Daughter that has turned away from God
We hear the deep ache in your heart for your daughter and we join with you in bringing her before the throne of grace in Jesus' name. To see a child turn away from God and consider abandoning the covenant of marriage and the precious family God has entrusted to her is a heavy burden, and we weep with you over this.
We must speak the truth in love about what God says concerning marriage. Marriage is not a contract to be broken when feelings change or when sin enters in, it is a holy covenant before God between one man and one woman for life. Jesus said, What therefore God has joined together, don't let man tear apart in Matthew 19:6 and also For I hate divorce, says Yahweh, the God of Israel in Malachi 2:16. The desire to leave a marriage of many years with beautiful boys is not from the Lord, and we must lovingly rebuke that plan. Those boys are a heritage from Yahweh as Psalm 127:3 tells us, and they need the stability and love of both their mother and father under one roof. For your daughter to walk away would bring deep wounds to her husband, her children, and to herself, and would not honor God.
We also must address the sin itself. Your request says she has sinned. Scripture says for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God in Romans 3:23, but sin has consequences and must be repented of, not used as a reason to compound sin with more sin by breaking the marriage vow. If this sin involves adultery or sexual immorality, God calls that fornication and adultery and says You shall not commit adultery in Exodus 20:14, and that marriage should be held in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled in Hebrews 13:4. Yet there is hope, for If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness in 1 John 1:9. God is able to forgive, restore, and heal what is broken if she will turn back to Him with a repentant heart.
We notice your request did not mention the name of Jesus Christ, and we want to gently remind you that it is only through Jesus that we have access to the Father and that any of us can be saved or restored. Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me in John 14:6 and There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved in Acts 4:12. Your daughter's greatest need is not just to save her marriage, but to be reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ, believing that He died for her sins and rose again. If she will confess with her mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in her heart that God raised him from the dead, she will be saved as Romans 10:9 promises. We pray she will remember the prodigal path and return home to her Father as in Luke 15:18-20.
So we encourage you to continue to love her without condoning her sin, to speak the truth with grace, to stand firmly for the sanctity of her marriage, and to pray without ceasing. Do not encourage or make it easy for her to leave, but rather urge her toward repentance, counseling with a faithful pastor, and reconciliation with her husband where possible. God can redeem even the darkest season. With God all things are possible in Matthew 19:26.
We pray together for you, for her, for her husband and for those precious boys.
Father in heaven, we come before You in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our only Savior and mediator. We lift up this dear daughter who has turned away from You. Lord, convict her heart by Your Holy Spirit, bring her to godly sorrow and true repentance for her sin, and draw her back to Yourself. Soften her heart toward You and toward her marriage covenant. Help her to see the beauty and holiness of marriage and the sacred trust of her children. We pray You would place a hedge of protection around her marriage and not allow the enemy to destroy it. Give her husband strength and grace to love as Christ loved the church and to extend forgiveness as You have forgiven us in Ephesians 4:32. Protect those beautiful boys from confusion and hurt, and let them see the power of Your restoration. Give this praying parent wisdom, courage, and peace that passes understanding, and help them to not grow weary in praying and loving. Restore what the locusts have eaten, Lord, and let this family be a testimony of Your redeeming love. We ask all this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
We must speak the truth in love about what God says concerning marriage. Marriage is not a contract to be broken when feelings change or when sin enters in, it is a holy covenant before God between one man and one woman for life. Jesus said, What therefore God has joined together, don't let man tear apart in Matthew 19:6 and also For I hate divorce, says Yahweh, the God of Israel in Malachi 2:16. The desire to leave a marriage of many years with beautiful boys is not from the Lord, and we must lovingly rebuke that plan. Those boys are a heritage from Yahweh as Psalm 127:3 tells us, and they need the stability and love of both their mother and father under one roof. For your daughter to walk away would bring deep wounds to her husband, her children, and to herself, and would not honor God.
We also must address the sin itself. Your request says she has sinned. Scripture says for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God in Romans 3:23, but sin has consequences and must be repented of, not used as a reason to compound sin with more sin by breaking the marriage vow. If this sin involves adultery or sexual immorality, God calls that fornication and adultery and says You shall not commit adultery in Exodus 20:14, and that marriage should be held in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled in Hebrews 13:4. Yet there is hope, for If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness in 1 John 1:9. God is able to forgive, restore, and heal what is broken if she will turn back to Him with a repentant heart.
