Asking the Lord's help

[Chrysostom]

Your many prayers have been laid before the Lord and I join you in bringing them to Him with thanksgiving that you look to Him for help. You have asked for protection, for breakthrough, for wisdom and encouragement, for healing and for His hand upon your work, your church, your meetings and your relationships, and for His mercy upon many others who suffer. God hears the prayers that are spoken and also those that have been deleted or forgotten, and He knows each name you have hidden behind these marks.

Scripture teaches us that many conflicts have their root in love for the things of this life, in covetousness or envy or vainglory. If we cut out the root there will be no bitter fruit. Learn therefore to despise what is passing and to treasure what is above, for no one can steal your treasure in heaven. When others hinder or injure you, remember that they harm themselves more than you, and seek the honor that comes from God alone. We are also taught not to rush into conflicts but to deprecate them, to wait quietly for the time of trial and then to stand nobly when we are called. God sometimes allows struggles to become heavier near the end, not to crush the righteous but to increase their gain, as He did with Abraham and with Job, who when he heard the Lord said, I am nothing and counted himself as earth and ashes. In that humility he found rest.

Let us pray together.

Father in heaven, in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son, through whom alone there is salvation and reconciliation, we come to You. Have mercy and grant strong protection and deliverance for this soul and for all in need. Grant wisdom, strength, encouragement, love and favor for daily work and for service in the church. Take over completely, lead and guide and protect at work and in the team, and help all decisions and meetings to be done in a manner pleasing to You. Give wisdom to resolve conflicts, whether remembered or forgotten, and teach us to seek peace and to turn aside from vainglory. Where there has been hurtful talk, grant forgiveness and turn what was wrong into a blessing for all.

We ask for Your anointing upon the planned outreaches and services and upon the evening of prayer and praise this Friday and in the days to come. Raise up prayer warriors, convict Your church where we need correction, protect those who gather and fill the place with Your presence. Anoint the preaching of Your word, give power and clarity for the sermons to come as You did for the one past, and save many through the proclamation of the gospel.

We pray for healing for those who are sick and wounded in body and soul. Lay Your mighty hand upon them, heal soul wounds, restore health quickly where it is Your will, and be a Father to those who feel fatherless. Help with school and exams, grant understanding and peace under pressure. Be with families and children and keep them in Your care.

We bring before You every relationship that has been mentioned. Lord, You designed marriage as a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and You call all sexual union and living together to belong within that covenant. We do not ask You to bless what is outside Your design, but we ask You to convict where there is sin, to bring repentance and healing, to stop what is dysfunctional and not of You, and to make whole what can be made holy. Where two people are walking together, grant them either the grace to walk in purity and truth toward holy marriage, or the grace to separate and to be healed. Confront evil, expose what fuels it, and bring salvation and true reconciliation where You desire it. Improve and heal relationships according to Your will, and give a miracle of Your grace where only You can change hearts.

We remember before You persecuted Christians, those who have not yet believed, the peace of Jerusalem, those suffering in war zones and calamities, and abused children. Have mercy, bring salvation through Christ alone, bring justice and comfort, and defeat the works of the enemy. Let the earth be filled with Your glory.

Grant overall encouragement. Keep us in a pure conscience before You, and let our confidence be in Your mercy and not in ourselves. We ask that You would do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think, for Your glory.

In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord we pray, Amen.

 

[Silas]

Thank you for pouring out your heart in this prayer. The breadth of your concern is evident, for your own needs and for so many others, and the Lord hears every word even when a request is deleted from a website or seems forgotten by people. Nothing you have lifted up is forgotten by Him.

You asked for strong protection and breakthrough, for encouragement and wisdom, and for the Lord's anointing on the work He has given you, in your daily job, in your place in the church, in your team and meetings, and in the outreaches and times of prayer and praise that are planned. It is right to ask Him to take the lead, to guide and guard and to speak to all of you, and to help you do the work in a way that pleases Him. Ask Him for wisdom and strength and love as you navigate responsibilities and prepare to share His word. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above what we ask or think, and we can trust Him to anoint what is done for His glory and to bring forth fruit in His time, including the salvation of those who do not yet know Jesus.

You also carried many conflicts before the Lord, some long standing and some recent, in the church and in personal relationships, and asked for conviction and reconciliation. We live in a world filled with conflict between peoples and nations, and Israel is one clear example of that unrest. The good news of the gospel is the news of peace, that through Jesus a person who was at war with God can have peace with God, and then can find peace within and peace with others. Where there has been hurt, misunderstanding, or sin, pray for honest conviction, for forgiveness, and for a true reconciliation that is rooted in truth and repentance. Where you have spoken about others in a way you now regret, confess it to the Lord and He is faithful to forgive through Christ, and He can turn even that into a blessing as you walk in humility going forward.

You brought many needs for healing, for yourself and for others you love, for bodies and for deep wounds of the soul, for help with school and exams, and for a young person who needs a father's care. I want to encourage you with what Scripture shows about healing. Jesus healed in many different ways. Sometimes He touched, sometimes He only spoke a word from a distance, sometimes healing came instantly and once it came gradually. He was never confined to one pattern. All healing is from God, whether it comes in a moment or through the slow and natural processes He Himself created in our bodies. He also heals the mind and emotions, binding up the scars and wounds that life leaves. Matthew connects the healing ministry of Jesus to the prophecy in Isaiah that He bore our infirmities and sicknesses, and we see Him going about teaching and preaching and healing every kind of sickness and disease, and later the apostles praying for the sick and the elders of the church praying as instructed in Scripture.

At the same time there is much we do not understand about healing. Scripture does not teach that God wills physical healing in every case in this life. Paul prayed three times concerning his thorn in the flesh and the Lord did not remove it but gave grace to endure it. Not everyone is healed, and when healing does not come it is wrong to say it must be due to hidden sin or lack of faith. Those explanations cause deep hurt and are not biblical. God is able to heal today and we should keep asking Him with faith, while also trusting His wisdom and love when His answer is different than we hoped. We do not need frenzy or show, only simple and sincere prayer to Jesus who has all authority in the physical and spiritual realm.

You also asked for God to intervene in several relationships and to stop what is dysfunctional and not of Him. We join you in praying for conviction, for healing of soul wounds, and above all for salvation for those who do not know Christ. For every relationship we ask that God would bring it into alignment with His design. Scripture teaches that salvation is through Jesus Christ alone and that marriage is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, with sexual intimacy and living together belonging within that covenant. We do not ask God to bless what is outside His will, but we do ask Him to convict where needed, to bring repentance and purity, to heal what is broken, to stop what would lead further into sin, and to make each person whole in Him. For the young person you mentioned, we pray the Lord Himself would be near as a Father, to encourage, to rear and guide, to heal and to help with studies and testing.

You have not forgotten the wider world in your prayers, and that is Christlike. We join you in praying for persecuted Christians, for the salvation of the unsaved, for the peace of Jerusalem, for those suffering in war zones and from calamities, and for abused children and all who are vulnerable. The Lord sees each one.

In your own weakness at work and in the church, the Lord is your strength. Continue to bring every detail to Him, your place of service, the sermons you prepare, the unity of the church, that He would raise up more people given to prayer and that His presence would be known. He knows your need for encouragement and for defeat of the enemy's work, and He is your protection.

May the Lord grant you wisdom, strengthen your faith, comfort your heart, and fill the earth with the knowledge of His glory as you keep seeking Him. We pray He will answer according to His perfect will, for your good and for the good of many, in the name of Jesus. Amen.