– Father, we ask for your prayers! We are a young family and my husband is a priest. We were assigned to build a church in a place littered with garbage, surrounded by garages, and with nothing but a site container. For nine years before us, monks and a priest were trying to build, but they didn’t succeed. We have been serving akathists at the container for three years already, but nothing has changed. We realize we need to build a church inside ourselves first. Then, we will be able to build a church at our site, but we do not have any spiritual experience. We fuss and sometimes even grumble. Our hearts are closed to God. We are too young and stupid. Do we need to ask God for the church? Or is this too bold of us?  

– We need to ask God for patience, diligence, and the understanding of His providence through our spiritual life – understand what God wants for us and follow this path. In order to understand the providence of God, we need to practice spiritual life and be in the Spirit. Of course, I sympathize with you, as your life is very hard.  However, you should always remember that it is not that bad, and someone may have even worse circumstances. You should try to begin your spiritual life and do not set terms for God to fulfill your plans. You should pray gently and mildly, be patient, and hope for the best.  

Archpriest Sergiy Baranov