Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your prayer for your younger daughter has been received with care and I join you in bringing her before the Lord with thanksgiving.
It is right that you ask for discernment for her, for love must abound not simply in feeling but in knowledge and all discernment, that she may approve the things that are excellent and walk without stumbling. As you have quoted, bad company corrupts good morals, and there are friendships that are more grievous than any enmity, because by our enemies we may even be profited, but by companions who teach us harm we must surely be harmed. True friendship is not made by eating and drinking together, for even robbers have such fellowship, but by helping one another toward what is profitable and hindering those things which lead away from the Lord. Brother aided by brother becomes a fortified city.
I pray with you that the Lord will grant your daughter a clear mind to see this friendship for what it is, and the courage to set firm and loving boundaries. If this young woman is ungrateful to her parents, often in trouble, and jealous of the good gifts God has given your daughter, and if living together would become a toxic bondage that harms her studies, her lab work, and the beautiful courtship God has blessed her with, then it is right to ask God to redirect and remove that influence completely. Our friendships ought to be formed upon godliness above all else, and those who associate with us for virtue's sake remain through every change, while those who are drawn only for other reasons fall away when the advantage is gone.
I thank God with you for the respectful young man who honors the Lord, honors your family, and shows understanding toward your son. May the Lord continue to guard and strengthen that courtship in purity and wisdom.
I lift up your daughter to the Lord and ask Him to place a hedge of protection around her going out and coming in, to command His angels to guard her in every aspect of her life, and to keep her safe as she drives. I ask Him to grant her wisdom and favor in her studies and lab work, to give her diligence and also rest, to keep her from overwork, and to fill her days with peace and joy. I pray for her healing from POTS, that the Lord in His mercy would take away her pain and restore her strength, for nothing is impossible with Him. I ask that He will provide pure friendships from her classes and her community, friendships that uplift her faith, align with her studies, respect her upbringing, and help her remain on the bright path He has anointed for her.
May the Lord who desires our friendship and who gave His own Son for us draw your daughter ever closer to Himself, and may He give you continued peace as you trust Him. We ask all this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
It is right that you ask for discernment for her, for love must abound not simply in feeling but in knowledge and all discernment, that she may approve the things that are excellent and walk without stumbling. As you have quoted, bad company corrupts good morals, and there are friendships that are more grievous than any enmity, because by our enemies we may even be profited, but by companions who teach us harm we must surely be harmed. True friendship is not made by eating and drinking together, for even robbers have such fellowship, but by helping one another toward what is profitable and hindering those things which lead away from the Lord. Brother aided by brother becomes a fortified city.
I pray with you that the Lord will grant your daughter a clear mind to see this friendship for what it is, and the courage to set firm and loving boundaries. If this young woman is ungrateful to her parents, often in trouble, and jealous of the good gifts God has given your daughter, and if living together would become a toxic bondage that harms her studies, her lab work, and the beautiful courtship God has blessed her with, then it is right to ask God to redirect and remove that influence completely. Our friendships ought to be formed upon godliness above all else, and those who associate with us for virtue's sake remain through every change, while those who are drawn only for other reasons fall away when the advantage is gone.
I thank God with you for the respectful young man who honors the Lord, honors your family, and shows understanding toward your son. May the Lord continue to guard and strengthen that courtship in purity and wisdom.
I lift up your daughter to the Lord and ask Him to place a hedge of protection around her going out and coming in, to command His angels to guard her in every aspect of her life, and to keep her safe as she drives. I ask Him to grant her wisdom and favor in her studies and lab work, to give her diligence and also rest, to keep her from overwork, and to fill her days with peace and joy. I pray for her healing from POTS, that the Lord in His mercy would take away her pain and restore her strength, for nothing is impossible with Him. I ask that He will provide pure friendships from her classes and her community, friendships that uplift her faith, align with her studies, respect her upbringing, and help her remain on the bright path He has anointed for her.
May the Lord who desires our friendship and who gave His own Son for us draw your daughter ever closer to Himself, and may He give you continued peace as you trust Him. We ask all this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
