Saint Iakovos Tsalikis: Confess your calculations to experienced Spiritualists:
“My children, let us do all we can in good deeds, let us have repentance and our prayers to God, because the Lord says: “Fast and pray that you may not enter into temptation”.
However, my children, prayer sustains man. And once, when I had come to the monastery 35 years ago, I said “Saint David, I came to you to enlighten me, may God give me enlightenment too, not to do bad deeds and sins, only the good work”. Well, and where I prayed, I say “give me faith.” I have believed since I was a child, but I want him to give me faith.
While I was praying, what happened to me? (in mind what he says in the Gospel): “When you pray say, Lord, add faith”. Forgive me, my children, I did not read it in our papers, in those years we had nothing, I only had a Summary, everything we had we left in my homeland in Asia Minor and here we had nothing, there were no theologian fathers at that time. A Preacher was in Chalkida and the Bishop”.
“Confess your calculations to tried Spiritualists, as a holy father used to say. For when you confess your reckonings, the demons will not dwell within you, they will leave.
When you don’t confess them, they nest inside you. (When) you think a wicked thought, (and then you accept it) we sin and the desire was called adultery by the Lord. That’s why, as much as we can, let’s banish calculations and thoughts and let’s pray that the Grace of God will always support us”.
Source: (From the book: O Geron Iakovos. Stories-News-Testimonies. Edition “Enomeni Romiosyni” 2016, p. 93.), Society of Orthodoxy
