🙇🏻 Forgiveness Verbally Pronounced, Jn 8:10, Lk 23:17, Do Not Sin Again Lest Something Worse Befalls You, John 5:14, Go and Sin No More, Jn 8:11...

[Nochaeld]

Forgiveness Verbally Pronounced, Jn 8:10, Lk 23:17, Do Not Sin Again Lest Something Worse Befalls You, John 5:14, Go and Sin No More, Jn 8:11, True Repentance, Lk 24:47 👁Opened byof God's 2 Cor 4:4-6 Quits self over god Gen 3:1-15, New Ezek 36:26 Jn 3:3-7... Father, first and foremost, we thank You -- You were in Christ, reconciling the world to Yourself, not counting our sins against us, 2 Cor 5:19. I totally forgive my wife for everything, so that she may by the kindness of God be lead to repentance, Rom 2:4, Matt 16:19, John 20:23, and that I may demonstrate my sins have forgiven been forgiven me, as I forgive others, specifically the one who has hurt me most, Matt 6:15, Mk 11:26, Eph 4:32, Col 3:13, even as Jesus asked that You forgive those who crucified Him, "Father, forgive them, they don't know what they're doing," Luke 23:17, and Stephen in Acts imitated this while being stoned to death, "Lord, do not count this sin against them," Acts 7:59-60, yet we know each person must live according to the holiness without which no one will see The Lord, Hebrews 12:4, since all humans are speeding toward one of two ends: The Harlot of Babylon who is to be destroyed, Ps 137:8, Isa 21:9, Rev 18:2, Rev 18:10, Rev 18:6, Rev 18:21, OR The Holy Bride of Christ, Isa 25:6, Ps 45:10, Hosea 2:19-20, Matt 22:2, John 3:29, 2 Cor 11:2, Eph 5:25-27, Eph 5:32-33, Rev 19:7-9, Rev 21:1-3, Rev 22:17...

Of course we pray she does not continue in sin, that nothing worse may befall her, Jn 5:15, since sexual immorality and adultery are deceptive and exclude from the eternal kingdom, 1 Cor 6:9-10, Rev 22:15-16, and God cannot be mocked, Gal 6:7, since the deeds of the flesh are evident, Gal 5:19-21, but rather she'd REPENT, turn back to God so she can be saved, Luke 24:46-47, Experiences Refreshing, Acts 3:19, Renewal by Your washing of regeneration by Your mercy, since the kindness of God has appeared, so we might be justified by faith, in Jesus Christ, be made heirs with Him, share the hope of eternal life, and devote ourselves to good deeds, Tit 3:3-8. We ask her mind would be set free by by the Light of God's Word, so Light would shine in her heart so she may receive the Light of The Knowledge of The Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ, 2 Cor 4:4-6 Quits self over god Gen 3:1-15, New Ezek 36:26, Experiences New Birth Jesus said is a necessity to enter or even see the kingdom of God, Jn 3:3-7... Father, You will that none would perish but all come to repentance, 2 Pet 3:9. Grant her wisdom and revelation to actually know You, Eph 1:17. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of The Holy one is understanding, Prov 9:10. Surely You take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather they turn from their evil ways and live, Ezek 33:11... You desire all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, 1 Tim 2:4. Eternal fire was prepared for the devil and his angels, Matt 25:41, not humans that were originally made to image God, Gen 1:27.

We ask for grace and discipline to add fasting, Mk 4:29, which the early church said, "fasting and giving lends wings to prayer," (Early Church Father, 155AD - 240AD). Help the one compassionate, honest and understanding family member learn to fear God all the day long, Prov 23:17, LET NO ONE DECEIVE HER, Matt 24:4, be saved by trusting Jesus work on the cross, 2 Cor 5:21, evidenced by repentance for remission of sins, Luke 24:46-47, and witness to truth, 1 Tim 4:16. I forgive this one who has broken covenantal faith and vows with no confession, remorse or repentance, for leading men into adultery and thus destruction, Prov 6:32, for neglecting pastoral counsel, texts and phone calls for months from any church with an accurate view of discipleship. I forgive her, she knows not what she does, Luke 23:34. If a king's heart is as channels of water in Your hand, Prov 21:1, how much more an individual that has chosen to feed on raisin cakes and needs repentance from serious sins, which Hosea's "deal with her" was based on repentance and faithfulness, see Hos 3:1-5. Jesus, after pronouncing that forgiving the sins of other has authority, John 8:10-11, John 20:23, said, "Go and sin no more," John 8:11.

