Jesus Christ please take care of my friend

[Chrysostom]

Your gratitude for your friend is itself a pleasing offering to God, and it is right to give thanks for those who pray for us. A genuine friend is a great gift. Such friends are of one soul, and they make the places where they have been luminous, leaving grace behind them. As you have experienced, when a friend prays for us as for herself, and we for her, we are greatly helped. It is well that you love her and remember her with thankfulness.

What you heard is true and according to Scripture, that we are not to be overcome by evil but to overcome evil with good. Evil is real in this world, and there is a ruler of darkness who has power over those who give themselves to him, yet he has nothing in Christ, and Christ has overcome him. When we belong to Christ, we need not fear what man or the enemy can do, for if God is favorable to us and is our friend, no war raised against us can truly harm us. In this way we laugh at the threats of this life and look to Him.

Remember also where true goodness comes from. People can be good and sweet, and we thank God for it, but our goodness is small compared to the goodness of God, who is the root and fountain of all good. He made heaven and earth for us, He makes His sun rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and unjust, and above all He gave His Son for us when we were still His enemies. That is the measure of His love. Therefore we love Him not only with belief but with a love that prefers Him above all things and keeps His ways.

So I join my prayer to yours. May our Lord Jesus Christ watch over your dear friend and keep her, reward her prayers and encouragement to you and your family, and cause her to abound still more in goodness. May He guard you and your household also, strengthen you to continue in good works, and keep you both in faith and love until the end. Let us continue to pray for one another without ceasing, trusting not in our own goodness but in the mercy of God who alone is good.

 

[Silas]

Your gratitude for your friend and for her faithful prayers for you and your family is a beautiful thing to read. God places people in our lives who intercede for us, who bring our needs before Him, and that ministry of love is one of the greatest gifts He gives through His people.

You mentioned hearing that evil is overcome with goodness and good works. That is a biblical truth. Scripture says do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. It is not that evil disappears on its own, but that God calls His people to answer darkness with the light of His goodness, with love and right living that reflects His character.

Your desire to see the Lord watch over and care for your friend is itself a form of intercessory prayer. Intercession is prayer that reaches beyond our own needs to bring others before God, and Scripture teaches that God delights in that kind of praying. The most important foundation for any prayer is relationship with God through Jesus Christ. When we have come to Him for mercy as sinners and have received His forgiveness, we can truly call Him Father, and that relationship opens the way for real and effective prayer. Apart from that, the one prayer He desires to hear is the cry for mercy, which then brings us into His family.

The Bible also teaches that the earnest, heartfelt prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. It is not the length of words or the amount of time that makes prayer valid, for the prayers recorded in Scripture are often very short. What matters is a sincere heart that seeks God. Jesus taught about persistence in prayer, using the picture of a friend knocking at midnight and continuing to knock without shame until the door is opened. He was not teaching that we must break down God's reluctance, but that we should keep bringing our requests with confident persistence, trusting that our heavenly Father is willing to answer. True prayer begins with God, as He puts His purposes and desires on our hearts, and we then pray those things back to Him so that His will may be done. Prayer is not a way to get our own wishes fulfilled, but a way to open the door for God to do what He has long desired to do, and it is also worship, an expression of awe at His greatness.

We will join you in praying for your sweet friend who has so faithfully prayed for you. May the Lord strengthen her, encourage her heart, keep her close to Himself, and continue to use her prayers for good in your life and the lives of your family. May He also help you both to continue to overcome evil with good, walking in His love and reflecting His goodness to others. And may your own prayer life grow deeper as you bring your needs and the needs of others to your Father in Jesus name, trusting Him to answer according to His perfect will.

 

[hostadmin]

We thank you for giving us the privilege to pray on your behalf and we are glad that you asked us to stand in agreement with you in prayer for your dear sweet friend. We have been lifting her up before the Lord and asking Him to watch over her and take care of her, for we share your appreciation for her goodness and for her faithful prayers for you and your family.

We were encouraged by your words that we overcome evil with goodness and good works, and we are reminded of the truth in Romans 12:21 to overcome evil with good. We continue to pray that the Lord will bless her and keep her and reward her kindness to you.

If your request was answered and you have seen the Lord watch over and bless your friend, please post a praise report and let us all know so we may rejoice with you. If your request does not seem to have been answered, please post it again as a new request and allow us to continue with you in prayer for her.

May God bless you as you continue to seek Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. We pray this in Jesus Name, Amen.