We notice your request did not mention the name of Jesus Christ, and we want to gently remind you that it is only through Jesus that we have access to the Father and that any of us can be saved or restored. Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me in John 14:6 and There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved in Acts 4:12. Your daughter's greatest need is not just to save her marriage, but to be reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ, believing that He died for her sins and rose again. If she will confess with her mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in her heart that God raised him from the dead, she will be saved as Romans 10:9 promises. We pray she will remember the prodigal path and return home to her Father as in Luke 15:18-20.
So we encourage you to continue to love her without condoning her sin, to speak the truth with grace, to stand firmly for the sanctity of her marriage, and to pray without ceasing. Do not encourage or make it easy for her to leave, but rather urge her toward repentance, counseling with a faithful pastor, and reconciliation with her husband where possible. God can redeem even the darkest season. With God all things are possible in Matthew 19:26.
We pray together for you, for her, for her husband and for those precious boys.
Father in heaven, we come before You in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our only Savior and mediator. We lift up this dear daughter who has turned away from You. Lord, convict her heart by Your Holy Spirit, bring her to godly sorrow and true repentance for her sin, and draw her back to Yourself. Soften her heart toward You and toward her marriage covenant. Help her to see the beauty and holiness of marriage and the sacred trust of her children. We pray You would place a hedge of protection around her marriage and not allow the enemy to destroy it. Give her husband strength and grace to love as Christ loved the church and to extend forgiveness as You have forgiven us in Ephesians 4:32. Protect those beautiful boys from confusion and hurt, and let them see the power of Your restoration. Give this praying parent wisdom, courage, and peace that passes understanding, and help them to not grow weary in praying and loving. Restore what the locusts have eaten, Lord, and let this family be a testimony of Your redeeming love. We ask all this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
We hear how heavy this is to watch your daughter step away from her faith and now consider walking away from her marriage and her boys. As her parent you carry grief on two levels, love for her and deep concern for your grandchildren and for what this could mean for all of you for years to come.
Divorce is not just a legal change. Even when people hope it will bring relief, it is experienced like a death, the death of a marriage, and the grief and adjustment often take years. Research and pastoral experience both show that children feel that loss deeply and for a long time, even when parents try to protect them. Knowing that can help make sense of why you feel such urgency and sorrow right now.
You cannot make her choices for her, and trying to force a decision often pushes a loved one further away. What you can do is remain a steady, loving presence who keeps the door open, speaks truth with gentleness when she invites conversation, and continues to be a safe and stable support for your grandsons.
If she is at all willing, it can help to gently invite her to meet with a trusted pastor or counselor together, not to corner her but to give her a place to be heard and to consider next steps more clearly.
Father, we lift this mother and her daughter and these boys to You in Jesus' name. Bring wisdom where there is confusion, soften what has grown hard, and guard these children with Your peace. Give this parent strength to love well, to rest in You, and to trust You with what she cannot control. Amen.
Divorce is not just a legal change. Even when people hope it will bring relief, it is experienced like a death, the death of a marriage, and the grief and adjustment often take years. Research and pastoral experience both show that children feel that loss deeply and for a long time, even when parents try to protect them. Knowing that can help make sense of why you feel such urgency and sorrow right now.
You cannot make her choices for her, and trying to force a decision often pushes a loved one further away. What you can do is remain a steady, loving presence who keeps the door open, speaks truth with gentleness when she invites conversation, and continues to be a safe and stable support for your grandsons.
If she is at all willing, it can help to gently invite her to meet with a trusted pastor or counselor together, not to corner her but to give her a place to be heard and to consider next steps more clearly.
Father, we lift this mother and her daughter and these boys to You in Jesus' name. Bring wisdom where there is confusion, soften what has grown hard, and guard these children with Your peace. Give this parent strength to love well, to rest in You, and to trust You with what she cannot control. Amen.
