The final chapter of the Book of Deuteronomy tells of the death of Moses, the death of the leader who saw from afar the land towards which he himself was journeying and leading his people, but which he was not to enter. Strange? At first sight, yes. On the other hand, it was not Moses who was leading his people to the land promised by God; it was God who was leading both the people and Moses himself there. But then why was even the prophet not allowed to enter where all the others entered?

Yes, many things happened along the way, and even Moses, the man of God, sometimes did things of which God disapproved. If, however, Moses is compared with all the others in this respect, then those others certainly had no business being in God's land at all. Moses remained a man of God, whereas this could not be said of most of those who made up God's people. If Moses did not deserve to set foot on the land that God had intended for His people, then who did?

Yet in reality things are not so simple. The land is not merely a reward for proper behaviour or spiritual qualities. Abiding in it is itself a spiritual process. It requires a quite definite state corresponding to the quality of the land as God conceived it. God is not simply leading the people to a place where He wishes to settle them; He is leading them to a place of encounter with Himself. He leads them there so that a new life may begin for the people, a life in God's presence, and so that He may work with His people, making them the people and community He intended them to be from the very beginning.

There can be no single universal standard here. Everything depends on a person's capacities and spiritual potential. Indeed, following God presupposes the unfolding of the possibilities He has given to the person who follows Him. It is a process involving both God and man, and each person's fullness of life with God is unique, as is the path towards it. That is why far more was required of Moses than of anyone else among the people.

This is not about punishment, but about where exactly Moses was to attain that fullness of earthly existence which was to complete his earthly journey, just as, in the normal course of things, every person's earthly journey should be completed. God decided to bring Moses' journey to its completion on the threshold of the land He had promised His people. It was His decision, and its wisdom is hardly worth doubting, just as Moses himself did not doubt it.

Can it really be true that “whatever they ask, it will be done for them”? But what if...? Concerning every prayer, the Lord says that the heavenly Father knows all our needs, while we should seek His Kingdom and pray, “Thy will be done.” Two points in the Lord's words are fundamentally important for us.

First, He speaks of our human agreement with one another. This proves to be so important that God promises unfailingly to hear the united prayer of several people. In practice, this explains why Christians value the Church so highly: it is precisely here that we ask together. It also means that through prayer you can share in the needs of others.

Second, the Lord speaks of His presence. To the question “Where is God?” or “Where is the Kingdom of Heaven?” the Gospel gives a simple answer: wherever people agree to be together and to share one another's lives and needs. This is at once an empirical fact and God's promise, which we can trust.

Today the Orthodox Church celebrates the Day of the Holy Spirit. The Epistle to the Ephesians reminds us that 'the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth' (v. 9), and calls us to 'be filled with the Spirit' (v. 18). The apostle Paul calls this new state of the human being 'light in the Lord'; the apostle John also turns to this image of light when he speaks of brotherly love among believers (1 John 2:10). In the spirit of love we are called to 'seek those who have gone astray' (Matt 18:10-14), to resolve problems in our relationships (Matt 18:15-18), and, finally, to receive God's grace in unanimous prayer in the name of Christ and in His presence, just as we were promised.