By St. Silouan the Athonite
The Saints hear our prayers, and they have received the power from God to help us. This is known to the entire generation of Christians.
Fr. Romanos told me that when he was a boy he had to cross the Don River in winter. Unexpectedly, his horse fell through the ice and was just about to go under, dragging the sled with it. He was a little boy at the time, and he cried at the top of his voice: “St. Nicholas, help me pull the horse out!” And he tugged at the bridle and pulled the horse and sled out from under the ice.
And when Fr. Matthew, who came from my village, was a little boy he used to graze his father’s sheep. At the time, he was no bigger than a sheep himself. His older brother was working on the other side of a large field, when suddenly he saw a pack of wolves rushing at Misha (Fr. Matthew’s name in the world). Then, little Misha cried out, “St. Nicholas, help!” No sooner had the words left his lips than the wolves turned back and did no harm either to him or his flock. And for a long time after that, the villagers would smile and say, “Our Misha was terribly frightened by a pack of wolves, but St. Nicholas rescued him!”
All of us know a multitude of such instances where the Saints come immediately to the aid of people. From all this, it is clearly evident that our prayers are heard in heaven.
