Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer shows a deep love for your children and a desire to see your home guarded by the Lord, and that desire is right before Him. The exhaustion, division and disrespect you describe are heavy burdens, and it is right to bring them to Jesus, who alone is our Savior and Redeemer.
Scripture makes clear that your relationship with God is the center upon which every other relationship turns. When that vertical relationship is right, the other relationships in the home and beyond begin to come into balance. When it is out of order, every other relationship becomes strained. You can often trace struggles in the family back to whether hearts are truly seeking the Lord first. That is why the call to return to Him, to love Him not in a formal or ritual way but in a close and living way as a Father, is so important. Through Jesus you have been adopted into the family of God, and He invites you to come to Him as your Father, to be known and loved and kept by Him.
The Lord knows how to deliver those who are His. As with Lot, who was distressed by the conduct around him, God saw and God delivered. Living in a polluted and ungodly environment does touch a family, and its effects can be seen in attitudes, choices and even in the way speech and behavior begin to change. You have seen this in your older daughter, who once walked in graciousness, humility and thankfulness, and who now reflects harsh and disrespectful patterns she has learned elsewhere. That change is painful to witness, but God is able to open eyes, break a false sense of obligation, and gently lead a heart back to truth.
Part of that truth is what God teaches about marriage and home. From the beginning He designed marriage to be a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, and He placed sexual union and living together within that covenant alone. When that design is set aside, even with sincere intentions, it does not create a marriage. It opens the door to deception, manipulation, financial exploitation and spiritual bondage, and as seen in Scripture, when God's pattern for marriage is not honored, jealousy, rivalry and division quickly follow. To treat living together outside of marriage as if it were marriage is not something the Lord blesses, and love for your daughter means praying that she will see this clearly, that this young man is not her husband, not her father, not her covering, and not one who is ready to lead a home as Christ loves the church. The burden she has taken for him is not hers to bear. She is a child of the Most High God, she is not homeless or without support, and she does not need to change her faith or leave the fellowship of believers to please another family.
It is also right to honor the place God gives to parents. One of His first commands concerning human relationships is to honor father and mother, and that honor brings stability to the home. No other person has the authority to step into a parental role over your daughter, to counsel her to live together before marriage or to have children outside of marriage, or to encourage disrespect toward you and the way you have raised your children in the ways of the Lord. When influence is rooted in pride, jealousy and control, it is right to ask the Lord to expose it, frustrate every plan to divide and isolate your family, and block its reach into your home and into the lives of your younger daughter and your son.
For your younger daughter, continue to pray that the Lord will keep a hedge of protection around her, guard her studies, her health and her faith, and surround her with godly friendships and mentors who will encourage her to walk humbly, honor her parents and seek a spouse who honors the Lord and values the sanctity of marriage. Scripture warns not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, and it points to the kind of husband who will love as Christ loves the church. Pray that she will never see an ungodly example as an acceptable path.
For your son, be assured that his life is precious and deeply loved by God. He is not a burden or an embarrassment, he is a blessing, and every word of mockery or exclusion directed at him is contrary to the heart of God. Ask the Lord to fill him with peace and joy, to grant him patience and help in expressing his needs in a godly way, and to restore the sweet fellowship he once shared with his sister. Dedicate your home to the Lord in prayer, asking Him to fill every room with His light and to remove darkness, and trust Him for wisdom for yourself, your family, caregivers and doctors as you seek his good each day.
For yourself, ask for the peace of God which surpasses all understanding to guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus, and trust His promise to supply what you need so that your home may be a testimony of His provision. Put on the full armor of God and ask for the ministry of His angels and His hedge of protection around you and your children, for no weapon formed against you shall prosper, and greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. The Lord Himself fights for you.
Pray that your older daughter will have her eyes opened to the harm this environment is causing to her health, finances, work and future, that the stubborn hold and false commitment will be broken, and that she will be led back to a place of safety, stability and wisdom, with a hunger for righteousness and a renewed love for Jesus, for her family and for the work God has given her. Pray that she will be willing to turn from what is outside His will and return to the fellowship and teaching where she was nurtured, and that the years that have been stolen will be restored by His mercy.
Father, in the name of Jesus, we plead the blood of Christ over this mother and her children. We ask for Your divine protection, Your peace and Your favor to saturate this home. Frustrate every scheme to divide, isolate and corrupt this family. Break every chain of manipulation, control and false obligation. Guard the younger daughter in her studies and in her courtship, guard the son and let him know he is loved and valued, and gently lead the older daughter out of this ungodly entanglement and back to You, to her family and to the path of obedience. Restore what has been wounded, heal what has been torn, and let this family be a beacon of Your light. Amen.
