Not at all, not at all with the saints, with the great ascetics of good. For them, neither the demons nor the devil himself can remain unnoticed, for they most tirelessly watch over their hearts, over everything that the devil and his angels implant in their hearts. They are able to discern very subtly all the cunning of the devil, and it is simple and easy for him to overcome them. He usually tries to overcome them not with lower passions, but with passions of a higher order: he sometimes destroys them with spiritual pride, vanity, self-exaltation and ambition.

But what should he do when the saints do not succumb to these temptations of his, which are very subtle and dangerous – what can he do?! Then he becomes enraged, and just as the enemy marching on the city, if he realizes that he has noticed that he will not be able to attack unexpectedly, he puts aside all secrecy and rushes in a frenzied rush, so do the demons with the saints. In the lives of the saints, which probably many of you have read, it is often narrated how demons openly and shamelessly attacked the saints.

They attacked openly, as if unable to hide from their keen gaze, ceased to hide, threw off their masks, appearing in their true demonic form. They attacked in the form of wild beasts, ready to devour the hermit; reptiles of poisonous, terrible monsters, instilling fear and horror in them. This is what they did with very many, both monks and hermits, both ancient and relatively not very distant from us.

More than 400 years ago there lived the Monk Nil of Stolbensk. He was one of the great monks, and in his life we read how openly, how shamelessly the demons attacked his hermit's cell. But the demons also have other ways of attacking the great righteous: they do not attack themselves, but send their servants from among the people. So it was with many saints, so it was with our venerable and God-bearing father Seraphim of Sarov, who, at the instigation of the devil, was attacked by robbers, beaten to death, mutilated, broke his ribs and fractured his skull. This is one of the tricks of the devil.

So diverse are the paths that demons take, seeking to destroy us. Beginning with an easy, effortless attack on the careless, on the unbelievers, they resort to more and more subtle and cunning methods of catching us in their nets. This is the kind of warfare about which the Apostle Paul speaks against the spiritual wickedness in high places, against principalities, against powers, against the world-keepers of the darkness of this world.

He says that in the struggle against them, in order to protect ourselves, we must put on the whole armor of God. "Wherefore take unto ye the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having overcome all things, to stand" (Ephesians 6:13). As a warrior going into battle puts on armor, takes a shield, helmet and sword, so each of us must always be fully armed with God. "Stand therefore, having girded up your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, – stand boldly against these accursed demons, stand with your loins girded up, instead of the girdle of war, with the truth of Christ, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the readiness to preach the gospel of peace" (Ephesians 6:14-15).

Oh, only those who are full of righteousness, who have many, many good deeds and spiritual feats, are clothed in this armor, so terrible to demons. Not war, not bloodshed, not violence, but peace, God's holy peace, the Apostle Paul says in his Epistle to the Romans in the words of the great prophet Isaiah: "As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who preach peace, who preach good tidings!" (Romans 10:15) – even their feet are beautiful.

And now, when there is so little peace on earth, when a third war, unprecedented in cruelty and horror, is being prepared, we, Christians, need to shoe our feet as much as possible in readiness to preach the gospel of peace, we need to rise up with all the strength of our souls against those interventions, against those aggressions that torment the peoples so terribly involved in the struggle. Oh, how it is especially necessary now that it should be evident everywhere and everywhere that we think only of peace, that we hate with all our hearts war, bloodshed, and the extermination of people.

"… and above all, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery arrows of the evil one..." Red-hot arrows are constantly shot into our hearts by demons and wound and destroy a multitude of human hearts. And we have been given a shield, the cross of Christ, for with it we receive the power to resist both the devil and the demons. And we will manifest this power when we are inspired by deep faith in God and boundless love for Christ.

The accursed demons tremble before this shield, and their head, Satan, trembles. "… and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:16-17). Put on a helmet, a spiritual helmet – not a steel helmet that protects you from bullets, not from bomb fragments, but a helmet of hope for salvation, a helmet of hope that the Lord is with us and has given us the strength and authority to fight the devil.

And what kind of sword is this, not steel, not double-edged, but the sword of the word of God? What is its power? This is what St. Paul says: "The word of God is alive and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword: it pierces to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Heb. 4:12). By the Word of God, by this terrible sword for the enemy, we can work miracles.

The Word of God is so infinitely powerful, so effective, so deeply penetrating into the hearts of people, able to shake them so much, that sometimes suddenly a person, mired in sins and impiety, is suddenly transformed, struck by the power of the word of God. You see what a full armor God has given us to protect us from the wiles of the devil. You see that God does not abandon us in good works, you see that we have received the armor of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the shield of God and the sword of the Spirit – the word of God.

So, don't we really use this holy armor, are we really careless, don't we try to acquire it?! And how to buy it? Only in one way: by faith and prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ, by tireless exercise in the virtues which are prescribed in his holy law; by constant remembrance of this protection, by striving always, always, day by day, to create, to keep all His commandments.

Then, and only then, will we receive the full armor of God, then we will not be alone: our Lord Jesus Christ Himself will fight with us against the spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places, against the rulers of the darkness of this world. For this is why He ascended the cross, and for this reason He shed His most pure Blood, in order to give us this all-armored armor of God. We will be subjected to the most grievous punishment if we do not consider the Blood of Christ as holy, by which we are saved and sanctified.