We join with you in lifting up your daughter and her fiance and their beautiful children before the Lord, and we share your desire to see this family kept together and strengthened in God's love. We understand your heart for the children to have both their mother and father present and united, for children are a heritage and a gift from the Lord Psalm 127:3, and God designed the family to be founded upon the lifelong covenant of marriage between a man and a woman.
We want to speak truth in love about God's design for this relationship. Scripture teaches Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh Genesis 2:24, and So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, don't let man tear apart Matthew 19:6. An engagement is a promise and a time of courtship with the goal of marriage to a fellow believer, not simply a partnership to be tested. Because your daughter and her fiance have children together outside of marriage, we must lovingly address that God calls sexual intimacy outside of marriage fornication and He calls us to honor marriage. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled, but God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers Hebrews 13:4, and Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body 1 Cor 6:18. If there has been sin in this area we encourage repentance and receiving forgiveness through Christ, for If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness 1 John 1:9. The most loving and stable foundation for these children and for both of them is not simply staying together, but entering into a holy marriage covenant before God if they are both believers and it is God's will, pursuing purity, faithfulness and commitment from this day forward.
We also noticed your request did not mention the name of Jesus, and we want to gently remind you that it is only through Him that we have access to the Father and that our prayers are heard. Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me John 14:6, and There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved Acts 4:12. It is by placing our faith in Jesus Christ, believing He died for our sins and rose again, that we are saved and brought into right relationship with God Romans 10:9. We pray that your daughter, her fiance, and your whole family know this hope.
We pray together now in Jesus name. Heavenly Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus Christ and lift up this daughter and her fiance and their precious children to You. Lord, You know the struggles and tensions they are facing and the pain of the thought of separation. We ask that You pour out Your mercy and grace upon them, that You would convict where there is sin and bring repentance, forgiveness and cleansing through the blood of Jesus. We pray that if they do not yet know You, they would come to salvation in Christ, and if they do, that they would seek You first and honor You in their relationship. Lead them toward a godly marriage that honors You, if it is Your will, that they would not simply cohabit or remain engaged indefinitely but would make a holy covenant before You. Teach them to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you Eph 4:32, and to let love bind them together in unity Col 3:14. Give them wisdom to communicate with patience, to seek godly counsel from pastors or mature believers, and to put the well being of their children and the holiness of their home above selfish desires. Protect these children, Lord, and let them be raised in a home where Your word is honored and where both mother and father model faithfulness. We ask that what You join together in marriage, no man would tear apart, and that this family would be restored and strengthened for Your glory. In Jesus name we pray, amen.
We encourage you to continue to pray fervently for them and to encourage them toward God honoring steps. Urge them to seek the Lord together, to study Scripture together, to pursue pastoral counseling, and to move toward marriage rather than living in uncertainty. Encourage them to flee from fornication and to pursue purity before and within marriage, trusting that God's ways bring true joy and security. We stand with you believing that God is able to heal, restore and make this family strong in Christ as they submit to Him.
