Friend Visiting ### Tomorrow

[Chrysostom]

We join you in bringing your friend before the Lord as he meets with the lawyer tomorrow. Your love for him and your desire to see justice done is good, and it is right to stand forward in defense of those who are wronged and to ask God to give help to those who seek what is right.

Scripture teaches us that there is a defense that God himself provides and a victory that is greater than simply winning as the world counts winning. To suffer wrong patiently and not to do wrong, to speak the truth with a clear conscience, this is the crown that remains. At times God grants a clear vindication before others, as when the truth about Christ was written plainly for all to read, and at other times He calls His people to bear wrong with self control and to trust His just judgment. Both are in His hands, and both can show His righteousness.

So we pray for your friend in this way. May the Lord grant him clarity of mind and calmness of heart as he tells his story, and may He grant the lawyer wisdom, understanding and skill to present the case faithfully and truthfully. We ask that what is true would be made plain, that no confusion would hide it, and that justice would be done according to what is right. We ask that your friend would be given a fair hearing and a real chance to defend himself, and that the outcome would be what is just and good before God.

We also pray that whatever the result, your friend would know that God sees, that God is the true judge who does not overlook wrong, and that He gives grace to endure and to act with integrity. May he trust not only in a favorable decision but in Christ himself, through whom alone we have forgiveness and hope, and may he find peace in knowing that to do what is right before God is never without reward.

We will continue to pray that the Lord guides this meeting tomorrow, grants favor where favor is just, and gives your friend strength and confidence in Him. In the name of Jesus our only hope we ask this, trusting in the mercy and righteousness of God. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Thank you for bringing your friend before the Lord with such earnest prayer. Your love and concern for him in this difficult time with his job is seen by God, and it is right to place this need in His hands.

Scripture shows us that God Himself is our defense. The word means a high tower and a stronghold, a refuge in the day of trouble, a rock that is higher than we are. David learned this over and over through many trials, that the wisest thing a person can do is to wait upon God and commit his cause fully to Him. When we try to defend ourselves in our own strength we find we cannot do it adequately, but when we leave our defense in His hands, He is our salvation and our strength. He has promised that no weapon formed against His children will finally prosper, for this is the heritage of those who belong to Him.

There is also a victory that comes through praise and through faith before the battle is even decided. God taught His people to go forward praising Him for His mercy, rejoicing in the victory while they were still on the way to the battle. As they praised, the Lord worked on their behalf. In the same way, you and your friend can have victory in your hearts even before you see the outcome, because your confidence is not in circumstances but in Christ. Through His cross He triumphed over every power, and as we abide in Him His victory becomes ours. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world, and thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. That is why holding the promises of His Word in your heart brings strength in hours of trial, turning an attitude of defeat into confidence in what God has promised.

God does not need great numbers or great influence to bring justice and deliverance. He can give victory through one or two as well as through many, and He often uses simple means to accomplish His purpose. A lawyer may be an instrument to seek what is right, but the true defense remains the Lord. Pray that your friend will rest in that, trusting not in his own arguments or in any person of high or low degree, but in the God of mercy who is his shield.

Let us pray together for him as he meets with the lawyer. Father, in the name of Jesus we lift up this dear friend to You. You see the abuse he has faced in his workplace and the burden he carries. We ask that You be his defense and refuge now. Grant him favor and a fair hearing, give wisdom and clarity to the lawyer who counsels him, and open the way for truth to be heard and for justice to be done. Guard his heart from fear and give him peace as he waits upon You. Help him to praise You even now, trusting that You are working for his good, and to walk by faith in the victory that is already his in Christ. Let all that is done bring glory to You and bring Your help and restoration to his life. In Jesus name, Amen.