Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your prayer has been received and we join you in bringing it before the Lord with reverence and care. We hear your longing that God would not leave this dear one to herself, but would pursue her with convicting grace, with clarity, and with the kind of love that wounds in order to heal.
We will pray as you have asked, that the Holy Spirit would convict of sin and righteousness and judgment according to John 16:8, and that the Lord would hedge her way with thorns as in Hosea 2:6 to 7, so that she cannot overtake those she is pursuing and would be turned back to come to her senses. As the prodigal in Luke 15 came to himself and confessed that he had sinned against heaven and before his father, so we pray she would be given godly sorrow which works repentance unto salvation without regret, as 2 Corinthians 7:10 teaches, and would bear fruit in keeping with repentance according to Matthew 3:8 and prove that repentance by deeds according to Acts 26:20.
We must speak plainly about the sin you have named. Scripture calls adultery what it is, whether it is committed with one who is married or with one who is free. The Lord said that everyone who looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart in Matthew 5:28, and that whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. How much more when one who is bound by marriage defiles himself with another, whether that other is bound or not, he transgresses the law and injures his own flesh and above all sins against God Himself. For this reason we cannot ask God to bless any relationship outside the lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, nor can we treat grace as license for immorality which denies our only Master as Jude 1:4 warns. God is not mocked in Galatians 6:7, and His kindness 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 according to 2 Peter 3:9, yet there remains wrath and tribulation for every soul that continues to do evil.
We also pray for the intervention of the church and family according to Matthew 18:15 to 17. We ask the Lord to raise up pastors and friends who will speak the truth in love, with the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God according to Hebrews 4:12, gently but firmly, keeping watch on themselves lest they also be tempted according to Galatians 6:1. We pray that fear of man, which is a snare according to Proverbs 29:25, would be broken, and that those who have responsibility would fear God and tremble at His word according to Isaiah 66:2, as Eli was warned in 1 Samuel 2 and 3. Let them not do the work of the Lord negligently according to Jeremiah 48:10, but finish what they have said they would do with love and reverence for His covenant. We pray this would be done in such a way that she is not driven from the assembly, but is helped to flee youthful desires and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart according to 2 Timothy 2:22, and to turn away from evil men and impostors who have a form of godliness but deny its power according to 2 Timothy 3:5.
You asked for wisdom and clarity and inner healing. We will pray that you all may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk worthy of the Lord according to Colossians 1:9 to 10, and that love may abound with knowledge and discernment according to Philippians 1:9 to 11. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom according to Proverbs 9:10, and the fear of the Lord is to hate evil according to Proverbs 8:13. We pray for that holy hatred of sin and for freedom from deception according to Matthew 24:4, and for the healing of wounds like those described in Isaiah 1:6 and the restoring of the soul in Psalm 23. The Church is a spiritual bath which wipes away not filth of the body but stains of the soul by many methods of repentance, and repentance itself has great power to set free even one who has fallen into great depth of wickedness if he will lay hold upon it.
Remember that tears alone are not repentance. Esau sought the blessing with tears yet found no place of repentance because he did not repent as he ought, as Hebrews 12:17 shows. True repentance is a change of mind that brings forth a new life. It is not to be despaired of, for there is no second washing of baptism, but there is renewal unto repentance by which Christ may be formed in us again. Yet we must also take heed lest we fall according to 1 Corinthians 10:12, and remember that we stand only by grace if we continue in His kindness according to Romans 11:20. He alone is able to keep us from stumbling according to Jude 1:24 and to make us stand according to Romans 14:4.
So we will continue to pray with you that God would grant repentance that leads to life according to 2 Timothy 2:25 to 26, so that she may escape the snare of the devil, and that others also may learn to fear sinning according to 1 Timothy 5:20. We pray for deliverance from temptation, from lies, from evil and from the evil one according to Matthew 6:13 and John 17:15, for grace to fast and to fulfill pressing duties according to Isaiah 58 and Titus 3:14, and for protection for you, for her, for the child, and for all your households. We thank God in advance according to Mark 11:24, trusting that He who began a good work will be faithful to complete it according to Philippians 1:6, as we continue to ask, seek and knock according to Luke 18:1, in the name of Jesus who alone is our salvation, our wisdom, our righteousness and our holiness.
