The Old Testament describes such an incident[84]. During the siege of Samaria by the Syrians, even the city ran out of water. A terrible calamity began, famine, animals died, and mothers went so far as to eat their children. The prophet Elisha went to the steward of King Jehoram and said to him: "The animals have fallen, people are dying of hunger, but God will send us His help." The manager approached everything from the standpoint of logic. "How will He help? he said to the Prophet. "Tomorrow," the Prophet answered him, "God will send us help, but you will not have to rejoice at it." And indeed: the next day God brought a terrible panic to the enemy camp. The Syrians heard the clatter of horses' hooves, the clatter of chariots, and their ears began to ring, and they thought that the Egyptians had come to the aid of the Israelites. They fled, and all that they had - tents, food, weapons - they left in the camp. And when they reached their homeland, the tempter brought such terrible confusion upon them that one hundred and eighty thousand people killed each other. Meanwhile, the four lepers who were sitting at the gates of Samaria said to one another: "Shall we not go into the enemy's camp, and perhaps we shall find some food? After all, one way or another, you have to die." They approached one tent - no one. They approach the other - no one! Not a soul of enemies! They collect food, things - they stuffed whole bags. Then they returned to the city and told the Israelites that the enemy had lifted the siege. But the Israelis decided that this was a military stratagem. "The enemy hid themselves," they said, "to force us to open the gates and thus enter the city." Then one commander suggested: "We have five horses left. Perhaps we should send soldiers to reconnoitre them to see what was happening?" The soldiers went in their own direction and, returning, reported: "The enemies fled in panic, leaving behind everything they had." Then all the Israelites ran to the city gates to get out of the city, to collect food and various things from the enemy camp. And the same manager was in the city gates and tried to restore order there. And so, the crowd rushed through the gate and trampled on him. Everything turned out as the prophet Elisha had predicted: the steward saw God's help, but he did not have to rejoice at it. See how God has put everything in its place?

May God have mercy on the world and send us rain

How wisely everything is arranged by God! As the snow melts, the springs fill. But now[85] there is no snow, no rain. What will come of all this? What will people drink? May God have mercy on the world, may He be propitiated on us and send rain. After all, if the drought continues, then even the leaves on the trees will slowly dry out. On olives, not only a green fruit, but even a green leaf will not be visible. Whatever a person sows, if God does not sprinkle holy water on top, that is, rain, then everything planted will dry up. Rain is holy water.

Unfortunate people, what will they do when there is a shortage of water, having become accustomed to its abundance? God does not give water for sins, but even simply reasoning in a human way: how can there be enough water if people spend it so wastefully? I can imagine what will happen in the cities! After all, only one flush tank in the toilet requires a whole hefty tin can of water. Cities will be filled with microbes, cholera will begin. People will die, remain without burial, and on top of the corpses will be sprinkled with some kind of powder for disinfection. Fortunately for us, God has not yet left the world completely and is caring for it.

We live in apocalyptic times. What, in your opinion, are the droughts, lack of rain that we endure from year to year? Have there been droughts like the current one before? Here, in Halkidiki, the river dried up, the fish died, the stench spread throughout the area. And in Thessaloniki, the problem with water became acute. In Lake Marathon[86] the water level has dropped very low, and islands of land are already visible. In Pineos[87] the water level also dropped. In Evros[88] there used to be at least a little water, but upstream the Bulgarians blocked it with a dam, and it came to naught. If some kind of mess begins, then the tanks will easily pass through the river. And in Cyprus - if it does not rain again this year, then the problem with water will become very acute. And is that all? There is so much more... Trees – some are withering, others are affected by diseases... People get sick and die. If people don't repent, then what kind of rain will there be, will God give it? But do you know how things change if you have trust in God? Is it a joke to have God as your ally? For God, there are no difficult situations, and it is not difficult for Him to find a way out of any situation. For God, everything is simple. He does not use more power for the supernatural and less for the natural, He uses the same power in everything. If only a person would cling to Him — that is the most important thing.

Do you pray for rain or does this question not concern you? Now is the time for people to plow the land and start sowing. The fields should already be sown, but people cannot yet even cope with plowing[89]. This rainlessness is a test from God. And to pray in the event of such trials is the business of a monk. I will not hide the fact that I am dissatisfied with you. In the last drought, when people had to cut wheat for hay because of the lack of rain, you didn't even move about prayer. Why? Because you yourself water the garden with a hose? For this to happen for the last time, next time you must feel pain for people. When you learn about what is happening, pray about it. And write to me about what is happening. You will have to pass exams. If you surrender them—that is, if it rains—then I will make you my co-workers in prayer. And everything that God's Providence will give us, you and I will begin to divide among ourselves.

