Two paths to choose from
In the light of the Bible, every person can live his life following one of two opposing paths. One is the path of salvation, the path to God. The other is the path of destruction, the path to the devil. The choice of path directly depends on your attitude to what happened on Golgotha more than 2000 years ago. Absolutely everyone living on earth will personally choose and walk along the path they have chosen: Enter at the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many go there; for narrow is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it. (Matt. 7:13,14).
Blessed are they who keep His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and to enter into the city through the gates. And outside are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices iniquity. (Rev. 22:14,15).
Two paths have steps
As we read the Bible, we discover that both the path to God and the path to destruction are not a smooth road, but have steps. In the good path, the believer grows in God to perfection in love: ...then you, making every effort to this, show in your faith virtue, in virtue prudence in prudence self-control, in self-control patience, in patience godliness, in godliness brotherly kindness, in brotherly kindness love . (2 Peter 1:3-7).
The path of destruction also contains steps along which a person degrades. If the path of salvation contains eight steps, then the path of destruction is only three: ... but everyone is tempted, being carried away and enticed by his own lust; lust, having conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin that is committed gives birth to death. (James 1:14,15)
What a short path, only three steps, and the third is DEATH.
The purpose of today's topic is to help understand at what stage in destruction it is not too late to stop and resist the devil. And how to resist him?
Three steps to destruction
So, there are only three steps down: temptation, sin, death. What a short way and how close death is. Eve made a similar journey at the forbidden tree. There are also only three steps: desired, ate, died. Just three steps from God, the Source of life, are enough and the consequence will be eternal destruction. Complete cessation of personal existence. A complete lack of opportunity to contemplate God’s creation and feel like a part of it!
What is sin that leads to death, to the third stage? Whoever commits sin also commits iniquity; and sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4); ...for by the law is the knowledge of sin. (Rom.3:20); What shall we say? Is it really sin from the law? No way. But I knew sin no other way than through the law. For I would not understand desire if the law did not say: do not desire. (Rom.7:7)
Violation of the will of the Creator, expressed in the 10 commandments of His holy Law, is a sin leading to death. For the wages of sin is death... (Rom. 6:23).
Death is the result of sin. This is a reward for its owner. When a person sins, then, having not yet reaped the wages of sin - death, it may seem to him that he still has time, one more step. But it's not that simple. Every action a person makes leaves a mark on his mind. How a man walked across the grass and left a mark. I did something and left a mark. Do it a few times and you already see a well-trodden path. Just honestly, on what basis do people choose a path, walk along the weeds or along a well-trodden path?
It's easy to walk on asphalt
In spiritual life, walking through the weeds is doing something for the first time, and walking along a well-trodden path is doing something out of habit. A first-time smoker and a smoker with 10 years of experience have different degrees of dependence on the action taken. Continuing to commit sin, the path becomes a road. The habit is even stronger. And after a while, life in sin becomes compacted asphalt.
I don’t believe that anyone, having a convenient asphalt road in front of them, will walk through the weeds of the unknown. That is, sin will become an integral part of a person’s life, without which a person cannot live. And proof of the above is the phrase that even believers say: it is impossible to live a holy life without sin on a sinful earth!
Living in sin only leads to death
It is naive to believe that being at the second stage of spiritual degradation, living in sin, we will be saved on the day of the Second Coming of Christ. The Word of God does not support such a theory: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. (Rom. 1:18).
Let the unrighteous still do injustice; let the unclean one still become unclean; let the righteous still do righteousness, and let the holy one still be sanctified. Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his deeds. (Rev. 22:11,12).
Life in sin promises nothing but death. This means that you need to stop before the second stage; at the first stage there is temptation.
The mere presence of temptation does not automatically place you on the first stage of destruction.
First of all, it is necessary to understand that the mere presence of temptation does not automatically place us on the first step of the road leading to destruction. Let's remember the story of Joseph:
And his master’s wife turned her eyes to Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife: Behold, my master does not know anything in the house with me, and he has given everything that he has into my hands; I am no longer in this house; and he forbade me nothing except you, because you are his wife; How can I do this great evil and sin before God? When she said this to Joseph every day, and he did not listen to her to sleep with her and be with her, it happened one day that he entered the house to do his work, and none of the household was there in the house; She grabbed him by his robe and said, “Lie with me.” But he, leaving his clothes in her hands, ran and ran out. (Gen.39:7-13).
Potiphar's wife dragged Joseph onto the first step of his perilous path, tempting him to break the seventh commandment of God's law, which commands “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” But he refused to do this.
When you begin to desire to commit sin, then you enter the first stage of destruction.
Only when temptation comes close to the will of a person to the point of intimacy so much that they merge into one whole, and a person begins to want to commit a sin, then he finds himself on the first step leading to destruction. After this, his lust conceives from temptation, and all this results in action. This is how sin is born - this is the second step of the destructive path.
I assure you that the one whose desires have merged with temptation and become lust will no longer overcome sin. Because sin had already entered his mind and made a nest for itself in it. The Savior said this about it: You have heard what was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matt. 5:27,28).
