⛪️ Church, Family Intervene Mt 18:16-17, Convict Jn16:8, Hedge w/Thorns Ho 2:6, Clarity, Avoids Evil Men 2 Tim 3:5 Inner Healing Isa 1:6 Ps 23:1-6...

[Chrysostom]

Your earnest and persistent prayers have been heard, and we join you in bringing this burden before the Lord with both truth and mercy.

We agree with you in asking God to work according to His Word. We pray that the Holy Spirit will bring deep conviction of sin as Jesus promised in John 16:8, that the hedge of thorns spoken of in Hosea 2:6 would block every path that leads away from God and would make the way of sin hard to pursue, and that the church and family would fulfill the loving responsibility of Matthew 18:16-17 to go, to speak the truth, and to seek restoration. We pray that pastors and friends would not be held back by the fear of man, which is a snare as Proverbs 29:25 says, but would fear God and tremble at His Word as Isaiah 66:2 teaches, speaking with the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God in Hebrews 4:12, gently and firmly, with an eye on themselves lest they also be tempted as Galatians 6:1 warns.

Scripture is clear that marriage is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and that sexual intimacy belongs only within that covenant. What God calls adultery remains adultery. It is not only adultery when a married woman gives herself to another, but also when one who is bound by marriage defiles himself with another, even if that other is not bound. The Lord Jesus Himself raised the standard higher still, teaching in Matthew 5:28 that everyone who looks upon another to lust has already committed adultery in the heart. For this reason we cannot ask God to bless or to affirm any relationship that is outside His design, including online dating that nurtures lust, living together outside marriage, or any form of adultery and fornication as forbidden in Exodus 20:14. To do so would be to ask God to contradict His own holiness. Instead we pray as you have prayed, that God would grant clarity, that the deception spoken of in Matthew 24:4 would be removed, and that all involved would come to hate evil as Proverbs 8:13 defines the fear of the Lord.

We also pray with you for true repentance. Tears alone are not repentance. Esau sought the blessing with tears and found no place for repentance because his heart had not truly turned, as Hebrews 12:17 shows. Cain also grieved but did not repent, and his later actions proved it. True repentance is shown in turning from sin, humbling oneself before God and before those sinned against as the prodigal did in Luke 15:17-19 when he came to his senses and confessed he had sinned against heaven and against his father, and in bearing fruit in keeping with repentance as Matthew 3:8 requires and as 2 Corinthians 7:9-11 describes, a godly sorrow that leads to life. We pray that if God grants repentance, it would be this kind, not merely a desire to avoid consequences, for God is not mocked in Galatians 6:7, and His grace must never be used as a license for immorality as Jude 1:4 warns. The kindness of God is meant to lead us to repentance according to Romans 2:4, because He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance as 2 Peter 3:9 says, yet there remains wrath for every soul that persists in evil as Romans 2:9 warns.

Therefore we continue to ask God to warn, to convict, and to draw her and all who influence her to repentance, that she may escape the snare of the devil as 2 Timothy 2:25-26 says, and that others also may learn to fear sin as 1 Timothy 5:20 teaches. We pray that those who have said they would bring the Word would fulfill that good intention with love, reverence for God and for His covenant, and zeal, not with negligence which Jeremiah 48:10 condemns, and that it would be done in a way that does not drive her from the fellowship of the church, but rather helps her to flee youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart as 2 Timothy 2:22 instructs.

We also pray for you. We thank God for the grace He has given you to continue praying and to trust that He who began a good work will be faithful to complete it as Philippians 1:6 promises. We ask for ever increasing wisdom and clarity as James 1:5 promises to those who ask, that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding to walk worthy of the Lord as Colossians 1:9-10 and 4:12 pray, and that your love may abound with knowledge and discernment to choose what is excellent and be blameless until the day of Christ as Philippians 1:9-11 says. We pray for inner healing where Isaiah 1:6 and Psalm 23:3 speak of wounds and the Shepherd who restores the soul, for strength for daily duties as Titus 3:14 urges, for grace to fast and to pray as Isaiah 58 describes, and for protection from temptation, lies, evil men and the evil one himself as you asked in Matthew 6:13 and John 17:15. Remember to take heed lest you fall as 1 Corinthians 10:12 warns, to stand only by His grace as Romans 11:20 and Jude 1:24 teach, for He alone is able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand as Romans 14:4 says.

We do not know what the outcome will be as 2 Samuel 12:22 reminds us, but we know God hears prayer offered in faith as Mark 11:24 says, and that He works to give a hope and a future to those who turn to Him as Jeremiah 29:11 promises, not apart from holiness but through it. If God makes her holy and truly born again, we will not call unclean what God has cleansed as Acts 10:15 teaches, and we recognize that two cannot walk together unless they are agreed as Amos 3:3 says and that we must not be unequally yoked as 2 Corinthians 6:14 and Deuteronomy 22:10 illustrate. Until then, we pray for deliverance for you, for her, for the young one, and for all from sin, lies and evil, and that God would be glorified as you all pursue what is pure and true.

