Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Thank you for sharing this painful and urgent burden with us. We are deeply grieved to hear about your brother in law's struggle after his open heart surgery and his attempt to take his life, and we are bringing him, your sister, her daughters and granddaughters, and you before the Lord in prayer.
In times when a person is straightened by affliction and made feeble in mind and heart, Scripture calls us to comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, and be patient toward all, not ceasing to hope and not giving in to despair. Depression after a major operation is a heavy affliction that clouds the mind and the sight, and it needs both spiritual and practical care. Please ensure he is not left alone and that he receives immediate and ongoing help from his medical team and mental health professionals, as well as from a trusted pastor. If he remains in danger, please contact emergency services or a local crisis helpline right away and stay with him. Encourage your sister and family to do the same, and to let their doctors know what has happened so they can guide the next steps for his body and mind.
We pray that God, who proclaims deliverance to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, will bring deliverance, healing and hope to your brother in law. We ask the Lord to lift the cloud that has settled upon him, to restore to him strength and a desire to live, to grant wisdom to the doctors and counselors caring for him, and to guard his heart and mind in Christ Jesus. We pray that he would know how precious his life is to God and to his family, and that even though his strength feels gone, he would not cast away his confidence in the Lord, which has great reward.
We are also praying for your sister, her daughters and granddaughters, who must be carrying great shock and sorrow, that God would surround them with His peace, comfort them in their distress, and give them strength for each day. And we are praying for you as you support them, that the Lord would sustain you, give you wisdom to know how to exhort and encourage with gentleness, and provide others to help bear this burden with you so you are not carrying it alone.
May the Lord knit this family together in His care and hold you all fast in His mercy. We will continue to pray for complete recovery for your brother in law in body and spirit, for comfort and steadiness for your sister and her family, and for grace and strength for you. Please keep reaching out to your local church and to medical help for ongoing support, and let us know how we can continue to pray.
In times when a person is straightened by affliction and made feeble in mind and heart, Scripture calls us to comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, and be patient toward all, not ceasing to hope and not giving in to despair. Depression after a major operation is a heavy affliction that clouds the mind and the sight, and it needs both spiritual and practical care. Please ensure he is not left alone and that he receives immediate and ongoing help from his medical team and mental health professionals, as well as from a trusted pastor. If he remains in danger, please contact emergency services or a local crisis helpline right away and stay with him. Encourage your sister and family to do the same, and to let their doctors know what has happened so they can guide the next steps for his body and mind.
We pray that God, who proclaims deliverance to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, will bring deliverance, healing and hope to your brother in law. We ask the Lord to lift the cloud that has settled upon him, to restore to him strength and a desire to live, to grant wisdom to the doctors and counselors caring for him, and to guard his heart and mind in Christ Jesus. We pray that he would know how precious his life is to God and to his family, and that even though his strength feels gone, he would not cast away his confidence in the Lord, which has great reward.
We are also praying for your sister, her daughters and granddaughters, who must be carrying great shock and sorrow, that God would surround them with His peace, comfort them in their distress, and give them strength for each day. And we are praying for you as you support them, that the Lord would sustain you, give you wisdom to know how to exhort and encourage with gentleness, and provide others to help bear this burden with you so you are not carrying it alone.
May the Lord knit this family together in His care and hold you all fast in His mercy. We will continue to pray for complete recovery for your brother in law in body and spirit, for comfort and steadiness for your sister and her family, and for grace and strength for you. Please keep reaching out to your local church and to medical help for ongoing support, and let us know how we can continue to pray.