Optina Pustyn
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During the Grief
Psalm 3
Lord, why have you multiplied the cold? many rise up against me, many speak against my soul; there is no salvation for him in his God. But you, Lord, are my intercessor, my glory, and lift up my head. I cried out to the Lord with my voice, and he heard me from his holy mountain. I fell asleep and fell asleep, and arose, as if the Lord would intercede for me. I will not be afraid of the people around who attack me. Arise, Lord, save me, my God; for you have struck down all those who are at war with me in vain, you have crushed the teeth of sinners. Salvation is the Lord's, and Your blessing is upon your people.
Psalm 53
God, in your name save me and in your power judge me. God, hear my prayer, inspire the words of my mouth; as strangers rose up against me, and sought my soul with strength, and did not offer God before them. Behold, God helps me, and the Lord is the intercessor of my soul; the evil one will turn away my enemy; consume them with your truth. I will devour you according to my will; let us confess to your name, O Lord, that it is good; for you have delivered me from all sorrow, and my eye has looked upon my enemies.
Psalm 58
Deliver me from my enemies, O God, and deliver me from those who rise up against me; deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from the men of blood. For behold, having caught my soul, the mighty ones attacked me; Below is my iniquity, below is my sin, Lord; without iniquity we have flown and corrected; arise to meet me and see. And you, Lord God of hosts, God of Israel, visit all languages; May you not show mercy to all those who practice iniquity. They will return in the evening, and will hunger like a dog, and will go through the city. Behold, these speak with their mouth, and the sword is in their mouth; like who is listening? And you, Lord, laugh at them and abase all languages. I will preserve my power for you; for you, O God, are my intercessor. My God, His mercy will go before me; My God will show me against my evils. Do not kill them, lest they forget your law; squander your strength and bring it down, my protector, Lord. The sin of their lips is the word of their lips; and let them be in their pride, and from oaths and lies they will be proclaimed in death, in the wrath of death, and they will not be; and they will show that God rules over Jacob and over the ends of the earth. They will return in the evening, and will hunger like a dog, and will go through the city; they will be filled with food; If they don’t get enough, they will grumble. I will sing of your strength and rejoice in the morning about your mercy; for you were my intercessor and my refuge in the day of my tribulation. You are my helper, I sing to you; For God is my intercessor, my God, my mercy.
Psalm 142
Lord, hear my prayer, inspire my prayer in your truth, hear me in your righteousness; and do not enter into judgment with your servant, for no one living will be justified before you. For the enemy has driven away my soul; I humbled my belly to the ground; He planted me in dark, like dead centuries. And my spirit is depressed within me, my heart is troubled within me. I have remembered the days of old, I have learned from all your deeds, I have learned from your handiwork that I have created. My hands lift up to you; my soul is like a waterless land to you. Hear me soon, O Lord, my spirit has disappeared; do not turn your face away from me, and I will become like those who go down into the pit. I hear you show me your mercy in the morning, for I trust in you; tell me, Lord, the way, in the same way I will go, as if I took my soul to you. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, I have come to you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; Your good spirit will guide me to the right land. For your name's sake, Lord, live for me in your righteousness; remove my soul from sorrow; and by your mercy consume my enemies and destroy all my cold souls; for I am your servant.
Psalm 101
Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you. Do not turn your face away from me; In the day when I mourn, incline your ear to me; One day I will call you, hear me soon. As if my days had disappeared, like smoke, and my bones had dried up. I was wounded like grass, and my heart was gone, as if I forgot to take my bread. Because of the voice of my groaning my bone cleaves to my flesh. We became like the tawny owl of the desert, like a nighttime corvid on a ruin. Bdekh and bykh like a special bird on the roof. All day long I have been reproached by you, and those who praise me are cursed by me. Behind me there is ashes, as I have eaten my bread and dissolved my drink with weeping, from the face of your anger and rage; For as you exalted you, you cast me down. My days have turned away like the shade, and I have dried up like hay. But you, Lord, endure forever, and your memory endures forever. You have risen, having spared Zion; for the time has come to reward him, for the time has come. For thy servants are well disposed towards his stone, and his dust shall be spoiled. And the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth shall fear thy glory; for the Lord of Zion will build and appear in his glory. Consider the prayer of the humble and do not despise their prayers. May this be written for generations, and the people of the land will praise the Lord; as if from the height of His holiness, the Lord looked down from heaven to earth, to hear the sighing of the chained, to release the sons of the slain; proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem, and always gather together the people and the king who work for the Lord. Answer him on the way of his fortress; Bring up the lowliness of my days to me; do not bring me to the end of my days; in the generation of your summer. In the beginning, O Lord, you founded the earth, and the works of your hand are the heavens. They will perish, but you remain; and they will all promise like a robe, and like a garment they will take away, and they will be changed. You are the same, and your years will not become scarce. The sons of your servants will dwell, and their seed will be corrected forever.