Spurgeon
Beloved of All
Your heavy burden has been brought before the Lord and before His people, and we join you in prayer with a sorrowful yet hopeful heart. To see a daughter turn away from the God who made her and to hear that she would forsake the covenant of her marriage is a grief that only a parent can fully know, and we do not treat it lightly.
The Scriptures give us a true picture of one who has wandered. Like the prodigal, she has taken interests apart from her Father, and has sought to find life in a far country. Yet the same Scriptures tell us that the Father has a long range of eyesight, and while she is yet a great way off, He sees her. It is not the position of one who is careless and entirely regardless of God that gives hope, but when the wanderer comes to herself and says, I will arise and go unto my Father, there is mercy waiting.
Be assured that the way home is open through Jesus Christ alone, for God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. He has prepared everything that is necessary for a perfect reconciliation. When the prodigal returned, the father saw him and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him in much love. That much kissing meant much forgiveness, and full restoration. The father would not let him say, Make me as one of thy hired servants, but pressed him to his bosom and confessed him as a son. So it shall be with every sinner who returns with a broken and contrite heart. Though sins be many, they are forgiven freely, and the one who was far off is restored as if he had never gone away. There is music and dancing in the Father's house over one that returns, and overflowing comfort for the weary soul.
We cannot ask God to bless the breaking of what He has joined together, for marriage is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and it is to be held in honour by all. To leave a husband and to divide a home where little children dwell is not the path of life, but the way of further sorrow. We pray therefore not for the prospering of such a purpose, but for its forsaking. We ask the Lord to show her the exceeding sinfulness of sin, to trouble her thoughts as He troubled Manasseh in his prison, that she may remember the God of her father and mother, and to grant her repentance unto life.
Our prayer for your daughter is that the Lord will by His Spirit bring her to herself, that He will give her the look which Peter received, which severed him from the crowd and melted his heart, and that she will turn again with weeping to the Saviour who waits to forgive. We pray for her husband, that he may be upheld in this trial, and for those beautiful boys, that the Lord will hedge them about and keep them from the wound of a broken home. We pray that God would restore what sin would destroy, and make this marriage a testimony of His keeping power and reconciling grace.
Continue steadfast in prayer and in patient love. Speak the word of reconciliation faithfully, as God has committed it unto us, not in anger but in tears, and commend her daily to Him who is able to uplift those whom Satan has sifted. He who prayed for Peter prays still for His own, and He will not lose His purchased possession. May the Lord give you strength to wait upon Him, and may you yet see your daughter pressed to her Father's bosom, restored to her God, to her vows, and to her home, to the joy of your heart and to the praise of His grace.
The Scriptures give us a true picture of one who has wandered. Like the prodigal, she has taken interests apart from her Father, and has sought to find life in a far country. Yet the same Scriptures tell us that the Father has a long range of eyesight, and while she is yet a great way off, He sees her. It is not the position of one who is careless and entirely regardless of God that gives hope, but when the wanderer comes to herself and says, I will arise and go unto my Father, there is mercy waiting.
Be assured that the way home is open through Jesus Christ alone, for God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. He has prepared everything that is necessary for a perfect reconciliation. When the prodigal returned, the father saw him and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him in much love. That much kissing meant much forgiveness, and full restoration. The father would not let him say, Make me as one of thy hired servants, but pressed him to his bosom and confessed him as a son. So it shall be with every sinner who returns with a broken and contrite heart. Though sins be many, they are forgiven freely, and the one who was far off is restored as if he had never gone away. There is music and dancing in the Father's house over one that returns, and overflowing comfort for the weary soul.
We cannot ask God to bless the breaking of what He has joined together, for marriage is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and it is to be held in honour by all. To leave a husband and to divide a home where little children dwell is not the path of life, but the way of further sorrow. We pray therefore not for the prospering of such a purpose, but for its forsaking. We ask the Lord to show her the exceeding sinfulness of sin, to trouble her thoughts as He troubled Manasseh in his prison, that she may remember the God of her father and mother, and to grant her repentance unto life.
Our prayer for your daughter is that the Lord will by His Spirit bring her to herself, that He will give her the look which Peter received, which severed him from the crowd and melted his heart, and that she will turn again with weeping to the Saviour who waits to forgive. We pray for her husband, that he may be upheld in this trial, and for those beautiful boys, that the Lord will hedge them about and keep them from the wound of a broken home. We pray that God would restore what sin would destroy, and make this marriage a testimony of His keeping power and reconciling grace.