Scripture makes clear that your relationship with God is the center upon which every other relationship turns. When that vertical relationship is right, the other relationships in the home and beyond begin to come into balance. When it is out of order, every other relationship becomes strained. You can often trace struggles in the family back to whether hearts are truly seeking the Lord first. That is why the call to return to Him, to love Him not in a formal or ritual way but in a close and living way as a Father, is so important. Through Jesus you have been adopted into the family of God, and He invites you to come to Him as your Father, to be known and loved and kept by Him.
The Lord knows how to deliver those who are His. As with Lot, who was distressed by the conduct around him, God saw and God delivered. Living in a polluted and ungodly environment does touch a family, and its effects can be seen in attitudes, choices and even in the way speech and behavior begin to change. You have seen this in your older daughter, who once walked in graciousness, humility and thankfulness, and who now reflects harsh and disrespectful patterns she has learned elsewhere. That change is painful to witness, but God is able to open eyes, break a false sense of obligation, and gently lead a heart back to truth.
Part of that truth is what God teaches about marriage and home. From the beginning He designed marriage to be a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, and He placed sexual union and living together within that covenant alone. When that design is set aside, even with sincere intentions, it does not create a marriage. It opens the door to deception, manipulation, financial exploitation and spiritual bondage, and as seen in Scripture, when God's pattern for marriage is not honored, jealousy, rivalry and division quickly follow. To treat living together outside of marriage as if it were marriage is not something the Lord blesses, and love for your daughter means praying that she will see this clearly, that this young man is not her husband, not her father, not her covering, and not one who is ready to lead a home as Christ loves the church. The burden she has taken for him is not hers to bear. She is a child of the Most High God, she is not homeless or without support, and she does not need to change her faith or leave the fellowship of believers to please another family.
It is also right to honor the place God gives to parents. One of His first commands concerning human relationships is to honor father and mother, and that honor brings stability to the home. No other person has the authority to step into a parental role over your daughter, to counsel her to live together before marriage or to have children outside of marriage, or to encourage disrespect toward you and the way you have raised your children in the ways of the Lord. When influence is rooted in pride, jealousy and control, it is right to ask the Lord to expose it, frustrate every plan to divide and isolate your family, and block its reach into your home and into the lives of your younger daughter and your son.
For your younger daughter, continue to pray that the Lord will keep a hedge of protection around her, guard her studies, her health and her faith, and surround her with godly friendships and mentors who will encourage her to walk humbly, honor her parents and seek a spouse who honors the Lord and values the sanctity of marriage. Scripture warns not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, and it points to the kind of husband who will love as Christ loves the church. Pray that she will never see an ungodly example as an acceptable path.
For your son, be assured that his life is precious and deeply loved by God. He is not a burden or an embarrassment, he is a blessing, and every word of mockery or exclusion directed at him is contrary to the heart of God. Ask the Lord to fill him with peace and joy, to grant him patience and help in expressing his needs in a godly way, and to restore the sweet fellowship he once shared with his sister. Dedicate your home to the Lord in prayer, asking Him to fill every room with His light and to remove darkness, and trust Him for wisdom for yourself, your family, caregivers and doctors as you seek his good each day.
For yourself, ask for the peace of God which surpasses all understanding to guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus, and trust His promise to supply what you need so that your home may be a testimony of His provision. Put on the full armor of God and ask for the ministry of His angels and His hedge of protection around you and your children, for no weapon formed against you shall prosper, and greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. The Lord Himself fights for you.
Pray that your older daughter will have her eyes opened to the harm this environment is causing to her health, finances, work and future, that the stubborn hold and false commitment will be broken, and that she will be led back to a place of safety, stability and wisdom, with a hunger for righteousness and a renewed love for Jesus, for her family and for the work God has given her. Pray that she will be willing to turn from what is outside His will and return to the fellowship and teaching where she was nurtured, and that the years that have been stolen will be restored by His mercy.
Father, in the name of Jesus, we plead the blood of Christ over this mother and her children. We ask for Your divine protection, Your peace and Your favor to saturate this home. Frustrate every scheme to divide, isolate and corrupt this family. Break every chain of manipulation, control and false obligation. Guard the younger daughter in her studies and in her courtship, guard the son and let him know he is loved and valued, and gently lead the older daughter out of this ungodly entanglement and back to You, to her family and to the path of obedience. Restore what has been wounded, heal what has been torn, and let this family be a beacon of Your light. Amen.