During temptations
Psalm 36
Do not be jealous of those who are evil, nor be jealous of those who commit lawlessness. Like the grass, they will soon dry up, and like the herb, the herbs will soon disappear. Trust in the Lord and do goodness; and they inhabited the earth, and enjoyed its riches. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will grant you the petitions of your heart. Open your way to the Lord and trust in him, and he will do it. And he will bring out your truth like light and your destiny like noon. Obey the Lord and beg him. Do not be jealous of the one who sleeps on his way, the person who commits a crime. Stop being angry and abandon rage; do not be jealous, even if you are deceitful, those who are wicked will be consumed, but those who endure the Lord will inherit the earth. And yet a little while, and there will be no sinner; and you seek its place and will not find it. The meek ones will inherit the earth and enjoy the abundance of the world. The sinner despises the righteous and gnashes his teeth; The Lord will laugh at him, and will foresee that his day will come. The sinner has drawn the sword, strained her bow, cast down the wretched and the poor, and slain the upright in heart. Let their sword enter into their hearts, and let their bows be broken. A little is better for the righteous than much for the riches of sinners. The sinners' muscles will be broken, but the Lord confirms the righteous. The Lord knows the way of the blameless, and their success will endure forever. They will not be ashamed in times of cruelty and in days of famine they will be satisfied, as sinners will perish. Defeat the Lord, and become glorified by them and ascend, disappearing like smoke. The sinner borrows and does not return; the righteous one is generous and gives. For those who bless him will inherit the earth, but those who curse him will be consumed. From the Lord, man’s feet are straightened, and his ways are greatly admired. When he falls, he will not be broken, for the Lord strengthens his hand. The youngest was, for he grew old, and did not see the righteous man left, below his seed asking for bread. All day long the righteous man shows mercy and gives back, and his seed will be a blessing. Turn away from evil and do good, and dwell in the age of the century. For the Lord loves judgment and will not abandon His saints; will be preserved forever; But the wicked will become wives, and the seed of the wicked will be consumed. The righteous will inherit the earth and dwell in it forever and ever. The mouth of the righteous will learn wisdom, and his tongue will speak judgment. The law of his God is in his heart, and his feet will not falter. The sinner looks at the righteous and seeks to kill him; The Lord will not leave him in his hand; he will judge him below when he judges him. Be patient with the Lord and preserve his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the earth; never be consumed by a sinner, see. I saw the wicked being exalted and towering like the cedars of Lebanon; and he passed by, and behold, he was not there, and he sought him, and his place was not found. Maintain kindness and see righteousness, for there is a remnant for a peaceful man. The lawless ones will be consumed together; the remains of the wicked will be consumed. The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord, and their protector is in time of trouble; and the Lord will help them and deliver them, and will take them away from sinners and save them, because they trusted in him.
Psalm 26
The Lord is my enlightenment and my savior, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life, from whom shall I fear? Sometimes those who are angry come close to me, even to destroy my flesh, those who insult me and defeat me, they are exhausted and fallen. Even if a regiment turns against me, my heart will not fear; If he rises up against me, I will trust in him. If I ask one thing from the Lord, I will require it; Even if I live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, I see the beauty of the Lord and visit his holy temple. Because you hid me in your village in the day of my evil, you covered me in the secret of your village, and lifted me up on a stone. And now, behold, lift up my head against my enemies; waste and devouring in the village of his sacrifice of praise and exclamation; I will sing and make praise to the Lord. Hear, O Lord, my voice in which I cried, have mercy on me and hear me. My heart speaks to you; I will seek the Lord, I will seek my face for you, I will seek your face, O Lord. Do not turn your face away from me and do not turn away from your servant in anger; Be my helper, do not reject me and do not forsake me, O God, my savior. For my father and mother have abandoned me, but the Lord will receive me. Give me the law, O Lord, in your way, and guide me on the right path for my enemy’s sake. Do not betray me into the souls of those who suffer; as if I stood up as a witness to unrighteousness, and lied untruthfully to myself. I believe in seeing the good of the Lord on the land of the living. Be patient with the Lord, be of good courage, and let your heart be strong, and be patient with the Lord.
Psalm 90
He who lives in the help of the Most High will dwell in the shelter of the heavenly God, says to the Lord: You are my intercessor and my refuge, my God, and I trust in him. As if he will deliver you from the snare of traps and from rebellious words; His blanket will cover you, and you will hope under his wing; His truth will surround you as a weapon. Do not be afraid from the fear of the night, from the arrow that flies during the day, from the thing that passes in the darkness, from the debris and the demon of the midday. Thousands will fall from your country, and darkness will fall at your right hand, but it will not come close to you; Look at your eyes and see the reward of sinners. For you, O Lord, are my hope; The Most High has made you your refuge. No evil will come to you, and no wound will come near your body; as his angel commanded you, keep you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their arms, but not when you dash your foot against a stone; tread on the asp and the basilisk, and cross the lion and the serpent. For I have trusted, and I will deliver; I will cover and because I know my name. He will call to me, and I will hear him; I am with him in sorrow, I will destroy him and glorify him; with the length of days I will fulfill him and show him my salvation.