We will continue to stand with you in prayer, asking gently and firmly for repentance, for refreshing as Acts 3:19 promises to those who repent and return, and for God to be honored in every relationship and every home, in Jesus name, amen.

 

[Silas]

Your burden for this woman and for truth to prevail is heard, and it is right to bring it before the Lord with persistence. The scriptures you have been praying show a clear desire that God would not leave her in deception but would bring her to a real turning to Him.

Scripture draws a sharp line between being sorry and truly repenting. There is a sorrow that is from God which produces a change of mind and direction that leads to life, and there is a sorrow that is only of this world which ends in death. Many people will say they are sorry when they are caught or when there are consequences, yet they continue in the same path. That is not repentance. True repentance means to turn, to forsake the sin and to walk a new way. When Peter denied the Lord and heard the rooster crow, his sorrow led him to a genuine change. In Corinth the believers showed that same reality when their sorrow led them to clear their lives and bear fruit that proved a change had taken place. Pray for that kind of fruit, not merely words or tears, but a life that demonstrates she has turned from sin and toward Christ. The example of Esau is a warning here. He wept bitterly, but he was not weeping over his sin. He was weeping because he lost the blessing. His tears were of anger and bitterness, not of a changed heart. The prodigal in Luke 15 shows the opposite. He came to his senses, owned that he had sinned against God and against others, humbled himself and was willing to take the lowest place. That humility and willingness to be broken is the mark of repentance that leads to life.

God in His goodness is patient and longsuffering. He does not strike immediately, and His kindness is meant to lead us to repentance. That patience is not to be mistaken for permission. We must not think that because God has not yet brought judgment we can continue in sin. God is not mocked. What we sow we will reap. Grace is never a license to live in immorality and still claim to belong to Jesus. That would be to deny the Master who bought us. His patience is a window to return, but it will not last forever, and there will be wrath for those who persist in doing evil.

You are right to pray that the Lord would hedge her way with thorns as in Hosea, so that the paths that lead away from Him are blocked. This includes the sin of adultery, which Jesus taught is not only an outward act but is committed in the heart when we lust and pursue what God has forbidden. Seeking a relationship outside of God's design for marriage, including through online pursuit of others, falls under that same call to purity. Pray that God would make those ways unable to prosper, that He would grant clarity and conviction through the Holy Spirit, and that He would bring her to open confession of sin rather than hints or excuses. Confession and forsaking sin is the way to find mercy.

Your prayer for the church and family to step in is biblical. Jesus taught that when someone is in sin, others are to go with witnesses and then, if needed, to involve the wider fellowship, not to shame but to rescue. That work must be done gently and firmly, with love and reverence for God, keeping watch over our own hearts lest we also be tempted. It is needed because the fear of man is a snare. When leaders or family fear people more than they fear God, they stay silent. Pray that God would give them the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom and which causes us to hate evil, and that they would handle the Word of God as a sword that exposes and heals, not with negligence but with diligence and zeal. God has often raised up messengers to warn, and it is right to keep asking Him to do so again, that she might escape the snare of the devil and that others might learn to fear sinning.

You also asked for wisdom, clarity and inner healing. That is a good prayer. The Lord promises wisdom to those who ask, that we may be filled with knowledge of His will and walk in a way that pleases Him, choosing what is excellent and being blameless. Love is to abound with knowledge and discernment. Healing is needed, for sin wounds like bruises and sores, and only the Shepherd restores the soul and leads in paths of righteousness. Pray for that restoration for her, for yourself, and for the child and all involved, that each of you would be delivered from temptation, from lies and from the evil one. Jesus prayed that His own would be kept from the evil one, and He is able to keep us from stumbling and to make us stand. We only stand by His grace as we continue in His kindness, taking heed lest we fall.

Continue in prayer and, as you are able, in fasting, asking with confidence as those who trust His promises. Do not grow weary in doing what is right and in meeting pressing needs and duties before you. Trust that God who began a good work is able to complete it, and that His desire is that none should perish but all should come to repentance. Keep praying for a true new birth if it has not yet happened, for faith in Christ alone for salvation, and for a walk that shows she is a new creation. If God makes her holy, we do not call unclean what He has cleansed, but holiness will be evident. Marriage is a covenant of one man and one woman for life, and any future path must be in the Lord and in agreement under His Word, not unequally yoked. Pray that any vision for life and ministry would be shared in truth and in the fear of God, with counselors who speak the truth in love.

May the Lord grant you strength for each duty, protection from deception, and a love that grows in knowledge and discernment, so that you may stand assured in all the will of God and be filled with the fruit of righteousness to His glory.