Silas
Beloved of All
Your heart cry to see Jesus glorified in your family is precious to the Lord, and I join you in lifting every part of this burden to Him.
The greatest need you have named is salvation, and that is the greatest miracle God does. Scripture ties grace and salvation together, for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all, and that salvation is found only in Jesus. His very name means the Lord is salvation, for He shall save His people from their sins. There is no other provision God has made for sin. It is by trusting Him as Savior and submitting to Him as Lord that we receive eternal life, believing in our heart that God raised Him from the dead and confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord. That confession now brings salvation. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord, but then it will not be unto salvation, it will be the acknowledgment of those who rejected Him. That is why the Word urges us, now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. Do not put off His offer. Today, while His voice is heard, is the time for each unsaved loved one to turn to Him. Keep praying for their hearts to be opened to the gospel, and keep living in a way that gives no offense so the message is not hindered.
Remember also that salvation rests entirely on His grace and His work, not on our ability. He placed it outside our capacity and accomplished it through Christ, and even the faith to believe is His gift. Because of that, we are told to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. That does not mean to work for our salvation, as if we could earn it. It means to live out with reverence and diligence what God has already worked within us, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure. Walk in that dependence, asking Him to help you repent of what grieves Him, to love Him first, to be filled with His Spirit, and to give you wisdom for every decision.
You have asked for healing in so many areas, for bodies, minds, emotions, spasms, wounds, trauma, rejection and burnout. The Lord does care about all of these. When Isaiah spoke of the Messiah bearing our griefs and sorrows, Matthew shows us that this includes physical healing as well as the healing of sin. When Jesus broke bread and said this is my body broken for you, He pointed to that provision. Yet the greatest healing is the forgiveness of sins, and that is more important than any physical relief. God does heal, and He heals in different ways. Sometimes it is instant, sometimes it is gradual, sometimes through a touch, sometimes through a word, sometimes through the natural processes He Himself created, which are no less divine. There are healings of the body, and there are healings of the mind and heart where deep scars are restored. At the same time, to assume He must heal every affliction instantly in this life is not what Scripture teaches. Even the apostle Paul prayed three times for his thorn and learned that God's grace was sufficient and His strength was made perfect in weakness. So bring every sickness and pain to Jesus with faith, and also trust His wisdom and timing when the answer is wait or when His grace sustains you through it.
You have pleaded the blood of Jesus as the spotless Lamb who takes away the sin of the world and cleanses us from all sin, and that is the right ground to stand on. It is His sacrifice alone that covers you. You have asked for protection, for angelic guard and for the fire of His Spirit around you and your thoughts and emotions. The Lord does promise to be a refuge. As you have stood on Psalm 50 where He says call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you, and on Psalm 91 where He is our shelter and fortress, and on Isaiah 54 where no weapon formed against you shall prosper, you can rest that He hears the persistent cry of His chosen who call upon Him day and night. He will act in His perfect time, as you have remembered from Luke 18, and He will block what is not good for you.
For your family, I pray with you that God will deliver from every bondage, addiction and compulsion, and that He will replace lies and strongholds with His truth. Where there is alienation and hurt between loved ones, especially between parent and child, ask Him for supernatural healing of the relationship. It is true that when some in a natural family do not believe, there can be distance, but those who belong to Jesus become a deeper family, the family of God, where the bond in Christ is even closer than blood. Pray that your whole household, including relatives who do not yet know Him, will come into that family.
For the children and young people you mentioned, I pray that the Lord will give them true friends, favor with teachers and classmates, help with tests and understanding, confidence rooted in Him, and a clear sense that He hears their prayers. For trauma, rejection and abandonment, ask Him to rebuke the accusing thoughts of the enemy and to heal every part of their being so they know they are loved.
Concerning relationships, I join you in asking God to save and to do what is holy and best. Scripture teaches that salvation is through Jesus alone and that marriage is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, with sexual intimacy and living together belonging only within that covenant. We cannot ask God to bless what falls outside His design. Instead we ask Him to block what is dysfunctional and harmful, to bring conviction where needed, to lead each person to purity and to salvation, and if marriage is His will in the future, to provide a godly union that honors Him. Pray that He will confront what is evil, expose what is hidden, and turn what the enemy meant for harm into blessing.
For work, ministry, meetings, planning, shepherding, and the many practical needs you carry, including care for others and the weight of feeling unmotivated and burned out, ask Him to take over, to guide and direct your steps, to order your workload, and to help you respond to difficult people and frustrating situations in a way that is kind and Christlike. He knows you fail often, as we all do, but His mercies are new every morning. He is faithful to forgive when we confess, and to give fresh strength.
May the Lord grant you encounters with His presence, fill you with His Spirit, guard your heart with His peace that passes understanding, and let you see clear answers to prayer that encourage your faith. Keep calling upon Him, keep trusting His grace, and keep looking to Jesus, the captain and completer of our salvation, who began this great salvation and will be faithful to finish it.
