Spurgeon
Beloved of All
Your prayer is heard and it carries within it many marks of grace at work. You have spoken honestly of your husband's struggle and of his desire to be free, and you have spoken honestly of your own need of wisdom, and this honesty is itself a mercy from the Lord.
We rejoice that your husband has made progress in forsaking cigarettes, and we join you in praying that the Lord will complete the deliverance He has begun. Bondage to any master besides Christ is a stronghold, and deliverance from the power of sin is as much the work of God as deliverance from the guilt of sin. It is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy. He alone can pick up the shattered pieces within and fuse them together and transform the mind and heart. The good news for your husband is that God has not only invented a way of deliverance, but He has found a ransom. In the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself as that ransom, there is power to bring a man forth from the pit and to set him free indeed. We will pray that Jesus, by His Spirit, will reach those parts of heart and mind that no human hand can reach, and that He will make your husband willing to make a full capitulation, an unconditional surrender, flinging wide the gates of the city of Mansoul to let Prince Emanuel rule as sole sovereign in every street.
And we join you in the prayer you have offered for yourself, for it is wise and humble. To know what to say, when to say it, and when to remain silent and be still and know that He is God, is a gift only the Lord can give. You have rightly discerned that it is not your work to save and to heal, but His. As you have said, you cannot write your husband's testimony nor your children's, and you must put the pen back into the hands of the Author. This is submission to God, the true surrender of every proud pretension, to leave His method of working to His own wisdom. Will you surrender at discretion to His way and His time, trusting that the clock of mercy strikes in heaven at the hour appointed by infinite wisdom and compassion. He disciplines those He loves, and His correction is tender even when it is sore. We pray that He will continue His work within you, convicting where conviction is needed, renewing your mind and heart and spirit, and making you a gentle and loving support in your home, honoring and pleasing to the Lord.
We pray that Jesus Christ, through whom alone is salvation, will be at the center of your marriage. You have asked well, for a threefold cord is not quickly broken. When Christ is the third strand, the covenant of marriage as God ordained it, the lifelong union of one man and one woman, is strengthened and preserved. May the Lord protect your union as a husband protects his bride, and may He grant you both communion with Himself that makes your communion with one another sweeter and steadier.
Let us pray together. O Lord our God, who brings forth Your people with a mighty hand, look upon this husband and this wife. Bring this man forth from every bondage by Your power and by the blood of the Lamb slain. Deliver him wholly, and let him know that deliverance is of Free Grace only. Give to his wife a quiet and discerning spirit, lips guided by love and seasons of holy silence, and a heart fully surrendered to Your good pleasure. Search her and cleanse her and renew her, and make her walk worthy of Your calling. Set Christ as Head and Husband of this home, and let this marriage declare the works of the Lord. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Brother and our Redeemer, who never forgets nor forsakes His own. Amen.
We rejoice that your husband has made progress in forsaking cigarettes, and we join you in praying that the Lord will complete the deliverance He has begun. Bondage to any master besides Christ is a stronghold, and deliverance from the power of sin is as much the work of God as deliverance from the guilt of sin. It is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God that shows mercy. He alone can pick up the shattered pieces within and fuse them together and transform the mind and heart. The good news for your husband is that God has not only invented a way of deliverance, but He has found a ransom. In the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself as that ransom, there is power to bring a man forth from the pit and to set him free indeed. We will pray that Jesus, by His Spirit, will reach those parts of heart and mind that no human hand can reach, and that He will make your husband willing to make a full capitulation, an unconditional surrender, flinging wide the gates of the city of Mansoul to let Prince Emanuel rule as sole sovereign in every street.
And we join you in the prayer you have offered for yourself, for it is wise and humble. To know what to say, when to say it, and when to remain silent and be still and know that He is God, is a gift only the Lord can give. You have rightly discerned that it is not your work to save and to heal, but His. As you have said, you cannot write your husband's testimony nor your children's, and you must put the pen back into the hands of the Author. This is submission to God, the true surrender of every proud pretension, to leave His method of working to His own wisdom. Will you surrender at discretion to His way and His time, trusting that the clock of mercy strikes in heaven at the hour appointed by infinite wisdom and compassion. He disciplines those He loves, and His correction is tender even when it is sore. We pray that He will continue His work within you, convicting where conviction is needed, renewing your mind and heart and spirit, and making you a gentle and loving support in your home, honoring and pleasing to the Lord.
We pray that Jesus Christ, through whom alone is salvation, will be at the center of your marriage. You have asked well, for a threefold cord is not quickly broken. When Christ is the third strand, the covenant of marriage as God ordained it, the lifelong union of one man and one woman, is strengthened and preserved. May the Lord protect your union as a husband protects his bride, and may He grant you both communion with Himself that makes your communion with one another sweeter and steadier.
Let us pray together. O Lord our God, who brings forth Your people with a mighty hand, look upon this husband and this wife. Bring this man forth from every bondage by Your power and by the blood of the Lamb slain. Deliver him wholly, and let him know that deliverance is of Free Grace only. Give to his wife a quiet and discerning spirit, lips guided by love and seasons of holy silence, and a heart fully surrendered to Your good pleasure. Search her and cleanse her and renew her, and make her walk worthy of Your calling. Set Christ as Head and Husband of this home, and let this marriage declare the works of the Lord. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Brother and our Redeemer, who never forgets nor forsakes His own. Amen.
