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 with you in praying for divine guidance and we agree that when people reject God's revelation and instruction, the result is disorder and strife, just as you shared from Proverbs 29:18, Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but one who keeps the law is blessed.

We hear your burden about your former landlord and those around him who have been wild, disrespectful, and troublesome, and we bring them before the Lord together, asking that God would soften his heart and lead him to submit to Him. We pray that he would turn from a path of rebellion and come under the Lord's gracious guidance.

We remember that the Lord desires that none should perish but that all should come to repentance as it says in 2 Peter 3:9, The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Even those who have caused trouble are not beyond God's mercy if they will humble themselves before Him.

We pray together in Jesus' name, for it is through Him we have access to the Father.

Father, we lift up this former landlord and the people around him to You. You see the wild behavior, the disrespect, and the trouble that has been caused. We ask that You convict their hearts by Your Holy Spirit and draw them to Yourself. Bring them to accept Your divine guidance, to humble themselves, to seek Your forgiveness, and to walk in obedience to Your law that they may find true joy and peace. Where there has been strife, bring conviction and repentance. Where there has been disrespect, bring a spirit of humility and honor for others. We ask that You protect our brother or sister who has endured this trouble, and grant them peace, patience, and wisdom. Help them to keep obeying Your word and to find joy in doing so, even in the midst of difficulty. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

We encourage you to continue to respond in a way that honors God, even when others run wild. Jesus taught 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. And we are reminded in Romans 12:18-19, 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.

We also encourage you not to return evil for evil, but to overcome evil with good as Romans 12:21 says, Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. By praying for this man to submit to God, you are doing exactly that, and the Lord is pleased when we seek His will even for those who have wronged us. Continue to seek God's guidance for yourself daily through prayer and His Word, and trust that as you obey His law you will know the joyful and blessed life He promises. We stand with you asking that God will bring order where there has been wildness, and that His divine guidance would be welcomed and obeyed.

 

[hostadmin]

We can hear how wearying this has been to deal with disrespect and ongoing trouble from your former landlord and those around him. It makes sense you would long for him to find a steadier, more God-honoring way, and to have more peace yourself after all that has happened.

We join you in asking God to work in his heart, that he would become open to the Lord's leading and choose a more respectful path going forward. We are also praying for your own protection and calm as you navigate what has been left behind. When conflict stays heated, it often helps to step back from direct back and forth and lean on clear, calm boundaries. Keeping a simple written record of what has occurred, and if needed seeking a trusted third party or the proper local process for mediation, can keep things from escalating while you leave the outcome in God's hands. Above all we pray you find steadiness and joy in walking faithfully yourself, even when others do not.

Father, we lift this former landlord and those around him to You, asking that You soften hearts and draw them toward Your wisdom and restraint. We ask for peace and guidance for our friend who has been affected, for protection from further trouble, and for clear next steps that honor You. Lead both sides toward what is right and give quietness of heart in the meantime. In Jesus' name, amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

It is a faithful word which you have set before us, that when people do not accept divine guidance they run wild, but whoever obeys the law is joyful. We have seen this truth proved in the life of nations and of single souls, and your sorrow concerning this former landlord and those about him is a sorrow which many of God's people understand.

You ask that we pray in the name of Jesus that this man may submit himself to God and accept divine guidance, and this we will most earnestly do. For our God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all, and consequently He cannot have fellowship with darkness. As the thrice Holy One He can hold no communion with iniquity. He never misrepresents, nor has fellowship with misrepresentation, but deals with things in the light, treating them as they are. If this man is to walk with God at all it must be in the light, and he must be brought to stand in the light and present himself before God as he is, seeing his sin and feeling his need of the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse him therefrom.

By nature we are all possessed with devilish vices and lusts, which if they do not vex the body will most certainly destroy the soul. When a man refuses the restraint of divine guidance, that wildness which you have seen, that disrespect and troubling of others, is but the natural fruit of a heart left to itself. The enemy of souls would keep him there, sometimes by making him disbelieve the truth, and more craftily by perverting the truth once the conscience is awakened. Our business, and his business, is not with self, but with Christ.

We will pray that the Lord, who made His own people to go forth like sheep and who with a high hand and an outstretched arm fetches out His own from among the rest of mankind, would deal graciously with this landlord. We will ask that He who transforms the lion into a lamb and the raven into a dove would work such a change in him, so that he should have no fellowship with his former sins but should hate sin with a perfect hatred. For where such a change is wrought, it is not difficult to be kept from sin, and the man finds a new inclination given to him.

Christ can sympathize with those who are vexed by the wildness of others, for He has suffered and still suffers with His people, and He knows how to succor them. He is the great Physician who with downy fingers binds up the broken heart, and He alone can heal the wound which unkind and unruly men have left. We will pray that you also may know this communion with Christ by personal union with Him, speaking with Him in prayer and hearing Him speak through the Word, and finding in meditation and thanksgiving a deeper fellowship than any earthly trouble can break.

Let us pray together. O Lord our God, who art light without any darkness, we confess before Thee the wildness of the unrenewed heart and we ask Thee in the name of Jesus Christ Thy Son, through whose blood alone there is salvation, to visit this former landlord and those around him. Bring him into the light, show him himself as he is, and show him Christ as a sufficient Saviour. Grant him honest dealing with Thee, true repentance and faith, that he may submit to Thy divine guidance and find that joyful obedience which Thy law gives. Restrain his disrespect, turn him from causing trouble, and make him a man who walks in the light with Thee. Comfort also Thy servant who has been troubled by these things, and fill the mouth with laughter and the tongue with singing as Thou turnest sorrow into joy. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus, Amen.