Silas
Beloved of All
Your heartfelt prayer for faith, for renewal of the mind, and for the health and spiritual prosperity of these elderly loved ones is deeply encouraging, and it reflects a desire to honor God and to honor your parents as Scripture commands.
Faith does come by hearing the Word of God, and your longing that they would hear and receive it, grow from the simple milk of the Word to solid food, and have the Word of Christ dwell richly within them is exactly what God desires. That growth happens as the Holy Spirit opens the understanding, as the mind is renewed and transformed to prove the will of God, and as we continue in the Word and become doers and not hearers only. That abiding brings communion with Jesus, bears the fruit of the Spirit, and leads toward maturity and love.
Your desire to honor your father and mother is right and precious to the Lord. Scripture calls children to obey their parents in the Lord, for this is right, and it attaches a promise that it may go well and bring long life. That honoring is part of God's design for the family, and when that structure is honored, society is strengthened. Part of that honor is learning to show piety at home by caring for aged parents and grandparents and providing for their needs in life and godliness. When we do this we fulfill what is good and acceptable before God. This obedience is qualified by the phrase in the Lord, meaning if a parent were to ask a child to do something contrary to God, our first obedience is to the Lord, but in all godly things we honor them faithfully.
You also prayed for health and prosperity even as the soul prospers. The verse in 3 John where John writes that he wishes his friend would prosper and be in health even as his soul prospers is often taken as a universal promise for healing, but it is better understood as a loving personal greeting, much as we would write hoping a letter finds someone well. It is a beautiful wish, and it does reveal an important truth that there is a real connection between the prosperity of the soul and physical well being. Attitudes and the health of the inner life affect the body, and God is indeed interested in your physical health. Scripture shows He cares about how we steward our bodies, including what we eat and drink and how we live. Not all things that are lawful are helpful or edifying, and principles of cleanliness and care for the body matter for good health and to prevent disease.
Concerning healing, Scripture is clear that Jesus bore our infirmities and sicknesses as prophesied in Isaiah, and He went about teaching and preaching and healing every kind of sickness and disease, with power over the physical and spiritual realm. He healed in many different ways, sometimes with a word, sometimes with a touch, sometimes instantly and in one case gradually, and sometimes through the natural processes of healing He Himself established in the body. All healing, whether instant or gradual, is divine because God created those processes. Yet we also see in Scripture that God does not will healing in every case in this life. Paul prayed three times concerning his thorn in the flesh and the Lord did not remove it, and Paul counseled Timothy regarding his frequent ailments rather than seeing an immediate divine touch. This shows that when healing does not come it is not necessarily due to lack of faith or hidden sin, but may be within the purposes of God that we do not fully understand. We should pray earnestly for healing, rebuke sickness, and ask for deliverance from evil and from the evil one, while trusting His wisdom and sovereignty.
So we join you in praying that God would keep these dear ones from evil, grant peace within their walls, sanctify them by the truth of His Word, and wash them with the water of the Word. We ask that He would give them and you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, root and ground you in love so Christ dwells in your hearts by faith, and grant grace to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, established in the foundational principles of the faith and growing up into maturity. May you all be strengthened to crave the Word daily, retain it, walk in it, bear fruit as true disciples, and experience the joy of answered prayer as you abide in Him and His words abide in you.
May the Lord bless you and those you love, provide all that is needed for life and godliness, and cause you to prosper spiritually with hearts and minds renewed, to the glory of Jesus Christ.
Faith does come by hearing the Word of God, and your longing that they would hear and receive it, grow from the simple milk of the Word to solid food, and have the Word of Christ dwell richly within them is exactly what God desires. That growth happens as the Holy Spirit opens the understanding, as the mind is renewed and transformed to prove the will of God, and as we continue in the Word and become doers and not hearers only. That abiding brings communion with Jesus, bears the fruit of the Spirit, and leads toward maturity and love.
Your desire to honor your father and mother is right and precious to the Lord. Scripture calls children to obey their parents in the Lord, for this is right, and it attaches a promise that it may go well and bring long life. That honoring is part of God's design for the family, and when that structure is honored, society is strengthened. Part of that honor is learning to show piety at home by caring for aged parents and grandparents and providing for their needs in life and godliness. When we do this we fulfill what is good and acceptable before God. This obedience is qualified by the phrase in the Lord, meaning if a parent were to ask a child to do something contrary to God, our first obedience is to the Lord, but in all godly things we honor them faithfully.
You also prayed for health and prosperity even as the soul prospers. The verse in 3 John where John writes that he wishes his friend would prosper and be in health even as his soul prospers is often taken as a universal promise for healing, but it is better understood as a loving personal greeting, much as we would write hoping a letter finds someone well. It is a beautiful wish, and it does reveal an important truth that there is a real connection between the prosperity of the soul and physical well being. Attitudes and the health of the inner life affect the body, and God is indeed interested in your physical health. Scripture shows He cares about how we steward our bodies, including what we eat and drink and how we live. Not all things that are lawful are helpful or edifying, and principles of cleanliness and care for the body matter for good health and to prevent disease.
Concerning healing, Scripture is clear that Jesus bore our infirmities and sicknesses as prophesied in Isaiah, and He went about teaching and preaching and healing every kind of sickness and disease, with power over the physical and spiritual realm. He healed in many different ways, sometimes with a word, sometimes with a touch, sometimes instantly and in one case gradually, and sometimes through the natural processes of healing He Himself established in the body. All healing, whether instant or gradual, is divine because God created those processes. Yet we also see in Scripture that God does not will healing in every case in this life. Paul prayed three times concerning his thorn in the flesh and the Lord did not remove it, and Paul counseled Timothy regarding his frequent ailments rather than seeing an immediate divine touch. This shows that when healing does not come it is not necessarily due to lack of faith or hidden sin, but may be within the purposes of God that we do not fully understand. We should pray earnestly for healing, rebuke sickness, and ask for deliverance from evil and from the evil one, while trusting His wisdom and sovereignty.
So we join you in praying that God would keep these dear ones from evil, grant peace within their walls, sanctify them by the truth of His Word, and wash them with the water of the Word. We ask that He would give them and you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, root and ground you in love so Christ dwells in your hearts by faith, and grant grace to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, established in the foundational principles of the faith and growing up into maturity. May you all be strengthened to crave the Word daily, retain it, walk in it, bear fruit as true disciples, and experience the joy of answered prayer as you abide in Him and His words abide in you.
May the Lord bless you and those you love, provide all that is needed for life and godliness, and cause you to prosper spiritually with hearts and minds renewed, to the glory of Jesus Christ.
