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Matthew 9:2. “And behold, they brought to Him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And Jesus seeing their faith, said to the paralytic: Be of good cheer, child! Your sins are forgiven you." Matthew 9:3. “And some of the scribes said within themselves: He blasphemes.” Matthew 9:4. “And Jesus, seeing their thoughts, said, Why do you think evil in your hearts?” Matthew 9:5. “For which is easier to say: your sins are forgiven, or to say: get up and walk?” Matthew 9:6. “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, then he says to the paralytic, “Get up, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Matthew 9:7. “And he arose, took up his bed, and went to his house.” Matthew 9:8. “When the people saw this, they were surprised and glorified God, who had given such power to men.” “July 13th. Sunday. The Gospel about the healing of the paralytic (See: Matthew 9:2–8). During the Liturgy, he spoke improvisationally about how sins weaken a person’s entire being; that you need constant repentance, constant forcing yourself to virtue. Praying is lazy; to restrain oneself is laziness; living chastely is laziness; Giving alms is laziness” [4, 26]. “Son, give Me your heart (Prov. 23:26), says the Lord in the Old Testament. Blessed are the pure in heart, says the Savior, for they will see God (Matthew 5:8); create a pure heart in me, O God, and restore a right spirit in my womb (Ps. 50:12), says David; the Apostle Paul wants Christ to dwell in the heart of Christians (Cf.: Eph. 3:17). If what is kindred is looking for what is kindred to us, if God wants and seeks our heart from us, then our heart is our soul, or our soul is in the heart, that is, in our insides - there in the immediate vicinity of our belly (in the womb); the bodily belly (stomach) and the spiritual belly (heart) are two against one, just like the material heart and the spiritual heart. Tell me: why is the whole main mechanism by which ours is supported. Is life located in our insides - under the chest? Because there is the throne of our soul; that is why, when a person or animal is beheaded, life remains in the body for some time. The mind or head is nowhere spoken of in the Holy Scriptures as strongly, with such attention as is spoken of the heart; the head is recognized as a serving instrument of the heart, even if it is a guiding one - until the time of our future, complete renewal, and the Lord Himself directly brings down the mind or thought into our hearts: what evil do you think in your hearts (in your hearts, not in your heads) (Matthew 9:4)? Evil thoughts come from the heart (Matthew 15:19) (from the heart, not from the head); That is why the head is cold without the participation of the heart (soul) and from a person, both in speech and in all matters, they demand not only the mind, but certainly the heart - heartfelt participation, without which word and deed are recognized as lifeless, soulless. That is why, because our soul is in close communion with the stomach, we need, in order to succeed in spiritual life, to observe moderation in food and drink; That is why excess in food and drink leads us to moral relaxation and disorder, to laziness, moral negligence, forgetfulness of God, to pride, love of money, stinginess, envy, debauchery and all possible sins. And the experience of all people who have observed themselves clearly speaks in favor of the location of our soul in the vicinity of the stomach, liver and, in general, our internal parts. Under the chest board and below is her seat. There all the phenomena of spiritual life and death take place, just as the process of bodily life takes place there. “That is why the duty of every Christian is to guard his heart in every possible way: Guard your heart with all guarding: from this comes life (Proverbs 4:23)” [8, 225]. “The entire Gospel, beloved brothers and sisters, is filled with the story of the wonderful deeds of mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ towards needy and erring people; and there it is proclaimed everywhere that the main cause of almost all illnesses, troubles and misfortunes with people is sins - this is the greatest evil, the misfortune of the human race, this terrible root of all evils and the greatest evil - temporary and eternal death. That is why the Lord, when healing a paralytic, first heals the soul, which is sick with sins, and then the body. Child! - He says to the paralytic, “your sins are forgiven you (Matthew 9:2). And this means that it teaches us that in our illnesses we must humbly and deeply acknowledge our sins and sincerely repent of them and ask the Lord for their forgiveness, with the intention of not sinning in the future. For the main part of our being is the soul, a being in the image of God, rational, with free will, immortal, but a fallen being, sick with sin and corruption and redeemed from sin