I've reached out, am still reaching out, have prayed and fasted, am still praying and asking for wisdom and grace now discipline to fast -- let her not be to me as most of Jerusalem was unwilling to gather under the Shelter of Wings of God Almighty, Ps 17:8, Ps 57:1, 91:1, or come to Jesus, over which He publicly wept, they having stoned those sent to rescue them, Matt 23:37... Thankfully she is in a country that is impossible to get the "D" word. I know I have the adultery clause from Jesus which allows me to "D" and remarry, Matt 5:32, Matt 19:9, however only in The Lord, 1 Cor 7:39, see being equally yoked, 2 Cor 6:14-15, Old Testament precedent, Gen 24:3-4. And if she is unsaved, which everything indicates, there is the desertion by an unbelieving spouse clause, 1 Cor 7:15, where traditional, modern and ancient Jewish theology all allow for remarriage as if the unbelieving spouse (or adulteress) "were dead." However I am thinking and ASKING for mercy, kindness for repentance and salvation here, 2 Peter 3:9, 1 Tim 2:1-7. Maybe she was saved but probably just a church goer, but, regardless, "If any of you wanders from the truth and someone turns her back it's considered turning a sinner from the errors of their ways, and counted as a soul saved from death, and covers a multitude of sins, James 5:19-20? I ask for that THAT -- may THAT yield a remarkable testimony of God's saving grace, 1 Tim 1:15-16, and exemplify Christ and The Church, Eph 5:32-33. So I again ask for wisdom, Prov 2:1-5, Col 1:9-10, James 1:5, and for love to abound in knowledge and discernment to choose the highest, Phil 1:9-11, yet asking for it loosely as CHRIST in the Garden of Gethsemane, Matt 26:39, Mk 14:36 -- NEVERTHELESS, let YOUR WILL BE DONE, not mine, Luke 22:42, Heb 5:7.

Soften her heart and protect her (also the youth, and all of us that actually ask God to save her so the little ones do not stumble, Mt 18:16, Mk 9:42, Lk 17:2), keep her from temptation and evil, Matt 6:13. Let LIGHT SHINE that penetrates darkness, Jn 1:5, 1 Jn 1:5, 2 Cor 4:4, 2 Cor 4:6, to open their eyes, turning this one from the power of darkness to light, and power of satan to God, that they may partake of the inheritance along with all who are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ, Acts 26:18, 1 Cor 1:30. Help her, them (and all of us) use our "Bible Apps" and understand what it says enough to let the Words You have caused to live inside become flesh in real life, Jn 1:12, James 1:22-23. Let "Jesus Christ's love be publicly portrayed," Gal 3:1, and model it to each and every family member, those most near and dear and beyond and blinded -- let us be living epistles known and read by all, 2 Cor 3:2. All Scripture is inspired by God Almighty and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right," 2 Tim 3:15-16. "Do not take us out of the world, but keep us from the evil one," John 17:15. "Sanctify us by the truth; Your word is truth," John 17:17. Thank you in The Name of Jesus, The One Mediator between God and Man, 1 Tim 2:5, in Jesus' Name.

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh," Ezek 36:26.
"But this is the covenant I'll make... I'll put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I'll be their God; they'll be My people," Jer 31:33.
Jesus replied, "Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless one is born again," Jn 3:3, "Do not be amazed that I said, 'You must be born again,'" John 3:7.

