Silas
Beloved of All
Your heart for the Shepherd and for His scattered flock is deeply encouraging and it reflects the very heart of Scripture. Jesus is indeed the Lord our Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep, and His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. He does not only call us, He leads us out, He restores our souls, He carries us close like a shepherd carries lambs, and He will be the Shepherd who wipes away every tear. It is right to ask Him to keep charge over His people, to defend and feed and comfort us with wisdom and knowledge, and to send help in the spiritual battle, for His angels are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation.
Your prayer for the flock among us is also biblical and needed. We are called to watch over ourselves and over the flock of God, to stay close to Jesus the true vine, for apart from Him we can do nothing, but through Christ who strengthens us we can bear much fruit. Part of that watching is guarding against influences that would distort the truth and draw people away, and that guarding happens as we remain in Him and in His teaching and as we learn and obey all that He commanded. When love grows cold, His presence is grieved, and the history of the church shows many failures and shameful chapters that do not reflect what He intended. If we want to see what He intended, we look to the pattern given in Acts, a people filled with the Holy Spirit, devoted, loving, and powerful not because of outward forms but because of inward life. The lack of power we sometimes see is not because God has withdrawn His Spirit, but because we need His purifying and His love restored among us. A faith that tries to join itself to the worldly system or to legislate righteousness from the outside will never stand. It must come from a changed heart.
Your burden to remember those in chains is exactly what Hebrews teaches, to remember those in prison as if bound with them, and to share in their hardship as belonging to the same body. Persecution is painful, and yet from the beginning God has used even heavy persecution to spread the witness of the resurrection. When believers were scattered, everywhere they went they preached Christ, and the gospel advanced. We see this in how He delivered Peter from prison and how He opened the prison doors for Paul and Silas and brought salvation to an entire household. He is able to deliver by simply speaking the word, and He is also able to sustain and keep those He does not immediately deliver, for nothing can separate His sheep from His love. We can pray both for miraculous release and for joyful endurance, for boldness to confess Christ, and for the practical mercy of visiting, clothing, and caring for those who suffer, knowing that we have a better and lasting possession in Christ.
Continue to draw near to Him, and He will draw near to you. Remain in the vine and you will bear fruit that glorifies His name. Keep Him set apart as holy in your heart so you are ready at any time to give a gentle and respectful answer for the hope within you. Ask Him to let love abound with knowledge and discernment, to deliver you from evil and from evil people, to fill you with the fruit of righteousness that comes through union with Jesus, and to make His rest real to the weary and heavy laden who come to Him, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. May He work all these things for the furtherance of the gospel and perfect your love as you walk with Him, freely receiving His abundant love and freely giving it to others, until He brings you into His presence. In Jesus name we join you in these prayers and ask Him to strengthen you and all the saints to know the height and depth of His love.
Your prayer for the flock among us is also biblical and needed. We are called to watch over ourselves and over the flock of God, to stay close to Jesus the true vine, for apart from Him we can do nothing, but through Christ who strengthens us we can bear much fruit. Part of that watching is guarding against influences that would distort the truth and draw people away, and that guarding happens as we remain in Him and in His teaching and as we learn and obey all that He commanded. When love grows cold, His presence is grieved, and the history of the church shows many failures and shameful chapters that do not reflect what He intended. If we want to see what He intended, we look to the pattern given in Acts, a people filled with the Holy Spirit, devoted, loving, and powerful not because of outward forms but because of inward life. The lack of power we sometimes see is not because God has withdrawn His Spirit, but because we need His purifying and His love restored among us. A faith that tries to join itself to the worldly system or to legislate righteousness from the outside will never stand. It must come from a changed heart.
Your burden to remember those in chains is exactly what Hebrews teaches, to remember those in prison as if bound with them, and to share in their hardship as belonging to the same body. Persecution is painful, and yet from the beginning God has used even heavy persecution to spread the witness of the resurrection. When believers were scattered, everywhere they went they preached Christ, and the gospel advanced. We see this in how He delivered Peter from prison and how He opened the prison doors for Paul and Silas and brought salvation to an entire household. He is able to deliver by simply speaking the word, and He is also able to sustain and keep those He does not immediately deliver, for nothing can separate His sheep from His love. We can pray both for miraculous release and for joyful endurance, for boldness to confess Christ, and for the practical mercy of visiting, clothing, and caring for those who suffer, knowing that we have a better and lasting possession in Christ.
Continue to draw near to Him, and He will draw near to you. Remain in the vine and you will bear fruit that glorifies His name. Keep Him set apart as holy in your heart so you are ready at any time to give a gentle and respectful answer for the hope within you. Ask Him to let love abound with knowledge and discernment, to deliver you from evil and from evil people, to fill you with the fruit of righteousness that comes through union with Jesus, and to make His rest real to the weary and heavy laden who come to Him, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light. May He work all these things for the furtherance of the gospel and perfect your love as you walk with Him, freely receiving His abundant love and freely giving it to others, until He brings you into His presence. In Jesus name we join you in these prayers and ask Him to strengthen you and all the saints to know the height and depth of His love.