and death by the death of the Son of God; about her, about her salvation, we must take care with all our might - about pleasing God, about fulfilling His holy and blessed commandments, about her righteousness and holiness. For carnal passions enslave, defile, remove the soul from God and, in the end, often lead to temporary and eternal destruction” [9, 200]. Matthew 9:13. “Go and learn what it means: I want mercy, not sacrifice? For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” “The Lord tells us: I want mercy, not sacrifice (Matthew 9:13); He, the most merciful, wants from us mercy or mercy, kindness, and patience towards our neighbors; He is always ready to help us in every good deed. If you have an evil heart, ask in repentance that He soften your heart, make you meek and patient: and it will be so. He tells us: son, give me your heart (Wed: Proverbs 23:26). Nothing is impossible for a believer and one who sincerely prays. Just make up your mind, firmly make up your mind to leave your anger behind. At the very beginning, one must curb any passion that arises in oneself, especially malice and anger, and not allow a spark to become a fire, which, of course, is much more difficult to extinguish than one spark. So,” I will conclude, “let us forgive our neighbors from our hearts for their sins against us, remembering our common weakness, infirmity, sinfulness and God’s endless mercy towards us. Amen" [9, 227]. "Go ahead and learn that there is (Matthew 9:13): one. This means: we are all one body (1 Cor. 10:17) in Christ and therefore we must all be one in all that is good, so that we may be one with God. That all may be one: as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us (John 17:21). - So, everyone try to observe unity of the spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3). We love peace: for the Lord has called us into peace (1 Cor. 7:15)" [10, 437]. Matthew 9:18. “As He was telling them this, a certain ruler came up to Him and, bowing to Him, said: My daughter is now dying; But come, lay Your hand on her, and she will live.” “In this Gospel story, what is instructive for us is, firstly, the faith of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. His only begotten daughter is dying, and he asks for help not to doctors, but to Jesus Christ, believing that He can heal her with one word. So you, my brothers, when you get sick, or when your wife or children get sick, or one of your relatives or friends or servants, turn, first of all, with a prayer for help to Jesus Christ, the Physician of our souls and bodies, who is quick to intercede for all who resort to Him in faith; invite your spiritual father into the house with the Divine Mysteries of the Body and Blood of the Lord and believe that, like Jairus, you will not be put to shame in your hope. How many examples were there during my spiritual correction of needs, that the sick, who turned first of all to God for help, resorted to Repentance and Communion, quickly recovered after receiving the Holy Mysteries! I can name you many who have been honored with such great mercy from God. Jairus, mentioned in the Gospel, was not disgraced by his faith in the Divine Wonderworker; Do not be afraid, just believe, the Lord told him, when they told Jairus that his daughter had died (See: Mark 5:35–36), and she will be saved; and he, according to the word of the Lord, undoubtedly believed that his daughter would be resurrected: and he actually saw her resurrected (See: Matthew 9:18, 23–26). So, when your soul, my brother, is killed by sin, passions, falls into the depths of evil, do not despair of your salvation, but believe that the Lord, who came into the world to save sinners, can save you and raise you up from the depths of sin; arise from the sleep of sin; Arise, sleep, and rise from the dead, and Christ will illuminate you (Eph. 5:14)” [9, 316]. Matthew 9:20. “And behold, a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years came up from behind and touched the hem of His garment.” Matthew 9:21. “For she said within herself, If I only touch His garment, I will be healed.” Matthew 9:22. “Jesus turned and saw her and said: Be of good cheer, daughter! your faith has saved you. From that hour the woman became healthy.” “Touch His robe as if it were bleeding (See: Matt. 9:20), that is, His image, and from this you will receive deliverance from the arrows of the enemy” [3, 364]. “Your faith will save you (Matthew 9:22). So, it is not works, but faith that saves us. We experience this at every step” [3, 198]. “Give thanks to our most swift Intercessor, the Lady Theotokos, the Most Pure, Most Gracious Virgin Mary, who, through the prayer of our hearts, saves us from the gnawing and oppression of the devil. Look at Her with the eyes of your heart in the Holy Spirit, who exists everywhere and fulfills everything and is simple - look as if she exists at your very heart and cry out to