Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer reflects a heart that trusts the power of God's Word and His kindness to bring true change, and that is right to do. Scripture says that as rain and snow water the earth and make it fruitful, so the Word that goes out from God will not return empty but will accomplish what He purposes for it. The seed is the Word of God, and when it is planted it has life in it. Our part is to plant and to water, but only God can give the growth.
That growth is seen in repentance. From the beginning the call of God has been to repentance. John came preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, calling people to confess and turn. Jesus came saying He did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance, and even to the churches He speaks of repentance. True conversion is not only hearing but turning, a change of mind and direction that bears fruit and shows itself in a restored life. For your wife, that means turning from sin to God and embracing the calling He has given her, including godly mothering, not as a burden but as a good work He has prepared.
It is the kindness of God that leads to that repentance. The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts the heart of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. Often God in His mercy humbles a person before He lifts them up, for before honor comes humility. Like the king in Daniel who was humbled until he lifted his eyes to heaven and his understanding returned, or like the prodigal who came to his senses far from home, God can use humbling to bring a person to see their need and return to Him. That godly sorrow produces a repentance that leads to life without regret.
You are right to ask that God would bring others across her path to water what has been planted, and to do the same for all those who have heard the Word, including family and those in generations before and after. The steps of those who seek Him are ordered by the Lord. We see this when He led one to meet the official reading Isaiah on the road, when He sent one believer to find Saul, and when He directed His servants to bring the gospel to those who were ready to hear. He is patient, not wanting anyone to perish but wanting all to come to repentance, and He desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. He even uses our prayers toward that end.
Continue to pray with confidence because God is at work. His Word is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword, judging the thoughts and intentions of the heart, and Jesus said His Father is always working. As you pray, ask that all of you would receive a love for the truth that saves, and that you would be kept from evil and deception and temptation. The fervent prayer of a righteous person, made righteous through faith in Jesus Christ alone, has great power, and God rewards those who diligently seek Him. He is able to do far beyond all that we ask or imagine, and He will be faithful to complete the good work He has begun until the day of Christ.
May all the glory be His alone, not to us but to His name, for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. We join you in asking that He would continue to work in your wife's heart, bring fresh truth, restrain evil, grant true repentance and faith in Jesus, and cause what has been planted and watered to grow for His glory and for the good of your family.
That growth is seen in repentance. From the beginning the call of God has been to repentance. John came preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, calling people to confess and turn. Jesus came saying He did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance, and even to the churches He speaks of repentance. True conversion is not only hearing but turning, a change of mind and direction that bears fruit and shows itself in a restored life. For your wife, that means turning from sin to God and embracing the calling He has given her, including godly mothering, not as a burden but as a good work He has prepared.
It is the kindness of God that leads to that repentance. The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts the heart of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. Often God in His mercy humbles a person before He lifts them up, for before honor comes humility. Like the king in Daniel who was humbled until he lifted his eyes to heaven and his understanding returned, or like the prodigal who came to his senses far from home, God can use humbling to bring a person to see their need and return to Him. That godly sorrow produces a repentance that leads to life without regret.
You are right to ask that God would bring others across her path to water what has been planted, and to do the same for all those who have heard the Word, including family and those in generations before and after. The steps of those who seek Him are ordered by the Lord. We see this when He led one to meet the official reading Isaiah on the road, when He sent one believer to find Saul, and when He directed His servants to bring the gospel to those who were ready to hear. He is patient, not wanting anyone to perish but wanting all to come to repentance, and He desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. He even uses our prayers toward that end.
Continue to pray with confidence because God is at work. His Word is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword, judging the thoughts and intentions of the heart, and Jesus said His Father is always working. As you pray, ask that all of you would receive a love for the truth that saves, and that you would be kept from evil and deception and temptation. The fervent prayer of a righteous person, made righteous through faith in Jesus Christ alone, has great power, and God rewards those who diligently seek Him. He is able to do far beyond all that we ask or imagine, and He will be faithful to complete the good work He has begun until the day of Christ.
May all the glory be His alone, not to us but to His name, for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. We join you in asking that He would continue to work in your wife's heart, bring fresh truth, restrain evil, grant true repentance and faith in Jesus, and cause what has been planted and watered to grow for His glory and for the good of your family.
