Photo: G.Balayantz / Pravoslavie.ru
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
Mt. 18:19
A humble looking house in Nakhalovka, an old section of Tbilisi. A garden with a gate eternally thrown open. Someone nearby is singing in a less than sober voice, “A gang from Rostov came to Odessa to do what bandits do-oo!” In the shade, eggplants are frying on a skillet.
“You know, I’m pregnant,” Lydia tells me as she spreads another portion of eggplants over the sizzling skillet. “I’ll have to get an abortion.”
“Maybe you don’t have to?” I say. “You’ll give birth to a second child.”
“Sergei is having fits. He doesn’t want it. ‘What do I need that baby for?’ he says. ‘I’m still young.’ And what will we do with it? Sergei’s jobs come and go. You can see for yourself that we have no living space. This is no more than a three by four doghouse. And his brother, as if there weren’t enough evil already, again busted in on us last night with an axe. I’m all nerves. I don’t even know how to raise the boy I already have. He’s just like his father, a chip off the old block. Not even two years old and he’s already cursing. Anyway, after that cesarian, I can’t give birth for a while.”
“Okay, but since God has sent you a child, He’ll give you the ability to raise him. It’ll all be fine.”
“What will be fine? We have one problem after another. As if I were against having a child! It’s just that there is no way out. I am going tomorrow to talk to the doctors. And don’t tell me about God. I know without you saying it that it’s a sin.”
“Maybe later you’ll find that that child is what you are missing in life.”
“Oh, stop it please. My nerves aren’t made of steel. When my husband starts having his fits after drinking I just loose it. Do you hear it? His dad is giving another one of his concerts. Go ahead, try dealing with these alkies! It’s in their blood. Just try explaining to them what’s a sin and what’s not.”
That is how Lydia and I parted, in an oppressive mood. Could it really be that she’ll have an abortion? I thought.
* * *
It is a great rarity in our day to meet a spiritually educated person, who can give you an answer to difficult questions. That is why I am now heading towards the house of my sister in Christ, to tell her about Lydia. The longer she listens, the longer she worries, and in her anguish she crosses herself before the icon of the Savior.
“O Lord, stop her! Save that life!” she prays, and turning to me, says, “That abortion must not be allowed under any circumstances. After all, she will never forgive herself for it.”
Her voice is ringing. “Tell her that when spouses kill their children like that, their marriage spiritually dies, and it ends in divorce. Tell her my story--about my abortions and how I had to pay for them.”
“Would that be appropriate?”
“It’s not a matter of timidity. If my woes will keep her from sinning, then perhaps it will cover those falls of mine. After all, I will be praying for forgiveness for them the rest of my life.”
“It’s useless. Lydia has already made her decision. And its only been a year since her cesarian.
“So what? I know several women who gave birth by cesarian section every year, and it all went well. Don’t waste time, call everyone we know. Let’s all read the “prayer by agreement” at 9:00 in the morning, that the Lord would lead her away from that murder. After all, the child already exists, it can already feel, only we can’t see it yet. Here, take some money, put her name in to be commemorated at the Liturgy. I believe that the Lord will work a miracle, but our common prayer is needed.”
I run to the church to submit Lydia’s name. A day passes, and then another. Everyone I asked is reading the prayer everyday at home, as we agreed, for a person they don’t even know; they only know that they are all at the same time asking to save the life of a child.
A week goes by and I am again standing in the yard with the gate that never shuts. From the adjoining building comes someone’s stream of uncensored expressions. Lydia comes out, all radiant.
“Well, finally!” she says, giving me a hug. “I have news for you--you’ll be even happier than me. I am going to have the baby!”
“Well, how about that! How did you make that decision?”
“After you left I thought about it for a long time, and said to myself, ‘Lord, do something!’
“Then Sergei and I went to the doctor; we had already found the money. There was a poster there spread over the wall, as if a child were crying, ‘Mama, don’t kill me!’ I burst into tears and showed it to my husband. ‘Look,’ I said, ‘I haven’t the strength.’ Well, he of course was unmoved. “Oh, go on!” But the doctor who was waiting to operate suddenly began talking to Sergei. He explained to him that after this we might not be able to have any more children, and persuaded him to keep the child.d Sergei sort of quieted down, agreed, and now he says, ‘I want a girl.’