When, praying for rain, I see that at least one cloud has appeared in the sky, I praise God for sending it, even if it does not rain. And my conscience reproaches me for the fact that there are many spiritual clouds in me that drive away God's clouds. If we humbly ask for God's mercy, then God will help. During a drought, the prayer of a humble person gathers rain clouds. Let us always pray that the rain sent by God will also have a spiritual effect, that it will extinguish the spiritual fire that, through the devil's malice, rages in the world and scorches the souls of people.

I was glad to hear some people say, "We are unworthy, but God has taken pity on us again: He has given us a little rain and snow." If we have such humble thoughts, then God will give us more. At least, the recognition of one's unworthiness is already repentance. Fortunately, there is still some starter left. Ask God to take a screwdriver and tighten the screws in people's heads. I see that some of those who hold high positions are kindly disposed. They understand where we are going.

Let us ask God to give the world repentance

Oh, if only we were aware of God's long-suffering! It took a hundred years to build Noah's Ark[90]. Do you think God couldn't have built some kind of ark quickly? Of course, He could, but He left Noah to suffer for a hundred years so that the others would also understand what awaited them and repent. "Look," Noah said to the people, "there will be a flood! Repent!" but he was laughed at. "What a box he is building!" - Noah's contemporaries ironically and continued their own. And now God can shake the whole world in two minutes and force it to change – so that everyone becomes believers and even "super believers". How? And here's how: if He switches the toggle switch to "earthquake" and begins to slowly turn the amplifier regulator: first to "Richter 5 points", then to "6", then to "7"... On the "eight" high-rise buildings will begin to swing like drunks and hit one another. At the "ten" everyone will say: "You have sinned! We beseech You, save us!" And perhaps people will even vow to become monks – all of them! But as soon as the earthquake is over, and people, although they will still sway a little, will already be able to stay on their feet, they will again run to bars and discos! Because in such a conversion of people to God there will be no real repentance, they will pronounce the words of repentance superficially in order to be saved from evil.

 — Geronda, if some, for example, natural disaster happens as the wrath of God and righteous people pray to God for mercy, does God hear their prayers?

 "Do you know what's going on?" People do not repent, and therefore God does not hear the prayer of the righteous. If, having angered God, we admit our guilt, this is a completely different matter, then God is propitiated on us and helps us. But if a person does not admit that he has angered God, and continues to blow his pipe, then how will God hear the prayers of the righteous? In order for God to forgive a person who has committed a misdeed, he must realize this transgression. And besides, if spiritual people commit errors, then they have no mitigating circumstances. "For our sins and for the ignorance of men,"[91] says one prayer. If the misdeeds of unfortunate worldly people are "ignorance", then the misdeeds of spiritual people are already "sins". Therefore, if the offense is committed by spiritual people, then this is not a joke. Worldly people have mitigating circumstances.

This year[92], when a fire raged on the Holy Mountain during the Dormition Fast, something terrible was happening. All the best firefighters gathered on Mount Athos, but none of them could do anything, they could only watch the flames rage. The fire brigade planes only seemed to intensify and inflate the fire even more. One monastery was surrounded by special fire belts to prevent the fire from passing through them, but the fire, in defiance of all belts, jumped inside the monastery - into the archondarik - where no one expected it. The Holy Mountain burned for fifteen days, and on the fifteenth of August[93] the fire went out of its own accord. Some said: "Why doesn't the Mother of God extinguish it?" But then, when six days later a fire broke out again, this time in a different place on the Holy Mountain, it immediately began to rain and extinguished everything. One fire went out, but the other did not. Is it really not clear why?

Some people, not knowing the existing spiritual laws, pray with pain, but are not heard, because the misfortune that occurs is the wrath of God. And others do not pray at all in some calamity – not a single rosary, because they recognize the justice of God's wrath, the purpose of which is to bring people to their senses. May God grant us monks more enlightenment, for for the most part we are foolish virgins,[94] and our lamps are filled with water—only the wick is a little soaked in oil. And the people of the world are waiting for us to light the way for them, and they will not stumble!