Divine guidance

[Kensem]

“When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.”
Proverbs 29:18


Please pray in Jesus name that the former landlord submits to God and accepts divine guidance. He and the people around him have been really wild and disrespectful, and they have caused a lot of trouble.

 

[Articles]

We join you in praying for divine guidance in this difficult situation with your former landlord and we thank you for bringing this request before the Lord in Jesus' name.

You rightly point to Proverbs 29:18, Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint, but one who keeps the law is blessed. When people reject God's counsel and His Word, they indeed run wild, living without restraint, and disrespect and trouble follow. We are grieved to hear of the wild and disrespectful behavior and the trouble that has been caused, and we agree that what is needed is a heart submitted to God.

We pray together for this man and those around him who have acted in this way. We ask that God in His mercy would convict them of sin and draw them to repentance, that He would give them a new heart and put a new spirit within them as He promises in Ezekiel 36:26. We pray that they would humble themselves before the Lord and seek His wisdom, for James 1:5 tells us, But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. We pray that the former landlord would turn from disrespect and strife and accept the divine guidance that comes through God's Word and the leading of the Holy Spirit, and that his heart would be softened toward you and toward others.

We also want to encourage you as you walk through this trial to guard your own heart against bitterness and to seek God's guidance for yourself. God calls us to pursue peace where we are able. Romans 12:18-19 says, If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men. Don’t seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God’s wrath. For it is written, Vengeance belongs to me, I will repay, says the Lord. And Jesus teaches us in Matthew 5:44, But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you. This does not excuse wrongdoing, but it frees you to entrust justice to God while you pray for the salvation and transformation of those who have wronged you.

We pray now together.

Father, in the name of Jesus Christ we come before Your throne of grace. We lift up this former landlord and the people around him to You. You see the wildness, the disrespect, and the trouble that has been caused. Lord, we ask that You would open their eyes to see their need for You, that they would submit to Your lordship and accept Your divine guidance. Convict them of sin, bring them to repentance, and teach them to walk in Your ways. Restrain what is wild and lawless and replace it with the joy and blessedness of obeying Your law. For the one who submitted this request, grant Your peace that surpasses all understanding, give wisdom for every interaction and decision regarding this former landlord, and help us to forgive as You have forgiven us. Let Your will be done and let Your name be glorified in this situation. We ask all this in the mighty and saving name of Jesus, Amen.

 

[hostadmin]

We heard how heavy this has been with your former landlord and those around him. When people act wild and disrespectful it wears you down, and it makes sense you would long for him to turn toward God and choose a different way.

We join you in praying for that, that God would draw him to Himself and give him a willingness to listen and be led. We also pray for you, for peace in your own heart and home while you are dealing with the fallout of his choices. It can help to keep your part steady and clear, even when others are not.

One thing that has helped others in lingering landlord conflict is to keep boundaries simple and documented. If you still have any necessary contact, keep it brief, in writing when you can, and bring a wise, neutral third person in if a dispute needs to be addressed, so you are not carrying it alone. And continue to bring both your frustration and your desire for his good to the Lord in prayer, asking for wisdom for what is yours to do and what is yours to release.

Father, we lift this landlord to You and ask that You work in his heart and guide him toward You. We pray for our friend who has been hurt by this trouble, for protection, for wisdom, and for quiet joy to return to their daily life. Lead each step ahead and help them rest in Your care. In Jesus' name, amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

We have heard your burden concerning your former landlord and those around him, and we join with you in prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, through whom alone we have access to the Father and salvation.

You have rightly taken Proverbs 29:18 to heart. When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild, but whoever obeys the law is joyful. It is a solemn truth that a heart which casts off the guidance of God becomes restless and unruly, and brings trouble upon itself and upon others. Our prayer with you is that this man, and those who are joined with him, may be brought to submit themselves to God, to bow before His authority and to seek His wisdom rather than to walk in their own ways.

Remember that the house in which we dwell in this life has God for its Landlord, and we are only tenants. There is a clause in that lease that the great Landlord has at all times the right to enter and to call His tenants to account, and that a rent is required of us, which is obedience and a life set in order before Him. We pray that your former landlord may hear the voice of the true Landlord, that he may set his house in order, acknowledge that he lives on sufferance as God's tenant, and offer the key of his heart to Christ.

We also pray for you, that you may know that perfect peace which belongs to him whose mind is stayed on God, because he trusts in Him. Though you have been surrounded by wild and disrespectful conduct and much trouble, the blood of Jesus whispers peace within, and to do the will of Jesus is rest even when duties press and sorrows surge around.

And as you have been wronged, we exhort you to look to the pattern of forgiveness set before us. There is forgiveness with God, and it is a divine forgiveness, a surprising forgiveness, a complete forgiveness. If you have felt the weight of trouble and perhaps the hardness of heart that such trials can bring, hear this whisper which drives away despair, There is forgiveness. However sinful a life may have been, there is forgiveness with God through Jesus Christ, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. He not only forgave at the first, but continues daily to forgive, and His forgiveness is eternal. As Christ has forgiven you, so also are you called to forgive those who trespass against you, overcoming evil with good, and winning by love and patience what could never be won by strife.

Let us pray together. O Lord our God, our great Landlord, we come in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son. We ask that You would work by Your Spirit upon this former landlord and those around him, that they may no longer run wild but may accept Your divine guidance, turn from disrespect and troubling ways, and walk in obedience to Your law. Bring them to see their need of forgiveness and to seek it where alone it is to be found, with You, through the blood of Christ. Grant them repentance and a new heart. And for this Your child who has brought the request, grant calm and perfect peace, guard the heart from bitterness, and give grace to forgive as You have forgiven. Keep all our minds stayed upon You. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, who alone is the way of forgiveness and peace. Amen.