We join you in thanking our Heavenly Father for the cross and for His holy Son Jesus who suffered for all who believe, and we praise His holy name with you. We agree together in the name of Jesus, believing that He hears us when we agree, for Jesus said where two or three are gathered in His name, there He is in the midst of them, Matthew 18:20, and that if two of us agree on earth concerning anything that we ask, it will be done for us by our Father who is in heaven, Matthew 18:19.
We are moved by your intercession for this man who rented his flat to you. We stand with you in asking the Lord to reveal His plans for him, for we know His thoughts toward His children are good, Jeremiah 29:11, and His thoughts and ways are higher than ours, Isaiah 55:8-9. We pray that the Lord will open his eyes to his true identity in Christ, for if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old things have passed away, behold all things have become new, 2 Corinthians 5:17. When a person turns from the narrow path that leads to life and follows his own desires into sinful relationships and activities, he takes on a false identity that is rooted in sin and deception. We must speak clearly here that any sexual relationship outside of marriage between a man and a woman is sin before God, whether it is fornication or adultery, and the Lord calls us to flee sexual immorality, 1 Corinthians 6:18, and to honor marriage, for marriage is to be held in honor among all and the marriage bed undefiled, Hebrews 13:4. We believe in the sanctity of marriage as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman, and any relationship outside of that, including relationships where a person is controlled, blackmailed, or in danger, is not of God and must be forsaken. The Lord also calls us not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers and warns that bad company corrupts good morals, 2 Corinthians 6:14 and 1 Corinthians 15:33, so we agree with you that he needs to be separated from ungodly influences, even those in his own household, and from the evil woman in his life who leads him away from holiness.
We also hear your concern that he is being controlled and blackmailed and that his life may be in danger, and we bring that before the Lord who is our deliverer and refuge, Psalm 34:17, Psalm 91:1-2. We pray that God will break the stony heart and give a heart of flesh, Ezekiel 36:26, and give him the courage to choose the narrow gate and the narrow way that leads to life, Matthew 7:13-14, and to fear the holy name of the Lord, for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, Proverbs 9:10, and to depart from evil, Proverbs 3:7. True deliverance comes when we submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from us, James 4:7, and when we walk in the light and confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, 1 John 1:9. If the Son makes us free, we will be free indeed, John 8:36.
So we pray together, Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your mercy and for the blood of Jesus that makes a way for us to come boldly before Your throne. We lift up this man to You, Your child whom You know by name, and we ask You to speak to him in a clear unmistakable way about Your holy plan for his life. Open his eyes to see who he is in Christ and to see the false identity he has taken on through sin. Convict him of the sinful relationships and activities that have led him off Your narrow path, and grant him godly sorrow that leads to repentance. Break his stony heart, soften it by Your Spirit, and fill him with courage to turn away from fornication and all sexual immorality and to pursue purity and holiness. Separate him from every ungodly influence and from every controlling and hateful relationship where he is manipulated and blackmailed, and keep him safe from all danger and from the schemes of the evil one. Help him to recognize the depth of Your love and also the depth of the sin that has entangled him, and give him understanding to fear Your holy name and to depart from evil and from the evil woman who entices him. Surround him with godly counsel and with believers who will speak truth in love, and if it is Your will for him to marry, lead him to a godly spouse and a marriage that honors You. We also pray for the one who intercedes for him, that You will give wisdom, protection, and perseverance in prayer, and that You will not allow discouragement to take root. We ask all of this in the powerful and only saving name of Jesus, through whom we have access to You and in whom there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved, Acts 4:12, amen.
We encourage you to continue to intercede with love and truth, speaking the Word gently but firmly when God gives opportunity, remembering that the Lord desires all to come to repentance, 2 Peter 3:9, and that He is able to deliver to the uttermost those who come to Him. Keep your own heart guarded in prayer and in the Word, and trust that God who began a good work will be faithful to complete it.