And therefore the spirits of wickedness in the heavenly places can dwell in the spirit of sinful people and take possession of it. You know the phenomena of hypnosis: the hypnotist paralyzes the will of the sleeper with his will and can force him to do whatever he pleases. And these commands are carried out quite accurately after suggestion in a state of hypnosis. In the same way, the will of demons enters the hearts of sinners and governs them and torments them. Then sinners do the will of demons.

One must defend oneself against this, defend oneself by the means that were indicated by Christ – fasting and prayer. But it is necessary to delve deeper into how to understand these words of Christ; does this mean that it is enough to pray in the morning and evening, to go to church and to keep the fasts established by the Church in order to achieve the goal? No, it does not mean that Lent must be understood immeasurably more broadly: fasting must be abstinence from all the passions and lusts of the flesh, from everything that pleases it, with which it resists the spirit.

To observe the fast means to renounce oneself, from the pleasures of one's flesh and spirit, it means to be a servant of the will of God. And prayer, which can cast out demons, must be a bottomless, deep, uninterrupted prayer, such as the saints prayed. It must be imbued with the deepest repentance. If a person denies himself, takes up his cross and follows Christ, if he prays constantly, then he will acquire power over demons.

Demons will not dare to dwell in his spirit: they can only dwell in an unclean place, they cannot dwell in a holy place. Let us, too, who are far, far from the image of the saints, always be pure, let us always fast, always pray, and then there will be no access to demons in our hearts. And then all those demons will be cast out of our heart, which for many years have taken refuge in it.

Remember: the power of Christ cast out a legion of demons from the Gadarene demoniac man; remember: the Lord sent His disciples into the world to cast out demons. Let us set ourselves the task of casting out demons from our own hearts. First of all, we humbly realize that we are possessed by demons. If in this humble consciousness we begin with repentance, if we have recourse to the all-powerful help of God, then we will receive the grace of God.

Then you too will cast out demons, cast out not only from your own heart, but also from the hearts of the unfortunate demoniac around you.     On the 90th Psalm  , August 6, 1948 Friday of the 6th week after Pentecost   "He who lives in the help of the Most High shall dwell in the shelter of the God of heaven, saith the Lord: Thou art my intercessor and my refuge, my God, and I trust in Him" (Psalm 90:1-2) Who lives in the help of the Most High?

Who will dwell in the shelter of the God of heaven? Are you all, are you all baptized, are you all Christians? Oh, however hard it is to say, I must say: "Not all." Do you all live in the help of the Most High? Is the life of all of you directed towards one great and holy goal – to glorify God, to love God, to love people, to do works of mercy, to fulfill the law of Christ? No, not all.

Only those who live in this way, live in the help of the Most High, dwell in the shelter of the Heavenly God, only He dares to say to God: "Thou art my intercessor and my refuge." Only for him is the Lord the Intercessor, only for them is He a refuge. Only those who dare to trust in Him who honor God with all their hearts, who serve Him with their lives, who serve Him with their love for people.

"For He shall deliver thee from the snare of the hunter, and from the rebellious word: His lash shall overshadow thee, and under His krill thou shalt trust: His truth shall encircle thee with a sword" (v. 3-4). Those who dwell in the shelter of the God of heaven, those for whom God is a refuge, He will deliver them from the snare of the hunter and from the rebellious word. What kind of trapper's net is this? There are different kinds of nets, and the most terrible is the one that St. Anthony the Great saw: he was shown a huge, terrible snare spread on the earth, and it was said that this was the snare of the devil.

We walk in the midst of many snares, in the midst of the snares that the devil sets at every step. And these snares of the devil are the most terrible for us. We also walk in the midst of the snares set by evil people who hate us, envy us, people who seek only their own well-being and seek to push away from their path all those who hinder them. They speak words that are rebellious, alien to peace and love, words full of evil and hatred, calling for rebellion.

And from all these snares and from these rebellious words the Lord will deliver those who dwell under His roof. "His lash shall overshadow thee, and under His krill thou shalt trust, His truth shall encircle thee with a sword." As if He would protect you with His shoulders, He would stand before you, He would stretch out His arms, He would set His mighty shoulders to protect you, and you would have a firm hope of safety under these mighty shoulders, under these outstretched wings.

"His truth shall encircle thee with a sword." Truth is a huge, Divine power, more terrible for enemies and, above all, for the enemies of the human race, as a weapon of God, a weapon of God's grace, a weapon of our strong faith in Him and unshakable hope in Him. This weapon will protect everyone and save them from fears. "Fear not the fear of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the days, nor the things that pass away in darkness, nor the garbage and the demon of the noonday" (vv. 5-6).

There are many fears at night: we hear voices, knocks and noises that frighten us; we are subjected to terrible attacks by thieves and robbers. Often, when we are awake, unclean spirits attack us, and torment us, and instill in us a great fear. "From the arrow that flies into the days." What arrows fly during the day? Not only those material arrows that wound us — now, however, they are no longer arrows, now bullets and other instruments of wounding.

From everything that happens in darkness, from all that evil that loves the cover of night, for under the cover of darkness the most grievous sins are committed: murder, theft, fornication and adultery. "From the gristle and the demon of the noonday." "Ot sryashcha" is a Slavic word, it means "from an encounter": from a dangerous and bad encounter with evil and dangerous people and an even more dangerous encounter with demons.