We will pray as you have asked, that the Holy Spirit would convict of sin and righteousness and judgment according to John 16:8, and that the Lord would hedge her way with thorns as in Hosea 2:6 to 7, so that she cannot overtake those she is pursuing and would be turned back to come to her senses. As the prodigal in Luke 15 came to himself and confessed that he had sinned against heaven and before his father, so we pray she would be given godly sorrow which works repentance unto salvation without regret, as 2 Corinthians 7:10 teaches, and would bear fruit in keeping with repentance according to Matthew 3:8 and prove that repentance by deeds according to Acts 26:20.
We must speak plainly about the sin you have named. Scripture calls adultery what it is, whether it is committed with one who is married or with one who is free. The Lord said that everyone who looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart in Matthew 5:28, and that whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. How much more when one who is bound by marriage defiles himself with another, whether that other is bound or not, he transgresses the law and injures his own flesh and above all sins against God Himself. For this reason we cannot ask God to bless any relationship outside the lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, nor can we treat grace as license for immorality which denies our only Master as Jude 1:4 warns. God is not mocked in Galatians 6:7, and His kindness 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 according to 2 Peter 3:9, yet there remains wrath and tribulation for every soul that continues to do evil.
We also pray for the intervention of the church and family according to Matthew 18:15 to 17. We ask the Lord to raise up pastors and friends who will speak the truth in love, with the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God according to Hebrews 4:12, gently but firmly, keeping watch on themselves lest they also be tempted according to Galatians 6:1. We pray that fear of man, which is a snare according to Proverbs 29:25, would be broken, and that those who have responsibility would fear God and tremble at His word according to Isaiah 66:2, as Eli was warned in 1 Samuel 2 and 3. Let them not do the work of the Lord negligently according to Jeremiah 48:10, but finish what they have said they would do with love and reverence for His covenant. We pray this would be done in such a way that she is not driven from the assembly, but is helped to flee youthful desires and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart according to 2 Timothy 2:22, and to turn away from evil men and impostors who have a form of godliness but deny its power according to 2 Timothy 3:5.
You asked for wisdom and clarity and inner healing. We will pray that you all may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk worthy of the Lord according to Colossians 1:9 to 10, and that love may abound with knowledge and discernment according to Philippians 1:9 to 11. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom according to Proverbs 9:10, and the fear of the Lord is to hate evil according to Proverbs 8:13. We pray for that holy hatred of sin and for freedom from deception according to Matthew 24:4, and for the healing of wounds like those described in Isaiah 1:6 and the restoring of the soul in Psalm 23. The Church is a spiritual bath which wipes away not filth of the body but stains of the soul by many methods of repentance, and repentance itself has great power to set free even one who has fallen into great depth of wickedness if he will lay hold upon it.
Remember that tears alone are not repentance. Esau sought the blessing with tears yet found no place of repentance because he did not repent as he ought, as Hebrews 12:17 shows. True repentance is a change of mind that brings forth a new life. It is not to be despaired of, for there is no second washing of baptism, but there is renewal unto repentance by which Christ may be formed in us again. Yet we must also take heed lest we fall according to 1 Corinthians 10:12, and remember that we stand only by grace if we continue in His kindness according to Romans 11:20. He alone is able to keep us from stumbling according to Jude 1:24 and to make us stand according to Romans 14:4.
So we will continue to pray with you that God would grant repentance that leads to life according to 2 Timothy 2:25 to 26, so that she may escape the snare of the devil, and that others also may learn to fear sinning according to 1 Timothy 5:20. We pray for deliverance from temptation, from lies, from evil and from the evil one according to Matthew 6:13 and John 17:15, for grace to fast and to fulfill pressing duties according to Isaiah 58 and Titus 3:14, and for protection for you, for her, for the child, and for all your households. We thank God in advance according to Mark 11:24, trusting that He who began a good work will be faithful to complete it according to Philippians 1:6, as we continue to ask, seek and knock according to Luke 18:1, in the name of Jesus who alone is our salvation, our wisdom, our righteousness and our holiness.
