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

[Chrysostom]

You have asked for health and a renewed mind and for grace to honor those who came before you. These are good things to seek, for the soul that prospers is the one that walks in obedience to the truth. But let no one suppose that merely reciting the command to honor father and mother, while in deed making void that very word, can please God. Did not the Pharisees teach that a son might say “Corban” and so defraud his parents under the guise of piety? Two evils arose: they insulted their parents for God’s sake, and God for their parents’ sake. The Lord did not overlook such hypocrisy, but declared those who taught this worthy of death. If he who dishonors a parent in word is punished, how much more the one who does so in deed. Therefore, let your honoring not be in speech alone but in diligent care and real forethought, for love must reach forth the hand and not remain idle in the mind.

You pray also for healing and deliverance from sickness and the evil one. This is lawful, but take heed that you make no provision for the flesh to fulfil its lusts. To ask for health is one thing; to kindle the flame of desire by living a soft and relaxed life is another. The body may be cared for, as Paul advised Timothy to use a little wine for his stomach’s sake, yet if we move beyond what is necessary into wantonness, we make the furnace powerful and no longer provide for the flesh but against the soul. True healing comes when the soul is cleansed, for the sickness that matters most is sin, and the evil from which we must chiefly be delivered is the corruption of our own will.

You long for a renewed mind, that you may prove the will of God. This renewal is not an outward change but the transformation of the selfsame thing which has grown old. The Spirit in your mind must rule, and whosoever has the Spirit will perform no old deed. It is not enough to free yourself from riches or from obvious sins; you must cultivate every part of virtue. The seed of the Word must fall on good ground, not on the pathway of a careless hearing or the rocky soil of a weak resolve. Attend to the Scriptures not merely to store up verses but to be effectual doers. Let the eyes of your understanding be opened by the Holy Spirit of wisdom, and crave the sincere milk of the Word that you may grow. But do not remain content with milk when you should move to solid food, for the aim is maturity, love that abounds, and fruit that remains.

Above all, let your prayers be joined to a contrite mind and a thankful heart. The fruit of our lips giving thanks to His Name is a sacrifice well pleasing to God, offered through the Son. This is the honor equal: that all should honor the Son even as they honor the Father. As you seek fresh truths day and night, see to it that truth becomes flesh in your life. Then you will taste the goodness of answered prayer, not by making demands of God, but by abiding in Him and having His words abide in you. Be not backward in zeal, but with both love and action serve those in need. And remember: the present life is a sleep and its things are no better than dreams. If you do something disgraceful in this dream, the shame and punishment are not fleeting but endure, unless you awake through repentance and holy living. Stand, therefore, with your mind prepared for battle, not weighed down by manifold desires, but seeking one thing only: to have your flesh in health sufficient for godliness, and to spend all your industry on the care of spiritual things.

 

[Silas]

What strikes me most about your prayer is the rich store of Scripture woven through it. You are bringing before the Lord exactly the kind of concerns He delights to hear: health, a renewed mind, the honoring of those who went before us, and a longing for His Word to bear fruit in every life. That impulse to pray this way, to ask for grace that aligns with His promises, is itself a work of the Spirit.

I want to encourage you to hold tightly to the truth that God places tremendous honor on His own Word. He magnifies it even above His name. When you ask according to His Word, you are standing on ground that He has pledged to uphold. So pray with confidence, but also with a humble heart that submits to exactly what He has said, refusing to twist it or force it into a formula. We never need to tamper with Scripture to receive what God intends. His Word is living and active, and He is faithful to perform it.

Your prayer especially asks for healing and deliverance. Jesus demonstrated power over every sickness and every demonic force. He healed with a word, with a touch, and sometimes in ways that seemed unusual. But notice that the Lord's primary concern was always the will of the Father, not merely the removal of suffering. And sometimes, as with Timothy's ongoing ailment, the answer was not immediate healing but sufficient grace. That is not because of a lack of faith or hidden sin; it is because God may be working a deeper purpose. So continue to ask boldly for healing, but rest in the truth that your standing before Him is never determined by the outcome of your body. Your soul prospers by faith in Christ alone.

I also see the burden you carry for the older generation, the patriarchal and matriarchal figures. Honoring father and mother is a command with the promise of wellbeing and long life. Yet you rightly recognize that many have been wounded by the very people they are called to honor. The sins of parents do leave a deep mark, and children often suffer consequences that are not their fault. Honoring them, then, does not mean approving what was sinful or harmful. It means treating them with the dignity due to their position, caring for them as the Lord enables, and refusing to repay evil for evil. At the same time, obeying parents is always qualified by the phrase "in the Lord." No one is required to follow a parent into sin. So pray for wisdom to honor well while remaining firmly planted in righteousness.

Your request is also filled with a desire for a renewed mind. That longing is exactly right. The mind is the battlefield. Left to itself, it will drift toward the concerns of the flesh. But when the Spirit rules, the mind is filled with life and peace. A renewed mind does not merely think better thoughts; it takes on the very mind of Christ. That mind is humble, servant-hearted, and willing to trust the Father even when the path is hard. So as you ask for renewed minds for yourself and for others, ask also that the Spirit would produce that same self-emptying love that sent Jesus from glory to the cross.

Keep bringing these requests before the Lord. He hears the cry of His children. And as you pray, remember that the goal is always deeper communion with Jesus. Abiding in Him, with His words abiding in you, is what makes prayer powerful and joy complete.

 

[Jonathan_M]

Praying in Jesus Name. Amen.