Silas
Beloved of All
Your burden for your sibling has been heard and we are joining you in prayer. It is painful when you show consistent kindness and it is returned with unkindness, and when you are left wondering whether the root is envy or jealousy or something else you cannot see. God sees your kindness and He also sees your sibling's disturbance, and He cares for both of you.
Scripture teaches that evil is not to be tolerated or compromised with. True wisdom begins with hating what God hates, because God hates evil for a good reason. Evil by its nature destroys the one who practices it and wounds those around him. The commands of God are given to protect us from that destruction. For that reason we are told to depart from evil, to avoid the way of darkness, to turn from it and to remove our feet from it. That does not mean hating your sibling as a person, but it does mean refusing to accept, excuse or walk along with what is evil. To fear the Lord is to love what is good and to hate what destroys.
You wondered if envy might be involved. The Bible warns that where envy and strife are present there is confusion and every kind of evil practice. That kind of wisdom is earthly and self seeking and does not come from above. The wisdom that comes from God is first pure, then peaceable, gentle and open to reason. It does not seek to cause hurt. When a heart is given over to envy it can become perverse in speech and restless until it has caused someone to stumble. That is why we are also taught to put away perverse speech, to let our eyes look straight ahead, and to ponder carefully the path of our feet so that our ways are established in what is right.
Your quiet kindness honors God, but kindness does not mean walking without wisdom into harm. A prudent person sees the danger ahead and takes shelter, and our shelter is the provision God has made through Jesus Christ to hide us and deliver us from evil and its judgment. We are also taught not to fret because of those who do evil and not to be envious of them, for there is no lasting reward in that way. God does not always execute judgment speedily, and some mistake His patience for approval or think He is too distant to care, but His patience is meant to give time to turn so that He may forgive iniquity and sin. He desires that each person would turn from the way that destroys and receive forgiveness.
So we will pray as you asked, that Jesus would deliver your sibling from the power of evil and of the devil. We pray that God would open eyes to see that this path leads to destruction, grant repentance, and bring a turning from darkness to walk in uprightness. We pray that any root of envy or jealousy would be healed and replaced with the pure and peaceable wisdom that comes from above.
For you, continue to do good without speaking evil of your sibling in return. Keep your own speech free from perverseness, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and establish your steps in His truth. Love your sibling and pray for them, but do not walk with them in darkness or make peace with what is wrong. It is right to create healthy distance from harmful behavior while remaining ready to show mercy when there is true turning. Trust that God will deal both justly and mercifully in His time, and hide yourself daily in Christ through prayer and His Word.
Father, in the name of Jesus we lift this sibling to You for deliverance. Break the power of evil and the enemy over this life. Bring conviction, bring a hatred for what destroys and a love for what is good, and lead to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ so that sin may be forgiven and a new heart given. Guard the one who made this request, give wisdom, strength and peace, and keep both from the way of evil. Amen.
Scripture teaches that evil is not to be tolerated or compromised with. True wisdom begins with hating what God hates, because God hates evil for a good reason. Evil by its nature destroys the one who practices it and wounds those around him. The commands of God are given to protect us from that destruction. For that reason we are told to depart from evil, to avoid the way of darkness, to turn from it and to remove our feet from it. That does not mean hating your sibling as a person, but it does mean refusing to accept, excuse or walk along with what is evil. To fear the Lord is to love what is good and to hate what destroys.
You wondered if envy might be involved. The Bible warns that where envy and strife are present there is confusion and every kind of evil practice. That kind of wisdom is earthly and self seeking and does not come from above. The wisdom that comes from God is first pure, then peaceable, gentle and open to reason. It does not seek to cause hurt. When a heart is given over to envy it can become perverse in speech and restless until it has caused someone to stumble. That is why we are also taught to put away perverse speech, to let our eyes look straight ahead, and to ponder carefully the path of our feet so that our ways are established in what is right.
Your quiet kindness honors God, but kindness does not mean walking without wisdom into harm. A prudent person sees the danger ahead and takes shelter, and our shelter is the provision God has made through Jesus Christ to hide us and deliver us from evil and its judgment. We are also taught not to fret because of those who do evil and not to be envious of them, for there is no lasting reward in that way. God does not always execute judgment speedily, and some mistake His patience for approval or think He is too distant to care, but His patience is meant to give time to turn so that He may forgive iniquity and sin. He desires that each person would turn from the way that destroys and receive forgiveness.
So we will pray as you asked, that Jesus would deliver your sibling from the power of evil and of the devil. We pray that God would open eyes to see that this path leads to destruction, grant repentance, and bring a turning from darkness to walk in uprightness. We pray that any root of envy or jealousy would be healed and replaced with the pure and peaceable wisdom that comes from above.
For you, continue to do good without speaking evil of your sibling in return. Keep your own speech free from perverseness, keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and establish your steps in His truth. Love your sibling and pray for them, but do not walk with them in darkness or make peace with what is wrong. It is right to create healthy distance from harmful behavior while remaining ready to show mercy when there is true turning. Trust that God will deal both justly and mercifully in His time, and hide yourself daily in Christ through prayer and His Word.
Father, in the name of Jesus we lift this sibling to You for deliverance. Break the power of evil and the enemy over this life. Bring conviction, bring a hatred for what destroys and a love for what is good, and lead to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ so that sin may be forgiven and a new heart given. Guard the one who made this request, give wisdom, strength and peace, and keep both from the way of evil. Amen.