Psalm 39
I endured the Lord, and listened and heard my prayer; and raise me up from the pit of passions and from the clay of the mire, and set my feet on stones and straighten my steps; and put into my mouth a new song, singing to our God. Many people will see and fear, and trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man, who has the name of the Lord as his hope, and does not look upon false vanity and unrest. You have done many miracles, O Lord my God, and with your thoughts there is no one like you; announced and verbs; multiplying more than the number. You did not desire sacrifices and offerings, but you completed the body for me; You did not require burnt offerings or sins. Then reh; Behold, I will come; in the main book it is written about me; I have now done thy will, O my God, and thy law is in the midst of my belly. The gospel of truth in the great church, behold, I will not forbid my lips; Lord, you meant it. I did not hide your truth in my heart, I did not destroy your truth and your salvation, I did not hide your mercy and your truth from the multitude. But you, Lord, do not remove your compassions from me; Your mercy and your truth will take you out and intercede for me. As if evil has possessed me, there is no end to it; My iniquities befell me, and I was not able to see; You have multiplied more than the hair of my head, and forsake me my heart. Deign, O Lord, to deliver me; Lord, please help me, please. Let those who seek my soul be ashamed and put to shame; Let those who wish me evil turn back and be ashamed. May those who speak accept their abyss; good, good. Let all those who seek you rejoice and rejoice in you, O Lord, and let them all say, May the Lord be magnified, who love your salvation. But I am poor and wretched, the Lord will take care of me; my helper and my protector, you, my God, do not become stubborn.
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How to overcome sin
And further advice on how to overcome: If your right eye offends you, pluck it out and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members perish, and not that your whole body is cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell. (Matt. 5:29,30).
Many may find it difficult to accept the spiritual counsel of the Son of God regarding plucked out eyes and severed hands. But a spiritual person will understand what Christ said. Sin can only be defeated when the cause of its occurrence is removed! It would be naive and completely wrong to believe that our Savior Jesus desires actions such as these. Of course, these are not the actions Christ wants from a sinner in order to overcome sin! You can be blind, but in your mind you can draw sinful pictures, that is, have sinful thoughts. We are talking about treating a person’s spirit sick with sin by removing the cancerous tumor of sin. And here are examples of what has been said.
The eyes and hands themselves are neutral. Two examples
Our spirit (our character, our self, our heart) extracts from what it sees with its eyes the information it likes. The eyes themselves are neutral lenses. What do your eyes see? They see what the human spirit wants to see. Christ said this about it: He further said: what comes from a person defiles a person. For from within, from the human heart, come evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder, theft, covetousness, malice, deceit, lewdness, the envious eye, blasphemy, pride, madness - all this evil comes from within and defiles a person. (Mark 7:20-23).
Here's another example. The body of a child, a man and a woman. If the spirit of a person does not have complete information about who is in front of him, then a person with his eyes closed can touch the body of a child, man, or woman with the same hands. And either this will not cause any sinful feelings, or all touches will entail sinful feelings. But having received information through the eyes or ears, the feelings will change. This again demonstrates that the hands themselves are neutral, they simply touch the body, nothing more.
The Bible states that temptations that turn into sin do not come from the eyes or hands themselves, they are only instruments that carry out the will of man. And temptations come from our nature corrupted by sin, from the sin-stricken spirit of man. How to win in this case? It would be nice to change the nature from mortal to immortal. Without diseases, wrinkles.
A holy body will not solve the problem of a corrupt spirit
Even if we theoretically imagine that God will give us new immortal bodies, will having a new body lead us to a holy life? Eve had a holy body, but she lusted after and ate the forbidden fruit. The Bible clearly testifies that if a person with a sinful spirit is endowed with an immortal body and placed in paradise, he will still sin: If the wicked are shown mercy, he will not learn righteousness; he will commit evil in the land of the righteous and will not look upon the greatness of the Lord. (Isa.26:10)
Man's spirit bears his infirmities; and a defeated spirit - who can strengthen it? (Prov. 18:14).
The wise Solomon claims that if a person’s spirit is healthy, then any physical weakness of the body can be endured. But if the spirit is sick, then the immortal body will not help solve the problem of sin. We will only get an immortal sinner.
The same human mind can give rise to both holy and sinful thoughts. The Apostle Paul writes about it this way: For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on carnal things, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on spiritual things. To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for they do not obey the law of God, and indeed cannot. (Rom.8:5-7).