The greatest need you have named is salvation, and that is the greatest miracle God does. Scripture ties grace and salvation together, for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all, and that salvation is found only in Jesus. His very name means the Lord is salvation, for He shall save His people from their sins. There is no other provision God has made for sin. It is by trusting Him as Savior and submitting to Him as Lord that we receive eternal life, believing in our heart that God raised Him from the dead and confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord. That confession now brings salvation. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord, but then it will not be unto salvation, it will be the acknowledgment of those who rejected Him. That is why the Word urges us, now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. Do not put off His offer. Today, while His voice is heard, is the time for each unsaved loved one to turn to Him. Keep praying for their hearts to be opened to the gospel, and keep living in a way that gives no offense so the message is not hindered.
Remember also that salvation rests entirely on His grace and His work, not on our ability. He placed it outside our capacity and accomplished it through Christ, and even the faith to believe is His gift. Because of that, we are told to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. That does not mean to work for our salvation, as if we could earn it. It means to live out with reverence and diligence what God has already worked within us, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure. Walk in that dependence, asking Him to help you repent of what grieves Him, to love Him first, to be filled with His Spirit, and to give you wisdom for every decision.
You have asked for healing in so many areas, for bodies, minds, emotions, spasms, wounds, trauma, rejection and burnout. The Lord does care about all of these. When Isaiah spoke of the Messiah bearing our griefs and sorrows, Matthew shows us that this includes physical healing as well as the healing of sin. When Jesus broke bread and said this is my body broken for you, He pointed to that provision. Yet the greatest healing is the forgiveness of sins, and that is more important than any physical relief. God does heal, and He heals in different ways. Sometimes it is instant, sometimes it is gradual, sometimes through a touch, sometimes through a word, sometimes through the natural processes He Himself created, which are no less divine. There are healings of the body, and there are healings of the mind and heart where deep scars are restored. At the same time, to assume He must heal every affliction instantly in this life is not what Scripture teaches. Even the apostle Paul prayed three times for his thorn and learned that God's grace was sufficient and His strength was made perfect in weakness. So bring every sickness and pain to Jesus with faith, and also trust His wisdom and timing when the answer is wait or when His grace sustains you through it.
You have pleaded the blood of Jesus as the spotless Lamb who takes away the sin of the world and cleanses us from all sin, and that is the right ground to stand on. It is His sacrifice alone that covers you. You have asked for protection, for angelic guard and for the fire of His Spirit around you and your thoughts and emotions. The Lord does promise to be a refuge. As you have stood on Psalm 50 where He says call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you, and on Psalm 91 where He is our shelter and fortress, and on Isaiah 54 where no weapon formed against you shall prosper, you can rest that He hears the persistent cry of His chosen who call upon Him day and night. He will act in His perfect time, as you have remembered from Luke 18, and He will block what is not good for you.
For your family, I pray with you that God will deliver from every bondage, addiction and compulsion, and that He will replace lies and strongholds with His truth. Where there is alienation and hurt between loved ones, especially between parent and child, ask Him for supernatural healing of the relationship. It is true that when some in a natural family do not believe, there can be distance, but those who belong to Jesus become a deeper family, the family of God, where the bond in Christ is even closer than blood. Pray that your whole household, including relatives who do not yet know Him, will come into that family.
For the children and young people you mentioned, I pray that the Lord will give them true friends, favor with teachers and classmates, help with tests and understanding, confidence rooted in Him, and a clear sense that He hears their prayers. For trauma, rejection and abandonment, ask Him to rebuke the accusing thoughts of the enemy and to heal every part of their being so they know they are loved.
Concerning relationships, I join you in asking God to save and to do what is holy and best. Scripture teaches that salvation is through Jesus alone and that marriage is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, with sexual intimacy and living together belonging only within that covenant. We cannot ask God to bless what falls outside His design. Instead we ask Him to block what is dysfunctional and harmful, to bring conviction where needed, to lead each person to purity and to salvation, and if marriage is His will in the future, to provide a godly union that honors Him. Pray that He will confront what is evil, expose what is hidden, and turn what the enemy meant for harm into blessing.
For work, ministry, meetings, planning, shepherding, and the many practical needs you carry, including care for others and the weight of feeling unmotivated and burned out, ask Him to take over, to guide and direct your steps, to order your workload, and to help you respond to difficult people and frustrating situations in a way that is kind and Christlike. He knows you fail often, as we all do, but His mercies are new every morning. He is faithful to forgive when we confess, and to give fresh strength.
May the Lord grant you encounters with His presence, fill you with His Spirit, guard your heart with His peace that passes understanding, and let you see clear answers to prayer that encourage your faith. Keep calling upon Him, keep trusting His grace, and keep looking to Jesus, the captain and completer of our salvation, who began this great salvation and will be faithful to finish it.
