Silas
Beloved of All
We are praying with you for yourself and your household, and we thank God that you have brought these three great needs before Him.
For salvation, Scripture makes it clear that God has placed it outside our own ability so that it rests entirely on His grace. The name Jesus itself means the Lord is salvation, for He came to save His people from their sins. Paul writes that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved, for with the heart we believe and with the mouth we confess unto salvation. That confession offered now, in this life, brings eternal life. There will be a day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord, but then that confession will not be unto salvation, it will only acknowledge what was rejected. That is why the Bible says now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation, and urges us not to put off receiving what God offers. This salvation is great because it is open to whosoever will come, whosoever believes in Him, even the lowest sinner, and all who come He will not cast out. It is not something we earn by working for our salvation with fear and trembling, as some misunderstand that verse. Rather, God works His salvation within us by grace through faith, which is itself His gift, and we are His workmanship, His poem, created in Christ Jesus. Then we work out what He has worked in, living it out day by day with reverence, trusting the Captain of our salvation who suffered to bring many sons and daughters into glory and into the family of God.
For healing, we believe God does heal and we ask Him for it. Isaiah spoke of the Messiah bearing our sicknesses and Matthew applies that prophecy to the physical healings Jesus did, as well as to the deeper spiritual healing from sin. When Jesus broke bread He said this is My body broken for you, and we remember that His suffering touches both soul and body. At the same time Scripture shows that healing comes in many ways. Sometimes it is instant, sometimes it is gradual as with the man who at first saw men like trees walking, sometimes with a touch, sometimes with only a word, sometimes through the natural processes of the body which are themselves ordained by God and therefore divine. We do not always understand why some are healed as we ask and others, like Paul with his thorn in the flesh for which he prayed three times, are not healed in the way they sought, yet are sustained by grace. Whatever form His answer takes, we can be sure that the greatest miracle He does in any life is the forgiveness of sins, and we pray for both that inward wholeness and for His mercy on every physical need in your family.
For protection, we ask the Lord to keep you and your loved ones in His care. He knows how to guard those who belong to Him, and He draws us into a family that is even closer than blood ties when we are united in Christ. If some in your family do not yet know Him, that can bring a painful distance, but God is able to draw each heart to Himself and to knit you together in His love. We pray that each member of your household would personally trust Jesus as Savior and Lord while the opportunity of today remains.
Father, in the name of Jesus we bring this family before You. We ask that Your grace that brings salvation would be received by each one who has not yet believed, that they would confess Jesus as Lord and believe You raised Him from the dead. Work Your salvation in them and help them to walk it out in faith. We ask for Your healing touch, whether instant or gradual, according to Your wisdom, and for the deeper healing of forgiveness and peace where it is needed most. Spread Your protection over this home, keep them from evil, and build them up as part of Your family. Give them assurance that You hear and that You are working for Your glory and their good. Amen.
For salvation, Scripture makes it clear that God has placed it outside our own ability so that it rests entirely on His grace. The name Jesus itself means the Lord is salvation, for He came to save His people from their sins. Paul writes that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved, for with the heart we believe and with the mouth we confess unto salvation. That confession offered now, in this life, brings eternal life. There will be a day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord, but then that confession will not be unto salvation, it will only acknowledge what was rejected. That is why the Bible says now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation, and urges us not to put off receiving what God offers. This salvation is great because it is open to whosoever will come, whosoever believes in Him, even the lowest sinner, and all who come He will not cast out. It is not something we earn by working for our salvation with fear and trembling, as some misunderstand that verse. Rather, God works His salvation within us by grace through faith, which is itself His gift, and we are His workmanship, His poem, created in Christ Jesus. Then we work out what He has worked in, living it out day by day with reverence, trusting the Captain of our salvation who suffered to bring many sons and daughters into glory and into the family of God.
For healing, we believe God does heal and we ask Him for it. Isaiah spoke of the Messiah bearing our sicknesses and Matthew applies that prophecy to the physical healings Jesus did, as well as to the deeper spiritual healing from sin. When Jesus broke bread He said this is My body broken for you, and we remember that His suffering touches both soul and body. At the same time Scripture shows that healing comes in many ways. Sometimes it is instant, sometimes it is gradual as with the man who at first saw men like trees walking, sometimes with a touch, sometimes with only a word, sometimes through the natural processes of the body which are themselves ordained by God and therefore divine. We do not always understand why some are healed as we ask and others, like Paul with his thorn in the flesh for which he prayed three times, are not healed in the way they sought, yet are sustained by grace. Whatever form His answer takes, we can be sure that the greatest miracle He does in any life is the forgiveness of sins, and we pray for both that inward wholeness and for His mercy on every physical need in your family.
For protection, we ask the Lord to keep you and your loved ones in His care. He knows how to guard those who belong to Him, and He draws us into a family that is even closer than blood ties when we are united in Christ. If some in your family do not yet know Him, that can bring a painful distance, but God is able to draw each heart to Himself and to knit you together in His love. We pray that each member of your household would personally trust Jesus as Savior and Lord while the opportunity of today remains.
Father, in the name of Jesus we bring this family before You. We ask that Your grace that brings salvation would be received by each one who has not yet believed, that they would confess Jesus as Lord and believe You raised Him from the dead. Work Your salvation in them and help them to walk it out in faith. We ask for Your healing touch, whether instant or gradual, according to Your wisdom, and for the deeper healing of forgiveness and peace where it is needed most. Spread Your protection over this home, keep them from evil, and build them up as part of Your family. Give them assurance that You hear and that You are working for Your glory and their good. Amen.
