Asking the Lord's help

[Jonathan_M]

I prayed for this in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Chrysostom]

Your many prayers have been brought before the Lord and I have read them with care. You have poured out a heart full of burdens for protection, for breakthrough, for wisdom, for healing, for the church, for those who suffer far away and those close to you, and God hears even the prayers that were deleted from this place. He does not forget what is offered to Him in faith.

I want to encourage you first with where true protection and true breakthrough are found. The Scriptures teach us to cut out the root and then there will be no fruit. Every conflict, every envy and striving, springs from love of the things of this life, from covetousness or vainglory. If a man takes our money he has not injured our true treasure which is above. If he hinders our reputation he has not touched the honor that comes from God. Therefore seek first to despise the things of earth and to store up treasure in heaven. There is your safety. When your heart is at peace with God and free from vainglory, many conflicts lose their power over you.

Learn also from Job. When he heard the voice of the Lord he did not boast in his sufferings but said he was nothing, earth and ashes, and he melted in humility. That humility is your strength now. Do not rush into conflicts to prove yourself right. Wait for the time God appoints and stand nobly when you are called to stand. God often allows the struggles of the righteous to become heavier near the end, as He did with Abraham, not to crush them but that they may gain more and that His deliverance may be seen to be near at the doors. So do not lose heart if the pressure feels prolonged. It is a wrestling, and the Lord is near.

Now I join you in prayer according to the will of God:

Father in heaven, in the name of Jesus Christ Your only Son through whom alone is salvation, hear these prayers. Grant protection that is according to Your wisdom, not only from outward harm but from sin and from the schemes of the enemy. Grant breakthrough that leads to holiness, to repentance, to love for Your word and to steadfast prayer.

Remember the persecuted church throughout the world, the unsaved who have not yet believed, the peace of Jerusalem according to Your promises, all who suffer in war zones and calamities, and the abused children who need Your defense. Have mercy and show Your power to save and to heal.

For those who are sick and wounded in soul, lay Your healing hand upon them. For the young woman you have lifted up, for her schooling and exams, be a Father to her, show her Your love, heal her soul wounds, give her encouragement and strength, and guard her path. For all soul wounds in this family and among friends, bring true healing that comes with forgiveness and a clean conscience.

Concerning the relationships you have named, we do not ask You to bless what is outside Your holy design. You have ordained marriage as a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and that intimacy and living together belong within that covenant alone. Where there is dysfunction, impurity, or a relationship that does not honor You, we ask You to convict, to confront what is not of You, to stop what leads to sin, to bring repentance and salvation above all, and to heal hearts. If it is Your will to bring two people together in holy marriage, let it be in purity and with Your blessing. If not, grant grace for separation, for purity, and for reconciliation to You first. Work salvation in each one, have Your hand upon them, and let no one be led into another harmful union. Improve and restore the relationships that can be restored in truth, especially where parents and children are estranged, and do a miracle of reconciliation where it will glorify You.

For work and for the church, grant wisdom, humility, and favor. Take over every meeting, guide every decision, protect the team, and help each task to be done in a manner pleasing to You. Where there is conflict in the church, if something spoken is true, reveal it and heal it. If it is false, remove it. Give grace to forgive where words were spoken about others that should not have been spoken, and turn even that failure into a blessing through repentance and renewed love.

Anoint the planned outreaches and services, the prayer gatherings, the evening of prayer and praise this Friday, the workshop, the sermon on hope and the Live Nativity. Raise up more prayer warriors, convict the church where it is sleeping, and empower the preaching of Your word with a strong anointing. Guide the next sermon and every word spoken, that many may be saved. Bless those who have labored faithfully and bring back those who have wandered.

In your own weakness, look to Christ. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think. Let His glory fill the earth and fill your heart with encouragement. May you walk in a pure conscience, in love, in authority and gentleness given by the Holy Spirit, and may the works of the enemy be defeated in your life and in the church.

We ask all this in the name of Jesus, trusting His mercy and His power. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Your honest and wide ranging prayer has been heard, and it is a blessing to join you in bringing all of these burdens to the Lord.

