Silas
Beloved of All
Your love for your daughter and for her children comes through clearly in your request, and it is right to care so deeply that they have a stable home with both mother and father present.
Scripture places tremendous importance on the family. It is the foundation of society, and when that structure breaks down, much else breaks down with it. One of the reasons God gives such weight to honoring father and mother and to children obeying their parents in the Lord is that He knows children are often the ones who suffer most when a home is divided. The effects of a parents choices are felt deeply by their children, while God also shows great mercy when a family seeks Him together and walks in His ways.
That is why the most important prayer for your daughter, her fiance, and their children is for their relationship with God Himself. The Bible teaches that we cannot have a true relationship with God through law or effort alone. When the fullness of time came, God sent His Son, born under the law, to redeem those under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons. Through faith in Jesus Christ we are no longer in bondage but are made children of promise, with the Spirit bearing witness that we are His children and heirs. God does not want a mere legal relationship with us. He wants a close, loving relationship where we know how much He loves us and we learn to love Him in return. He wants to bless, and that blessing is received by trusting Him.
I will pray with you along those lines, rather than simply asking God to bless things as they are. God's design for the lifelong covenant of marriage is one man and one woman, and He has reserved sexual union and living together as husband and wife for within that covenant. A lasting unity where two become one is a compound unity that reflects His own nature. Living together outside of that covenant is not what He calls good, and He will not bless what goes against His word. So the loving and truthful way to pray is that each of them would first come to real faith in Jesus Christ if they have not already, that they would repent where needed and seek to walk in love and in purity, and that they would seek wise, godly counsel about marriage. If it is right for them to be together, pray that they would move toward that holy commitment before God, not simply continue as they are, and that they would submit to one another in love as Christ teaches husbands and wives to do.
Pray also for the children. God desires that His truth and power be passed to the next generation. He tells parents to talk of His ways when they sit in the house and when they walk along the road, when they lie down and when they rise up, so that family conversation itself becomes teaching. He even gave Israel memorials that would cause children to ask what they meant, so parents would have opportunity to tell of what God had done. Pray that your daughter and her fiance would take that responsibility seriously, to create a home where the children are taught the Lord and see His love lived out daily, and where questions are welcomed and answered with the hope of the gospel.
Father, we thank You for Your mercy and for the relationship You offer through faith in Jesus Christ. We lift up this daughter, her fiance, and their beautiful children to You. Draw each one to Yourself, grant them repentance and faith, and make them Your children by adoption through Christ. Where there is sin, bring conviction and cleansing through His blood. Where there is confusion or hurt, bring truth and healing. Lead them to honor You in their family decisions, to pursue purity and the covenant of marriage as You have ordained it, and to build a home that is one in You. Protect these children, let them not bear the weight of a divided home, but let them be raised to know and love You. Give their grandmother and family wisdom, patience, and grace as they love and speak truth. We ask this in Jesus name, amen.
Scripture places tremendous importance on the family. It is the foundation of society, and when that structure breaks down, much else breaks down with it. One of the reasons God gives such weight to honoring father and mother and to children obeying their parents in the Lord is that He knows children are often the ones who suffer most when a home is divided. The effects of a parents choices are felt deeply by their children, while God also shows great mercy when a family seeks Him together and walks in His ways.
That is why the most important prayer for your daughter, her fiance, and their children is for their relationship with God Himself. The Bible teaches that we cannot have a true relationship with God through law or effort alone. When the fullness of time came, God sent His Son, born under the law, to redeem those under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons. Through faith in Jesus Christ we are no longer in bondage but are made children of promise, with the Spirit bearing witness that we are His children and heirs. God does not want a mere legal relationship with us. He wants a close, loving relationship where we know how much He loves us and we learn to love Him in return. He wants to bless, and that blessing is received by trusting Him.
I will pray with you along those lines, rather than simply asking God to bless things as they are. God's design for the lifelong covenant of marriage is one man and one woman, and He has reserved sexual union and living together as husband and wife for within that covenant. A lasting unity where two become one is a compound unity that reflects His own nature. Living together outside of that covenant is not what He calls good, and He will not bless what goes against His word. So the loving and truthful way to pray is that each of them would first come to real faith in Jesus Christ if they have not already, that they would repent where needed and seek to walk in love and in purity, and that they would seek wise, godly counsel about marriage. If it is right for them to be together, pray that they would move toward that holy commitment before God, not simply continue as they are, and that they would submit to one another in love as Christ teaches husbands and wives to do.
Pray also for the children. God desires that His truth and power be passed to the next generation. He tells parents to talk of His ways when they sit in the house and when they walk along the road, when they lie down and when they rise up, so that family conversation itself becomes teaching. He even gave Israel memorials that would cause children to ask what they meant, so parents would have opportunity to tell of what God had done. Pray that your daughter and her fiance would take that responsibility seriously, to create a home where the children are taught the Lord and see His love lived out daily, and where questions are welcomed and answered with the hope of the gospel.
Father, we thank You for Your mercy and for the relationship You offer through faith in Jesus Christ. We lift up this daughter, her fiance, and their beautiful children to You. Draw each one to Yourself, grant them repentance and faith, and make them Your children by adoption through Christ. Where there is sin, bring conviction and cleansing through His blood. Where there is confusion or hurt, bring truth and healing. Lead them to honor You in their family decisions, to pursue purity and the covenant of marriage as You have ordained it, and to build a home that is one in You. Protect these children, let them not bear the weight of a divided home, but let them be raised to know and love You. Give their grandmother and family wisdom, patience, and grace as they love and speak truth. We ask this in Jesus name, amen.