In sorrow or illness
Prayer against sedition
God of hosts, King of kings and Lord of lords! In Your hand is the king's heart and the power of the whole earth. You place kings on their thrones and say about them: “Through Me kings reign; do not touch My anointed.” Look with Thy merciful eye on our suffering country, in which, because of our iniquities, disorder and discord, civil strife and opposition to our king and the authorities established by him have greatly multiplied. There is also pestilence, famine, and all sorts of illnesses that have befallen us, and there is no peace, no weakness, no peace in our homes, lower in our cities and towns. O Omniscient and Most Merciful, You weigh our misfortune, see our bitterness, hear the sobs of the poor, the groans of the orphans and widows and the voices of innocent babies suffering in public need. You spared Nineveh, a great city full of lawlessness, for the sake of its repentance and for the sake of the child, who did not know his right hand and his shui; have mercy on us sinners, have mercy on our fatherland, have mercy for the sake of our babies, orphans and widows, who shed their tears before You, O Merciful One! See, Lord, how people, who have no reason, do not accurately say in their hearts “there is no God,” but preach to us, especially to our young men and maidens, inexperienced beings, corrupt teachings, and strive to turn them away from the path of Your Commandments on the way obstinate and disastrous. Everything is possible for You, O Almighty Master! For with Thy one word Thou hast not only healed the blind, the deaf and the dumb, but also raised the dead: thus have Thy omnipotent Word spoken in the hearts of these sowers of wickedness: enlighten their minds, darkened by pride, awaken their conscience, with vain wisdom, envy and destructive passions put to sleep, turn their will to the fulfillment of Your life-giving Commandments, so that they too will know how sweet the essence of Your Word is to the human heart, and how Your yoke is good and Your burden is light. May Thy Name be glorified, O Lord our Savior, even in these perishing brothers of ours, and may our wicked adversary the devil be put to shame, who sows tares in Thy field, which is Thy Holy Church! O Lord, Merciful God, Wise God, Almighty God! Again and again we fall before You and cry out tearfully in repentance and tenderness of heart: we have sinned, been lawless, untruthful before You, and truly righteously we are punished for our deeds. Remember the faith and humility of our fathers, hear the warm prayers of Your holy saints who have shone in our land: have mercy on the Russian land, quench all sedition, discord and disorder, pacify your hearts, overcome by passions, save Your beloved servant, our king, protect his throne with righteousness and peace, spoke good and peaceful things in his heart about Your Church and about Your people, gave him advisers filled with wisdom and holyly fulfilling his will, keep his judgments unprofitable and impartial, breathe courage into the hearts of those who stand guard over the well-being of the state: and to them You judged for the faith, the Tsar and the Fatherland in the days of sorrow, lay down your soul, and thereby forgive all their sins, crown the crowns of martyrdom in Your Kingdom. Illuminate all of us with the light of Thy Gospel Law, warm our hearts with the warmth of Thy grace, confirm our will in Thy will, so that as in ancient times, so now on our earth, and in us, and through us, Thy All-Holy Name, of the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer to the Lord for forgiveness, intercession and help
In the hand of Your great mercy, O my God, I entrust my soul and body, my feelings and words, my advice and thoughts, my deeds and all my movements of body and soul. My entry and exit, my faith and life, the course and end of my life, the day and hour of my breathing, my repose, the repose of my soul and body. But You, O Most Merciful God, invincible to the sins of the whole world, kindly, kindly Lord, accept me more than all sinners in the hand of Your protection and deliver from all evil, cleanse my many iniquities, grant correction to my evil and wretched life and from Always delight me in the coming cruel falls of sin, and in no way will I anger Your love for mankind, with which you cover my weakness from demons, passions and evil people. Forbid the enemy, visible and invisible, guiding me along the saved path, bring me to You, my refuge and the land of my desires. Grant me a Christian end, unashamed, peaceful, keep me from the airy spirits of malice, at Your Last Judgment be merciful to Your servant and number me at the right hand of Your blessed sheep, and with them I will glorify You, my Creator, forever. Amen.
How to learn to live according to the spirit?
Everything is very clear, if my thoughts are carnal, then I will perish, and if I am spiritual, then I will gain eternal life. But how can we learn to live according to the spirit? The answer lies on the surface, and it is very simple. The key to victory is in the hands of each person. To understand what this key to victory is, we will follow Christ to the Garden of Gethsemane, the place where the most important victory was won. There, the Son of God spoke several times words that contain the key to victory over the temptations that overcome the fallen nature of man. Having arrived at the place, he said to them: Pray so as not to fall into temptation. (Luke 22:40).
...and he said to them: Why are you sleeping? stand up and pray that you will not fall into temptation. (Luke 22:46).
We have already noted with you that temptation from without and from within comes from the desires of the fallen nature. But Christ claims that you will not fall into temptation if you pray.
I believe the spiritual prescription of the Son of God, for He is the only Man on earth who was subject to all the temptations of Satan, but sinned not: Therefore, since we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. (Heb.4:14,15).
The main thing is not to sleep at a time when prayer is necessary.
Temptations did not overcome Him and did not lead Him to sin. And His lesson is the lesson of the absolute conqueror of sin. Knowing from the Bible how the disciples behaved after the arrest of Christ, we are once again convinced of the truth of the words of the Son of God regarding victory over temptations: Then all the disciples left Him and fled. (Matt. 26:56).