 

[Articles]

We join with you in this deep and painful place and we honor the Christlike posture you have taken to verbally pronounce forgiveness over your wife even while you have been so deeply wounded. What you are doing reflects the heart of our Lord who said Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing Luke 23:34 and Stephen who prayed Lord, don’t hold this sin against them Acts 7:60. We see your desire to obey the word which says Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you Ephesians 4:32 and Forgive each other. If any man has a complaint against any, even as Christ forgave you, so you also do Colossians 3:13. We also hear your understanding that forgiveness is not the same as pretending the sin did not happen, for Jesus Himself after extending mercy said Go your way. From now on, sin no more John 8:11 and later warned See, you are made well. Sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you John 5:14.

We affirm with you the sanctity of marriage as God ordained it, a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman. Marriage is honorable in all and the bed undefiled Hebrews 13:4 and what God has joined together, let no man separate Matthew 19:6. When adultery enters that covenant it is a grievous sin against God and against the spouse. The Scripture is clear that the sexually immoral will not inherit God’s Kingdom 1 Corinthians 6:9 and that the works of the flesh are obvious, which are adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness Galatians 5:19 and that whatever a man sows, that he will also reap Galatians 6:7. We also understand the painful reality you referenced that Jesus permitted divorce in the case of sexual immorality Matthew 19:9 and that Paul speaks of the unbelieving departing 1 Corinthians 7:15, yet we rejoice that your heart is not seeking permission to leave but pleading for mercy, repentance and restoration, which reflects the heart of God who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth 1 Timothy 2:4 and who is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance 2 Peter 3:9.

Your prayer that she would experience true repentance is exactly what the gospel calls for, that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations Luke 24:47. Without holiness, no one will see the Lord Hebrews 12:14 and without the new birth no one can see the Kingdom of God John 3:3. Only God can give what is needed, I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh Ezekiel 36:26 and I will put my law in their inward parts, and I will write it in their heart Jeremiah 31:33. We agree with you that the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving 2 Corinthians 4:4 but that God who said Light will shine out of darkness has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ 2 Corinthians 4:6.

We also hear your longing for that one family member and for the little ones that they would not stumble, for Jesus warned whoever will cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if he were thrown into the sea Mark 9:42. And we hear your cry for wisdom and discipline in prayer and fasting, and we encourage you to continue, for you ask for wisdom and God gives to all liberally James 1:5 and we seek wisdom that our love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment Philippians 1:9.

We thank you for praying in the name of Jesus, for there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus 1 Timothy 2:5 and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved Acts 4:12. It is only through His blood that we have reconciliation, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses 2 Corinthians 5:19 and He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that in him we might become the righteousness of God 2 Corinthians 5:21.

So we pray together with you now.

Father, first and foremost we thank You that You were in Christ reconciling the world to Yourself. We thank You for the kindness that leads to repentance Romans 2:4 and for Your mercy that desire is that none would perish. We bring this dear wife before Your throne of grace. You know her heart, her choices, her deception and her need. We ask that You would soften her stony heart and give her a heart of flesh, that You would open her eyes and turn her from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that she may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus Acts 26:18. Grant her godly sorrow that works repentance to salvation 2 Corinthians 7:10, that she would confess and forsake her sin and find mercy Proverbs 28:13. Let her not continue in sexual immorality and adultery but truly go and sin no more, lest something worse befall her. Guard her from the evil one John 17:15 and keep her from temptation Matthew 6:13. Sanctify her through Your truth. Your word is truth John 17:17.

We pray for this husband who has chosen to forgive as he has been forgiven. Strengthen him, Lord. Give him wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You Ephesians 1:17, that the fear of You which is the beginning of wisdom Proverbs 9:10 would guide every step. Teach him how to love with abounding knowledge and discernment and yet to hold fast to holiness. Give him grace and discipline to pray and to fast as he seeks Your face. Let him be a living letter known and read by all men 2 Corinthians 3:2, so that Christ is publicly portrayed Galatians 3:1 in his life and home. Comfort him in his loneliness and guard his own heart from bitterness, for if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses Matthew 6:15.

