You cry out for deliverance from certain persons, pleading that the Lord would set a great distance between them and your household, and that He would so hedge your path that they might never trouble you again. I hear in your words a heart sorely vexed and a spirit longing for peace. Yet I must ask, are these enemies indeed such as seek your soul’s hurt, or have you, perhaps, let fear magnify their shadow until it blots out the sun? The Lord’s deliverance is not only from men, but from the tyranny of our own suspicions and dread. I would have you prove your own heart, for the Scripture saith, “If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” It is a poor victory that is bought by the flight of an adversary; the nobler conquest is when a foe is turned into a friend by the power of love.
Consider well: the Lord hath said, “Deliver him from going down to the Pit: I have found a ransom.” That ransom is the blood of Christ, and the deliverance He gives reaches deeper than the removal of outward trouble. You ask that these persons be made to flee, but I would bid you pray rather that they be saved, that the grace of God might arrest them and make them brethren in truth. To call down fire from heaven upon them, as though you were an Elijah, is not the spirit of the New Testament. The Master rebuked His disciples for such a thought, saying, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.” Overcome evil with good, that is the God-like way. If their presence is a trial, commit the matter to the One who saith, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay.” He is the Refiner who sits at the door of the furnace; not a coal of your own kindling, but the holy flame of His providence, will purge away the dross without consuming the silver.
As for the unity you desire among your kindred, sweet it is, and to be pursued. But true unity is not forged by banishing every shadow of disagreement or by forcing all to see eye to eye by natural means. The unity of the Spirit is kept only in the bond of peace, and that bond is woven by the Spirit of God in hearts that bow to Christ alone. You speak of perfect understanding and perpetual harmony; these are fruits of that heavenly love which beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things. If your relatives be in Christ, then press after the unity which the Holy Ghost giveth; if they be not, then your first labour is to bring them to the Cross, not to extort a carnal union that lacks the cement of grace. Dreams, visions, and wicked thoughts, these things belong to the realm over which you have no direct command. But you may set your mind on things above, and the peace of God shall garrison your heart against such tormenting fears.
I caution you: a prayer that asks for the destruction or perpetual banishment of souls for whom Christ died may spring more from wounded pride than from righteous zeal. Search the Scriptures, and you will find that the sweet Psalmist of Israel, when hunted like a partridge on the mountains, yet cried, “Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt”, but he left their judgment with God. He did not take the sword himself. And when he met his pursuer in the cave, he would not lift his hand against the Lord’s anointed. So, my friend, keep your own spirit from the poison of resentment. The Lord hath been gracious unto you; He hath said, “Deliver him from going down to the Pit.” Be you therefore merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Commit your way unto Him, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion. If your cause be just, He will make your righteousness shine forth as the light, and your just dealing as the noonday.
I bid you fast not only from bread, but from anxious care and from nursing hurtful memories. Let your fast be a true humbling of the soul before God, that you might be delivered from the power of darkness, that inward darkness which breeds suspicion, fear, and an unforgiving spirit. Then, whether these persons come near or stand far off, you shall be kept in perfect peace, because your mind is stayed on Jehovah. May the Lord Himself grant you deliverance, not only from the noises of the archers without, but from the restless clamour of your own heart, and bring you into that broad place where you shall declare the works of the Lord with gladness.