Several months passed after this conversation, and a whole series of miracles happened. Lydia was worn out by her neighbors’ continual drunken debauches and her sister invited her to come to Russia to have the baby. Sergei found the money for travel even though it was winter, a lull time for stucco workers, and sent his wife off by airplane. She arrived in Ivanovo without event. She told us later how total strangers helped her along the way. She gave birth successfully. One morning, while I was as usual praying the “prayer by agreement”, I felt that I no longer needed to do so, that Lydia was already home, with her child. I ran to find out. And it was true!
“Congratulate me,” shouts Lydia, “I have a girl. How did you know that I was here? I didn’t call you”
* * *
The Lord is true to His promises, and I have Many times been convinced of how the “prayer by agreement” helps. Here is another recent occurrence.
It was winter. Two of us entered an over-heated house. Behind a divider made of an old fold-out cot, a goat was bleating, tormented.
“Oh, how good you’ve come,” the lady of the house greets me. My goat has been suffering five hours and can’t give birth.”
“Let’s read the prayer by agreement right now,” I said.
Without even taking off our coats we faced the icons and began to read the prayer.
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Thou didst say with Thy most pure lips, Verily I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.Thy words are inviolable, O Lord, Thy mercy is unequalled, and Thy love for mankind has no end. Therefore we pray to Thee: Give us, Thy servants, (here we said our names), who have agreed to ask of Thee (help Thy creature) for the fulfillment of our request. But let it not be as we desire, but as Thou desirest, O Lord; may Thy will be done unto the ages of ages. Amen”
“Bah-ah,” said the goat as she gave birth.
The child Luke EPILOGUE: St. John of Kronstadt spoke of the power and effectiveness of the “prayer by agreement”: “I have been convinced by personal experience how quickly God hears the prayers of two or three who pray with all their heart.” And in a book by Archpriest Constantine Rovensky (+1943) entitled, The Talks of an Old Priest, he tells about how during the years of fierce persecution against the Church, the prayer by agreement helped many of the Orthodox, and a young mother was literally miraculously restored to health after the doctors had sentenced her to death. Another nearly blind parishioner received her sight, and priests who were languishing in concentration camps received unexpected help. The well-known elder, Archimandrite John (Krestiankin) advised people in hopeless situations to have recourse to the prayer by agreement, for the Lord is true to His promise when He said, Verily I say unto you ... that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them (Mt. 18:19-20).
Here is the prayer again:
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Thou didst say with Thy most pure lips, Verily I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.Thy words are inviolable, O Lord, Thy mercy is unequalled, and Thy love for mankind has no end. Therefore we pray to Thee: Give us, Thy servants, (names), who have agreed to ask of Thee (the request) for the fulfillment of our request. But let it not be as we desire, but as Thou desirest, O Lord; may Thy will be done unto the ages of ages. Amen”
Now, that prayer is being read at nine in the evening by Orthodox Christians in Georgia, the Ukraine, and Russia, asking the Lord to help the sick child Luke. Luke is six years old. He is a very good-hearted and talented child--he draws and uses the computer--but only with his feet. He was born with arthrogryposis, and he cannot move his arms. But the illness is curable, and operations performed outside of Russia and in St. Petersburg bring marvelous results. Many of our readers have already responded to our call for help to this Georgian boy, and 250,000 rubles have already been collected. Luke’s mother, Nino wrote to us, “I am ready to kiss the feet of everyone who has helped us in our need. My husband and I had already despaired that he would be an invalid all his life. Then suddenly, God worked a miracle, and aid came to our son from all over the world.” In the doctor’s words, Luke will need 2-3 operations, plus a long-term course of rehabilitation. The collected funds thus far are not enough, and therefore we are continuing to ask for charity.
However, right now the main difficulty is not even about money. Luke’s parents have received a call to do the operation in France, but they were refused a visa. Nor can they go to Russia for an operation because exits to Russia are granted only to those with close relatives there. Luke’s parents Kobo and Nino no longer had the strength to see their son’s suffering, and on August 13 they went to Belorussia where there is a softer visa regime. There are too many obstacles in their way, and they have only one hope--in God’s help. Now, with the blessing of their spiritual father, Igumen Antony, people are reading the prayer by agreement for them in Optina Monastery and several other monasteries. Since there are probably many others of our readers who would like to join this group prayer, we remind you that it is to be read daily at 9:00 p.m. Moscow time, and the request can be uttered in whatever words your heart suggests.
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