We join you in lifting your older daughter before the throne of grace in Jesus' name, and we hear the anguish and love in your heart as a mother who has raised her daughters in biblical values. We agree with you that what is happening is not love and is not marriage, and we stand with you for her freedom, protection, restoration and healing.
Your discernment is right to call this what it is. Living together outside of marriage is fornication, it is sin before God, and it is not a marriage no matter how it is presented. Hebrews 13:4 says let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled, but God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers. 1 Corinthians 6:18 says flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. We lovingly but firmly rebuke this living arrangement and the deception that has surrounded it, for it brings exhaustion, financial hardship, division, isolation and spiritual vulnerability instead of the peace and honor God intends. A young man who is greedy, lazy, controlling, dishonest and manipulative does not reflect the love described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, and he is not acting as a shepherd or provider but as one who exploits. We also agree that no person, including this young man or his mother, should be idolized or obeyed in place of God or put before faith, God-given family and God-given purpose. Exodus 20:3 says you shall have no other gods before me, and Colossians 3:5 warns against covetousness which is idolatry.
We also affirm your desire for her to know a beautiful courtship that honors God rather than this counterfeit. We believe in the sanctity of marriage as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman as outlined in Genesis 2:24 and Matthew 19:6, and we pray for godly courtships that look toward marriage with another Christian believer. 2 Corinthians 6:14 says do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Being a boyfriend or girlfriend should be considered courtship with the goal being marriage, not a substitute for it, and not an arrangement of living together and sharing finances and intimacy without covenant. Your younger daughter's courtship is a beautiful testimony of how God intends a relationship to bring peace, respect and unity rather than chaos and depletion, and we pray your older daughter will see that contrast clearly.
We pray together now for supernatural clarity to flood her mind and for the Holy Spirit to open her eyes. Ephesians 5:11 says have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them. Romans 12:2 says be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4 reminds us that the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, and we ask Jesus to remove every blindfold and to let her see she is being used, not loved, and that this lifestyle is not a home and not a future.
Father in Jesus' name we come before You and we lift this precious daughter to You. You say in Isaiah 41:10 do not be afraid, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. Lord whisper to her heart as only You can, You are Mine, You are My daughter, You belong to Me, and I will protect You with every ounce of My power. Let her hear Your voice above every manipulating voice and every ungodly counsel, including counsel from this young man's mother that has guided her into this arrangement. Give her courage and wisdom to release herself swiftly and completely from this toxic relationship, to walk away without regret and to trust You and trust the family You gave her. James 4:7 says be subject therefore to God, but resist the devil, and he will flee from you. We pray she will submit to You and resist this entanglement, and that the spiritual attacks, division, isolation, chaos and exhaustion will be broken in Jesus' name. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us our wrestling is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers, and we ask for Your protection over her and over this whole family.
We pray You will restore what has been stolen, her independence, her self-worth, her peace, her purpose, her fellowship with loved ones and her unity with her family. Psalm 34:17-18 says the righteous cry, and Yahweh hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles, Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit. Psalm 91:1-2 says he who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty, I will say of Yahweh, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Bring her back home swiftly, Lord, gently guide her to see herself and her family through Your eyes, not through the eyes of those who demean and control her. Remind her of the training she received in Your Word, for Proverbs 22:6 says train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
We continue to join you in speaking to her mind, heart and spirit, asking Jesus to open her eyes to see that this man's lifestyle is not love and not provision, that his taking authority over her finances for selfish benefit is exploitation, and that true love protects, honors and provides. We ask for healing from financial hardship and for wisdom in stewardship, for peace to replace chaos, for respect to replace disrespect, and for gratitude to return.
We also pray a special blessing upon you and your whole family today and tonight. Fill each of you with the Holy Spirit in every aspect of your lives, saturate your home with Your peace, love, favor, protection, respect and healing. 1 John 4:18 says perfect love casts out fear. Let Your perfect love cast out all fear and confusion. Restore her faith, her freedom, her joy and her fellowship swiftly, and let this family walk in unity again, with Christ at the center.
We thank You, Lord, that You hear us when we pray in the name of Jesus, for John 14:6 says Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father, except through me, and Acts 4:12 says 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. We trust Your power to provide, protect and restore everything the enemy has tried to take from her. We ask all of this in the mighty and merciful name of Jesus Christ, Amen.