Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for sharing your heart so honestly and for trusting me to pray with you. I hear how deep your love is for your mom and how heavy this separation feels, especially when you are worried about the people she is with and you feel responsible for her safety.
I want to gently speak to the fear you expressed that one wrong decision or one sin on your part will give Satan an opening to harm your mom through others. That fear is exactly how the accuser works. Scripture shows that Satan goes about accusing the saints day and night before God, and his purpose in condemning you is to drive you away from Jesus and away from the place of forgiveness and cleansing, to make you feel you must live in perfect performance or else you will be punished and those you love will suffer. That is condemnation, and it leads to despair.
The truth of the gospel is different. Sin did enter the world through one man, Adam, who acted as the head of the human family, and death passed to all because all sinned in him. But grace is greater. Through one man, Jesus Christ, the gift of righteousness and abundance of grace has come to many, and it abounds much more than sin. Jesus came in the likeness of our flesh, bore our sin on the cross, and condemned sin in the flesh for us. God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. When you question whether God loves you or will protect those you love, look at the cross. There God demonstrated His love once for all by giving His Son to die for your guilt so you could have fellowship with Him.
Because of that, your standing and your mom's protection do not rest on your flawless behavior. Scripture says sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. That does not mean we will never sin, but it means sin is no longer your master. The wages of sin is death, Satan pays his servants with death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. And when we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one, who stands for us against every accusation. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Spiritual warfare is real. There is a battle for the souls of people, and the enemy seeks to control minds and to use people to harass and hurt. Yet that warfare is spiritual and it requires spiritual weapons, not fear and striving in the flesh. Remember Job. Satan had to ask permission and God had placed a hedge around Job and his house. Satan could not go beyond what God allowed. Your mom is not beyond God's reach or God's hedge while she is away. God is present with her, He sees her, and He is able to keep her.
Our victory does not come from our own perfection but from Jesus who already defeated the enemy. The accuser has been cast down, and we overcome him by the blood of the Lamb. Jesus did not stay defeated, He was raised from the dead and He dies no more, and because we have died with Christ we shall also live with Him.
So I will pray for you and your mom, and I encourage you to pray not from fear that you must earn protection, but from confidence in Christ's finished work.
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, I lift up this dear daughter and her mom to You. You know the love they share and the anxiety that fills this daughter's heart while her mom is away. I ask You to place Your hedge of protection around her mom, to guard her going out and coming in, to keep her from harm and from the influence of those who would harass or hurt. Let Your angels guard her and let Your presence be near to her. Give her discernment and safety and bring her home in Your perfect care.
For this daughter, Lord, quiet the voice of condemnation. Remind her that she is under grace, that sin shall not have dominion over her, and that when she stumbles she has an advocate in Jesus. Teach her to bring every fear and every failure quickly to You for forgiveness and cleansing, and to stand in the righteousness You have given her through Christ. Fill her with Your peace that passes understanding while she waits, and help her to use the spiritual weapons You have provided, prayer, the Word, and trust in the blood of Jesus, rather than living under dread. Let her rest in the love You proved at the cross, knowing You are faithful to keep those who belong to You.
We thank You that death has been swallowed up in victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, and that You give us victory. Keep this family in Your hands until they are reunited, and draw each of them closer to Yourself through this time. Amen.
Keep looking to Jesus, keep confessing quickly when you need to, and keep resting in His grace. He loves your mom even more than you do, and He is able to keep her.
I want to gently speak to the fear you expressed that one wrong decision or one sin on your part will give Satan an opening to harm your mom through others. That fear is exactly how the accuser works. Scripture shows that Satan goes about accusing the saints day and night before God, and his purpose in condemning you is to drive you away from Jesus and away from the place of forgiveness and cleansing, to make you feel you must live in perfect performance or else you will be punished and those you love will suffer. That is condemnation, and it leads to despair.
The truth of the gospel is different. Sin did enter the world through one man, Adam, who acted as the head of the human family, and death passed to all because all sinned in him. But grace is greater. Through one man, Jesus Christ, the gift of righteousness and abundance of grace has come to many, and it abounds much more than sin. Jesus came in the likeness of our flesh, bore our sin on the cross, and condemned sin in the flesh for us. God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. When you question whether God loves you or will protect those you love, look at the cross. There God demonstrated His love once for all by giving His Son to die for your guilt so you could have fellowship with Him.
Because of that, your standing and your mom's protection do not rest on your flawless behavior. Scripture says sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. That does not mean we will never sin, but it means sin is no longer your master. The wages of sin is death, Satan pays his servants with death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. And when we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one, who stands for us against every accusation. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Spiritual warfare is real. There is a battle for the souls of people, and the enemy seeks to control minds and to use people to harass and hurt. Yet that warfare is spiritual and it requires spiritual weapons, not fear and striving in the flesh. Remember Job. Satan had to ask permission and God had placed a hedge around Job and his house. Satan could not go beyond what God allowed. Your mom is not beyond God's reach or God's hedge while she is away. God is present with her, He sees her, and He is able to keep her.
Our victory does not come from our own perfection but from Jesus who already defeated the enemy. The accuser has been cast down, and we overcome him by the blood of the Lamb. Jesus did not stay defeated, He was raised from the dead and He dies no more, and because we have died with Christ we shall also live with Him.
So I will pray for you and your mom, and I encourage you to pray not from fear that you must earn protection, but from confidence in Christ's finished work.
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, I lift up this dear daughter and her mom to You. You know the love they share and the anxiety that fills this daughter's heart while her mom is away. I ask You to place Your hedge of protection around her mom, to guard her going out and coming in, to keep her from harm and from the influence of those who would harass or hurt. Let Your angels guard her and let Your presence be near to her. Give her discernment and safety and bring her home in Your perfect care.
For this daughter, Lord, quiet the voice of condemnation. Remind her that she is under grace, that sin shall not have dominion over her, and that when she stumbles she has an advocate in Jesus. Teach her to bring every fear and every failure quickly to You for forgiveness and cleansing, and to stand in the righteousness You have given her through Christ. Fill her with Your peace that passes understanding while she waits, and help her to use the spiritual weapons You have provided, prayer, the Word, and trust in the blood of Jesus, rather than living under dread. Let her rest in the love You proved at the cross, knowing You are faithful to keep those who belong to You.
We thank You that death has been swallowed up in victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, and that You give us victory. Keep this family in Your hands until they are reunited, and draw each of them closer to Yourself through this time. Amen.
Keep looking to Jesus, keep confessing quickly when you need to, and keep resting in His grace. He loves your mom even more than you do, and He is able to keep her.
