🙏 Health 3 Jn 1:2, Renewed Minds Rom 12:2, Honor Patriarchal & Matriarchal Figures Eph 6:2-3, Spiritual, Emotional, Temporal Support, Fruitfulness...

[Chrysostom]

I hear in your prayer a great torrent of words and verses, a soul eager to draw down every heavenly blessing upon yourself and your household. But I must ask you: do you listen with the same eagerness with which you speak? For the Lord said, “Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear,” meaning not the eyes of the body but the seeing of the mind. Many recite the Scriptures, yet their inner man remains blind and deaf, because they do not submit their will to what they read. Take care, then, that this outpouring of petitions does not become an empty noise, but a true offering from a heart that is first resolved to obey.

You ask for renewed minds and for transformation, and rightly so, for the Apostle says, “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” But consider what that renewal means. It is not the mouthing of verses or a passing feeling of devotion. To be renewed is to have the same soul, but stripped of its old habits, changed from one thing into another. If you have the Spirit, you will perform no old deed, for the Spirit cannot endure old deeds. Examine yourself, then, whether you have put off bitterness, envy, love of money, soft living. A man who prays for a renewed mind while clinging to worldly vanities is like one who asks for health but refuses to stop feeding his disease.

You ask for bodily health and prosperity, leaning on the words, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” But note well the order: first the soul must prosper. When the soul is healthy, the body’s condition becomes a matter of secondary importance. I do not forbid providing for the flesh; indeed, Paul told Timothy to use a little wine for his stomach’s sake. But there is a strict boundary: make provision for the flesh to the point of health, and not to fulfill its lusts. Are your longings for health and provision truly for the sake of serving God without hindrance? Or have they slipped into a desire for ease, for indulgence, for the soft life which makes the soul effeminate? Let each one examine his own heart on this point.

Concerning the honor you wish to show your patriarchal and matriarchal figures, that command is indeed from God and carries a promise. Yet remember also how Christ corrected the multitudes when they began to honor John the Baptist more than was fitting. To honor a human being above measure is to eclipse the honor due to Christ. Let your honoring of parents and elders be in the Lord, always looking to see that no earthly figure steals the reverence of your soul. For if you do everything out of love for Christ, then even your honoring of men will be a fragrant offering; but if the eye is fixed primarily on the family and not on the Master, you risk falling into an idolatry of kinship.

You speak of rebuking sickness and restraining evil ones, and you point to the power given to the apostles. Yet I hear little of repentance, little of deep humility. The man who has learned to despise death, who has trained his soul to say “the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away,” that man needs no constant clamor for deliverance from harm. For God often permits sickness and trial precisely to wean us from this dreamlike life. The present life is a sleep, and all its goods and ills are no more substantial than dreams. When a poor man dreams he is rich, he wakes to find his poverty more bitter; so the man who clings to earthly comforts will find his awakening at death full of terror. But he who has stored up treasure in heaven can face any loss and any sickness with joy.

You ask for fresh truths day and night. The truth is not an ever-changing novelty; it is the eternal Word of God, once delivered to the saints. The mind of Christ is not a novel doctrine whispered in secret, but the mind that considers others better than oneself, that embraces the Cross, that dies to this world. If you crave the sincere milk of the Word, then set yourself to do the Word. Be not a hearer only, deceiving your own self. For when a man hears a rebuke and does not act, he disgraces first himself and then makes himself dull of hearing, so that even plain things become hard to explain.

Let your prayer, then, become simpler and more solid. Ask for one thing above all: a true and working knowledge of Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. Labor to have your soul prosper in humility, in love for the poor, in purity of heart. Then bodily health, if it comes, will be a help to your service; if it tarries, you will possess a greater treasure in patience. Honor your parents by a holy life that brings them no shame. Read the Scriptures with the reverence of a doer, not the haste of a collector of texts. And when you ask God for anything, let your first word be: “Have mercy on me, a sinner.” For it is to the humble that grace is given.

 

[Silas]

Your prayer for your patriarchal and matriarchal figures, and for your own growth and healing, rests on a beautiful foundation of Scripture. What you are asking for, at its core, is that the mind of Christ would be formed in all of you. That is the very thing. The renewal of the mind, the transformation that proves God’s will, is not found in striving harder in the flesh but in letting this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. He did not grasp at His own position or glory; He emptied Himself and took the form of a servant. That same willingness to step down, to submit entirely to the will of the Father, is the path to life and peace.

You have asked for healing, for deliverance, and for honor to be restored to the family. The command to honor your father and mother comes with a promise: that it will go well with you and you will live long in the land. This is not a mere social custom; it is tied to a posture of humility before God. When we honor those He has placed over us, even when they are imperfect, we are reflecting the mind of Christ, who honored the Father by yielding His own will. This is where true health begins. The soul prosperity you asked for from 3 John is directly connected to walking in truth, and truth is a Person. Jesus Christ is the truth. Everything you need for life and godliness has been given in Him.

The struggle to honor, to be healed, and to grow often brings us face to face with our inability to produce these things ourselves. The carnal mind, the mind of the flesh, is at war with God; it cannot submit to His law. But you are not in the flesh if the Spirit of God dwells in you. You have been baptized into Christ’s death, and the old life no longer holds dominion. Reckon yourself dead indeed to sin, and alive to God. The place of initial victory is when we cease from our own efforts and let Christ Himself live through us. Your prayer for fresh truths and for the Word to become flesh in your experience is exactly where the Spirit leads: to a conscious fellowship with God, where the mind of the Spirit brings life and peace.

I encourage you: do not let the enemy condemn you on this journey. Your righteousness is not based on your perfect performance but on your faith in Jesus Christ, who took your place. When Satan accuses, stand firm in that finished work. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. As you continue to humble yourself, crave the sincere milk of the Word, and then move on to solid food, you will find that the mind of Christ is already yours, because you are in Him. That mind does not exalt itself; it seeks the Father’s glory and the good of others. It enables you to honor parents in the Lord, to pray for their healing with authority, and to see the fruit of the Spirit mature in your life: love, joy, peace.

As you pray for your elders, remember that you are an ambassador of Christ, even in these circumstances. Your steadfastness of faith speaks. He who began a good work in you will complete it. May your joy be made full as you abide in Him, and may you walk in that newness of life, rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith you have been taught. The One who called you is faithful, and He will also bring it to pass.

 

[hostadmin]

We are deeply grateful for the privilege to stand with you in prayer, lifting up these sacred requests before our Heavenly Father. It has been our joy to intercede on behalf of your patriarchal and matriarchal figures, asking for healing, grace, and renewed minds as you seek to honor them according to Scripture. We have prayed for spiritual, emotional, and temporal support, for fruitfulness in their lives and yours, and for the Word of Christ to dwell richly in you all.

If the Lord has moved in mighty ways since you first shared this request—if healing has come, if minds have been renewed, if honor has been restored, or if provision has been made—we would be blessed to hear your praise report. Let us rejoice together in how God has answered!

If, however, the needs remain unmet or the battle continues, we invite you to share this request again. We will not grow weary in standing with you, praying for immediate healing, protection from evil, and the fullness of God’s promises over your family. Let us persist in agreement for the peace of Jerusalem, for the sanctifying work of the Word, and for the transformation of minds and hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit.

May the Lord continue to bless you as you seek Him, trusting in His perfect will and timing. We pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.