All of these extracts are taken from “With Elder Porphyrios – A spiritual child remembers” by Constantine Yiannitsiotis. This book literally has > 150 different stories about Elder Porphyrios, and pieces of advices and stories told by him. It’s very comprehensive, but it hasn’t been edited or translated very well and has a few literary errors.
Contents
> Prayer heals insomnia
> Prayer gives us rest and peace, as “our true interests lie there”
> All good [spiritual] things come from prayer
> Sometimes praying for another person’s problem is better than talking to them about the problem, especially if you know they won’t take it well that you are pointing out to them their problem
> He prayed always: during working, or exclusively just praying
> Without prayer, we live in darkness
> “I help you more with my prayers than with my words”
> How the Elder remembers to pray for everyone
> “Don’t get tired of praying”
> Sanctify yourself first, before helping others
Prayer heals insomnia
The Elder recommended prayer as the most successful answer to all our problems. Someone complained that he suffered from persistent insomnia. And the Elder showed him the right medicine: Prayer. He followed this prescription and was finally cured from his insomnia and at the same time, he achieved something much higher: he learnt to pray about all his problems.
Prayer gives us rest and peace, as “our true interests lie there”
During one of our meetings he said to me: “Why did God advise us to pray without ceasing? Is it because he perhaps wants us to “sit up and beg” before him? No, God does not want that. God wants us to benefit. He knows that when we glorify him, with our free will, like the angels, continually, day and night, our soul is truly given rest because our true interests lie there.”
Admin’s comment: I’m assuming ‘there’ probably refers to heaven
All good things come from prayer
Elder Porphyrios once said: “Always pray to God. All good things come from God: the desire for prayer and love and humility, and confession and every good thing. Every time that within your soul you feel like confessing, go to your spiritual father, it is very good.”
Sometimes praying for another person’s problem is better than talking to them about the problem, especially if you are fairly certain they won’t take it well that you are pointing out to them their problem
Once I wanted to help some people, with a serious problem of theirs, which the Elder had pointed out, but they were unaware of it. I perceived that there was a danger that they would not understand me. They might misinterpret me, so that instead of giving spiritual benefit it would give spiritual harm. I told the Elder of these thoughts and he said: “Don’t confront them about that problem. They will certainly misunderstand you, blame you and make your life hell. But do not be indifferent towards them. Help them from a distance with your prayer. In that way you’ll avoid doing them spiritual damage and they’ll receive greater benefit through your prayer.” I followed the discerning Elder’s advice and that put my mind at ease.
Admin’s comment: I don’t think this story is as cryptic as it may seem. I presume the other person’s significant problem is a sin of theirs. Of course, the average person doesn’t want to be made aware of a sin they haven’t noticed, and would also just as likely not want to be encouraged to quit it. Some really humble and spiritual people, could take it much better though.
He prayed always: during working, or exclusively just praying
An exceptional impression was made on me by the fact that the Elder dedicated his time either to praying exclusively or to praying while working. I saw him talking to me, making phone calls, eating, drinking water, lighting the stove, doing all his various chores and I realised that he prayed at the same time. He himself was the first to apply what he taught others about prayer.
Without prayer, we live in darkness
He said to me one day, “There is an electricity generator somewhere, and in this room there is a light bulb. But if we don’t turn on the switch, we will remain in darkness. There is Christ and there is our soul. But if we don’t turn on the prayer switch our soul will not see the light of Christ and it will remain in the darkness of the devil.” It was very clear that the soul of the Elder was illuminated by the light of Christ, both day and night, because his prayer kept the generator in constant spiritual contact with the light bulb.”
“I help you more with my prayers than with my words”
At the beginning of our relationship, I was anxious and impatient about how to see the Elder to ask him things and to get his answers. I felt spiritually empty when he was absent from Kallisia or when he was there but did not receive people because he was sick, or just gave a silent blessing. The Elder gradually freed me from that anxiety.
One day he said to me: “You know, I think I help you a lot with my prayers.” “I’m glad to hear you say that yourself, because I feel that too.” I told him, “I thank you very much and I beg you, please do not stop praying for me. I confess that I always ask for Christ’s help, through your prayers, especially in trying moments, and I am always strengthened – I feel it deeply. The Elder shined with joy and said: “What’s that you say? You do that? I also feel the same thing.”
Another day he revealed to me: “Do you know what I see? That I help you more with my prayers than with my words. I always remember you in my prayers. Pray for me, the sinner, too.” Those words were the shot in the arm that I needed to relieve my anxiety and unease about seeing him and talking with him.
How the Elder remembers to pray for everyone
Pilgrims often asked the Elder to pray for them and their loved ones and he always promised to do so. A question arose within me: “How could the Elder remember hundreds of names?” One day when we were talking about prayer he turned to me suddenly and said: “You’ll probably ask how I can remember all those names in prayer? I am a weak and sinful man, I say, “Lord have mercy on George, on Nicholas, on Maria, on Catherine – as many names as I can remember – and on all those who have asked me to pray for them and whose names I have forgotten. And God, who isn’t forgetful like Fr. Porphyrios, remembers all the names, and at once, he comes and has mercy on all.”
“Don’t get tired of praying”
The Elder advised me to face all my problems with prayer until they were solved. He said to me: “Pray without anxiety, calmly, with faith in God’s love and Providence. Don’t get tired of praying. He asked me to pray for him and for God to give him patience with his sicknesses, which made him suffer a great deal.”
Sanctify yourself first, before helping others
I admired his divine illumination and asked him, “Elder, what do you say when you pray for all those people? “The Elder answered in the most natural way, “Well, first of all I say ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me.” “You say, ‘have mercy on me’? But they asked you to pray for them, not for yourself,” I retorted in amazement.
And once again the Elder caught me unawares by saying, “Fine, don’t you know that if God doesn’t have mercy on me He won’t have mercy on you either? Don’t you know that you and I are one?” Simple words but with great, very great depth. So much depth that in another conversation the Elder would say that this feeling of our unity hides the secret of the spiritual life in Christ.
Later, reading books about the Fathers and Saints, I saw that there is no greater mercy and charity to others than our own sanctification. I remembered the words of Fr Porphyrios when I read the biography of St Seraphim of Sarov who said, “Acquire the peace of God within you and thousands of people around you will be saved.“ Isn’t that what was also happening with Fr. Porphyrios?
The Art of Orthodoxy 