Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your prayer has been heard and I join my voice with yours before the throne of grace for your household. I hear the weight you carry for your children, the exhaustion, the financial strain, the grief over division in your home, and the longing for restoration and peace. The Lord does hear the cries of His children, and He is near to those whose hearts are heavy.
I want to affirm with you what you have rightly discerned from Scripture. Living together outside of marriage is not marriage, and it does not honor God. Scripture teaches that marriage is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and that sexual union and shared life belong within that covenant. For that reason I will not ask God to bless this living arrangement, for to do so would be to ask Him to bless what His Word calls us away from. Instead I will pray with you that God will bring clarity, conviction, and a holy separation, that your daughter would be freed from spiritual bondage and deception and restored to fellowship with Christ and with her family. As it is written, flee sexual immorality, for our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and we are called to glorify God in them.
You have spoken of division, isolation, and the schemes that seek to separate your family. Scripture warns us to mark those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to sound doctrine and to avoid them, for such division is the devils weapon and it turns all things upside down. When a household that should be one is torn into many parts, the original unity is lost. Those who create such division often serve their own desires and by smooth words deceive the hearts of the simple. You are right to guard your home from manipulation, control, and every influence that would pull your children away from faith and from one another. At the same time, the Lord teaches that not all division is evil and not all agreement is good. There is an evil concord, like those who agreed together to their own harm, and there is a good disagreement, when we must separate ourselves from what is harmful as one would separate from an ill joined limb. To pray that your daughter be separated from an ungodly and exploitative relationship is not to pray for the breaking of a marriage, but to pray for a good and necessary division that she may be made whole.
I pray with you for your older daughter. May the Lord remove the stubborn hold that has blinded her and replace it with a hunger for righteousness. May He open her eyes to see the red flags she has missed, the financial exploitation, the exhaustion, the mood swings, the disrespect and isolation that this relationship has brought, and the harm to her health from an environment that includes smoking while she struggles to breathe. May she come to see that this man is not her husband, not her responsibility to care for, and not one to whom she belongs. She belongs to the Lord. I pray that pride, shame, and pressure would be lifted from her, that she would no longer defend a false image of this man, and that she would be given courage to turn away with no regret but with a sense of freedom, safety, joy and satisfaction. I pray that every plan to isolate her from you, her siblings, and her extended family would be frustrated, and that her heart would be turned back to the love and values with which she was raised. As you have prayed, may the God of peace soon bruise Satan under your feet and may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard her heart and mind.
I also lift up your younger daughter. May the Lord protect her heart from being swayed by an ungodly example. May He guard the sweet bond she has with her sister and brother, surround her with godly friendships and mentors, and keep her from ever seeing living together outside of marriage as an acceptable path. May she learn to seek a spouse who honors the Lord and values the sanctity of marriage, and may she remain grateful and loving toward you and her brother. For your son, who is a blessing and not a burden, I pray for a hedge of love and protection around him. May every word curse, mockery, and look of contempt be blocked and made to flee in the name of Jesus, who has disarmed the powers of darkness and triumphed over them. May he be saturated with peace and know deeply that he is cherished by God and by his family, and may his relationships with you, his sisters, caregivers and extended family be strengthened with love and acceptance.
For you, I pray for strength and wisdom in this spiritual battle. Your faith matters greatly for your children. As one woman's faith contributed to the healing of her daughter when the Lord said great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt, so your steadfast prayer avails much. And as the Lord called the trembling woman daughter and said be of good cheer, thy faith hath made thee whole, may you hear His comfort today. Daughters often form their ways by imitating their mothers, so continue to be a pattern of modesty, orderliness, and gravity, adorning yourself with the ornament of the soul which is virtue. When you seek the future good of your daughters, do as the servant of Abraham did when he sought a spouse for his masters son. He committed the matter to God in prayer, saying whomsoever Thou wilt, do Thou provide. Seek not mere wealth or outward splendor, but pray that God will provide godly husbands who will be true husbands and protectors, men of piety, gentleness, understanding and the fear of God, who will love their wives as Christ loves the church. Commit this also into His hands, and He who is honored by your trust will honor you in return.
Therefore I pray that your home would be a sanctuary of Gods presence where love, unity and peace reign. May the Lord mend what has been torn, heal what has been wounded, and restore what has been lost. May He supply your financial needs according to His riches in Christ, not for selfish gain but that you may be a testimony of His provision. May He teach this young mans mother to take responsibility for guiding her own son rather than placing that burden upon your daughter, and may He remove manipulation and harmful words that would make your daughter feel small or dependent. The Lord fights for you, and no weapon formed against you shall prosper, for greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
Father, in the mighty name of Jesus, we plead the blood of Christ over this family. Cover each member with Your protection, peace and favor. Break every generational curse, word curse and negative influence, and command every spirit of division, hatred, control and exhaustion to flee and never return. Lead this daughter out of darkness into Your light, back to safety, stability and wisdom, and restore fellowship, respect, gratefulness and joy to this household. Let Your will be done, and let this family be a beacon of Your grace to all who know them. Amen.
