Silas
Beloved of All
Your heart for your family and your desire to see them guarded in the Lord has been heard, and it is right to bring them before Him in prayer. The peace you are asking for is the very peace Scripture promises, the peace of God that guards hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, and it is found as you bring your requests to Him and trust Him to keep you.
Scripture teaches that the Lord Himself puts a protection around His people. As with Job, there is a hedge that the enemy cannot cross without permission, and He gives His angels charge over those who belong to Him. When you ask for His covering over your home, your children, and every room and corner of your dwelling, you are asking according to His character. He is faithful to be a shield to those who walk in His ways, and greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
I join you in praying for your older daughter. You are right to see clearly what God says about marriage and about living together outside of it. Marriage in Scripture is a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, and intimacy belongs within that covenant alone. To live as though married when not married is not marriage in God's eyes, and it grieves Him because it departs from His good design and opens the heart to deception, confusion and bondage. Scripture gives sober examples of this. When Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, went out to spend time with those who did not share her family's faith, it led to a deep grief and a sin that ought not to have been done, and her family was greatly distressed. Lot's choice to settle his family in a corrupt place also shows how living close to what is ungodly can slowly wear away the morals and unity of a household, even when a person himself hopes to stand. These accounts are given as warnings, and they help us understand why your concern is not harsh but loving.
So I will not ask God to bless that living arrangement, because He cannot bless what He calls sin. Instead I pray that God will open your daughter's eyes to see the truth about this relationship, that she will recognize this young man is not her husband and is not ready to bear the responsibility of a husband, and that the heavy burden she has taken for him and for his family is not hers to carry. I pray that any sense of false obligation, manipulation, control or ungodly influence over her would be broken in the name of Jesus, and that she would be drawn back to the Lord first, and then to the supportive family He has given her and to the purposeful work He has placed before her. As God spoke to Jacob and said return to the land of your fathers and to your family and I will be with you, so I pray your daughter would hear the Lord calling her back to a place of safety, stability and wisdom, not with shame but with freedom and restoration. May the Lord frustrate every scheme meant to divide and isolate your family, for the Lord Himself fights for His people.
For your younger daughter, I pray she will remain steady in faith and not be swayed by an ungodly example. The word warns that evil company corrupts good habits, and that we are not to be unequally yoked. I pray the Lord will surround her with godly friendships and mentors who love His word and who will encourage her to wait for and seek a marriage that honors Christ, where a husband loves his wife as Christ loves the church.
For your son, be assured that God deeply values him. In a culture that often measured worth by strength or status, Scripture shows that every child is precious to the Lord. His life is not a burden but a blessing, made in God's image and deeply loved. I pray the Lord will shine His light into every dark place, grant him that same surpassing peace, surround him with love and protection, and restore joy and sweet fellowship within the family. I pray for his caregivers and medical team as well, that God would give them wisdom and kindness as they help bring out the best in him.
For you, I pray for renewed strength and discernment in this exhausting season. The enemy seeks to wear down the saints with worry and fear, but the Lord is your strength. I pray you will continue to cast your cares on Christ, who alone is our Savior and Redeemer, and that you will know His provision for your home, not for selfish gain but so you can continue to be a testimony of His goodness. I pray the Lord will restore what has been strained and heal what has been wounded, and that your home would be a light that points others to His grace.
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, I place this mother and her children before You. Cover them with Your protection, fill them with Your Holy Spirit, and let Your peace guard them. Gently lead the older daughter out of this entanglement and into Your truth. Keep the younger daughter pure and steadfast. Comfort and uphold the son and let him know daily that he is loved and cherished. Give this mother wisdom for each step, and let no weapon formed against this family prosper. Amen.
Scripture teaches that the Lord Himself puts a protection around His people. As with Job, there is a hedge that the enemy cannot cross without permission, and He gives His angels charge over those who belong to Him. When you ask for His covering over your home, your children, and every room and corner of your dwelling, you are asking according to His character. He is faithful to be a shield to those who walk in His ways, and greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
I join you in praying for your older daughter. You are right to see clearly what God says about marriage and about living together outside of it. Marriage in Scripture is a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, and intimacy belongs within that covenant alone. To live as though married when not married is not marriage in God's eyes, and it grieves Him because it departs from His good design and opens the heart to deception, confusion and bondage. Scripture gives sober examples of this. When Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, went out to spend time with those who did not share her family's faith, it led to a deep grief and a sin that ought not to have been done, and her family was greatly distressed. Lot's choice to settle his family in a corrupt place also shows how living close to what is ungodly can slowly wear away the morals and unity of a household, even when a person himself hopes to stand. These accounts are given as warnings, and they help us understand why your concern is not harsh but loving.
So I will not ask God to bless that living arrangement, because He cannot bless what He calls sin. Instead I pray that God will open your daughter's eyes to see the truth about this relationship, that she will recognize this young man is not her husband and is not ready to bear the responsibility of a husband, and that the heavy burden she has taken for him and for his family is not hers to carry. I pray that any sense of false obligation, manipulation, control or ungodly influence over her would be broken in the name of Jesus, and that she would be drawn back to the Lord first, and then to the supportive family He has given her and to the purposeful work He has placed before her. As God spoke to Jacob and said return to the land of your fathers and to your family and I will be with you, so I pray your daughter would hear the Lord calling her back to a place of safety, stability and wisdom, not with shame but with freedom and restoration. May the Lord frustrate every scheme meant to divide and isolate your family, for the Lord Himself fights for His people.
For your younger daughter, I pray she will remain steady in faith and not be swayed by an ungodly example. The word warns that evil company corrupts good habits, and that we are not to be unequally yoked. I pray the Lord will surround her with godly friendships and mentors who love His word and who will encourage her to wait for and seek a marriage that honors Christ, where a husband loves his wife as Christ loves the church.
For your son, be assured that God deeply values him. In a culture that often measured worth by strength or status, Scripture shows that every child is precious to the Lord. His life is not a burden but a blessing, made in God's image and deeply loved. I pray the Lord will shine His light into every dark place, grant him that same surpassing peace, surround him with love and protection, and restore joy and sweet fellowship within the family. I pray for his caregivers and medical team as well, that God would give them wisdom and kindness as they help bring out the best in him.
For you, I pray for renewed strength and discernment in this exhausting season. The enemy seeks to wear down the saints with worry and fear, but the Lord is your strength. I pray you will continue to cast your cares on Christ, who alone is our Savior and Redeemer, and that you will know His provision for your home, not for selfish gain but so you can continue to be a testimony of His goodness. I pray the Lord will restore what has been strained and heal what has been wounded, and that your home would be a light that points others to His grace.
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, I place this mother and her children before You. Cover them with Your protection, fill them with Your Holy Spirit, and let Your peace guard them. Gently lead the older daughter out of this entanglement and into Your truth. Keep the younger daughter pure and steadfast. Comfort and uphold the son and let him know daily that he is loved and cherished. Give this mother wisdom for each step, and let no weapon formed against this family prosper. Amen.
