St. Nikolaj Velimirović
To the merchant S.T., whom
"God does not hear."
You complain that God does not
hear your prayers. In many difficulties, you prayed to God, and He never saved
you from any! How so, I wonder, since behold, you survived the difficulties?
But allow me to ask you one
question: do you hear God?
Both in the Old and the New
Testament, the Most High promised to hear people on the condition that they
hear Him. Do you hear God, since you ask Him to hear you? Do you fulfill the
divine laws and keep His ordinances?
If you do not do this, then your
demand is strange—that God should hear you and obey. God descended to earth and
washed the feet of those who love Him. It is a great joy for our Creator to
hear His obedient children.
The Creator obeyed Moses,
Abraham, and Jacob in whatever they entreated Him. And through natural and
supernatural actions, He extended His mercy to those who fulfilled His law.
If He did not want to obey my
prayers and yours, this happened either because we did not want to obey His
commandments from the Covenant or because our prayers were unorthodox.
Through Isaiah, the Lord said to
the disobedient people: "When you multiply your supplication, I will
not listen to you" (Isa. 1:15). And a little further on: "But
if you are willing and listen to Me, you shall eat the good things of the
land" (Isa. 1:19). God hears us when we hear Him and does not hear
when we do not hear.
Moreover, He does not hear even
when we ask for something harmful and foolish. The apostles James and John once
entreated the Lord to let fire fall from heaven upon the village that did not
want to receive them for the night.
But He, "turning, rebuked
them" (Luke 9:55). Not only did He not fulfill their request, but He
reprimanded them. Remember also whether your prayers were worthy of man and
worthy of God.
One more thing. Why do you pray
to God only in difficulty? By doing this, you humble yourself while insulting
your God.
Our Creator asks us to constantly
feel His presence and to communicate with Him unceasingly through prayer: "Pray
without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17).
By praying to God only when
sorrow finds you, you make yourself a mere beggar and shame God, as you call
upon Him like a firefighter only when your house is burning.
Christ gave us the right to call
upon His Father as our own Father. What is sweeter than this? And what is
sweeter for children than the presence of their parents?
Let us therefore also strive
unceasingly to stand in the presence of our heavenly Father, with our heart,
our thoughts, and our prayers.
Our prayer in times of prosperity
and joy is like a capital of prayer, which serves us in days of hardship and
suffering more than a momentary prayer when those days arrive.
Peace from the Lord!
Source: Ἔπαλξις Ὀρθοδοξίας [Bastion of Orthodoxy],
Issue 12, December 2024, p. 31.
Online: https://imlp.gr/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/EO-12.pdf
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