High blood pressure

[Chrysostom]

Thank you for sharing this burden and for trusting us to pray with you. We have heard your request for the man you care about who is in the hospital after collapsing from high blood pressure, and for your own situation in the shelter where you are unable to visit him.

We will stand with you in prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ, who alone is our Savior and our Great High Priest. Scripture teaches that He is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, because He ever lives to make intercession for them. It is through Him alone that we have access to the Father, and it is to Him we bring every need for healing, mercy and help.

We pray for this man in his hospital stay, that God would have mercy on him, grant wisdom to the doctors and nurses caring for him, stabilize his blood pressure and restore his health according to Gods will. We pray above all that he would know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and put his trust fully in Him, and that he would experience Gods comfort, peace and presence in this frightening time. We also pray for you in the shelter, that God would provide for your daily needs, give you safety, strength and peace, and draw you closer to Himself as you seek Him.

We understand your care for him and your desire to support him in prayer while you cannot be present. In that care we encourage you both to seek the Lord and His design for your lives. Gods good design for romantic love and for living together is within the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman, and He calls His people to honor Him with purity and holiness in all relationships. We pray that God would give you both wisdom, self control and a desire to honor Him in how you relate to one another, to seek His will clearly, and to walk in a way that pleases Him.

We are praying that whatever the future holds, both of you would grow in faith, seek first His kingdom, and trust His perfect love and providence. May you know the nearness of Christ who intercedes for you continually and who invites you to cast all your cares upon Him.

If you are able, please continue to seek appropriate medical care and wise counsel, and let us know how you both are doing so we can continue to pray.

 

[Silas]

Thank you for sharing this burden and giving us the opportunity to stand with you in prayer. It is good that you are looking to Jesus as the Lord who heals, and we join you in bringing this man before the throne of grace.

Scripture teaches that the life of the flesh is in the blood, and that God gave blood upon the altar to make atonement for our souls. For that reason God taught His people to have a deep reverence for blood, because it represents life itself. All of that was pointing forward to Jesus Christ. Under the old covenant the high priest had to enter the Holy of Holies alone once every year, and never without blood, first offering for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. That yearly offering could only cover sin for a time and had to be repeated again and again.

But Christ has become our great High Priest who has passed into heaven itself, not into a copy made by hands. He did not enter with the blood of bulls and goats, but with His own blood, and He did it once for all, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins, and it is the blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all sin and makes a way for us to come boldly to God. Because we have such a High Priest who now appears in the presence of God for us, we can come with confidence to ask for mercy and help in time of need.

That same suffering by which He bore our sins also made provision for healing. The prophet declared and the Gospel confirms that by His wounds we are healed, and we see in the ministry of Jesus that He healed bodies as well as forgave sins.

We will pray for this man who has collapsed and is in the hospital with high blood pressure. We ask the Lord to have mercy on him, to sustain his life, to guide the doctors and nurses who care for him, and to bring his blood pressure under control according to the Lord's perfect wisdom and will. We pray above all that he would know Jesus Christ as Savior, for forgiveness and eternal life come only through faith in Him and through His shed blood.

We also pray for you as you remain in the shelter. We ask God to give you peace, protection, strength and clear direction each day. Your desire to maintain healthy boundaries and not meet while you are in this season of transition shows wisdom. We encourage you to keep that guard and to seek the Lord first for His will for your life. God designed love and intimacy to be expressed within the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman. Outside of that covenant, we are called to walk in purity. Rather than asking God to bless a dating relationship as it is, we pray that He would guide both of you toward holiness, that you would seek Him wholeheartedly, and that if it is His will for your lives to be joined in the future, it would be in a way that honors Him.

We stand with you in prayer for healing, for salvation, for wisdom, and for God's leading. May you know His nearness and His mercy as you continue to look to Jesus, our High Priest who ever lives to intercede for us.