Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your prayer has been received and we join our voice with yours before the Father, giving thanks that Christ dwells in us as the hope of glory and that He who is in us is indeed greater than he who is in the world. We thank God also that there are more with us than against us, as Elisha prayed and the eyes of his servant were opened.
You have rightly seen that this struggle is not against flesh and blood. This commonwealth of the Church is at war not with men but with devils and incorporeal powers, and therefore our Captain is not a man or an angel but God Himself. For this reason the armor is not made of hides and steel but of truth and righteousness and faith and love of wisdom. You ask for grace to stand firm against the schemes of the devil, and God gives that grace when we take up the weapons He Himself used on earth, prayer and fasting and preaching and teaching and love and suffering and communion with His Holy Spirit.
We pray with you for your loved ones who are blinded, that God would open their eyes. We ask the Lord to teach us all to intercede without ceasing, to sigh and cry over what grieves Him, to weep between porch and altar with a broken heart, and to wrestle in prayer not against people but against the dark powers above. We ask for grace to fast as God has chosen, not as a boast or a trumpet sounded before men, but as a true humbling of the soul. Such fasting, when joined with kindness to others, is light and winged. It makes prayer wakeful and vehement, it quenches wicked desires, it humbles the lifted soul and quenches the fire of wrath. If the body is too weak to fast continually, we can still keep prayer constant and turn away from luxury, for nothing delights the evil spirit so much as indulgence, and nothing so helps to drive him away as a sincere man or woman given to prayer.
Remember also the other ways God has opened for our help. First to confess our own sins before Him, for to accuse ourselves continually lessens the weight of sin. Then to forgive those who have offended us and to bear malice toward none. Then to redeem our sins by almsgiving and mercy to the poor, for as water quenches a blazing fire so alms purge sins. And with all these, to continue steadfast in prayer and thanksgiving. We are commanded to make supplications and prayers and intercessions and thanksgivings for all people, and to give thanks for the good that comes to our neighbor, since God makes His sun to shine on the evil and the good. This binds us together in love. Let no bitter word or curse come from the mouth that has been counted worthy to pray to God, for cursing and prayer are far apart. If we are to pray for enemies, how much more for brothers and for those we love who are astray.
We stand with you in the full armor of God. We stand with the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness received by faith, with feet made ready by the gospel of peace which is offered even to the enemies of God, with the shield of faith to extinguish the fiery darts of the ancient serpent, and with the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God, that word which proclaims the death of the Messiah in our place to satisfy a holy God and the gift of His righteousness received freely, by which we are born again and assured of salvation. With all prayer and petition let us pray at all times in the Spirit, persevering and watching for all the saints, and asking for boldness to make known the mystery of the gospel.
Take courage, for our High Priest ever lives to make intercession for us. He who raises the dead and has all judgment is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, because He does not die and has no successor. The victory belongs to the Lord. He keeps us from temptation and delivers us from the evil one. So we bring our requests to God with thanksgiving, trusting that the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
May the God of love and peace be with you as you continue steadfast, of one mind, living in peace and love. May He grant you perseverance, a pure heart, bold utterance, and rest for your soul, and may He bring those you love out of darkness into His marvelous light. We ask all this in the name of Jesus, in whom all the promises of God are Yes and Amen.
You have rightly seen that this struggle is not against flesh and blood. This commonwealth of the Church is at war not with men but with devils and incorporeal powers, and therefore our Captain is not a man or an angel but God Himself. For this reason the armor is not made of hides and steel but of truth and righteousness and faith and love of wisdom. You ask for grace to stand firm against the schemes of the devil, and God gives that grace when we take up the weapons He Himself used on earth, prayer and fasting and preaching and teaching and love and suffering and communion with His Holy Spirit.
We pray with you for your loved ones who are blinded, that God would open their eyes. We ask the Lord to teach us all to intercede without ceasing, to sigh and cry over what grieves Him, to weep between porch and altar with a broken heart, and to wrestle in prayer not against people but against the dark powers above. We ask for grace to fast as God has chosen, not as a boast or a trumpet sounded before men, but as a true humbling of the soul. Such fasting, when joined with kindness to others, is light and winged. It makes prayer wakeful and vehement, it quenches wicked desires, it humbles the lifted soul and quenches the fire of wrath. If the body is too weak to fast continually, we can still keep prayer constant and turn away from luxury, for nothing delights the evil spirit so much as indulgence, and nothing so helps to drive him away as a sincere man or woman given to prayer.
Remember also the other ways God has opened for our help. First to confess our own sins before Him, for to accuse ourselves continually lessens the weight of sin. Then to forgive those who have offended us and to bear malice toward none. Then to redeem our sins by almsgiving and mercy to the poor, for as water quenches a blazing fire so alms purge sins. And with all these, to continue steadfast in prayer and thanksgiving. We are commanded to make supplications and prayers and intercessions and thanksgivings for all people, and to give thanks for the good that comes to our neighbor, since God makes His sun to shine on the evil and the good. This binds us together in love. Let no bitter word or curse come from the mouth that has been counted worthy to pray to God, for cursing and prayer are far apart. If we are to pray for enemies, how much more for brothers and for those we love who are astray.
We stand with you in the full armor of God. We stand with the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness received by faith, with feet made ready by the gospel of peace which is offered even to the enemies of God, with the shield of faith to extinguish the fiery darts of the ancient serpent, and with the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God, that word which proclaims the death of the Messiah in our place to satisfy a holy God and the gift of His righteousness received freely, by which we are born again and assured of salvation. With all prayer and petition let us pray at all times in the Spirit, persevering and watching for all the saints, and asking for boldness to make known the mystery of the gospel.
Take courage, for our High Priest ever lives to make intercession for us. He who raises the dead and has all judgment is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, because He does not die and has no successor. The victory belongs to the Lord. He keeps us from temptation and delivers us from the evil one. So we bring our requests to God with thanksgiving, trusting that the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
May the God of love and peace be with you as you continue steadfast, of one mind, living in peace and love. May He grant you perseverance, a pure heart, bold utterance, and rest for your soul, and may He bring those you love out of darkness into His marvelous light. We ask all this in the name of Jesus, in whom all the promises of God are Yes and Amen.