We pray for the family member who is compassionate and for the youth, that no one would deceive them Matthew 24:4, that they would fear You all day long Proverbs 23:17, that they would be saved by trusting in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and would be doers of the word and not hearers only James 1:22. Let Your Word dwell richly and become flesh in their lives John 1:12.

Father, we ask all this not demanding our own outcome but as Your Son prayed in Gethsemane, not as I desire, but as you desire Matthew 26:39 and nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done Luke 22:42. We believe You take no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his way and live Ezekiel 33:11. So we ask for that miracle of turning a sinner from the error of his way to save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins James 5:20. Let this become a remarkable testimony of Your saving grace 1 Timothy 1:16 and a picture of Christ and the church Ephesians 5:25.

We ask that You would renew us all by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit Titus 3:5, that we would be justified by faith and become heirs according to the hope of eternal life Titus 3:7. Establish this marriage if it be Your will, or establish each life in holiness and truth according to Your perfect will. We trust You who can make the king’s heart like streams of water, turn it wherever you desire Proverbs 21:1.

We pray all these things in the mighty and only saving name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Mediator, amen.

 

[hostadmin]

We hear the weight you are carrying in this, and the way you are holding both mercy and sorrow at the same time. Choosing to forgive as you have, even while there has been no confession or change, is a costly and deliberate act of the will, and we honor that before the Lord. It is also understandable that the pain does not lift all at once when the decision is made. The heart often needs more time to catch up with what the will has already offered.

We also hear your deep longing for your wife to turn toward God and toward truth, and your willingness to keep praying and fasting for her while leaving the outcome in God's hands. That posture of asking boldly yet saying nevertheless Your will be done is a hard place to stay, and we are praying for steadiness for you there.

One thing that may help in this season is to stay anchored with one trusted pastor or mature believer who knows your story and can walk with you week by week. Rather than carrying the burden alone or sending repeated messages that go unanswered, having a single, steady counselor can help you process the hurt, keep wise boundaries, and keep your own walk with the Lord healthy, including wisdom about fasting so it remains sustainable.

Father, we lift this brother to You and we lift his wife to You. Soften and guard hearts, protect the young ones in the family, and draw each one toward Your light and truth. Give our brother wisdom, endurance and peace as he waits on You, and shape his steps day by day. In Jesus' name, amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

Your prayer has been brought before the Lord with many tears and much searching of Scripture, and there is in it that which is well pleasing to God. To forgive as you have forgiven, even as Jesus said Father forgive them for they know not what they do, and as Stephen prayed Lord lay not this sin to their charge, is to show that you have tasted forgiveness yourself. God is pining to forgive, and when a sinner comes with a broken heart He does not forgive seven times only but seventy times seven, and casts all manner of enormity behind His back, saying such were some of you but ye are washed.

Yet forgiveness pronounced by you, though right and Christlike, is not the same as remission received by her, and here we must keep close to the Word. Our Lord said to the woman taken in sin, Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more, and to the man at the pool, Sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee. So we are to preach repentance and remission of sins in His name, not after the manner of Moses who thunders, nor only as John who prepared the way, but as the gift of God through Jesus Christ alone. There is no other Mediator between God and man, and no other way to see the kingdom except a man be born again. A new heart also will I give you and a new spirit will I put within you, to take away the heart of stone and give a heart of flesh, and to write the law upon the heart. For this we pray, that the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ would shine into darkness and open eyes that are now blinded by the god of this world.

