so that the hater of good and the hater of mankind, the devil, do not possess you. As for the forgiveness of your sins from the day of your birth to this day, know that the Lord will grant it to you at the end of forty days, so that in this gift you may be a partner in my prayers, for your little patience. Therefore, be of good courage in the Lord and be strong. The Lord is with you, the great Physician of our souls and bodies. Peace be with you in the Lord, my brother.

Answer 199, another Elder John, in addition.

If people call blessed the one who is enriched by worldly goods, then I bless your love incomparably more, for you have been enriched in God, through the prayers of our blessed father. However, if prayer had not warned you, and if he had not said to you: "Be strong, be of good courage, and be strong," you would have fallen into a dangerous illness, so that, after a little negligence and faint-heartedness, you would preserve long-suffering and constancy in your thoughts and in relation to the brethren who serve you, remembering the words of the Apostle: "Bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal. 6:11). 2). Loving, the Lord punished you with mercy, according to the prayer of His servant, so that through enduring a small punishment you would contribute to his prayer, and this patience would be counted to you as a deed, so that the mouth of the enemy would be stopped, so that he could not say: "If he had been tempted by punishment, he would not have been able to stand." So, do not grieve: what you have heard from the Elder will come to pass. Be merciful, according to his word, and be strong.

200. The same elder, when he had been delivered from temptations, with the help of the prayers of the holy elder and his spiritual teaching, sent him to thank him for this. The elder answered him as follows.