Silas
Beloved of All
Your many burdens and prayers have been heard, and it is right to bring them all to the Lord. You are asking for protection and breakthrough, for wisdom and strength at work and in relationships, for healing for those who are suffering, for anointing on outreach and on your times of prayer and praise, and for God to work in conflicts that have lingered and caused deep hurt. God sees each of these needs, and He invites you to cast every care on Him.
I want to encourage you about healing, because you have mentioned so many who need it. Scripture shows that Jesus healed in many different ways. Sometimes He healed instantly with a word, sometimes with a touch, sometimes without even being present, and once He healed gradually. He is not confined to one pattern. All true healing is from Him, whether it comes in a moment or through the slow processes He has built into our bodies, which are themselves His design. He also brings healing to the mind and emotions, mending wounds and scars that are not physical. At the same time, there is much about healing we do not understand. We do not know why some are healed and others are not in this life. Even the apostle Paul prayed three times for his thorn in the flesh to be removed, and the Lord did not remove it. Matthew connects the prophecy of Isaiah, surely He has borne our infirmities and carried our sicknesses, to the physical healings Jesus did, and Jesus went about healing every sickness and disease, showing His power over the physical and the spiritual. Yet to assume that God must heal everyone in the same way every time is not biblical, and it is wrong to tell someone who is not healed that it is because of sin or lack of faith. That is like the friends of Job who spoke without understanding. So we pray with faith, believing God is able and that He does heal today, and we trust His wisdom and love when His answer is different than we expect.
You also carry many conflicts, in relationships, at work, and in the church, and you mentioned the wider conflicts in our world, including the suffering of persecuted Christians, those caught in war and calamity, abused children, and the need for peace for Israel. We live in a world filled with conflict between peoples and nations, and the gospel is the good news of peace, that through Jesus a person who was at war with God can have peace with God, and peace within. When conflict presses in, the most important thing is to recognize that the deepest battle is spiritual. Our weapons are not those of the flesh, but they are mighty through God to pull down strongholds. The enemy seeks a foothold in families and churches, and if we fight only in the flesh we are at a disadvantage. When we keep the battle in the spiritual realm, standing in the name and protection of Jesus with Him between us and the enemy, we stand in victory that He has already won. That means responding with prayer, truth, humility, forgiveness, and love, rather than with anger or retaliation.
For the relationships you mentioned, including those that are strained or dysfunctional, we pray for God's clear conviction and healing. Where there is sin, we ask Him to bring repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ alone. Where there are soul wounds, we ask Him to be a Father to the hurting and to bring deep inner healing. For any relationship that is not honoring to God, we do not ask Him to bless it as it is, but to intervene, to convict, to bring purity, and to lead each person into what is right before 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 reconciliation must be built on truth, repentance, and holiness. We ask for miracles of changed hearts, for wisdom in school and exams, and for the Lord to improve and, where it is His will, restore relationships in a way that is truly healthy and pleasing to Him. If a relationship is not of Him, we ask Him to stop it and to protect those involved.
For your work and your place in the church, we ask God to take the lead, to guide and protect you, to give you wisdom, strength, encouragement, love and favor, and to help you do your work in a way that pleases Him. Where there is hurt and misunderstanding, we ask Him to bring forgiveness and true reconciliation, and to turn even past mistakes in speaking about others into a blessing as you walk in humility. For the outreaches and services and your gatherings for prayer and praise, we ask for a strong anointing, for the presence of the Lord, for protection, and that God would raise up more who will pray faithfully. Above all we pray for salvation, that many who do not yet know Jesus would come to Him, for the persecuted church to be strengthened, for those suffering in war zones and calamities to receive help, for abused children to be protected and healed, and for God's peace.
May the Lord guard you and those you love, grant you wisdom beyond your own, and fill you with encouragement as you trust Him to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, and may the earth be filled with His glory. Amen.
I want to encourage you about healing, because you have mentioned so many who need it. Scripture shows that Jesus healed in many different ways. Sometimes He healed instantly with a word, sometimes with a touch, sometimes without even being present, and once He healed gradually. He is not confined to one pattern. All true healing is from Him, whether it comes in a moment or through the slow processes He has built into our bodies, which are themselves His design. He also brings healing to the mind and emotions, mending wounds and scars that are not physical. At the same time, there is much about healing we do not understand. We do not know why some are healed and others are not in this life. Even the apostle Paul prayed three times for his thorn in the flesh to be removed, and the Lord did not remove it. Matthew connects the prophecy of Isaiah, surely He has borne our infirmities and carried our sicknesses, to the physical healings Jesus did, and Jesus went about healing every sickness and disease, showing His power over the physical and the spiritual. Yet to assume that God must heal everyone in the same way every time is not biblical, and it is wrong to tell someone who is not healed that it is because of sin or lack of faith. That is like the friends of Job who spoke without understanding. So we pray with faith, believing God is able and that He does heal today, and we trust His wisdom and love when His answer is different than we expect.
You also carry many conflicts, in relationships, at work, and in the church, and you mentioned the wider conflicts in our world, including the suffering of persecuted Christians, those caught in war and calamity, abused children, and the need for peace for Israel. We live in a world filled with conflict between peoples and nations, and the gospel is the good news of peace, that through Jesus a person who was at war with God can have peace with God, and peace within. When conflict presses in, the most important thing is to recognize that the deepest battle is spiritual. Our weapons are not those of the flesh, but they are mighty through God to pull down strongholds. The enemy seeks a foothold in families and churches, and if we fight only in the flesh we are at a disadvantage. When we keep the battle in the spiritual realm, standing in the name and protection of Jesus with Him between us and the enemy, we stand in victory that He has already won. That means responding with prayer, truth, humility, forgiveness, and love, rather than with anger or retaliation.
For the relationships you mentioned, including those that are strained or dysfunctional, we pray for God's clear conviction and healing. Where there is sin, we ask Him to bring repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ alone. Where there are soul wounds, we ask Him to be a Father to the hurting and to bring deep inner healing. For any relationship that is not honoring to God, we do not ask Him to bless it as it is, but to intervene, to convict, to bring purity, and to lead each person into what is right before 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 reconciliation must be built on truth, repentance, and holiness. We ask for miracles of changed hearts, for wisdom in school and exams, and for the Lord to improve and, where it is His will, restore relationships in a way that is truly healthy and pleasing to Him. If a relationship is not of Him, we ask Him to stop it and to protect those involved.
For your work and your place in the church, we ask God to take the lead, to guide and protect you, to give you wisdom, strength, encouragement, love and favor, and to help you do your work in a way that pleases Him. Where there is hurt and misunderstanding, we ask Him to bring forgiveness and true reconciliation, and to turn even past mistakes in speaking about others into a blessing as you walk in humility. For the outreaches and services and your gatherings for prayer and praise, we ask for a strong anointing, for the presence of the Lord, for protection, and that God would raise up more who will pray faithfully. Above all we pray for salvation, that many who do not yet know Jesus would come to Him, for the persecuted church to be strengthened, for those suffering in war zones and calamities to receive help, for abused children to be protected and healed, and for God's peace.
May the Lord guard you and those you love, grant you wisdom beyond your own, and fill you with encouragement as you trust Him to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, and may the earth be filled with His glory. Amen.
