Chrysostom
Beloved of All
The cry of a mother for her children has reached the ears of God. I do not tell you to shorten your prayer, but I tell you to pray with faith, without bitterness, and with a heart ready to obey the Lord even in this trial.
The apostle Paul gives us a clear command: “Mark those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them.” This is not a license to hate, but a call to holy separation from corrupt influence. Your older daughter is entangled in a bond that the Scriptures call sin: she lives with a man outside the covenant of marriage, and his mother strengthens that rebellion. You are right to refuse to bless this union. You must not pretend it is good. But your weapon is not rage. Your weapon is prayer, fasting, and the quiet testimony of a holy life.
I see in your words a mother’s anguish, but also a danger. You have named many sins of this young man and his mother: hatred, jealousy, manipulation, control, mockery. Guard your heart. Do not let their evil become your evil by returning curses for curses. The Lord commands you to love your enemies and to bless those who curse you. That does not mean welcoming their sin into your home. It means desiring their repentance while you protect your family from their corruption. Pray for them, not against them.
Your older daughter is like a sheep caught in thorns. She ignores the red flags and treats a false union as marriage. The burden she carries for this man is not from God. But do not think you can drag her out by constant argument or by demanding obedience. Win her back by your steadfast love, by speaking truth with tears, by showing her that her true family does not demand her service to sin. Be a pattern to her of modesty and godliness. Let her see in you the peace that surpasses understanding.
Remember the woman who came to Jesus for her daughter, and he said, “Great is your faith; be it unto you even as you desire.” Your faith for your daughter can move the Lord, but it must be faith joined to humility and forgiveness. Do not put your trust in repeated formulas, but in the living Christ. Plead the blood of Jesus not as a charm, but as the ground of your confidence before the Father.
If your daughter will hear, remind her that a husband is not one who takes her money and her obedience, but one who loves her as Christ loves the church and who will lead her in righteousness. Seek not for her a wealthy or domineering man, but one who fears God. And first, she must leave this false shelter. Pray that God will give her eyes to see the truth, and pray that if this young man will not repent, God will remove his influence.
For your younger daughter, keep her close to the church. Let her see by your words and your life that living together outside marriage is not an acceptable path, but a false comfort that leads to bondage. For your son, God does not despise the weak. He is a blessing, not a burden. Guard him from mockery and exclusion, and ask God to restore the love between him and his sister.
You have asked for a hedge of protection. The strongest hedge is the presence of Christ in your home. Do not put your trust in signs or in the anointing of doors, but fill your house with prayer, Scripture, and peace. Do not let this conflict become the center of your home. Let Christ be the center. Where he dwells, division cannot stand.
I will not pray that God destroys this young man or his mother. I will pray that God frustrates every plan of the enemy to divide you, that he opens your older daughter’s eyes to the truth, that he brings her out of this bondage with a willing heart, and that he grants you wisdom and strength. I will pray that if these people will not repent, God will remove their influence and give your daughter godly sorrow that leads to life.
Father, you see this mother’s anguish. In the name of Jesus, protect her and her children from the schemes of the evil one. Break the hold of any false commitment and false family over the older daughter. Give her a hunger for righteousness, and lead her not into regret but into freedom. Guard the younger daughter from following an ungodly example. Restore the son’s joy and progress, and let him never feel like a burden. Heal what has been torn. Teach this mother to entrust her children to you, and to fight not with human weapons but with prayer, gentleness, and love. We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
The apostle Paul gives us a clear command: “Mark those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them.” This is not a license to hate, but a call to holy separation from corrupt influence. Your older daughter is entangled in a bond that the Scriptures call sin: she lives with a man outside the covenant of marriage, and his mother strengthens that rebellion. You are right to refuse to bless this union. You must not pretend it is good. But your weapon is not rage. Your weapon is prayer, fasting, and the quiet testimony of a holy life.
I see in your words a mother’s anguish, but also a danger. You have named many sins of this young man and his mother: hatred, jealousy, manipulation, control, mockery. Guard your heart. Do not let their evil become your evil by returning curses for curses. The Lord commands you to love your enemies and to bless those who curse you. That does not mean welcoming their sin into your home. It means desiring their repentance while you protect your family from their corruption. Pray for them, not against them.
Your older daughter is like a sheep caught in thorns. She ignores the red flags and treats a false union as marriage. The burden she carries for this man is not from God. But do not think you can drag her out by constant argument or by demanding obedience. Win her back by your steadfast love, by speaking truth with tears, by showing her that her true family does not demand her service to sin. Be a pattern to her of modesty and godliness. Let her see in you the peace that surpasses understanding.
Remember the woman who came to Jesus for her daughter, and he said, “Great is your faith; be it unto you even as you desire.” Your faith for your daughter can move the Lord, but it must be faith joined to humility and forgiveness. Do not put your trust in repeated formulas, but in the living Christ. Plead the blood of Jesus not as a charm, but as the ground of your confidence before the Father.
If your daughter will hear, remind her that a husband is not one who takes her money and her obedience, but one who loves her as Christ loves the church and who will lead her in righteousness. Seek not for her a wealthy or domineering man, but one who fears God. And first, she must leave this false shelter. Pray that God will give her eyes to see the truth, and pray that if this young man will not repent, God will remove his influence.
For your younger daughter, keep her close to the church. Let her see by your words and your life that living together outside marriage is not an acceptable path, but a false comfort that leads to bondage. For your son, God does not despise the weak. He is a blessing, not a burden. Guard him from mockery and exclusion, and ask God to restore the love between him and his sister.
You have asked for a hedge of protection. The strongest hedge is the presence of Christ in your home. Do not put your trust in signs or in the anointing of doors, but fill your house with prayer, Scripture, and peace. Do not let this conflict become the center of your home. Let Christ be the center. Where he dwells, division cannot stand.
I will not pray that God destroys this young man or his mother. I will pray that God frustrates every plan of the enemy to divide you, that he opens your older daughter’s eyes to the truth, that he brings her out of this bondage with a willing heart, and that he grants you wisdom and strength. I will pray that if these people will not repent, God will remove their influence and give your daughter godly sorrow that leads to life.
Father, you see this mother’s anguish. In the name of Jesus, protect her and her children from the schemes of the evil one. Break the hold of any false commitment and false family over the older daughter. Give her a hunger for righteousness, and lead her not into regret but into freedom. Guard the younger daughter from following an ungodly example. Restore the son’s joy and progress, and let him never feel like a burden. Heal what has been torn. Teach this mother to entrust her children to you, and to fight not with human weapons but with prayer, gentleness, and love. We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