I want to affirm with you what you have rightly discerned from Scripture. Living together outside of marriage is not marriage, and it does not honor God. Scripture teaches that marriage is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and that sexual union and shared life belong within that covenant. For that reason I will not ask God to bless this living arrangement, for to do so would be to ask Him to bless what His Word calls us away from. Instead I will pray with you that God will bring clarity, conviction, and a holy separation, that your daughter would be freed from spiritual bondage and deception and restored to fellowship with Christ and with her family. As it is written, flee sexual immorality, for our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and we are called to glorify God in them.
You have spoken of division, isolation, and the schemes that seek to separate your family. Scripture warns us to mark those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to sound doctrine and to avoid them, for such division is the devils weapon and it turns all things upside down. When a household that should be one is torn into many parts, the original unity is lost. Those who create such division often serve their own desires and by smooth words deceive the hearts of the simple. You are right to guard your home from manipulation, control, and every influence that would pull your children away from faith and from one another. At the same time, the Lord teaches that not all division is evil and not all agreement is good. There is an evil concord, like those who agreed together to their own harm, and there is a good disagreement, when we must separate ourselves from what is harmful as one would separate from an ill joined limb. To pray that your daughter be separated from an ungodly and exploitative relationship is not to pray for the breaking of a marriage, but to pray for a good and necessary division that she may be made whole.
I pray with you for your older daughter. May the Lord remove the stubborn hold that has blinded her and replace it with a hunger for righteousness. May He open her eyes to see the red flags she has missed, the financial exploitation, the exhaustion, the mood swings, the disrespect and isolation that this relationship has brought, and the harm to her health from an environment that includes smoking while she struggles to breathe. May she come to see that this man is not her husband, not her responsibility to care for, and not one to whom she belongs. She belongs to the Lord. I pray that pride, shame, and pressure would be lifted from her, that she would no longer defend a false image of this man, and that she would be given courage to turn away with no regret but with a sense of freedom, safety, joy and satisfaction. I pray that every plan to isolate her from you, her siblings, and her extended family would be frustrated, and that her heart would be turned back to the love and values with which she was raised. As you have prayed, may the God of peace soon bruise Satan under your feet and may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard her heart and mind.
I also lift up your younger daughter. May the Lord protect her heart from being swayed by an ungodly example. May He guard the sweet bond she has with her sister and brother, surround her with godly friendships and mentors, and keep her from ever seeing living together outside of marriage as an acceptable path. May she learn to seek a spouse who honors the Lord and values the sanctity of marriage, and may she remain grateful and loving toward you and her brother. For your son, who is a blessing and not a burden, I pray for a hedge of love and protection around him. May every word curse, mockery, and look of contempt be blocked and made to flee in the name of Jesus, who has disarmed the powers of darkness and triumphed over them. May he be saturated with peace and know deeply that he is cherished by God and by his family, and may his relationships with you, his sisters, caregivers and extended family be strengthened with love and acceptance.
For you, I pray for strength and wisdom in this spiritual battle. Your faith matters greatly for your children. As one woman's faith contributed to the healing of her daughter when the Lord said great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt, so your steadfast prayer avails much. And as the Lord called the trembling woman daughter and said be of good cheer, thy faith hath made thee whole, may you hear His comfort today. Daughters often form their ways by imitating their mothers, so continue to be a pattern of modesty, orderliness, and gravity, adorning yourself with the ornament of the soul which is virtue. When you seek the future good of your daughters, do as the servant of Abraham did when he sought a spouse for his masters son. He committed the matter to God in prayer, saying whomsoever Thou wilt, do Thou provide. Seek not mere wealth or outward splendor, but pray that God will provide godly husbands who will be true husbands and protectors, men of piety, gentleness, understanding and the fear of God, who will love their wives as Christ loves the church. Commit this also into His hands, and He who is honored by your trust will honor you in return.
Therefore I pray that your home would be a sanctuary of Gods presence where love, unity and peace reign. May the Lord mend what has been torn, heal what has been wounded, and restore what has been lost. May He supply your financial needs according to His riches in Christ, not for selfish gain but that you may be a testimony of His provision. May He teach this young mans mother to take responsibility for guiding her own son rather than placing that burden upon your daughter, and may He remove manipulation and harmful words that would make your daughter feel small or dependent. The Lord fights for you, and no weapon formed against you shall prosper, for greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
Father, in the mighty name of Jesus, we plead the blood of Christ over this family. Cover each member with Your protection, peace and favor. Break every generational curse, word curse and negative influence, and command every spirit of division, hatred, control and exhaustion to flee and never return. Lead this daughter out of darkness into Your light, back to safety, stability and wisdom, and restore fellowship, respect, gratefulness and joy to this household. Let Your will be done, and let this family be a beacon of Your grace to all who know them. Amen.
