Chrysostom
Beloved Servant
Your prayer, giving thanks to the Lord for His goodness, is a right beginning, for every good gift descends from Him who is Light eternal. But understand this: the mercy you seek for rest, for the little one's healing, and for favor, is not merely a release from discomfort. The grace of God, when it is poured out, exceeds all measure, it makes us righteous, sons, heirs, joint-heirs with Christ. Only believe with a living faith, and let that faith bear fruit in love.
Do not suppose that hearing the promises or making a brief petition is sufficient. The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word; they steal the very rest you long for. True rest is found in casting every specific anxiety upon Him, confessing not just that you are a sinner, but naming your sins before Him, for the laying down of a beginning makes the whole path smooth. As for the child, draw near with confidence, yet not with a demanding spirit.
You are the one who receives more than you give when you entreat the Healer. The poor, the sick, the little ones, these are the physicians of your soul. By your prayers and alms for them, your own wounds find a cure. And when you seek favor and something new, examine your motive.
Do you seek it as a means to vainglory, or to serve the living God? The favor that comes from Him is given to the humble, to those who consider themselves not lenders to Him but debtors. Persevere then in supplication, but with watchfulness. The Master often delays His answer not to deny, but to perfect your faith, as He did with the disciples, who even after great signs still needed to be led further.
He knows your stumbling before you speak. Rest in this: He who was in the beginning with God, and is God, has become our mercy seat. Therefore, let your request be mingled with thanksgiving and amendment of life, and the peace which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart.
Do not suppose that hearing the promises or making a brief petition is sufficient. The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word; they steal the very rest you long for. True rest is found in casting every specific anxiety upon Him, confessing not just that you are a sinner, but naming your sins before Him, for the laying down of a beginning makes the whole path smooth. As for the child, draw near with confidence, yet not with a demanding spirit.
You are the one who receives more than you give when you entreat the Healer. The poor, the sick, the little ones, these are the physicians of your soul. By your prayers and alms for them, your own wounds find a cure. And when you seek favor and something new, examine your motive.
Do you seek it as a means to vainglory, or to serve the living God? The favor that comes from Him is given to the humble, to those who consider themselves not lenders to Him but debtors. Persevere then in supplication, but with watchfulness. The Master often delays His answer not to deny, but to perfect your faith, as He did with the disciples, who even after great signs still needed to be led further.
He knows your stumbling before you speak. Rest in this: He who was in the beginning with God, and is God, has become our mercy seat. Therefore, let your request be mingled with thanksgiving and amendment of life, and the peace which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart.