Having slept all the time during which Christ prayed, they were powerless before the temptation of fear, before death, and fell before it. The fear of death was stronger than the love for Christ. These are Satan's favorite techniques to intimidate and point out dire consequences for unfaithfulness to God. And when a person loses the battle to fear, Satan instills the idea that the situation is hopeless and there is no forgiveness. Then, having deprived a person of faith in salvation, he reigns supreme over his will, lowering the person lower and lower into sin.
So! Christ's vital advice: If you want to overcome sin and come out of the great controversy as winners who will inherit eternal life, then you need to overcome temptations! FOR THIS YOU NEED TO PRAY A LOT AND ZEROLY!
How can words help?
You might be surprised. Well, how can words help in the fight against the devil, and even those spoken to God, Whom you do not see, and Who, even before your prayer, knows what you will say to Him?
Isn’t it the spiritual weapon about which the Apostle Paul wrote that the devil is defeated?
Put on the whole armor of God, so that you can stand against the wiles of the devil, because our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places. For this purpose, take on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand in the day of evil and, having done everything, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girded with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; and above all, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery arrows of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. (Eph.6:11-17).
Yes, this is so, the Savior Himself repelled the attacks of the devil in the desert with a spiritual sword - the Word of God!
Knowledge of the Bible is not enough to defeat the devil
Let me ask you two questions. Who knew the Scriptures better than the Son of God? Why then did He spend a long time in prayer to the Father? It is enough to remember His prayer in Gethsemane: And being in agony, He prayed more diligently, and His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. (Luke 22:44).
That is, we see that with all the absolute knowledge of Scripture, Christ encourages His disciples to pray so as not to fall into temptation, and He Himself goes to earnestly pray to the Father with cries and tears. This indicates that excellent knowledge of the Word of God does not free the soul from the temptations of the devil and does not automatically make the believer a winner over temptations. Answer the question honestly: who among you does not know that envy is bad, quarrels are bad, and in the light of the Bible it is a sin, and a Christian should stay away from them?
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house; You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s” “... because you are still carnal. For if there is envy, strife, and disagreement among you, are you not carnal? and are you not acting according to human custom? (1 Cor. 3:3).
Let all irritation and rage and anger and shouting and slander along with all malice be removed from you; but be kind to each other, compassionate, forgive each other, just as God in Christ forgave you. (Eph.4:31,32).
But knowing the will of God on this matter, which of you can testify before God that you are free from these sins? As you may have guessed, we will now come to the most important thing in the matter of human salvation.
Prayer Gives Strength to Resist Temptation
What gives a person the strength to resist temptation and live in practice so that it does not diverge from his theoretical knowledge of the truth of God?
The Son of God is an example to us in a holy life and in victory over temptations. In Gethsemane, where all the forces of evil were thrown into breaking Him, inducing Him to deviate from the will of the Father and go the way of saving his own life, He did not flinch, for He drew strength from the Heavenly Father, through prayer. Satan tempted Him with the thought that if He took all the sins of the world upon Himself, then in the eyes of God, to Whom sin is disgusting, Christ would become a sinner, and therefore would not be resurrected and would be forever separated from God! What a strong temptation to do wrong in order to continue communication with God.
The man Jesus Christ did not want to die. And even more, He did not want to be separated from the Father. But the Father's will was His sacrifice for humanity.
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Have mercy on me. Lord, Son of God. Have mercy, Jesus, Son of God. May my eyes be opened, that I may see Your light and walk in You.
Prayer of St. Nektarios of Optina
Lord, grant me Your grace - this is how the venerable elder Nektarios taught me to pray.
“And now a cloud is coming towards you, and you pray: Give me grace, and the Lord will carry the cloud past,” said the venerable elder.
Prayers for the loss of any property of St. Arefa of Pechersk
Lord have mercy! Lord, forgive me! Everything is Yours, I don’t regret it!
Desires contrary to the will of God become sin
Notice that the desire to live is not a sinful desire. The desire not to be separated from God is also not sinful. But if these desires, which are not sinful in themselves, come into conflict with God’s will for you, then this becomes a sin.
All martyrs for the faith had a desire to live and this is not a sinful desire, but God’s will for them was that they should show faithfulness to death: Do not be afraid of anything that you will have to endure. Behold, the devil will cast you from among you into prison to tempt you, and you will have tribulation... Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. (Rev.2:10).
And if they saved their lives by renouncing God, it would be a sin!
Curiosity in itself is not a sin
Curiosity itself is not a sin, but a gift from God! Which God gave to man at the creation of the world. Although curiosity itself is not a sin, it leads to sin if it goes against God’s will for a person, which is what happened to Eve at the forbidden tree. Satan can lead to sin by using in a perverted form what may be God's gift!
