Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer is a beautiful and biblical cry for the flock of God and for those who are suffering for the name of Jesus, and I join you in it with thanksgiving.
Jesus is indeed the Lord our Shepherd. He is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep, and His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. He does not leave His flock untended. He leads, He feeds, He restores, He defends and comforts, and He gives His angels charge to minister to those who belong to Him. We can ask Him with confidence to shepherd His people today, to strengthen every believer, to guard the flock from evil and from false teaching that would draw people away, and to feed His people with wisdom and knowledge as we abide in Him, remain in His Word, and obey all that He has commanded.
I also join you in remembering those in chains as though bound with them. Scripture calls us to do this, and the early church shows us how. When James was put to death and Peter was kept in prison awaiting execution, the church prayed without ceasing to God for him, and the Lord sent an angel and opened the prison doors. In the same way He shook the prison at Philippi where Paul and Silas were held in the inner prison with their feet in stocks, and that deliverance opened the door for the jailer and his household to believe. The Lord was with Joseph even in prison and showed him mercy there. He is still present with His people in every prison and every hard place, and nothing can separate them from His love.
We can pray for deliverance, for angelic help, for open doors, and for boldness and visits and practical sympathy for those who suffer, even a willingness to joyfully accept loss of property knowing we have a better and lasting possession. And we can also trust that God uses even persecution for the furtherance of the gospel. When the early believers were scattered by persecution, they went everywhere preaching Christ, and what was meant for harm God used to spread His church. Whether He delivers by opening a prison or sustains through the trial, He is working for His glory and for the witness of Jesus.
Your desire to draw near to God, to remain in Christ the vine and bear much fruit, is the heart of it all. Apart from Him we can do nothing, but through Christ who strengthens us we can do all He calls us to do. As we keep Him holy in our hearts, He makes us ready to give an answer for the hope within us with gentleness and respect. He delivers us from evil and from evil people, and He causes love to abound with knowledge and discernment so we may choose what is best and be filled with the fruit of righteousness to His praise. Freely we have received His abundant love, and freely we give it to others, giving all glory to His name.
May the Lord keep you from seeking power or growth in worldly ways. The pattern God has given us is not found in emulating the world or in professional techniques, but in the book of Acts, in a purified and prayerful church that looks to Jesus as the head of His body and depends on the power of the Holy Spirit. One of the great dangers for the church in every age has been compromise with the world, and very early false teaching and carnality began to plague the church. The Lord still calls His people to be discerning, to purge out what is impure, to refuse hypocrisy, and to walk in love, for where love grows cold His presence is grieved. When His people are cleansed and filled with the Spirit, His power is present.
So let us keep praying that the Lord would be near to the weary and heavy laden and give them rest, that His easy yoke would be known, that He would speak the word to set free those who need deliverance, and that everything would be worked out for the progress of the gospel. May He strengthen you with might through His Spirit, help you to know more of the breadth and depth of His love, and make your love perfect as you abide in Him.
Father, in the name of Jesus, shepherd Your sheep. Lead us, feed us, guard us, and keep us abiding in You. Remember those in chains, visit them, deliver them according to Your perfect will, and use their testimony for Your glory. Make us faithful to pray, to visit, to sympathize, and to speak Your Word with boldness and love. Amen.
Jesus is indeed the Lord our Shepherd. He is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep, and His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. He does not leave His flock untended. He leads, He feeds, He restores, He defends and comforts, and He gives His angels charge to minister to those who belong to Him. We can ask Him with confidence to shepherd His people today, to strengthen every believer, to guard the flock from evil and from false teaching that would draw people away, and to feed His people with wisdom and knowledge as we abide in Him, remain in His Word, and obey all that He has commanded.
I also join you in remembering those in chains as though bound with them. Scripture calls us to do this, and the early church shows us how. When James was put to death and Peter was kept in prison awaiting execution, the church prayed without ceasing to God for him, and the Lord sent an angel and opened the prison doors. In the same way He shook the prison at Philippi where Paul and Silas were held in the inner prison with their feet in stocks, and that deliverance opened the door for the jailer and his household to believe. The Lord was with Joseph even in prison and showed him mercy there. He is still present with His people in every prison and every hard place, and nothing can separate them from His love.
We can pray for deliverance, for angelic help, for open doors, and for boldness and visits and practical sympathy for those who suffer, even a willingness to joyfully accept loss of property knowing we have a better and lasting possession. And we can also trust that God uses even persecution for the furtherance of the gospel. When the early believers were scattered by persecution, they went everywhere preaching Christ, and what was meant for harm God used to spread His church. Whether He delivers by opening a prison or sustains through the trial, He is working for His glory and for the witness of Jesus.
Your desire to draw near to God, to remain in Christ the vine and bear much fruit, is the heart of it all. Apart from Him we can do nothing, but through Christ who strengthens us we can do all He calls us to do. As we keep Him holy in our hearts, He makes us ready to give an answer for the hope within us with gentleness and respect. He delivers us from evil and from evil people, and He causes love to abound with knowledge and discernment so we may choose what is best and be filled with the fruit of righteousness to His praise. Freely we have received His abundant love, and freely we give it to others, giving all glory to His name.
May the Lord keep you from seeking power or growth in worldly ways. The pattern God has given us is not found in emulating the world or in professional techniques, but in the book of Acts, in a purified and prayerful church that looks to Jesus as the head of His body and depends on the power of the Holy Spirit. One of the great dangers for the church in every age has been compromise with the world, and very early false teaching and carnality began to plague the church. The Lord still calls His people to be discerning, to purge out what is impure, to refuse hypocrisy, and to walk in love, for where love grows cold His presence is grieved. When His people are cleansed and filled with the Spirit, His power is present.
So let us keep praying that the Lord would be near to the weary and heavy laden and give them rest, that His easy yoke would be known, that He would speak the word to set free those who need deliverance, and that everything would be worked out for the progress of the gospel. May He strengthen you with might through His Spirit, help you to know more of the breadth and depth of His love, and make your love perfect as you abide in Him.
Father, in the name of Jesus, shepherd Your sheep. Lead us, feed us, guard us, and keep us abiding in You. Remember those in chains, visit them, deliver them according to Your perfect will, and use their testimony for Your glory. Make us faithful to pray, to visit, to sympathize, and to speak Your Word with boldness and love. Amen.
