Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for opening your heart so honestly and for humbling yourself before the Lord on behalf of the people you love. The weight you are carrying is real. Living on fixed incomes while rent and food and bills keep rising can feel overwhelming, and caring for your mother who lives with dementia, while also carrying concern for your daughter and son in law and grandchildren and your brother, is a lot to hold. The Lord sees your faithfulness and your love for them, and He hears your prayer offered on bended knee.
When trials press in like deep waters that seem ready to swallow us, whether through the loss of a loved one or financial reverses or strain in the family, it is so important to fix our eyes on the Lord rather than on the hard circumstances around us. Scripture pictures a servant watching his master's hand, attentive to every movement, and in the same way we are called to keep our eyes fixed on Christ. Another psalm says, O God, my heart is fixed, I will sing and give praise. And again it says the heart that is fixed trusting in the Lord will not fear when bad news comes. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid. That does not mean the need disappears, but it means we have confidence because we belong to Him and He is watching over us, and whatever comes passes through His hand. He loves you and He is with you in this.
I also want to encourage you not to put God in a box. In the law God gave instructions for what the priest should do in the day that a leper was cleansed. By human wisdom leprosy was incurable, yet God wrote into the law a provision for cleansing, leaving room for Himself to work a miracle if He so desired. Let us always give allowance for God to work as He desires. What looks impossible or incurable to us is not beyond Him. He is able to make a way where we see no way.
Financial hardship is not new to God's people. The early church in Jerusalem suffered desperately and was very poor, and the apostle Paul encouraged believers in other places to set aside as God had prospered them to help those brothers and sisters, to show practical love and to strengthen unity. We also read how believers helped pay medical bills for a brother in great need simply as a sign that he was loved, and how Paul himself labored working with his own hands so he would not be a burden and so no one could accuse him of serving for money. God often provides through the love of His people, and He also honors honest work. If you have not already, prayerfully let a few trusted and mature believers know your practical needs so they can pray with you and consider how to help.
Many ask, what if I do not have enough to meet all my bills, should I still give. The New Testament does not teach giving by compulsion or by a required pledge. It teaches that each one should give as he purposes in his heart, as God has enabled him, not grudgingly or under pressure, for God loves a cheerful giver. There were believers who were themselves poor and going through financial struggles, yet they gave generously out of a willing heart when they were able. The Lord looks at the heart and at willingness, not at an amount that would crush you. Seek Him for wisdom in stewardship, be faithful with what you have, and trust Him to guide you without condemnation.
The Lord has promised, I will abundantly bless her provision, I will satisfy her poor with bread, and her saints shall shout for joy. He knows what it is to need daily bread and to long for a little breathing room, to have your head above water and to live month to month with peace. Bring your specific needs to Him, the rent, the food, the bills, your health and your spouse's health, your mother's care, your daughter and son in law and grandchildren and your brother.
Let me pray for you. Father, in the name of Jesus I bring this dear one and their spouse before You. You know their fixed incomes and the overwhelming bills and the cost of food and rent. You see their faithful care for their mother and their love for their daughter and son in law and grandchildren and their brother. I ask You to provide for their daily needs, to give wisdom for every financial decision, to open doors for extra provision according to Your will, and to give health and strength. Comfort their hearts and fix their eyes and hearts firmly on You so they do not fear. Satisfy the poor with bread and show Your abundant provision. Give peace to this home, guard their mother, draw each family member closer to You through faith in Christ, and keep them all in Your care. Help them to leave room for You to work and to trust Your hand even in deep waters. In Jesus name, Amen.
When trials press in like deep waters that seem ready to swallow us, whether through the loss of a loved one or financial reverses or strain in the family, it is so important to fix our eyes on the Lord rather than on the hard circumstances around us. Scripture pictures a servant watching his master's hand, attentive to every movement, and in the same way we are called to keep our eyes fixed on Christ. Another psalm says, O God, my heart is fixed, I will sing and give praise. And again it says the heart that is fixed trusting in the Lord will not fear when bad news comes. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid. That does not mean the need disappears, but it means we have confidence because we belong to Him and He is watching over us, and whatever comes passes through His hand. He loves you and He is with you in this.
I also want to encourage you not to put God in a box. In the law God gave instructions for what the priest should do in the day that a leper was cleansed. By human wisdom leprosy was incurable, yet God wrote into the law a provision for cleansing, leaving room for Himself to work a miracle if He so desired. Let us always give allowance for God to work as He desires. What looks impossible or incurable to us is not beyond Him. He is able to make a way where we see no way.
Financial hardship is not new to God's people. The early church in Jerusalem suffered desperately and was very poor, and the apostle Paul encouraged believers in other places to set aside as God had prospered them to help those brothers and sisters, to show practical love and to strengthen unity. We also read how believers helped pay medical bills for a brother in great need simply as a sign that he was loved, and how Paul himself labored working with his own hands so he would not be a burden and so no one could accuse him of serving for money. God often provides through the love of His people, and He also honors honest work. If you have not already, prayerfully let a few trusted and mature believers know your practical needs so they can pray with you and consider how to help.
Many ask, what if I do not have enough to meet all my bills, should I still give. The New Testament does not teach giving by compulsion or by a required pledge. It teaches that each one should give as he purposes in his heart, as God has enabled him, not grudgingly or under pressure, for God loves a cheerful giver. There were believers who were themselves poor and going through financial struggles, yet they gave generously out of a willing heart when they were able. The Lord looks at the heart and at willingness, not at an amount that would crush you. Seek Him for wisdom in stewardship, be faithful with what you have, and trust Him to guide you without condemnation.
The Lord has promised, I will abundantly bless her provision, I will satisfy her poor with bread, and her saints shall shout for joy. He knows what it is to need daily bread and to long for a little breathing room, to have your head above water and to live month to month with peace. Bring your specific needs to Him, the rent, the food, the bills, your health and your spouse's health, your mother's care, your daughter and son in law and grandchildren and your brother.
Let me pray for you. Father, in the name of Jesus I bring this dear one and their spouse before You. You know their fixed incomes and the overwhelming bills and the cost of food and rent. You see their faithful care for their mother and their love for their daughter and son in law and grandchildren and their brother. I ask You to provide for their daily needs, to give wisdom for every financial decision, to open doors for extra provision according to Your will, and to give health and strength. Comfort their hearts and fix their eyes and hearts firmly on You so they do not fear. Satisfy the poor with bread and show Your abundant provision. Give peace to this home, guard their mother, draw each family member closer to You through faith in Christ, and keep them all in Your care. Help them to leave room for You to work and to trust Your hand even in deep waters. In Jesus name, Amen.