If Eve had looked with lust (desire) at any other fruit and eaten it, then this would not have been a sin, since it would have been in accordance with the will of God. God endowed man with feelings and desires. We constantly experience hunger and thirst, and therefore we eat food with lust, i.e. with great desire, but this is not a sin. However, if you are tortured by hunger and tempted with food to renounce God, then eating food in this case will be a sin. Did God's gift of curiosity really make Eve a hostage to the temptations of the devil? Maybe the God-given desire to eat and drink makes me a hostage to sin when my loyalty to God is blackmailed with food? Is it possible that the fact that God created men and women with a feeling of attraction to each other pushes people into adultery? Of course not!
Satan twists what is good to lead to sin.
The depths of Satan consist in taking what is good and perverting it until it leads to sin. The Apostle Paul wrote about it this way: What shall we say? Is it really sin from the law? No way. But I knew sin no other way than through the law. For I would not understand desire if the law did not say: do not desire. But sin, taking the occasion from the commandment, produced in me every desire: for without the law sin is dead... and thus the commandment given for life served me to death, because sin, taking the occasion from the commandment, deceived me and killed me with it. Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. So, has what is good become deadly to me? No way; but sin, which turns out to be sin because through good it causes death to me, so that sin becomes extremely sinful through the commandment. (Rom.7:7-13)
Continuing further, he wrote: For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. (Rom.7:14).
That is, you see that the problem is not in the good that God gave us, but in ourselves, in our “I”, our spirit. And the main miracle is that in prayer our spirit changes, through the filling of us with God’s Spirit. Prayer to God strengthened the spirit of Christ, which had weakened under the onslaught of the temptations of the devil. And He strengthened His resolve to fulfill God’s will for Himself.
Only sincere prayer changes our spirit
The Spirit of God is like a mighty wind; it is not itself that is seen, but its actions that are felt. Only sincere prayer changes our spirit and our view of the things around us and the events taking place. We begin to look at everything through God's eyes. Through prayer, God by His Spirit helps us to gain His mind, His strength. Because we cannot defeat the devil with our mind and our strength.
Visual illustration. In sincere prayer, God and man become a kind of communicating vessels. And God fills a person with His Spirit, so much so that a person’s changed life becomes visible to everyone like a fountain. Thanks to prayer, it is not the world that changes around us, but us. On a spiritual level, God speaks to us not through voice, but Spirit to spirit. This is the familiar conscience: This very Spirit bears witness with our spirit... ...(Rom. 8:16).
But God revealed this to us by His Spirit...No one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. But we did not receive the spirit of this world, but the Spirit from God, so that we might know what was given to us from God, which we proclaim not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Holy Spirit, comparing spiritual with spiritual. The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, because he considers them foolishness; and cannot understand, because this must be judged spiritually. But the spiritual one judges everything...we have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor. 2:10-16).
Father's help in solving problems
The child solves a very difficult problem for him. He is upset, he doesn't know how to solve it. The father is calm because he knows the answer. He can write a ready-made answer in a notebook instead, but in this case the child will not learn anything and, faced with another task, where there is no father, will suffer defeat and acquire shame. Because it will be clear to everyone who solved the problem at home. A wise father will push his son to think, which will help his son understand the principle of problem solving. So that he, so to speak, would gain the mind of his father. In this case, the father will really provide the necessary help to his son. Now he will be able to solve problems himself.
The Holy Scriptures say this about this teaching: Everyone who is fed with milk is ignorant of the word of righteousness, because he is a child; solid food is characteristic of the perfect, whose senses are accustomed to distinguish between good and evil. (Heb. 5:13,14).
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Lord, as You Yourself prayed for our enemies, so teach us by Your Holy Spirit to love our enemies.
Lord, all nations are the creation of Your hands; turn them from enmity and malice to repentance, so that everyone may know Your love.
Lord, You commanded to love our enemies, but it is difficult for us sinners if Your grace is not with us.
Lord, pour out Your grace on the earth; let all the peoples of the earth know Your love, know that You love us like a mother, and more than a mother, because even a mother can forget her child, but You never forget, for You love Your creation immensely, and love cannot forget.
Merciful Lord, wealth; By Thy mercy save all nations.
How to pray
Jacob's physical struggle with the Angel is an allusion to the spiritual struggle of a believer in prayer to God. Jacob obtained the birthright by deception. My whole life passed under a heavy burden of guilt. The moment of greatest crisis has come, when you and those with you will be deprived of your life for a sin committed earlier. God seemed indifferent. Many, disappointed in God and in themselves, give up and either become bitter or live according to the principle - come what may. But Jacob decides to make peace with God and receive forgiveness and protection from Him. Well, this is a bold step, worthy of praise, and there are many such believers who act in this way. The spiritual lesson is hidden further:
And Jacob was left alone, and Someone wrestled with him until dawn, and when he saw that he could not prevail against him, he touched his thigh and damaged Jacob’s thigh when he wrestled with Him. And he said: Let me go, for the dawn has risen. Jacob said: I will not let you go until you bless me. And he said: What is your name? He said: Jacob. And he said: From now on your name will not be Jacob, but Israel, for you have fought with God, and you will overcome men. Jacob also asked, saying: Tell me Your name... He said: Why do you ask about My name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Penuel; for, he said, I saw God face to face, and my soul was preserved. And the sun rose as he passed Penuel; and he limped on his hip. (Gen.32:24-31).