Her: Most swift Intercessor, Lady Theotokos Mary, save me from the reproachful enemy! And immediately, in a minute, She will save you according to the faith of your heart, according to the hope of your heart in Her - and so the oppression, the fire and the heavy despondency will recede from your side. We only need to imagine and firmly believe that the Holy Spirit is everywhere, in every place, and is a simple Being, that in Him the whole heaven is close to us, at a glance, with all the Angels and saints, that we only need to call on the Lord or Lady Theotokos or a saint from the bottom of our hearts, with clairvoyant faith, with heartfelt repentance for the sins with which we are bound by the enemy or by which we bind ourselves voluntarily – and salvation will immediately shine forth. The salvation of the Lady is wonderful, and it flows into your soul like a healing balm, or like aromatic life-giving air, or like restful water, just look at Her with the eyes of your heart with hope in Her goodness and benefits. But this is also difficult - to look to Her with heartfelt, clairvoyant faith, as well as to the Lord or to the saints; the enemy intensifies in every possible way to become a solid, high and dark wall between your soul and God or the Mother of God, the Angels and the saints, the accursed one does not allow the heart’s eye to see the Lord or His saints, darkens the heart in every possible way, dispels faith, oppresses the insides, burns, darkens. All these actions must be considered a dream, a lie, and through this dreamy wall one must break through to the Lord or to the Mother of God and to the saints. As soon as you break through, you are immediately saved. Your faith will save you [Matt. 9:22]" [5, vol. 1, 212]. “If someone asked you: why do you pray to soulless icons, what benefit does it do to you? – Tell them that we receive incomparably more benefit from our icons than from the kindest and most charitable person; say that grace-filled power and help to your souls always comes from icons, delivering you from sorrows and illnesses, especially from the icons of the Savior and the Mother of God; that one heartfelt view of them, with faith, as if they were alive and near us, saves us from fierce sorrows, passions and spiritual darkness; that if touching the vestments of the Savior (See: Matt. 9:20–21) and the handkerchiefs of the apostles made the sick healthy (See: Acts 19:12), then how much more are the Faces of the Savior and the Mother of God powerful to heal believers from all sorrow” [8, 385]. “Your faith will save you (Matthew 9:22) - not merits, not works, but one faith: do not be proud, you who are being saved. The Lord gives all mercies to you - for one faith in your truth, for the one thing that you value the suggestions of the spirit of lies as false and believe the truth" [8, 632]. “Further, in this gospel story, the faith of a woman who suffered for twelve years with bleeding is instructive; The circumstances of her painful condition are instructive. This woman, according to another evangelist, before touching the Savior’s robe, thought to herself: if I just touch His robe, then I will be healed, and with such faith she touched the hem of His robe, and was immediately healed; - meanwhile, previously, having been treated by doctors for about twelve years and transferring all her property to them, she did not receive any benefit from any of them, but on the contrary, she came to an even worse state (See: Matt. 9:20-22). How many Christians there are today who, in their illness, turn only to doctors - forgetting to turn to Jesus Christ, Who makes doctors wise, especially those who believe in Him - and like a bleeding woman, they are sick for a long time and are treated and give away almost all their property to the doctors and still receive no benefit, or little benefit, meanwhile, as if, soon after their illness, they turned to the Savior and invited His servant to come to them. Through the life-giving Mysteries - and having tasted the life-giving Food - they would soon receive healing and glorify the Lord for His power and goodness. But for their lack of faith they are punished by the duration of their illness and the expenditure of property on medicines and on a doctor. It is remarkable that the bleeding woman was immediately healed upon touching the Savior’s clothes. This serves as an image of our mental healing. Our souls are immediately healed when we, with faith, in repentance, call on the all-saving name of Jesus Christ or when we taste the Most Pure Body and Blood of the Savior: what life, sweetness, and silence will suddenly pour into the soul and body after Communion of the Holy Mysteries! The flow of sinful thoughts and passions instantly stops; their place is taken by holy, heavenly thoughts; the whole soul becomes healthy - and joyfully glorifies the Lord, the Giver of Life. So, so, with heartfelt faith and repentance, touch