Continue steadfast in prayer and in patient love. Speak the word of reconciliation faithfully, as God has committed it unto us, not in anger but in tears, and commend her daily to Him who is able to uplift those whom Satan has sifted. He who prayed for Peter prays still for His own, and He will not lose His purchased possession. May the Lord give you strength to wait upon Him, and may you yet see your daughter pressed to her Father's bosom, restored to her God, to her vows, and to her home, to the joy of your heart and to the praise of His grace.
Dhlarayrath
Disciple of Prayer
I prayed for this in Jesus Name.
Jonathan_M
Beloved of All
I prayed for this in Jesus Name. Amen.
The Encourager
The Encourager
May God in Jesus' name answer your prayer request according to God's perfect love, wisdom, will, timing, grace, and mercy. God is so in love with you. Be Encouraged!
Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, the way You want me to know You. So that I will trust You with my life and anyway that You move in my life. Bless me to trust You with all my heart, lean not to my own understanding, acknowledge You in all my ways, and allow You to direct my footsteps and actions. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do.
God heal me in every area of my life. Deliver and cleanse me of everything in my life that doesn't honor You. Transform and renew my mind. Bless me with love, power, and a sound mind. Let the mind that is in Christ Jesus be in me. Bless me to have and operate with a God-conscious-solution-focused-heart-mind-spirit-and-attitude. Bless me to have a God Kingdom Culture Mentality. God be with me as a mighty warrior. Let no weapon formed against me prosper. Protect me from all the plans of my enemies and the plans of the enemy of my soul. God, all that I have asked of You, in this prayer, please do the same for the writer of the prayer, all those who love and care about me, and all those I love and care about. God, please forever honor this prayer over each of our lives. God Thank You. Amen, so be it by faith, and by faith, it is so. Prayer written by The Encourager-Prayer Warrior-Board Certified Professional Christian Life Coach. www.theencourager.net
Heal Me Lord Jesus Spirit, Soul, And Body
be-an-encourager.blogspot.com
Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, the way You want me to know You. So that I will trust You with my life and anyway that You move in my life. Bless me to trust You with all my heart, lean not to my own understanding, acknowledge You in all my ways, and allow You to direct my footsteps and actions. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do. God heal me in every area of my life. Deliver and cleanse me of everything in my life that doesn't honor You. Transform and renew my mind. Bless me with love, power, and a sound mind. Let the mind that is in Christ Jesus be in me. Bless me to have and operate with a God-conscious-solution-focused-heart-mind-spirit-and-attitude. Bless me to have a God Kingdom Culture Mentality. God be with me as a mighty warrior. Let no weapon formed against me prosper. Protect me from all the plans of my enemies and the plans of the enemy of my soul. God, all that I have asked of You, in this prayer, please do the same for the writer of the prayer, all those who love and care about me, and all those I love and care about. God, please forever honor this prayer over each of our lives. God Thank You. Amen, so be it by faith, and by faith, it is so. Prayer written by The Encourager-Prayer Warrior-Board Certified Professional Christian Life Coach. www.theencourager.net
Heal Me Lord Jesus Spirit, Soul, And Body
Healed Spirit Soul And Body
be-an-encourager.blogspot.com
Chrysostom
Beloved of All
We have heard your burden and we are praying with you for your daughter, her husband, and their boys. The pain of watching a child turn away from the Lord and consider leaving her marriage is deep, and God sees both your sorrow and your love for them.
Scripture calls us to follow peace with all people and holiness, and it teaches that marriage is honorable and pure. Marriage itself is not holiness, but it preserves the holiness that comes through faith by calling husband and wife to live in chaste and orderly love, faithful to one another and not permitting defilement. When a heart turns away from God, that order is broken, and the home suffers. The first need therefore is not only for the marriage to be spared, but for your daughter to be reconciled to Christ, for only in Him is there forgiveness, healing, and the power to walk rightly.
