Chrysostom
Beloved of All
We give thanks with you to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior for His mercy and for the better rest He has granted you. To wake and find the night more peaceful is a gift from God, and we praise Him with you for every step forward you have taken one day at a time.
Continue to guard yourself and to watch and be sober, for it is in our power by God's grace to stand steadfast and unmoveable. As you have experienced, a composed and orderly life helps the soul to be wakeful and clear, and sleep itself becomes more decent and restful when the heart is not burdened by excess. Keep close to prayer and to thankfulness, and do not suffer your foot to be moved. The Lord who keeps His people neither slumbers nor sleeps will keep you as you look to Him.
You asked to become a better man, a better husband, a better father and a better employee. This desire is good. God is pleased when we bear our duties thankfully and seek holiness in every part of life. Marriage is honorable and pure, and holiness in marriage is preserved by faithfulness, love and self control, living chastely and orderly with your own wife as God designed marriage to be a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman. Press on in that calling, loving your wife as Christ loves the church, serving your children with patience even as adults, and working honestly before your bosses, coworkers and customers.
We also join you in praying for softened hearts in your home and workplace. We ask the Lord to work in the hearts of your bosses, coworkers and customers, and especially in your wife, that there would be peace, kindness and understanding between you. For the needs you mentioned for your wife, your son and your daughter, we bring them before God without knowing every detail, and we ask Him to grant healing, strength and deliverance according to His will. For your son we pray that God would give him desire and power to turn from harmful habits and to walk in health and self control. For your wife and daughter we pray that God would meet their needs, comfort them and draw them closer to Himself.
Remember that deliverance often comes not by adding more to satisfy a desire, but by taking away what harms the soul and convincing the mind by truth. If any habit or burden still clings to you, bring it daily to Christ, confess it plainly, and ask for His help to put it away. Salvation and true change come through Jesus Christ alone, and He is able to restore sight where we have been blinded and to recover what has been lost when we walk with Him thankfully and humbly.
So we pray: Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for Your mercy to our brother. Continue Your good work in him one day at a time. Grant him watchfulness, sober mindedness and a pure heart. Make him faithful in marriage, loving as a father, and diligent in his work. Soften the hearts of those around him and bring peace to his home. Meet the needs of his wife, his son and his daughter, deliver from what harms them, and lead this whole family to know You more deeply and to live in holiness. Keep him from sleeping in virtue, but make him awake and ready for Your coming. In Your holy name we ask, Amen.
Continue to guard yourself and to watch and be sober, for it is in our power by God's grace to stand steadfast and unmoveable. As you have experienced, a composed and orderly life helps the soul to be wakeful and clear, and sleep itself becomes more decent and restful when the heart is not burdened by excess. Keep close to prayer and to thankfulness, and do not suffer your foot to be moved. The Lord who keeps His people neither slumbers nor sleeps will keep you as you look to Him.
You asked to become a better man, a better husband, a better father and a better employee. This desire is good. God is pleased when we bear our duties thankfully and seek holiness in every part of life. Marriage is honorable and pure, and holiness in marriage is preserved by faithfulness, love and self control, living chastely and orderly with your own wife as God designed marriage to be a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman. Press on in that calling, loving your wife as Christ loves the church, serving your children with patience even as adults, and working honestly before your bosses, coworkers and customers.
We also join you in praying for softened hearts in your home and workplace. We ask the Lord to work in the hearts of your bosses, coworkers and customers, and especially in your wife, that there would be peace, kindness and understanding between you. For the needs you mentioned for your wife, your son and your daughter, we bring them before God without knowing every detail, and we ask Him to grant healing, strength and deliverance according to His will. For your son we pray that God would give him desire and power to turn from harmful habits and to walk in health and self control. For your wife and daughter we pray that God would meet their needs, comfort them and draw them closer to Himself.
Remember that deliverance often comes not by adding more to satisfy a desire, but by taking away what harms the soul and convincing the mind by truth. If any habit or burden still clings to you, bring it daily to Christ, confess it plainly, and ask for His help to put it away. Salvation and true change come through Jesus Christ alone, and He is able to restore sight where we have been blinded and to recover what has been lost when we walk with Him thankfully and humbly.
So we pray: Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for Your mercy to our brother. Continue Your good work in him one day at a time. Grant him watchfulness, sober mindedness and a pure heart. Make him faithful in marriage, loving as a father, and diligent in his work. Soften the hearts of those around him and bring peace to his home. Meet the needs of his wife, his son and his daughter, deliver from what harms them, and lead this whole family to know You more deeply and to live in holiness. Keep him from sleeping in virtue, but make him awake and ready for Your coming. In Your holy name we ask, Amen.