the Lord, the Body and Blood of the Savior, eat them, and you will be healed. And how few sincerely touch the Savior, sincerely, with deep faith and fiery love, partaking of His Body and Blood! During Holy Great Lent, on Saturdays at Liturgies, people surround and crowd the Lord in His Holy Mysteries, seeking to taste the Most Pure Body and Blood of the Lord, but how many accept Him with the faith with which the said woman touched. I think that even now the Lord would ask these participants: which of you touched Me? That is, who among you touched Me with faith and through faith received the power that came from Me - a power that cleanses, sanctifies, pacifies, enlightens, strengthens? Do not many receive communion without living faith, and, having received communion, leave as spiritually sick as they were before, and sometimes even worse? But those who receive communion with living faith receive cleansing of sins and pacification of conscience; for in their conscience they clearly hear the voice of the Savior: take heart, man! Your faith has saved you; Go in peace" [9, 316]. “I thank my Most Quick Intercessor, the Most Pure Lady Theotokos, the Most Gracious Virgin Mary, who twice through my heartfelt prayer saved me from the gnawing and oppression of the devil; the first time - in the apartment of customs official Ilya Nikolaevich Yakovlev and the other time - in the apartment of the city mayor Alexander Ivanovich Neustroev, an hour and a half after the first time. - I looked at Her with the eyes of my heart in the Holy Spirit, existing everywhere and filling everything and Simple, I looked as if existing at my very heart, and cried out to Her: Most swift Intercessor, Lady Theotokos Mary, save me from the enemy-troubler! - And immediately, in a minute, She saved me according to the faith of my heart, according to the trust of my heart in Her. And so the tightness, fire and heavy despondency fell away from the right side. We only need to imagine and firmly believe that the Holy Spirit is everywhere, in every place, a Simple Being, that in Him the whole heaven is close to us, at a glance, with all the Angels and saints, that we only need to call upon from the bottom of our hearts, with clairvoyant faith, the Lord or the Lady Theotokos, or a saint, with heartfelt repentance for the sins with which we are bound by the enemy or by which we bind ourselves voluntarily – and salvation will immediately shine forth. The salvation of the Lady is marvelous: so it flows into your soul, like a healing balm, or like aromatic, life-giving air, or like restful water - just look at Her with the eyes of your heart, trusting in Her goodness and benefits. - But here is the work: with heartfelt, clairvoyant faith, look to Her, as well as to the Lord or to the saints - the enemy intensifies in every possible way to become a solid, high and dark wall between your soul and God or the Mother of God, the Angels and saints: the accursed one does not allow the heart’s eye to see the Lord or His saints, he darkens the heart in every possible way, dispels faith, the insides are crowded, burning, darkening. All these actions must be considered a dream, a lie, and one must break through this dreamy wall to the Lord or to the Mother of God and to the saints. - As soon as you break through, you are immediately saved. Your faith will save you (cf. Matthew 9:22)" [10, 325]. Matthew 9:24. “he said to them: go out, for the maiden is not dead, but sleeps. And they laughed at Him." "Let us sing the universal glory, from man who vegetated and gave birth to the Lord, to the Virgin Mary, to the bodiless (angels) song (glory) and the faithful fertilizer (glorification). This is for heaven and the church of the Divine to appear. Thus, the church hymnal, the golden-stringed saint of Damascus, glorifies in his first dogmatics the Most Holy Virgin Theotokos, whose Dormition we now remember and Let us speak with joy and glorify this Virgin and Mother, glorified by the whole world, who came from the human race, Whom the disembodied angels and earthly faithful men incessantly glorify in joy, for She became the sky and the church of the Divine. The predetermined end of Her earthly, sorrowful life came, and she fell asleep for three days in the sleep of death, life-giving. then say: the Maiden did not die, but slept (Matthew 9:24). Yes, She fell asleep, died for three days, like Christ Her Son, and on the third day she was resurrected and taken into heaven! O blessed fate! For She, the Most Pure One, would only seem to rejoice on earth as the All-Righteous One, but She suffered all her life for Her Only Begotten Son, all her life she feared for Him because of His many enemies - the kings of this world, and scientists, and unbelievers, hypocrites, superstitious, treacherous, proud, flattering, envious, money-loving. But then the earthly life of the God-man, full of suffering, ended. The Crucified One