It is said, pray that you may not enter into temptations regarding the faith. Pray that together with the demon of blasphemy and pride you may not enter into temptations of self-opinion of your mind. Pray that by God’s permission you may not enter into open demonic temptation because of the evil thoughts you have in your mind, for which temptations are permitted against you.
Pray that the angel of your chastity may not depart from you, that sin may not raise a flaming battle against you and separate you from him. Pray that you may not enter into the temptation of setting one person against another, or into the temptation of double-mindedness and doubt, by which the soul is led into great struggle. As for bodily temptations, prepare yourself to accept them with all your soul and to endure them with all your strength; and fill your eyes with tears, that your Guardian Angel may not depart from you. For outside of temptations the Providence of God is not seen, it is impossible to acquire boldness before God, and it is impossible to learn wisdom, that divine love may be established in your soul. Before temptations a man prays to God as someone alien. But when he enters into temptations for the love of God and does not allow any change in himself, then he is accounted by God as one who has made Him his debtor, and as a friend of temptations; for behold, he has fulfilled the will of God: he has waged war with the enemy of God and has conquered him. This is the meaning of what is said: Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak (Mt. 26:41). And again: “Pray that you may not enter into terrible demonic temptation because of your pride; but for your love of God may the power of God help you, and through you may He conquer His enemies. Pray that you may not enter into these temptations because of the viciousness of your thoughts and deeds; but may your love for God be tested, and may His power be glorified in your patience.”
On Sorrows and Temptations
My son, if thou come to serve the Lord, prepare thy soul for temptation (Sir. 2:1).
Sorrows and temptations are acknowledged by Holy Scripture and the holy fathers to be the greatest gift of God.
Temptation is not an evil, but a good. It makes the good even better. It is a furnace for the purification of gold, it is a mill for grinding the hard grains of wheat. It is a fire that burns up thorns and thistles, so that the earth may become capable of receiving good seeds.
God permits a man to fall into sins because of his pride, self-opinion, and self-reliance. Therefore, where there is no such self-opinion and self-reliance, neither are there instructive falls. So when you happen to fall, hasten with your thoughts to humble self-knowledge and a lowly opinion and feeling about yourself, and seek God through prayer, that you may not fall again. I will add that not only when someone falls into some sin, but also when he falls into some misfortune, calamity, or sorrow, especially a bodily illness, he must understand that he suffers this so that he may come to self-knowledge; that is, to the awareness of his weakness and humility. For this purpose God permits all kinds of temptations from the devil.
The soul cannot be freed from temptation otherwise than by calling upon Jesus Christ and having recourse to a spiritual father.
—St. Simeon the New Theologian
When a man endures every temptation and every affliction for the love of God and does not grumble, but always thanks God and humbles himself, saying that he suffers justly for his sins; if he always does so, then such a one will receive from God the forgiveness of his sins, and the temptations will become the cause of the salvation of his soul. Blessed is God, Who does not permit a man to be tempted more than he can bear, but with the temptation also gives him some strength to overcome it.
—Schemamonk Hilarion of Mount Athos
The believer has a great multitude of beneficial means for his healing, consolation, and sanctification: confession, Holy Communion, Theophany water, prosphora, antidoron, artos, the relics of saints, wonderworking icons, the reading of the Word of God, fervent prayer, calling upon the help of the saints and the Guardian Angel, frequent pronunciation of the name of Jesus, anointing with holy oil, the sign of the Cross—all this is a great help for the believer in grief, in despondency, in illness, and at the attack of temptations and enemies. Few have recourse to these means for their spiritual consolation.
There is one temptation from God, and another from the devil. The devil tempts a man not for the cleansing of sins, but in order to cast him into greater sinful defilements, to make him loathsome to God and unworthy of the Heavenly Kingdom. When God tempts a man, He desires his salvation. But the devil desires his destruction.
When temptation comes, do not seek to learn why or for what reason it has come; but take care only to bear it with gratitude, without sorrow, and without resentment.
Believe that everything that happens to us, even the smallest thing, occurs by the Providence of God, and then you will bear without disturbance everything that comes upon you.
One should not be afraid of temptations nor should he rush toward them, but accept with thanksgiving those the Lord sends. The love of God is known in the cross, not in the sweetness of consolation.
Thank God for everything! This word deals the devil a mortal wound and in every misfortune and temptation gives the one who says it the strongest means of encouragement and consolation. Never cease to utter it, and teach others to do the same.
No one can escape temptations, but one can escape falls.
Ask God not so much to deliver us from present calamities, but rather to give you strength to endure them.
—St. Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved (Matt. 10:22; 24:13).
One Must Endure with Wisdom
And do we have anything to endure? No one ever lacks for that. For everyone the arena of patience is wide; therefore salvation is at our very hands. Endure everything to the end—and you will be saved. One must, however, endure with wisdom; otherwise one can endure everything and yet receive no benefit. First, keep the holy faith and lead a blameless life according to the faith; cleanse every sin that occurs immediately by repentance. Second, accept everything that has to be endured as from the hand of God, firmly remembering that nothing happens without the will of God. Third, believing that everything coming from our Lord is sent by Him for the benefit of our souls, sincerely thank God for everything—for sorrows and for consolation alike. Fourth, come to love affliction for the sake of its great salvific power and arouse in yourself a thirst for it, as for a drink that is bitter yet healing. Fifth, keep in mind that when trouble has come, you cannot throw it off like a tight garment—you must endure it. Whether you endure it in a Christian manner or not, you will still have to endure it; therefore it is better to endure it in a Christian manner. Grumbling does not deliver one from trouble, but only makes it heavier, while humble submission to the determinations of God’s Providence and good-spirited patience take away the burden of affliction. Sixth, recognize that you deserve even worse trouble. Recognize that if the Lord wished to deal with you according to full justice—would such a light affliction have been sent to you? Seventh, above all pray, and the merciful Lord will grant you strength of spirit, so that while others wonder at your troubles, it will seem to you that there is nothing to endure.
From: Readings For Every Day of Great Lent, Ed. N. Shaposhnikova (Moscow: Danilov Monastery, 2025).
