Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your sorrow over your husband leaving has been heard, and we have brought your request before the Lord with you. We grieve with you in this separation, and we pray for mercy and restoration according to God's will.
Scripture teaches that marriage is a lifelong covenant. For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he lives, and if while her husband lives she be joined to another she is called an adulteress. In the same way the command is that a wife depart not from her husband, but if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. This is why we do not pray for a new relationship or for you to move on to another, but we pray for faithfulness in this covenant and, if it be the Lord's will, for true reconciliation.
We pray also for your husband's deliverance. The places of gambling and spectacle are not harmless entertainment. They have long been known as subverters of homes, where marriages are plotted against and husbands are made insupportable to their wives and drawn away even from the marriage bed. They promise gain but bring a grievous tyranny that overthrows houses. We pray that God would open his eyes to see this snare, convict him of his sin, bring him to repentance through Jesus Christ alone, and set him free from bondage to the casino life. We pray that the Lord would draw him to salvation if he does not know Christ, for only in Christ is there power to be made new.
We pray with you that your husband would feel the weight of what he has left, that God would stir his conscience, order his steps, and if it is wise and safe, open a door for you to talk things out in truth and peace. We ask God to order his steps away from that place of temptation and toward home, not merely from sentiment, but from repentance and a desire to honor his vows before God.
As you wait, commit this whole matter into the hands of Christ and beseech Him to be present in your marriage, for marriage is a great mystery that speaks of Christ and the Church. Do not seek to win him back by outward display or expensive adornment, for a profligate heart is not restrained by such things. Rather, as you have opportunity, let gentleness, meekness, propriety, and freedom from pride do their quiet work. Even if he is now debased, these are the things which more effectually win a husband, and they keep your own soul in order and peace while you trust God.
Remain steadfast in prayer, remain faithful to your covenant, and guard your own heart from bitterness. Seek counsel from faithful believers near you who can walk with you, pray with you, and help discern what is wise and safe in any meeting or conversation.
Let us pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, have mercy on this wife in her loneliness and on her husband in his wandering. Forgive sin, break the power of gambling, deliver this man from the love of that life, and bring him to repentance and faith in Christ. Heal what has been broken, order his steps according to Your word, and if it is Your will, bring reconciliation that is holy and lasting. Give this wife strength to remain faithful, to remain unmarried to any other, to be patient and gentle, and to trust You with her future. We ask this not to bless what is sinful, but to redeem what is broken for Your glory. Amen.
Scripture teaches that marriage is a lifelong covenant. For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he lives, and if while her husband lives she be joined to another she is called an adulteress. In the same way the command is that a wife depart not from her husband, but if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. This is why we do not pray for a new relationship or for you to move on to another, but we pray for faithfulness in this covenant and, if it be the Lord's will, for true reconciliation.
We pray also for your husband's deliverance. The places of gambling and spectacle are not harmless entertainment. They have long been known as subverters of homes, where marriages are plotted against and husbands are made insupportable to their wives and drawn away even from the marriage bed. They promise gain but bring a grievous tyranny that overthrows houses. We pray that God would open his eyes to see this snare, convict him of his sin, bring him to repentance through Jesus Christ alone, and set him free from bondage to the casino life. We pray that the Lord would draw him to salvation if he does not know Christ, for only in Christ is there power to be made new.
We pray with you that your husband would feel the weight of what he has left, that God would stir his conscience, order his steps, and if it is wise and safe, open a door for you to talk things out in truth and peace. We ask God to order his steps away from that place of temptation and toward home, not merely from sentiment, but from repentance and a desire to honor his vows before God.
As you wait, commit this whole matter into the hands of Christ and beseech Him to be present in your marriage, for marriage is a great mystery that speaks of Christ and the Church. Do not seek to win him back by outward display or expensive adornment, for a profligate heart is not restrained by such things. Rather, as you have opportunity, let gentleness, meekness, propriety, and freedom from pride do their quiet work. Even if he is now debased, these are the things which more effectually win a husband, and they keep your own soul in order and peace while you trust God.
Remain steadfast in prayer, remain faithful to your covenant, and guard your own heart from bitterness. Seek counsel from faithful believers near you who can walk with you, pray with you, and help discern what is wise and safe in any meeting or conversation.
Let us pray together. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, have mercy on this wife in her loneliness and on her husband in his wandering. Forgive sin, break the power of gambling, deliver this man from the love of that life, and bring him to repentance and faith in Christ. Heal what has been broken, order his steps according to Your word, and if it is Your will, bring reconciliation that is holy and lasting. Give this wife strength to remain faithful, to remain unmarried to any other, to be patient and gentle, and to trust You with her future. We ask this not to bless what is sinful, but to redeem what is broken for Your glory. Amen.