was resurrected, His eternal glory began, He sat down and, according to humanity, at the right hand of God on the throne of glory. She was left to live on earth, in the house of the Apostle John, who was adopted by Her. Already almost in old age, She rested and was soon moved to the eternal bright abodes. And what was Her glorious Dormition! With what light did Her most pure face shine! What a wondrous, endless, indescribable fragrance there was from Her ever-virgin Body, as St. Dionysius the Areopagite, who was at Her burial, writes! What sweet angelic singing! With what honor, with what wondrous hymn She was buried with the inspired chanting of the holy martyr Hierotheos! A glorious end to a glorious beginning, earthly life” [6, 123]. “What else should I draw your attention to in the proposed reading from the Gospel? Here’s something else we’ll pay attention to: when the Lord saw the relatives and friends of Jairus’s dead daughter crying and sobbing, He said: “Don’t cry; she is not dead, but sleeps” (cf. Matthew 9:24). These words are very comforting for us. The Lord, the Giver of Life, calls our death a sleep. Why? Because there will be a general resurrection of the dead, like a general awakening from sleep, and this is due to His death and Resurrection: for Christ has risen from the dead, being the firstfruits of those who died (1 Cor. 15:20), just as because of Adam all die, so because of Christ all will come to life. But what happened when Jesus Christ called the girl’s death a sleep (not dead, but asleep)? They laughed at Him, knowing that she died (Wed: Matt. 9:24). It is not surprising: they did not yet know the secret of the Resurrection. But it’s amazing how some can now mock when they hear about the Resurrection, now that the resurrection of the dead has become as certain for us as the present day is certain? However, let us not be surprised: Christians do this only in name, but pagans in deeds, slaves of the belly, the riches of unrighteousness, worshipers of this world, for whom there is no higher pleasure than the pleasure of the larynx, tasting sweet meat and drinks, except the pleasure of worshiping the golden calf. But their end will be according to their deeds. And we will look at the majestic spectacle of how our Life-Giver resurrects Jairus’ daughter. He sent everyone out of the room where the deceased lay, except Peter, James and John, and the father and mother of the deceased, and, taking her by the hand, he exclaimed: maiden! Stand up. So what? She immediately stood up, and He ordered to give her something to eat (cf. Luke 8:54–55). Here, brethren, is the image of our future resurrection: the dead will hear a similar voice of the Son of God at the Second Coming of the Son of God, and having heard it, they will live, and they will come out having done good in the resurrection of life, and having done evil in the resurrection of judgment (John 5:29). Here's a lesson about resurrection: harden it well; remember that you will be resurrected. And that's all? No, and live like a Christian in order to achieve the blessed resurrection: be self-controlled and chaste, patient, kind, humble, forgiving, merciful, unanimous. Strive for each other, draw each other into the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen" [9, 318]. Matthew 9:25. “When the people were sent out, He entered and took her hand, and the girl stood up.” “He took her hand, and the girl stood up. This is the action of the Creator! It was enough to take her hand to revive; about the healing of two blind people; a dumb and demonic one” [1, 65]. Matthew 9:27. “As Jesus walked away from there, two blind men followed Him and shouted, “Have mercy on us, Jesus, son of David!” “In prayer we must imitate the blind men of Jericho (See: Matt. 20:29–34): louder, with all our hearts, with full faith, despite any obstacles, cry out: Son of David! Have mercy on me (Wed: Matthew 9:27). Likewise, call on the saints diligently (as the Church sings). Otherwise we will not be heard” [8, 244]. “The current Gospel story tells us, beloved brethren, about the Savior’s miraculous healing of two blind men and a mute man possessed by a demon, whose tongue was tied by a demon. It happened in the vicinity of the city of Capernaum, after the resurrection from the dead of the daughter of Jairus, the leader of the Jewish synagogue. These two blind men followed Jesus Christ and shouted: have mercy on us, Jesus, son of David! When He came into the house, the blind came to Him. And Jesus said to them: Do you believe that I am able to do this? They say to Him: she. God! Then He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith, be it done to you.” And their eyes were opened; and Jesus sternly said to them: Take care that no one finds out. And they went out and spread the word about Him throughout all that land (Matthew 9:27–31). The point is clear: the blind suddenly received their sight at