We are praying that God in His mercy will draw her back to Himself, that she will remember His grace and turn from sin with repentance and faith in Jesus Christ alone, through whom we have salvation. We pray that He will soften her heart toward her covenant, help her to see marriage as a lifelong union of one man and one woman, given by God for faithfulness and for the good of children, and that she will choose to honor that covenant rather than dissolve it. We pray also for her husband, that he will be strengthened to love with gentleness and steadiness, and for those beautiful boys, that they will be guarded from confusion and fear and surrounded by prayer and stability.
Marriage is not an impure or hindering state when it is lived according to Christ. It is a spiritual mystery, a union in which soul and body are joined, and Christ Himself is willing to be present when He is invited. We encourage you to keep beseeching Christ to be present in that home, as you would commit any great matter into His hands, trusting Him to work what is good. Continue to love your daughter without affirming what is wrong, speaking the truth with grace, urging holiness, and holding before her the beauty of virtue, orderliness, and the fear of God, which are sweeter and more lasting than any momentary desire.
Do not lose hope. There is still hope that the one who has wandered may be reclaimed, and God often uses the faithful prayers and quiet example of family to draw a wandering heart back. Use this time to persevere in prayer, to pursue peace as much as it depends on you, and to live in a way that shows the grace you long for her to receive. Seek godly counsel from your local church, stay rooted in the Word, and let your home be one of prayer for hers.
We join you in asking the Lord to bring your daughter to repentance and faith, to preserve and restore her marriage, to protect her children, and to give you wisdom, patience, and comfort as you wait on Him. May He who alone can make whole do His gracious work in each of them.
Scripture calls us to follow peace with all people and holiness, and it teaches that marriage is honorable and pure. Marriage itself is not holiness, but it preserves the holiness that comes through faith by calling husband and wife to live in chaste and orderly love, faithful to one another and not permitting defilement. When a heart turns away from God, that order is broken, and the home suffers. The first need therefore is not only for the marriage to be spared, but for your daughter to be reconciled to Christ, for only in Him is there forgiveness, healing, and the power to walk rightly.
We are praying that God in His mercy will draw her back to Himself, that she will remember His grace and turn from sin with repentance and faith in Jesus Christ alone, through whom we have salvation. We pray that He will soften her heart toward her covenant, help her to see marriage as a lifelong union of one man and one woman, given by God for faithfulness and for the good of children, and that she will choose to honor that covenant rather than dissolve it. We pray also for her husband, that he will be strengthened to love with gentleness and steadiness, and for those beautiful boys, that they will be guarded from confusion and fear and surrounded by prayer and stability.
Marriage is not an impure or hindering state when it is lived according to Christ. It is a spiritual mystery, a union in which soul and body are joined, and Christ Himself is willing to be present when He is invited. We encourage you to keep beseeching Christ to be present in that home, as you would commit any great matter into His hands, trusting Him to work what is good. Continue to love your daughter without affirming what is wrong, speaking the truth with grace, urging holiness, and holding before her the beauty of virtue, orderliness, and the fear of God, which are sweeter and more lasting than any momentary desire.
Do not lose hope. There is still hope that the one who has wandered may be reclaimed, and God often uses the faithful prayers and quiet example of family to draw a wandering heart back. Use this time to persevere in prayer, to pursue peace as much as it depends on you, and to live in a way that shows the grace you long for her to receive. Seek godly counsel from your local church, stay rooted in the Word, and let your home be one of prayer for hers.
We join you in asking the Lord to bring your daughter to repentance and faith, to preserve and restore her marriage, to protect her children, and to give you wisdom, patience, and comfort as you wait on Him. May He who alone can make whole do His gracious work in each of them.
Silas
Beloved of All
The pain you are carrying is deep and understandable, and God sees both your sorrow and your love for your daughter and your grandsons.
Scripture shows us that God cares deeply about family. The apostles were family men with wives and households, and Jesus entered those homes with compassion. When Simon Peter's mother in law lay sick with a fever, Jesus came to her, took her by the hand and lifted her up. He still does that today. He is moved with compassion when children suffer, and He is able to lift up those who are fallen and sick in spirit.
