Letter 634

To the same person. He who earlier says to God, "I will cry out by day, and you will not hear" [Psalm 21:3 LXX], afterward declares that "He did not despise, nor was he angry at the supplication, and when I cried out he heard me" [Psalm 21:25 LXX]. There is, then, a time of God's delay, when he foresees something better for us and wisely administers our affairs. For this reason, to our advantage, he does not immediately grant the request. There is, then, a time of not hearing, and a time of hearing: "For it is the time to have mercy upon her," says the Scripture [Psalm 101:14 LXX]—meaning, plainly, the soul that looks up toward God—because the time has come for the marvel-working of the Better One.

Ὁ πρότερον λέγων πρὸς τὸν Θεόν· «Κεκράξομαι ἡμέρας, καὶ οὐκ εἰσακούσει», ὕστερόν φησιν, ὅτι «Οὐκ ἐξουθένωσεν, οὐδὲ προσώχθησε τῇ δεήσει, καὶ ἐν τῷ κεκραγέναι με εἰσήκουσέ μου.» Ἔστιν οὖν καιρὸς ἀναβολῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ κρεῖττόν τι περὶ ἡμῶν προορῶντος, καὶ τὰ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς σοφῶς οἰκονομοῦντος. Διόπερ συμφερόντως οὐκ εὐθέως δωρεῖται τὸ αἴτημα. Ἔστιν οὖν καιρὸς παρακοῆς, καὶ καιρὸς ἐπακοῆς· «Ὅτι καιρὸς τοῦ οἰκτειρῆσαι αὐτή», φησὶν ἡ Γραφή, δηλαδὴ πρὸς Θεὸν ἀναβλέπουσαν ψυχήν, ὅτι ἥκει καιρὸς παραδοξοποιΐας τοῦ κρείττονος.