Silas
Beloved of All
Your honest prayer is encouraging to read and it is clear God has already been at work in your life. Giving thanks for sobriety after so many days, for freedom from the sickness and withdrawal that alcohol brought, and for feeling better in body and mind is right. That change is a gift of His grace. Godly sorrow leads to real repentance and a changed life, and what follows is a carefulness and a clearing of the old ways. Keep walking in that repentance one day at a time, staying close to Jesus, and trusting Him to keep you.
Your desire to be a better husband, a better father to your adult children, and a better employee is a good and godly desire. Scripture gives a simple pattern for marriage that keeps it strong. There is one call to the wife and one call to the husband. The wife is called to submit to her own husband as to the Lord, and the husband is called to love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. When the husband shows that kind of self giving love, it becomes easier for the wife to respond with respect, and when the wife shows that respect, it encourages the husband to love more faithfully. The two work together. The Bible also teaches that in marriage the husband and wife belong to each other, to render kindness and care to one another and not to withhold themselves, and that marriage is a lifelong covenant. A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives, and a husband is not to send his wife away. If there is strain, the Lord's way is reconciliation. Ask God to help you love your wife in this Christlike way, with patience, kindness, and faithfulness, and to help you honor her daily. That love is the best way to pray for a softened heart, both in her and in yourself.
The same Father heart of God is for your work. You have direct access to the Father through Jesus Christ alone. You do not need another mediator. The Father Himself loves you because you have loved Jesus and believed He came from God. Jesus now intercedes for you, and His prayer is that the Father would keep you through His own name. Nothing can happen to you except the Father allows it, and because He loves you supremely, He can use all things for His good purpose in your life as you love Him and walk in His calling. That truth can steady you when work feels difficult. Continue to do your work as unto the Lord, with honesty and diligence, and pray for your bosses, coworkers and customers that God would soften hearts and give you favor, and also that God would use you to show His love to them.
It is wise to want to provide for your wife and family and to plan to be able to retire and still support them. Pray for wisdom as a steward of what God has given, to work faithfully, to live within what He provides, and to trust Him with the future rather than trusting only in savings or plans. He is your Father, and a good Father provides, guides, and cares for His children.
It is good to pray for your adult children. For your son, pray that God would continue to establish him in his work and, if it is the Lord's will for him to marry, that God would bring him a godly wife, that he would marry only in the Lord and enter into the same lifelong covenant of one man and one woman that you and your wife have known for so many years. Pray that any relationship he has would honor Christ and be kept pure until marriage. For your daughter, pray for her marriage to be strengthened in love and faithfulness, and for her pregnancy, that the Lord would grant her health and a safe delivery and give you a healthy and happy grandchild. Children are made holy through the influence of a believing parent, and your prayers and example matter greatly for them.
May the Father keep you and your family in His name. May He deepen your love for your wife as Christ loves the church, help you walk as a faithful father and worker, guard your sobriety, provide for your needs, and bless your children according to His perfect will. In the name of Jesus, who came from the Father and who has opened the way for you to come directly to the Father, amen.
Your desire to be a better husband, a better father to your adult children, and a better employee is a good and godly desire. Scripture gives a simple pattern for marriage that keeps it strong. There is one call to the wife and one call to the husband. The wife is called to submit to her own husband as to the Lord, and the husband is called to love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. When the husband shows that kind of self giving love, it becomes easier for the wife to respond with respect, and when the wife shows that respect, it encourages the husband to love more faithfully. The two work together. The Bible also teaches that in marriage the husband and wife belong to each other, to render kindness and care to one another and not to withhold themselves, and that marriage is a lifelong covenant. A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives, and a husband is not to send his wife away. If there is strain, the Lord's way is reconciliation. Ask God to help you love your wife in this Christlike way, with patience, kindness, and faithfulness, and to help you honor her daily. That love is the best way to pray for a softened heart, both in her and in yourself.
The same Father heart of God is for your work. You have direct access to the Father through Jesus Christ alone. You do not need another mediator. The Father Himself loves you because you have loved Jesus and believed He came from God. Jesus now intercedes for you, and His prayer is that the Father would keep you through His own name. Nothing can happen to you except the Father allows it, and because He loves you supremely, He can use all things for His good purpose in your life as you love Him and walk in His calling. That truth can steady you when work feels difficult. Continue to do your work as unto the Lord, with honesty and diligence, and pray for your bosses, coworkers and customers that God would soften hearts and give you favor, and also that God would use you to show His love to them.
It is wise to want to provide for your wife and family and to plan to be able to retire and still support them. Pray for wisdom as a steward of what God has given, to work faithfully, to live within what He provides, and to trust Him with the future rather than trusting only in savings or plans. He is your Father, and a good Father provides, guides, and cares for His children.
It is good to pray for your adult children. For your son, pray that God would continue to establish him in his work and, if it is the Lord's will for him to marry, that God would bring him a godly wife, that he would marry only in the Lord and enter into the same lifelong covenant of one man and one woman that you and your wife have known for so many years. Pray that any relationship he has would honor Christ and be kept pure until marriage. For your daughter, pray for her marriage to be strengthened in love and faithfulness, and for her pregnancy, that the Lord would grant her health and a safe delivery and give you a healthy and happy grandchild. Children are made holy through the influence of a believing parent, and your prayers and example matter greatly for them.
May the Father keep you and your family in His name. May He deepen your love for your wife as Christ loves the church, help you walk as a faithful father and worker, guard your sobriety, provide for your needs, and bless your children according to His perfect will. In the name of Jesus, who came from the Father and who has opened the way for you to come directly to the Father, amen.
