Asking the Lord's help

[Windwold]

Praying with you in Jesus'name, Amen

 

[Chrysostom]

We have received your long and heartfelt request and we join you in bringing every part of it before the Lord.

We pray for the extra strong protection and breakthrough you asked for, for you and for all in need. We ask God to give you wisdom, strength and encouragement, and to anoint every outreach, service and time of prayer and praise, including this Friday evening gathering. We ask that He would raise up more prayer warriors, pour out His presence, and use these meetings to bring many to salvation through Jesus Christ alone, for there is no other name by which we are saved.

We also bring before Him the many burdens you carry for others, for persecuted Christians, for those who do not yet know Christ, for peace for Jerusalem and for Israel, for those suffering in war zones and from calamities, and for abused children. We ask the Lord to have mercy, to heal, to protect, and to draw many to Himself.

You asked for help with conflicts in your church, at work, in your team, in meetings, and with many individuals, and for wisdom for your own place and service and for the sermons you will preach. We pray that God will give you a clear conscience and peace, that He will mediate where there is tension, bring conviction where it is needed, and help you to do your work in a manner pleasing to Him. Where there has been hurt or words spoken that should not have been spoken, we pray for humble confession, for forgiveness, and for true reconciliation as God desires. We remember that many conflicts spring from love of earthly things, from envy and desire for recognition, and we pray that God will teach us all to despise what is passing and to seek the treasure that is above, which no one can steal.

Concerning the relationships and personal needs you mentioned, including those you asked God to stop or to confront, we pray according to God's good design. We ask that the Lord would bring conviction where there is sin, healing where there are soul wounds, and salvation where it is most needed. We do not ask God to bless what is outside His will, but we ask Him to lead each person to repentance, to purity, and to wholeness. If a relationship is not according to His will for marriage as a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman with purity before and within it, we pray that He would in His mercy end what is not of Him, prevent further harm, and bring healing and restoration. Where He intends marriage, we pray He would establish it in holiness. For those who are struggling in school and exams, for those needing healing in body and mind, and for families and children, we ask for His fatherly hand, His comfort, and His miraculous help according to His wisdom.

We know that God often allows seasons of conflict and testing to remain for a time so that we may gain more from them, and that He is near even when the struggle feels severe. As you wait on Him, may you not rush into conflict in your own strength, but stand firm when you are tested, knowing that He sees and will bring relief in His perfect time. May this confidence be an encouragement to you, that even when prayers seem delayed or a request is deleted from a page, they are not forgotten before God.

So we pray: Father, protect and guide, forgive and heal, convict and restore, anoint Your church and Your servants, defeat the works of the enemy, and fill the earth with Your glory. Strengthen this dear one with authority, love, inspiration and favor to continue faithfully. We ask all this in the name of Jesus Christ, our only hope. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Your heartfelt cry has been read with care and it is clear how much you are carrying for others as well as for yourself. God sees every name you placed before Him, even where it cannot be read here, and He hears every prayer including those you felt were lost or deleted. Nothing you bring to Him is wasted.

You asked for protection and breakthrough in the midst of many conflicts. This world is filled with conflict between peoples, in nations, in homes and in churches, and the news each day reminds us of it. The good news of the gospel is peace. Through Jesus Christ a person who has been at war with God can have peace with God, and a person at war within himself can find peace within. That is the foundation for praying about the conflicts you named, those you remember and those you have forgotten. We can ask Him to convict where conviction is needed, to confront evil, to bring true reconciliation where it is according to His will, and to give you wisdom and love as you walk through difficult relationships at work, at school and in the church.

You have brought many requests for healing, for yourself and for others, for bodies, for minds and for deep wounds of the soul. Scripture shows that Jesus bore our infirmities and our sicknesses, as Isaiah foretold and as Matthew reminds us, and His ministry was marked by healing every kind of sickness and disease, by authority over the physical world and over spiritual powers, sometimes with a touch, sometimes with only a word, sometimes by going to the person and sometimes by saying go home and you will find it done. He is not confined to one pattern. There is even one account where the healing came gradually, which reminds us that God often works through process. All true healing is from Him, whether it comes in a moment or through the slow processes He built into our bodies when He created nature. He also heals the heart and mind, binding up emotional scars and bringing wholeness inside.

At the same time there is much about healing we do not understand. We do not know why some are healed quickly and others are not. Paul prayed three times for his thorn in the flesh and the Lord did not remove it. To assume that God wills physical healing in every case in this life is not taught in Scripture, and it is wrong to tell someone that sickness remains because of hidden sin or lack of faith. That is the error of Job's friends. God is able to heal and we should keep asking Him with faith, and we should also trust His wisdom and love when His answer is different or delayed. We can bring the sick to Him and ask the elders to pray, as the early church did, simply and without show or frenzy, trusting Him for what is best.

In your prayers for relationships you asked God to stop what is dysfunctional and harmful and to bring salvation and wholeness. That is the right way to pray. We do not ask God to bless what is outside His design, but we do ask Him to convict, to heal soul wounds, to save, and to lead each person into a life that honors Him. God's design for sexual intimacy and for living together is within the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman, and true love seeks purity and holiness. So we pray for those you named that God would be a Father to them, show them His love, bring them to salvation through Jesus alone, heal what is broken, and guide their relationships according to His truth, and that He would give you and others grace to set healthy boundaries while you love them.

You also asked for help with work, with studies and exams, with meetings and with your place in the church, for wisdom, strength, encouragement, favor and an anointing to serve in a way that pleases Him. We pray that He will take the lead, guide and protect you, speak to you and through you, and empower what you do for the gospel. For your outreaches and times of prayer and praise we pray for a genuine work of His Spirit, not for outward excitement, but for conviction, for more people to be raised up to pray, and for many to come to salvation. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, and our prayer is that His glory would fill the earth and be seen in your life and in your church.

Keep bringing all of these needs to Him. He knows the details behind each name, each conflict, each exam and each hurt. May He give you peace as you trust Him, courage to do what is right, and confidence that He is at work even when you cannot yet see the answer.