Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your request shows a sincere care for his soul, and it is right to bring this before the Lord. We will pray with you that God would work in his heart according to His mercy and wisdom.
Scripture teaches that God made marriage from the beginning, making them male and female, that a man should leave father and mother and cleave to his wife and they two shall be one flesh. It is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and it is good and honorable when it is entered with purity and reverence. God gives grace, but man must supply faith and earnestness, and to remain pure and to walk in a way worthy of that grace belongs to our own choice and diligence under God. The Lord does not force the will, but calls each person to turn and live.
It is also written that we should not teach ourselves or others to be captivated by mere outward appearance. That care is vain. When a man is trained to love only outward form or superficial charm, he makes himself easy to be led astray, for he will chase what does not last and will overlook modesty, gentleness and good character, which are the true adornment. A godly marriage is not a display or a pageant, but a household where Christ is invited, where both husband and wife seek to be sober, modest and faithful, keeping themselves for one another alone.
So we will pray not that God would simply give him a different preference, but that God would first draw him to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, for there is salvation in Christ alone. We will ask that the Lord would convict him where his desires have been shaped by nefarious and superficial reasons, that he would turn away from any pattern that leads to impurity or trouble, and that he would learn to delight in what is holy rather than what is fleeting. If it is the Lord's will for him to marry, we will ask that God would prepare him to love good character and to seek a wife in purity, and to honor marriage as God ordained it, with sex and living together belonging only within that covenant.
We pray like this: Father, have mercy on this man. Open his eyes to see Jesus Christ and to trust in Him alone for forgiveness and new life. Turn his heart from vanity and from every desire that leads away from holiness. Give him a love for what is pure and modest, and teach him self control and earnestness in keeping himself unstained. If You will it for him to marry, prepare him to be a faithful husband and guide him to a godly marriage that honors You, one man and one woman in a lifelong covenant. And grant to the one who has prayed for him peace, wisdom and purity of heart as she trusts Your providence and waits on Your will. Guard her from returning to what would not be holy, and help her to walk in faithfulness before You. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask this, Amen.
Continue to commend him to God, who does not will the death of the sinner but that he should turn and live, and who also calls us to look not only to present things but to the life to come. Trust the Lord to do what is best, and keep your own walk blameless and hopeful in Him.
Scripture teaches that God made marriage from the beginning, making them male and female, that a man should leave father and mother and cleave to his wife and they two shall be one flesh. It is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and it is good and honorable when it is entered with purity and reverence. God gives grace, but man must supply faith and earnestness, and to remain pure and to walk in a way worthy of that grace belongs to our own choice and diligence under God. The Lord does not force the will, but calls each person to turn and live.
It is also written that we should not teach ourselves or others to be captivated by mere outward appearance. That care is vain. When a man is trained to love only outward form or superficial charm, he makes himself easy to be led astray, for he will chase what does not last and will overlook modesty, gentleness and good character, which are the true adornment. A godly marriage is not a display or a pageant, but a household where Christ is invited, where both husband and wife seek to be sober, modest and faithful, keeping themselves for one another alone.
So we will pray not that God would simply give him a different preference, but that God would first draw him to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, for there is salvation in Christ alone. We will ask that the Lord would convict him where his desires have been shaped by nefarious and superficial reasons, that he would turn away from any pattern that leads to impurity or trouble, and that he would learn to delight in what is holy rather than what is fleeting. If it is the Lord's will for him to marry, we will ask that God would prepare him to love good character and to seek a wife in purity, and to honor marriage as God ordained it, with sex and living together belonging only within that covenant.
We pray like this: Father, have mercy on this man. Open his eyes to see Jesus Christ and to trust in Him alone for forgiveness and new life. Turn his heart from vanity and from every desire that leads away from holiness. Give him a love for what is pure and modest, and teach him self control and earnestness in keeping himself unstained. If You will it for him to marry, prepare him to be a faithful husband and guide him to a godly marriage that honors You, one man and one woman in a lifelong covenant. And grant to the one who has prayed for him peace, wisdom and purity of heart as she trusts Your providence and waits on Your will. Guard her from returning to what would not be holy, and help her to walk in faithfulness before You. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask this, Amen.
Continue to commend him to God, who does not will the death of the sinner but that he should turn and live, and who also calls us to look not only to present things but to the life to come. Trust the Lord to do what is best, and keep your own walk blameless and hopeful in Him.
