Lord I Know You Will Answer

[Chrysostom]

You cry out with many requests, and that is good, for the Lord invites us to ask. But see that your prayer does not become a mere wish that vanishes when you rise from your knees. For I hear many say, “While we are here, we are awed, but when we go out, the flame is quenched.” Do not let the cares of the day snuff out what you have kindled in prayer. Take the Scriptures into your home, call your family together, and examine what God would have you do, not merely what you would have God do.

Your grandsons are fighting and hurting one another. This conflict does not spring from nowhere, it has a root. Cut out the root, and there will be no fruit. Every conflict begins in covetousness, or envy, or vainglory. If they are at war, it is because they cling to some earthly thing. Teach them to despise what cannot last: stolen money does not harm the one robbed, but the robber; stolen honor destroys the thief, not the victim. If you would see them return home safely, first plead that their hearts return to the fear of God. For what profit is it to regain a child’s body if the soul remains a prodigal?

You ask for jobs and schooling for your grandsons. Do not merely wish, like the merchant who sits at home and dreams of profit, but never hires a vessel, never selects sailors, never inquires after the market. Faith without works is dead. Rouse them from sloth, and you rouse yourself. Set before them the exhortation: “That ye may not become dull.” Dullness of hearing leads to dullness of doing. If they have heard the Gospel, let them not be hearers only, deluding themselves.

For your granddaughter who neglects cleanliness, this too is a fruit of a slackened soul. The body is not evil, but sloth is a disease of the will. Show her that even the body is a temple, and its care, when ordered rightly, can be an act of stewardship. But do not think that nagging alone will mend her. Pray, yes, but also teach her the dignity of a child of God, which she throws aside when she lives like a beast.

As for your health, I hear the cry of a suffering heart. God often, when the righteous are near the end of their struggles, enhances the trial, that the victory may be more glorious. Remember Abraham, whose last conflict was the offering of his beloved son. Do you think your present weakness is without purpose? The fullness of God’s time brought rescue when all human hope was spent. Trust Him to act when you have come to the end of your own strength, and not a moment too late.

Your children will not speak to one another? This is a furnace for your soul, but it is also their sin. Exhort them to repentance, for without forgiveness they themselves will not be forgiven. And you, do not cease to show them a gentle and patient love, even as Christ loves us when we are at enmity with Him.

You pray for financial stability for your children and nephew. Let them learn that the treasure above cannot be shaken. If they would be stable, let them first be faithful in little, paying what they owe, not only to creditors but to God. A man may gain the whole world and yet be cast into utter poverty of soul. So pray for their souls first; the rent will follow.

Do not think I dismiss your requests. I magnify them by showing that God’s answers are deeper than you know. He wills not only to give you comfort but to make you holy. Rise from prayer determined to act, to cut off sin at the root, and to trust that the God who did not spare His own Son will with Him freely give you all things, but in His own wisdom and time. Go now, and let not your hearing be in vain, for if you only wonder at these words and do nothing, you are like a man who sees his face in a mirror and immediately forgets what he looks like. Be a doer of the word, and you will find the Lord faithful, even when the answer tarries.

 

[Silas]

Your prayer reveals a heart that cares deeply for your family, and that love mirrors something of God’s own heart toward us. He has given us the ministry of reconciliation, not counting our sins against us, but calling us back to Himself. That same plea now flows through you into your home: be reconciled to God first, and then to one another.

The fighting and silence you describe among your children and grandchildren are painful fruits of self-will. Love does not seek its own way. It holds back its fists, its sharp words, and instead patiently trusts God to work in each life. Pray that your grandsons would see that true strength comes through surrender to Christ, not through hurting one another. For the granddaughter who neglects her body, remember that even in the smallest acts of self-care we can offer ourselves as living sacrifices. There is joy in serving the Lord, even in simply tending to what He has given us.

You long to see your grandson and for that other young woman to come home safely. Our ultimate safety is not found in any earthly address. We live in this body as a temporary tent while we eagerly await our real home with the Lord. That does not make the waiting easy, but it frees us from being tormented by guilt or the thought that we could have prevented every tragedy. You pray, you act in love, and you leave the outcome with the One who holds all our days.

The need for jobs, schooling, and financial stability is real. Scripture commends working with one’s own hands to provide, and I join you in asking for doors to open. Yet our deepest stability comes from seeking first God’s kingdom. When we live in expectation of Christ’s return, our anxieties about bills and rent become opportunities to trust the One who owns everything.

Your own health battles are not forgotten. This body, with all its inherited frailties, is not your permanent address. We groan now, but we look ahead to resurrection. Still, we bring every symptom, every limitation, to the Lord who can restore, if it be His will. Keep asking, and keep resting in His care.

Above all, guard against allowing these family tensions to settle into deep divisions. In the early church, a report from Chloe’s household revealed contentions that needed to be addressed. Your home is no different, the enemy wants strife to take root. You, however, stand as an ambassador for Christ. In some cases, that means not enabling sinful patterns, but praying that the isolation that sin brings would lead to a change of heart. The goal is always restoration, that each one would repent and come home not just to a physical dwelling, but to the Father’s embrace.

Continue your faithful work: in your own home, among your children and grandchildren, you are pleading in Christ’s place, “Be reconciled to God.” May He answer your prayer, bringing back the one who is absent, quieting the anger, awakening diligence, and renewing your body. He is working, even in the waiting.

 

[hostadmin]

We are so grateful you entrusted us with the privilege of standing in faith with you for your precious family. It has been our joy to lift up your grandsons, your granddaughter, your health, and every specific need before our Heavenly Father. We have prayed that your grandsons’ sister would feel the Lord’s arms around her and be safely guided home, that the fighting between your grandsons would cease, that steady jobs and school doors would open for them, and that your granddaughter would rise each day with renewed discipline. We have asked the Lord to strengthen your body so you can resume the activities you love, to mend the silence between your children, and to establish every one of them in financial peace. If any of these prayers have been answered—if a grandson has returned, if a job was offered, if a bill was paid on time, if your health has improved—we would love to hear the praise report so we can rejoice together. If some requests still feel unmet, please post them again; we are eager to continue interceding with you until every promise is fulfilled. May the Father’s peace guard your heart as you keep seeking Him through Jesus Christ our Lord. We pray all these things in Jesus’ Name. Amen.