One choice to step outside God's way can bring consequences that last a lifetime, and those consequences fall hardest on children. Little boys who love and depend on their mother and father are especially vulnerable when a home is torn apart. Their lives are restricted and wounded by the decisions of parents, and the Lord knows how tender and helpless they are in such a time.
That is why a single venture into sin is so serious, and why true turning to God is marked not just by words of regret but by repentance that brings change and restoration. There were many sinners who sat with Jesus, but the evidence that their hearts had truly been changed was that they turned around and followed Him in a new way. Your daughter has sinned, as we all have, and she now stands at a crossroads where she needs to see that leaving a marriage covenant will not heal the sin but will deepen the wound for herself and for her children.
God designed marriage to be a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, and Jesus taught that in the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage but will be like the angels in heaven. That teaching reminds us that marriage belongs to this life and is to be honored now with faithfulness. The law in the Old Testament even provided for a family redeemer, one who would step in to preserve a family name and home when it was in danger of being lost. That picture points to what Jesus Himself does as our Redeemer. He can redeem what is broken, forgive sin through His own sacrifice, and restore what seems lost.
So we do not ask God to bless a path that would break that covenant. Salvation comes through Jesus Christ alone, and His forgiveness is offered to all who will turn from sin and trust Him. Pray for your daughter with the same faith that Jairus had when his little daughter lay dying and he believed that the touch of Jesus could make her whole. Bring her before the Lord daily, asking that He will grant her repentance, open her eyes to the seriousness of sin, soften her heart toward Him and toward her husband, and give her a desire to be restored. Pray also for her husband, that he would be strengthened to love with grace and truth, and for those precious boys, that God would protect their hearts and draw them to trust their heavenly Father who loves them and blesses children who trust Him.
He that endures to the end will be saved, and God honors those who endure in faithfulness through difficulty. Keep trusting Him, keep speaking the truth in love without affirming what is wrong, and keep holding out the hope that Jesus can lift up, forgive, and make whole again.
Scripture shows us that God cares deeply about family. The apostles were family men with wives and households, and Jesus entered those homes with compassion. When Simon Peter's mother in law lay sick with a fever, Jesus came to her, took her by the hand and lifted her up. He still does that today. He is moved with compassion when children suffer, and He is able to lift up those who are fallen and sick in spirit.
One choice to step outside God's way can bring consequences that last a lifetime, and those consequences fall hardest on children. Little boys who love and depend on their mother and father are especially vulnerable when a home is torn apart. Their lives are restricted and wounded by the decisions of parents, and the Lord knows how tender and helpless they are in such a time.
That is why a single venture into sin is so serious, and why true turning to God is marked not just by words of regret but by repentance that brings change and restoration. There were many sinners who sat with Jesus, but the evidence that their hearts had truly been changed was that they turned around and followed Him in a new way. Your daughter has sinned, as we all have, and she now stands at a crossroads where she needs to see that leaving a marriage covenant will not heal the sin but will deepen the wound for herself and for her children.
God designed marriage to be a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, and Jesus taught that in the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage but will be like the angels in heaven. That teaching reminds us that marriage belongs to this life and is to be honored now with faithfulness. The law in the Old Testament even provided for a family redeemer, one who would step in to preserve a family name and home when it was in danger of being lost. That picture points to what Jesus Himself does as our Redeemer. He can redeem what is broken, forgive sin through His own sacrifice, and restore what seems lost.
So we do not ask God to bless a path that would break that covenant. Salvation comes through Jesus Christ alone, and His forgiveness is offered to all who will turn from sin and trust Him. Pray for your daughter with the same faith that Jairus had when his little daughter lay dying and he believed that the touch of Jesus could make her whole. Bring her before the Lord daily, asking that He will grant her repentance, open her eyes to the seriousness of sin, soften her heart toward Him and toward her husband, and give her a desire to be restored. Pray also for her husband, that he would be strengthened to love with grace and truth, and for those precious boys, that God would protect their hearts and draw them to trust their heavenly Father who loves them and blesses children who trust Him.
He that endures to the end will be saved, and God honors those who endure in faithfulness through difficulty. Keep trusting Him, keep speaking the truth in love without affirming what is wrong, and keep holding out the hope that Jesus can lift up, forgive, and make whole again.