Jacob exerted all his strength in the physical struggle to win. Therein lies the lesson. We must make every effort to ensure that prayer is sincere, from the heart, and not just from the lips. In spiritual struggle, through sincerity, we must get as close to God as possible (face to face). In the struggle, Jacob lost part of his support, which made him weak. God does not need our strength, it still cannot cope with Satan, so pray until you feel weak and unable to overcome sin.
This is what will allow God to manifest His power in you. As a result of this struggle, God renamed Jacob (deceiver, misleading) to Israel (prince of God, with God). There is a big lesson in this. The name indicates the character. We need to pray in such a way that after prayer our character changes. By admitting his sin and his weakness, Jacob was victorious! The Apostle Paul also believed that admitting your weakness leads to victory: But the Lord said to me...My power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. Therefore I am content in my weaknesses...for when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor. 12:9,10).
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God! Your name is love: do not reject me, a misguided person. Your name is Strength: strengthen me, who is exhausted and falling!
Your name is Light: enlighten my soul, darkened by worldly passions.
Your name is Peace: pacify my restless soul.
Your name is Mercy: do not cease to have mercy on me!
Prayers of St. Demetrius of Rostov
God! Let all my desire and sighing be in You. May all my desire and zeal be in You alone, my Savior! Let all my will and my thoughts deepen in You, and let all my bones say: “Lord, Lord! Who is like You, who can compare with Your strength, grace and wisdom? “Thou hast arranged all things wisely, righteously, and kindly for us.”
Sincere Prayer Empowers God
So! Sincere prayer gives a believer the power of God's Spirit, with the help of which he emerges victorious from temptation: If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who lives in you. So, brethren, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh; For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Rom.8:11-14).
Without prayer, which empowers a person with the power of God, a person will remain with his own strength and his sinful nature. Which, being tempted, makes sin desirable for itself, after which it sins and, as a result, reaps death.
Four Examples of Prayers
To understand what our attitude in prayer should be, I will give four examples:
1. Grandmother heard a sermon in church about the fact that if you believe in something and pray about it, then God will definitely fulfill your request. Arriving home, she began to ask God in prayer to remove the mountain in front of her house, which was shading the house and preventing her from admiring the sun. In prayer, she zealously repeated: God, I believe that You will do this through my prayer. Getting up after prayer, she looked out the window and, seeing the mountain where she was, said in disappointment: Well, I knew that nothing would work out. What do you think of her faith? Faith is not words in prayer.
2. The young man fell in love with the girl and really wanted her to become his wife. But being a believer, he also wanted to know whether this was God’s will. And kneeling down, he said: God! Let your will be done, and Masha is mine!
Do you think, approaching prayer with such a spirit, will he hear God's will for himself in prayer? A person is like a vessel. If the vessel is full and closed, then you can’t pour anything into it. He came to prayer not in order to find out God’s will for himself, but in order to express his will to God, so that the Creator would accept it.
3. The girl, not wanting to look like the previous guy in prayer, said to God: God! I ask not for myself, but for my mother, send her a wonderful son-in-law! We can deceive people with words, but not God, He sees our heart, full of selfishness and self-love.
4. One hunter had three students. He had to leave one of them behind to teach people this craft. He took them out into the forest and showed them a squirrel on a tree, which they needed to hit in the eye so as not to spoil the skin, and giving the gun to the first one, he asked what he saw? He answered: a squirrel. And what else? Tree. What else? Sky. The hunter took the gun from him and gave it to the second one, also asking the question, what does he see? The second one answered: a squirrel. What else? Tree. What else? Sky. The hunter took the gun from this one and gave it to the third, asking the same question, what does he see? To which the student replied: I see the eye of a squirrel. And what else? Squirrel eye. And what else? The hunter did not let up. The answer came: I see the squirrel's eye!
Morality is not difficult to understand. Nothing in prayer to God should distract us from the main thing, namely, from being filled with the Spirit of God through prayer. From understanding God's will for yourself and receiving the strength to fulfill it!
Understanding the purpose of prayer
Understanding the purpose of prayer is to gain the power of God's Spirit, we understand the divinely inspired advice from the Holy Scriptures.
When should you pray? Pray without ceasing. (1 Thess. 5:17). Always be in a prayerful spirit, in communication with God.
How should you pray? Make every prayer and supplication at all times in the Spirit... (Eph.6:18). From the heart, spirit, with all being, sincerely.
Why do you need to pray? …pray not to fall into temptation. (Luke 22:40).
We pray in order to overcome, just as Christ overcame when he prayed in Gethsemane. To be above the devil's temptations and emerge from the great struggle as a winner, clothed in the immortality of God.
When we pray, we are enlightened about God's will for ourselves. How can we now make God's will our own will? This will be our next topic.
The Most Important Knowledge. Topic No. 10 “In order not to fall into temptation, you need to pray”
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