Thank you for asking for protection and breakthrough, not only for yourself but for so many others. God is your refuge and strength, and it is right to ask Him to guard you and to work with power where only He can. We join you in asking for His protection over you and for His breakthrough in the many conflicts and needs you mentioned, including the ones that weigh on you from forgotten hurts. The world is filled with conflict between people and nations, and the good news we hold to is that through Jesus we can have peace with God, and from that peace He can bring peace within ourselves and between one another. We pray that His peace would do its work in each strained relationship you named, bringing conviction where conviction is needed and reconciliation where it is according to His will.

We also pray with you for those far beyond your own circle, for persecuted Christians, for those who do not yet know salvation through Jesus Christ alone, for the peace of Jerusalem and for Israel, for those suffering in war zones and in calamities, and for abused children. We ask the Lord to have mercy, to save, to comfort and to deliver according to His perfect wisdom and compassion.

You asked for healing for so many, and for soul wounds and deep hurts to be made whole. We believe strongly that God does heal, and we pray earnestly for healing in every case you lifted up. Scripture shows us that Jesus healed in many different ways. Sometimes He healed instantly with a word or a touch, sometimes He healed gradually, and there is one healing recorded where the restoration came in stages. He did not follow a single pattern, and He still does not. Sometimes healing comes at once, sometimes it comes step by step through the natural processes God Himself created in our bodies, which are no less divine because they are natural. Sometimes His healing is most evident in the mind and emotions, as He heals scars and wounds that are not physical. And sometimes, as with the apostle Paul who prayed three times for his thorn to be removed, God in His sovereignty chooses not to remove the affliction but to give grace to endure it. We do not always understand why some are healed quickly and others are not, but we can trust His love and pray with confidence, knowing that Isaiah's prophecy that He bore our sicknesses and infirmities is fulfilled in Jesus, who went about healing every kind of sickness and disease.

If you are able, it is also biblical to call for the elders to pray over the sick, anointing with oil in the name of the Lord. The oil itself does not heal, it is a simple symbol of the Holy Spirit, but God has often been faithful to touch and restore those who are prayed for in that way in the life of the early church.

You asked for wisdom and help in your work, for strength in weakness, for guidance in meetings and with your team, and for the Lord to lead you so that your work is pleasing to Him. We pray that He will give you wisdom, strength, encouragement and favor, and that He will guide every decision and conversation. We pray too for the young person you mentioned who faces school and exams, that the Lord would show Himself as Father, bring encouragement, healing and help, and guard her heart.

You asked for the Lord's anointing on outreaches, services, times of prayer and praise, workshops and messages about hope, including the proclamation of the birth of Jesus. The anointing of the Holy Spirit on the preaching and hearing of the Word is essential. Without it, words are only words, but when the Spirit anoints, there is power and a life changing force that goes forth. Jesus Himself ministered in the power and anointing of the Spirit, and how much more do we need that same empowering. We pray that God will anoint those who preach and teach, that He will raise up more people to pray, and that He will convict hearts and draw many to salvation through Christ alone. We pray that He would set apart your gatherings for His exclusive use and let His presence be known.

You asked God to confront and convict where there is sin, to stop dysfunctional and ungodly relationships, and to bring healing and most importantly salvation to those involved. We join you in praying for clear conviction of sin and for God's gracious intervention. We pray that every relationship would be brought into line with His historic and holy design, that marriage would be honored as the lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and that sexual intimacy and living together would be kept within that covenant alone. Where a relationship is not of God, we pray He would graciously end what should not continue, heal soul wounds, and lead each person to repentance and new life in Jesus. Where restoration is needed within His will, we pray He would mediate and make it true and lasting.

You also confessed speaking about one person to another and asked for forgiveness. Be assured that when we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive us through Jesus and to turn even our failures into blessing as we walk humbly with Him.

We pray for your place in the church and for the issues there that trouble you, that God would bring truth to light, heal hurt, and work genuine reconciliation. We pray for overall encouragement for you, that the works of the enemy would be defeated and that you would be strengthened to continue.

Father, we bring all of these requests before You in the name of Jesus. Grant protection and breakthrough, grant wisdom and anointing, bring conviction and salvation, bring healing in the way and timing You choose, bring peace where there is conflict, and let Your glory fill the earth. We ask that You would do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to Your power at work within us. Amen.