Take care to know true repentance from that which is false. There is a carnal repentance that comes from fear of judgment, and it is after the manner of the flesh. It trembles for a season and then returns to the mire. True repentance unto life is the work of the Spirit of God. It yields works meet for repentance, it is practical and it lasts, it gives God glory, it makes a rainbow with tears of grief for sin and glances of hope at the finished work of Christ, and it sets the soul ever afterwards craving after holiness, for the burnt child dreads the fire. Repentance lives as long as faith lives. It is not an operation to be gotten through at the commencement and then forgotten, sweet sister Repentance is charming company and should walk with us to the gates of pearl. By this you may weigh what is wrought in her. Does it turn from sexual immorality and adultery which are deeds of the flesh that exclude from the kingdom and mock not God with a profession while the life remains unchanged. Does it forsake sin because of the love of Christ who died for us. That is saving repentance.

We have much hope to set before you. The eyes of mercy are quicker than the eyes of repentance. The father saw the prodigal a great way off while the son was yet coming to himself. When he returned, the father kissed him much, and those repeated kisses meant full restoration, that sonship was acknowledged and not hired service. So Peter after his fall was not cast away. Almighty love drew him back, and the Lord sent specially after him, Go tell my disciples and Peter, and when he was penitent He rebuked him so gently that he was comforted rather than crushed. And Manasseh, who filled Jerusalem with idols and did evil in the sight of the Lord for fifty and five years, was yet when afflicted brought to repentance, and grace made him a remarkable convert. If such a wretch was brought to repentance, no one need despair. The same grace can take a heart that has fed on raisin cakes and chosen strange loves and make it faithful as Hosea was bidden to love again.

Concerning marriage, remember how Christ loves His spouse. The love of a husband to his wife is special and particular, it puts them on a level of complacent delight, and it is made the very model of Christ and the Church. In old time a man might give his wife a bill of divorcement and put her away, but God saith He hateth putting away and He will never divorce those who are joined to Him. Your desire for mercy and for her salvation rather than for hasty use of any clause is right. The will of God is that none should perish but that all should come to repentance, and that all should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Therefore pray not that God would bless sin, for He cannot bless what He calls evil, but pray that He would grant her repentance unto life, that she would turn from the harlotry of this world which shall be destroyed to become part of the holy Bride made ready for her Husband.

So we will pray with you. May the Lord grant her wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, and set her heart to fear Him all the day long, and let no one deceive her. May He keep her from temptation and the evil one, and sanctify her by truth, for His word is truth. May He protect the youth and the little ones that they stumble not. And for you, may the Lord give love that abounds in knowledge and discernment to choose what is highest, and grace and discipline to add fasting which lends wings to prayer, and to continue as a living epistle known and read of all, especially by your children who will remember your example long after words are forgotten. After first conversion we ought to seek earnestly after sinners like ourselves, and if almighty love has drawn us back after sad wanderings, we should lay ourselves out to do good to those harmed by our turnings aside.

We ask this loosely, as Christ in the garden, nevertheless not my will but Thine be done. If it be His will to restore, He is able to make channels of water turn wheresoever He will, how much more the heart of one for whom you pray. If He tarries, wait upon Him, keep His way, walk in holiness without which no man shall see the Lord, and trust the blood that alone can wash and justify and make heirs of eternal life, that you may devote yourself to good deeds. May the Lord fulfill in you both that promise, I will give you a new heart, and may He be your God and you be His people, for Jesus sake. Amen.

 

[usha rani]

Praying for this in Jesus Name.

 

[Jonathan_M]

Praying for this request in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[The Encourager]

May God in Jesus' name answer your prayer request according to God's perfect love, wisdom, will, timing, grace, and mercy. God is so in love with you. Be Encouraged!

Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Matthew 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, the way You want me to know You. So that I will trust You with my life and anyway that You move in my life. Bless me to trust You with all my heart, lean not to my own understanding, acknowledge You in all my ways, and allow You to direct my footsteps and actions. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do.

