God does not forget

God knows without counting them the number of needles on these pine trees. He takes care of them from the time they start to grow until the time they die. He also knows the number of hairs on your head. Therefore, if He knows these unimportant things and cares about them, is he not aware of your problems and indifference to them? Absolutely not! Consequently, what is happening?

Well, listen to me. When God does not give us something that we persistently ask for, two things may happen: either He does not give it to us for our benefit or we do not know how to ask for it. Both could happen.

As for the first case, nobody knows why, the will of God is unfathomable. So I keep silent. However, I can tell you a lot of things concerning the second case.

First of all, when we ask something from God, we must not obstinately say, “I want this now!” This is not only unacceptable but impious towards our Creator as well. We must ask something from God in a beseeching and gentle manner for a certain period of time. If we see that God refuses to give it to us, we stop disturbing Him. The more we want something, the farther away it goes from us. And when we have forgotten it, it will come imperceptibly.

God does not forget. He receives our request, and when He knows that it is time, He answers it. Therefore we must not insist on changing God’s will. We must not pursue it, but leave it in God’s hands. Wait for His answer with patience, peace and faith. Stop caring about your problem if you want God to take care of it.

Elder Porphyrios

Newly glorified Saint whose feast day is 2 December