one word of the Savior; The Creator of man, Light Himself and the Giver of light, spoke the word, and the word became deed. He said the creative: let it be, and the former blind are now sighted. And He gave such a wonderful gift for faith alone to the blind, without any merit on their part: according to your faith it will be done to you (Matthew 9:29). What is so pleasing to God in a person is one simple, sincere faith in the omnipotence of God! Faith works so powerfully! Such miracles happen through faith! Do you and I have faith? If we have, then we cannot help but see in ourselves the wondrous works of God, both in our souls and in our bodies; The Lord is with us now, according to His Divine promise: behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age, He said to the disciples before His Ascension into heaven (Matthew 28:20); Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). I see the wonders of His mercy and power in me every day and glorify His mercies daily: for they are without number. Speaking about the blind people of the Gospel and about the miraculous healing of them by Jesus Christ for their faith, I am transported mentally to blind people of a different kind, namely, to blind people overcome by spiritual blindness, which is much more dangerous and fatal than physical blindness. This is, firstly, the blindness of half-educated or completely over-educated people of the present time, who in the wise structure of the world do not see the finger of God, who created everything and controls everything, and consider it a product of chance, like themselves, and make out of their life, as it were, a toy and amusement, and when this toy gets tired of them for some reason, they mercilessly break it, that is, commit suicide; or they make it a series of atrocities against others and make fun of human misfortunes. This blindness is all the more disastrous for themselves and for societies because people of this kind consider themselves sighted, intelligent and almost kind people, and all other people - not from their gang - ignorant, vile. Reading in the daily news about various incidents, we encounter every now and then - murders, suicides, drunkenness, debauchery, the most brazen thefts of public money, arson of cities and villages. Summing up all these incidents, we draw the necessary conclusion that these people have recoiled from God, from faith, from the Church of God, that they are blind, wandering in the dark and do not know what they are striving for, what will come of all this. Oh, unfortunate times! Oh, times of unbelief! Oh, times that foretell the approach of the terrible Day of Judgment! Beware, brothers, of this blindness of unbelief and tyranny. Pardon the expression, but I cannot call people who act so brazenly and recklessly any other way. Where is the light of reason and conscience in people? How did they lose the light of faith? Secondly, the blindness of the soul is the blindness of schism and superstition. Thirdly, spiritual blindness is the blindness of the common people, who do not know the most necessary truths of their faith and the rules of Christian life. But this blindness is more forgivable than the one we talked about earlier: it is involuntary. Hold on, brothers, stronger than your holy faith, the Church of God, which teaches you everything that is good, useful, holy, and soul-saving; Don’t listen to today’s tyrants, who have the devil as their teacher and are trying to corrupt your simple Christian and Russian meaning. Have the fear of God in all your life; remember the Second terrible Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the terrible Judgment of the entire universe and carefully fulfill the commandments of God and the deeds of your calling. Learn the faith and its duties; be enlightened, sanctified, corrected and saved” [9, 203]. Matthew 9:28. “When He came into the house, the blind came to Him. And Jesus said to them: Do you believe that I am able to do this? They say to Him: she. God!" “If you want to ask God for some good from God through prayer, then before praying, prepare yourself for undoubted, strong faith and take remedies in advance against doubt and unbelief. It is bad if, during the prayer itself, your heart becomes weak in faith and does not stand in it: then do not think that you will receive what you asked God for in doubt, because you have offended God, and God does not give His gifts to a scolder! Everything, said the Lord, if you ask in prayer, believingly, you will receive [Matt. 21:22 ], and, therefore, if you ask unbelievingly or with doubt, you will not receive it. If you have faith and do not doubt, He also says, then you can move mountains [Matt. 21:21]. This means that if you doubt and don’t believe it, you won’t do it. Let (every person) ask by faith, without hesitating, says the Apostle James... let him not doubt, for he will receive anything from God. – A double-minded man is unsettled in all his ways [James. 