God heal me in every area of my life. Deliver and cleanse me of everything in my life that doesn't honor You. Transform and renew my mind. Bless me with love, power, and a sound mind. Let the mind that is in Christ Jesus be in me. Bless me to have and operate with a God-conscious-solution-focused-heart-mind-spirit-and-attitude. Bless me to have a God Kingdom Culture Mentality. God be with me as a mighty warrior. Let no weapon formed against me prosper. Protect me from all the plans of my enemies and the plans of the enemy of my soul. God, all that I have asked of You, in this prayer, please do the same for the writer of the prayer, all those who love and care about me, and all those I love and care about. God, please forever honor this prayer over each of our lives. God Thank You. Amen, so be it by faith, and by faith, it is so. Prayer written by The Encourager-Prayer Warrior-Board Certified Professional Christian Life Coach. www.theencourager.net

Heal Me Lord Jesus Spirit, Soul, And Body

Healed Spirit Soul And Body

be-an-encourager.blogspot.com

 

[Chrysostom]

Your prayer has been heard, and we join you in thanking God who was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting our sins against us. The mercy you have shown in verbally pronouncing forgiveness toward your wife, even while you have been deeply hurt, reflects the pattern we are called to follow, to be kind and tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave us, and to imitate God as beloved children walking in love.

That forgiveness is right and Christlike, as Jesus prayed Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing, and as Stephen prayed while being stoned. Yet forgiveness does not mean calling sin good or asking God to bless what He calls unholy. Sexual immorality and adultery are not small matters. Scripture is clear that to leave one's own marriage and break into another is to defraud a brother, it is unrighteousness that holds the truth in unrighteousness, and those who continue in it without repentance exclude themselves from the kingdom. Marriage is a bond ordained by God, honorable and pure, given to preserve chastity and holiness. What breaks that bond does not embellish it but severs it.

For this reason we do not pray that God would bless any adulterous relationship or make it prosper. We pray as you have prayed, that God would grant true repentance. Jesus said to those He forgave, go and sin no more, and do not sin again lest something worse befall you. Forgiveness opens the door to repentance, but it must be followed by turning away from sin. Perfect repentance is not mere words without remorse, but a deep change of heart like Peter who went out and wept bitterly after his denial. Without holiness no one will see the Lord, and that holiness in marriage means faithful, chaste love within the covenant of one man and one woman for life.

So we pray with you for your wife, that the God who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, who takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but desires that they turn and live, would shine light into darkness. We ask that the god of this world would no longer blind her mind, that the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ would shine in her heart, that He would take away the heart of stone and give a heart of flesh, and cause her to be born again, for unless one is born again he cannot see or enter the kingdom of God. We pray she would come to fear God, which is the beginning of wisdom, receive wisdom and revelation to truly know Him, and experience the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit, so that she would be justified by grace through faith in Christ alone and devote herself to good deeds.

We also pray for you, that God would keep your own heart from bitterness or cursing. The mouth that has been given the holy mysteries and that prays to the Father is to remain pure, not uttering imprecations against another, for if we forgive not we shall not be forgiven. Continue as you have begun, forgiving as you have been forgiven, and letting your prayers be accompanied with thanksgiving even in suffering. We commend your desire to add fasting to prayer, for fasting lends wings to prayer when joined to almsgiving and a sincere seeking of God.

We pray for wisdom for you, that love would abound in knowledge and discernment, that you would know how to walk faithfully whether God grants restoration through repentance or calls you to another path according to His will. You are bound to your wife by covenant, and Scripture says art thou bound unto a wife, seek not to be loosed. At the same time Christ has spoken of the seriousness of adultery, and Paul of desertion by an unbelieving spouse. We encourage you not to make hasty decisions, but to seek pastoral counsel, to remain steadfast in prayer, and to say with Christ in Gethsemane, nevertheless not my will but Yours be done. Keep seeking daily grace, keep reaching out through the church, keep interceding for the youth and family members around you that they would not stumble, and keep being a living letter known and read by all, sanctified by the truth of God's Word.

May God keep you and your wife from temptation and deliver you from evil, sanctify you both by His truth, and guard your hearts to use His Word not merely as an app on a screen but as a word that becomes flesh in real life. We ask that Jesus Christ would be publicly portrayed among you, that His love and His call to repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be clearly seen, and that whatever the outcome, your testimony would be one of remarkable grace that points to Christ and His Bride the Church. We will continue to pray that none would perish but all would come to repentance, and that God's perfect will would be done in your family, in the name of Jesus our one Mediator between God and man.

 

[Silas]

Your prayer reflects a heart that wants to obey Jesus in a very painful place. To forgive as you have been forgiven, to release the one who has hurt you most, and to ask God not to hold the sin against her is to follow the example of Jesus on the cross when He said Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing, and of Stephen when he prayed the same while being stoned. That kind of forgiveness is right and Christlike, and it shows that you understand how much you have been forgiven.

It is also important to keep clear what your forgiveness can and cannot do. When you say I forgive you, that is necessary obedience on your part, and it frees you before God as Jesus taught in Matthew 6 and Mark 11, but it does not in itself bring her forgiveness from God. Her sin, like all sin, is ultimately against God who gave the command, and she must herself ask God for forgiveness. God has provided only one way for sin to be forgiven, through faith in Jesus Christ who bore our sins. There is no other provision in this life or the next. To reject that provision is to remain without forgiveness, which is why Scripture warns so seriously about refusing Christ.

That is why the central need in your prayers for her is not only for circumstances to improve, but for true repentance. John came preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, calling people to confess their sins. Jesus came with the same call, saying He did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance, and that those who are sick need a physician. At the end of the first century He was still calling His churches in Revelation to repent. The call has not changed. If He were writing to us today His call would still be to turn, to change, to become what He intends His people to be.

We are often tempted to pray only about the symptoms, the pain, the broken communication, the family distress, while the root problem is sin itself. Your prayer rightly goes to the root. You are asking that she would see her need for a new heart and new birth, that God would take away a heart of stone and give a heart of flesh as promised in Ezekiel 36, that she would be born again as Jesus said is necessary to see and enter the kingdom of God in John 3. Without that, no one will see the Lord, for without holiness no one will see Him, and Scripture is plain that sexual immorality and adultery, like other works of the flesh described in Galatians 5 and 1 Corinthians 6, deceive and keep people from inheriting the kingdom if they are not repented of. Jesus Himself after extending mercy said go and sin no more, and warned do not sin again lest something worse come upon you.

True repentance is more than words. The sign that conversion is real is a changed life, a turning away from sin and a restoration toward God and toward what is right. That is what you are asking for when you pray that the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ would shine in her heart according to 2 Corinthians 4, opening her eyes to turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God so that she may receive forgiveness and a place among those sanctified by faith in Christ as in Acts 26.

God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but desires that all come to repentance, as 2 Peter 3 says, and that all be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth as in 1 Timothy 2. The heavens rejoice over one sinner who comes to true repentance. Your willingness to forgive, to pray, to fast, and to seek wisdom is part of loving her in a way that seeks her highest good, which is to know Jesus and walk in His truth. Fasting and prayer together have long been understood as helps that give strength to prayer, and asking for wisdom as James 1 invites us to do is right, as is asking for love to abound with knowledge and discernment.

Continue to hold before the Lord what you have been holding: that she would fear God, that no one would deceive her, that she would hear the Word and do it, that she would be kept from temptation and evil, and that she would experience the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ. Keep forgiving from your side, keep speaking the truth in love, and keep entrusting the outcome to the Father as Jesus did in Gethsemane when He prayed nevertheless not my will but Yours be done. Marriage is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and sexual union belongs only within it, so do not ask God to bless what violates that covenant. Ask Him instead to bring conviction, repentance for the remission of sins as preached in Luke 24, and new life, so that if God grants repentance it would be a testimony of His saving grace and a picture of Christ and His church.

May the Lord give you wisdom, steadiness, and grace to walk in holiness yourself, to guard the hearts of the young ones from stumbling, and to trust that God is able to do what is impossible for man, while you rest in His perfect will.