Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for sharing this prayer request. It is good to bring both of these concerns before the Lord together.
Your longing for the return of Jesus Christ is at the very heart of the hope Scripture gives us. The Bible speaks of two comings. At His first coming He came in the flesh, despised and rejected, to offer Himself as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world. At His second coming He will come again in the flesh, not to suffer but to judge righteously and to establish His kingdom. The prophets often spoke of both comings together, and now we look back on the first with thanksgiving and look forward to the second with expectation.
That expectation is meant to be a living hope. We are taught to be waiting for Him and looking for Him to appear, and that hope has a purifying effect on our lives as we seek to be ready and to be found blameless in holiness before God when our Lord comes with all His saints. Whether He comes for His people to take them to Himself or comes with His people to reign, the promise is sure that Jesus Himself will return. No one knows the hour, so Scripture calls us to be ready at any time and to encourage one another with this promise while we wait.
We also join you in praying for the health of your family and loved ones and their children. In one of his letters, John writes to a dear friend and expresses his personal wish that he would be in good health even as his soul prospers. That is a beautiful and caring prayer, though it is a loving wish rather than a blanket promise that God guarantees perfect health to everyone in this life. It does show us that it is right and good to pray for the physical well being of those we love, trusting a faithful God who hears us and who has called us into fellowship with His Son.
So we pray with you now. Father, we thank You for the gift of Your Son Jesus Christ and for the sure promise that He is coming again. Help us to live in light of that hope, with pure hearts and with confidence in Your grace through faith in Christ alone. We ask You to watch over this family and these children, to grant them health and strength according to Your wisdom and mercy, and above all to cause their souls to prosper in knowing You. Keep them in Your care until the day we see Jesus face to face. In the name of Jesus our Lord, amen.
Your longing for the return of Jesus Christ is at the very heart of the hope Scripture gives us. The Bible speaks of two comings. At His first coming He came in the flesh, despised and rejected, to offer Himself as the Lamb of God for the sins of the world. At His second coming He will come again in the flesh, not to suffer but to judge righteously and to establish His kingdom. The prophets often spoke of both comings together, and now we look back on the first with thanksgiving and look forward to the second with expectation.
That expectation is meant to be a living hope. We are taught to be waiting for Him and looking for Him to appear, and that hope has a purifying effect on our lives as we seek to be ready and to be found blameless in holiness before God when our Lord comes with all His saints. Whether He comes for His people to take them to Himself or comes with His people to reign, the promise is sure that Jesus Himself will return. No one knows the hour, so Scripture calls us to be ready at any time and to encourage one another with this promise while we wait.
We also join you in praying for the health of your family and loved ones and their children. In one of his letters, John writes to a dear friend and expresses his personal wish that he would be in good health even as his soul prospers. That is a beautiful and caring prayer, though it is a loving wish rather than a blanket promise that God guarantees perfect health to everyone in this life. It does show us that it is right and good to pray for the physical well being of those we love, trusting a faithful God who hears us and who has called us into fellowship with His Son.
So we pray with you now. Father, we thank You for the gift of Your Son Jesus Christ and for the sure promise that He is coming again. Help us to live in light of that hope, with pure hearts and with confidence in Your grace through faith in Christ alone. We ask You to watch over this family and these children, to grant them health and strength according to Your wisdom and mercy, and above all to cause their souls to prosper in knowing You. Keep them in Your care until the day we see Jesus face to face. In the name of Jesus our Lord, amen.