1:6–8]. A heart that doubts that God can grant what is asked is punished for doubt: it painfully languishes and is embarrassed by doubt. Do not anger the Almighty God with even a shadow of doubt, especially you, who have experienced God’s omnipotence many, many times. Doubt is blasphemy against God, a bold lie of the heart, or a spirit of lies nesting in the heart against the Spirit of truth. Fear him like a poisonous snake, or not, what I’m saying is, neglect him, don’t pay the slightest attention to him. Remember that God, at the time of your petition, expects an affirmative answer to the question He internally offers you: do you believe that I can do this? Yes, you must answer from the depths of your heart: I believe, Lord! [cf. Matt. 9:28]. And then it will be according to your faith. May the following reasoning help your doubt or unbelief: I ask God 1) for a good that exists, not just an imaginary, not a dreamy, not a fantastic good, but that everything that exists received its existence from God, because without Him there was nothing that could exist [Jn. 1:3 ], and, therefore, nothing happens without Him, what happens, but everything either received existence from Him, or by His will or permission it happens and is done through the means of His powers and abilities given to creatures by Him - and in all that exists and happens, the Lord is the sovereign Ruler. Besides. He also calls things that do not exist, as if they exist [Rom. 4:17 ]; This means that if I asked for something that does not exist, He could give it to me by creating it. 2) I ask for the possible, and for God our impossible is possible; This means that on this side there is no obstacle, because God can do for me even what, according to my concepts, is impossible. Our misfortune is that our faith is interfered with by myopic reason, this spider that catches the truth in the nets of its judgments, conclusions, and analogies. Faith suddenly embraces, sees, and reason, in a roundabout way, reaches the truth: faith is a means of communicating spirit with spirit, and reason - the spiritual-sensual with the spiritual-sensual and simply material; that one is spirit, and this one is flesh” [5, vol. 1, 15]. Matthew 9:29. “Then He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith, be it done to you.” “The more people you ask for blessings from the Lord and the higher these blessings, the stronger the devil opposes the praying priest, so that for his fervent, fervent prayer God will not give those blessings, for: according to your faith, it is said, it will be for you [Matt. 9:29 ], and even if you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes [Mk. 9:23]. However, where the machinations of the devil multiply, there the grace of God abounds” [5, vol. 2, 394]. “When you are asked to pray for the salvation of someone from bodily death, for example from drowning, from death due to illness, from fire or any other disaster, praise the faith of those asking for this and say to yourself: blessed be your faith; according to your faith (Matthew 9:29), may the Lord grant the fulfillment of my unworthy, little-faithful prayer and add faith to me (cf. Luke 17:5)” [10, 275]. Matthew 9:33. “And when the demon was cast out, the dumb man began to speak. And the people, amazed, said: such a phenomenon has never happened in Israel.” “To clearly show that the word is given only to express the truth, the Lord deprives people of the word when they doubt the truth of God and do not believe it. Example of Zechariah (See: Luke 1:20). That the word should be an expression of only the truth, we also see this from the fact that when a person’s heart is filled with the devil, the father of lies (cf. John 8:44), a person cannot speak words that serve as an expression of the truth of God, and becomes mute. Thus, in the Gospel we find an example of a man possessed by a silent demon. After the demon was cast out, the mute began to speak (See: Matthew 9:33)" [8, 555]. Matthew 9:35. “And Jesus went through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.” Matthew 9:36. “Seeing the crowds of people, He had compassion on them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:37. “Then he said to his disciples: The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” Matthew 9:38. “Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” "Versions 36-38. Seeing the crowds of people, He took pity on them because they were weary and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples: The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Likewise, we need to have compassion for our flock if they are exhausted and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. We must pray to God, the Lord of the harvest, so that He will send good harvesters to the harvest, if the harvest seems abundant, but there are few harvesters” [1, 65]. You might be interested in: