Fornication, adultery, restoration

[Kensem]

Please lift a special someone (hidden for privacy reasons) to the throne of God in the name of Jesus.
This person is said to be a born-again Christian, but he distanced himself from God due to fornication and therefore married an adulterous woman.
Let us pray in Jesus name that this person accepts God's will regarding their broken relationship, and understands that, as a Christian, they cannot be unequally yoked, but must marry someone who is also a Christian.

Let's pray based on these verses:
Hosea 2:19-23
[19] “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, In lovingkindness and mercy;
[20] I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the Lord.
[21] “It shall come to pass in that day That I will answer,” says the Lord; “I will answer the heavens, And they shall answer the earth.
[22] The earth shall answer With grain, With new wine, And with oil; They shall answer Jezreel.
[23] Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’”

Please continue to pray...Keep praying that this brother has unweavering faith in Jesus Christ and the Father's holy plan for his life...AMEN
LET GOD BE GLORIFIED!!

Please continue to pray in Jesus' name that this brother drives the adulterous and godless woman out of his house/flat. Do not persecute those who pray for him and encourage him to follow God. To God be the glory who is Holy forever.

Please continue to pray for this brother. The woman is utterly evil and frustrated and has angry outbursts when she hears the word of God. They can't all stay in the house at the same time for too long; they take it in turns. She is an utterly opposing and aggressive woman; please pray that the brother is saved from her presence and they are separated forever if God wills it... in Jesus' name, amen.

 

[Articles]

We join you in lifting this hidden brother before the throne of God in the name of Jesus, and we thank you for bringing his soul before the Lord with such burden and faithfulness. We hear your concern that he professes to be born again yet has distanced himself from God through fornication and has entered into a marriage that is marked by adultery and being unequally yoked, and we agree that these are serious matters before a holy God that require repentance, truth, and unwavering faith in the Father's plan.

Scripture is clear that sexual sin is sin against our own body and against God. We are told in 1 Corinthians 6:18 to flee sexual immorality, and in Hebrews 13:4 that marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the bed undefiled, but God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers. If this brother has fallen into fornication, he must repent and turn back to the Lord, for we have the promise in 1 John 1:9 that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. There is mercy and restoration with God, but it begins with confession and forsaking that sin.

We also hear your prayer that he would understand he cannot be unequally yoked. You are right according to 2 Corinthians 6:14 which says do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness and iniquity, or what communion has light with darkness. As believers we are to seek a spouse only in the Lord, entering courtship with the goal of a lifelong marriage between a man and a woman that honors God, and we are to marry only another Christian believer. If he entered this marriage outside of God's will and while in disobedience, he now needs godly wisdom to understand what God requires of him now that the covenant has been made.

We must speak carefully here about marriage itself, for while we strongly affirm that believers should not marry unbelievers, once a marriage has taken place God views that covenant as binding. Jesus said in Matthew 19:6, So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, do not let man tear apart. And again in Malachi 2:16 we are reminded that God hates divorce. In 1 Corinthians 7:12-15 we are taught that if a brother has an unbelieving wife and she is content to live with him, he should not leave her, but if the unbelieving spouse departs, let her depart. The brother is not under bondage in such cases. Only sexual immorality is given by Jesus as a ground that touches the marriage covenant in Matthew 19:9. Therefore we cannot simply pray for him to drive this woman out of his house out of anger or frustration, but we must pray for God's perfect will to be done, whether that be her salvation and the sanctification of the marriage, or if she as an unbeliever chooses to depart and will not dwell with him, that God would bring a biblical separation.

We understand your description of this woman as opposing the things of God, becoming angry at the Word, and creating a hostile home where they cannot remain together in peace. This grieves us, and we do not take lightly the spiritual oppression and strife this causes. Yet we are also called to love our enemies and to pray for those who oppose us, and we must pray for her soul as well. God desires that all should come to repentance as told in 2 Peter 3:9, and we should not wish for her destruction but for her to come to know Jesus Christ as Lord if she does not already. If she is indeed an unbeliever who refuses to live peaceably and rejects Christ, then her departure may be the Lord's allowance, but that must be left in God's hands and not done in hatred or with persecution.

You asked us to pray from Hosea 2:19-23 and we stand on that beautiful promise of God's betrothal and mercy, where the Lord says I will betroth you to me forever, Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness and justice, in loving kindness and mercy, I will betroth you to me in faithfulness, and you shall know Yahweh, Hosea 2:19-20. And further, I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy, and I will say to those who were not my people, You are my people, and they shall say, You are my God, Hosea 2:23. This shows the heart of God to restore the wayward and to have mercy on those who have been far off, which is our hope for this brother.

We pray together now.

Father in heaven, we come before You in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, through whom alone we have access to Your throne and by whom alone we are saved, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved, Acts 4:12. We lift this brother to You, whom You know by name. You see his heart, his distance from You, his sin, and his troubled marriage. Lord, we ask first that You would grant him deep conviction and true repentance for all fornication and sexual sin, that he would turn from it completely and be washed clean by the blood of Jesus. Restore to him the joy of his salvation and draw him back into close fellowship with You.

Lord, give him unwavering faith in Jesus Christ and in Your holy plan for his life, even when that plan requires surrender and waiting. Grant him wisdom as promised in James 1:5, that he may know Your will regarding this broken relationship. If this marriage can be redeemed and this woman's heart softened to the gospel, we pray You would save her and sanctify this home. If it is Your will that they be separated because she as an unbeliever will not dwell with him and continually opposes Your Word, then we pray You would accomplish that separation in a way that is peaceful, lawful, and according to Scripture, and not out of bitterness or strife. Protect this brother from anger and from taking matters into his own hands, but help him to act in righteousness, justice, lovingkindness and mercy.

Father, we pray for this woman as well, that You would have mercy on her and open her eyes to Your truth, that she might yet become Your people and call You her God. Remove all evil influence and spiritual oppression from that home, and let Your peace rule. We pray that this brother would henceforth seek to honor You in all relationships, pursuing courtship only with a believing sister in Christ if You should lead him to marriage in the future, that his life would be a testimony of holiness and obedience.

We trust that You work all things together for good for those who love You, to those who are called according to Your purpose, Romans 8:28. Let Your name be glorified in this situation forever. We ask all these things in the holy and matchless name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

 

[hostadmin]

We hear how heavy this has been on your heart, and how long you have carried this brother in prayer. Wanting to see someone you care about return to a steady walk with the Lord, with clear faith and peace about his future, is a loving burden, and we are grateful you brought him to the Lord with us.

We join you in praying for his restoration and for unwavering trust in Jesus and in the Father's good plan for his life. We are also praying for wisdom for him in the difficult housing situation you described, where there is tension and people are taking turns being in the home. When a home feels unsafe or volatile, it helps to have wise, calm support nearby, so we encourage you to keep encouraging him, as you are able, to stay connected to a trusted pastor or mature believer who knows him personally and can walk with him step by step as he seeks God's will for what is next.

We are praying for protection and dignity for everyone involved, and for the Lord to bring clarity, peace, and a right path forward in His timing.

Father, we lift this brother to You in Jesus' name. Draw him close, renew his faith, and guard him. Give him wisdom to hear Your will and courage to follow it, and bring Your peace into that home. Lead him in Your way and glorify Yourself in his life. Amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

Your burden for this brother has been heard and we join you in bringing it to the throne of grace in the name of Jesus Christ, through whom alone is salvation.

We grieve to hear of one who professes to be born again yet has distanced himself from God by fornication. The Scriptures teach us that the repentance we ought to preach is one connected with faith, and they come into the soul together. The repentance that ejects sin as an evil tenant, and the faith which admits Christ to be the sole master of the heart, are inseparable. No repentance is true but that which consorts with faith, and no faith is true but that which is linked with hearty and sincere repentance on account of past sin. This repentance and faith are not worked up by the flesh, but are the gift of God. Christ is exalted on high to give not only the pardon of sin, but to give the repentance which comes before the pardon, and the Holy Spirit works in men the very faith which Jesus seeks of them.

You have asked us to pray according to Hosea, where the Lord says, I will betroth you to me forever in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy, and I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy, and will say to those who were not my people, You are my people. What a wonderful word is this for sinners. Though guilt lies heavy and sin has been committed in the sight of God, there is a cleansing that makes the black soul whiter than snow through the sacrificial blood of Jesus. True repentance gives God glory, for it confesses that God is just and merciful, and it looks to Christ and His finished work alone. It is not a carnal repentance wrought by judgment or by angry passion, but a godly sorrow which is the work of the Spirit and which yields works meet for repentance and lasts as a lifelong act.

Concerning marriage, we hold fast what the Lord has ordained, that marriage is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and that sex and living together belong within it. The precept stands, Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. When a believer has entered into sin or into a yoking that dishonors Christ, the way of restoration is not hatred or railing, but humble repentance and faith toward God. The goodness of God leads to repentance, not driving but drawing. We do not pray with bitterness against any soul, for we ourselves were once not His people and have obtained mercy, and we desire that same mercy for all. To call a person utterly evil and to seek their harm does not glorify God, but true repentance glorifies Him by owning sin and trusting His lovingkindness.

Therefore let our prayer be shaped by Scripture and not by wrath.

We pray that this brother may receive from Christ that repentance unto life which is sincere though it be as a grain of mustard seed, for the least faith saves if it is true faith that begins and ends with Jesus, and the least repentance will save the soul if it is sincere. May the Lord grant him unwavering faith in Jesus Christ and in the Father's holy plan for his life, that he may know the Lord who betroths in faithfulness. May he be led by the goodness of God to turn from fornication and from every unequal yoking, to purge his soul from dead works and to be filled with living works, to accept God's will regarding his relationships and to walk in righteousness, justice and mercy.

We pray also for the woman of whom you speak, that the Lord who has mercy on her who had not obtained mercy would have mercy upon her also, that she may hear the word of God not with angry outbursts but with a softened heart, for we cannot get tears out of a rock except the Lord soften it. May God grant to both souls, if it be His will, true repentance and remission of sins preached in the name of Jesus, and may He establish peace where there has been strife and contention in the house. If they are indeed bound in the covenant of marriage, may the Lord teach them what that covenant requires before Him. If there is sin that must be forsaken, may the Lord give courage to forsake it in holiness and not in malice, that all may be done as God wills and to His glory alone.

We will continue to pray that God be glorified who is holy forever, that this brother may be restored as though he had never fallen, being washed and cleansed, and that both he and all in that household may be found among those who say, You are my God. Amen.