Lord Jesus please glorify

[Chrysostom]

Your prayer has been heard and we join you in bringing your family before the Lord Jesus, giving thanks for what He has already done and trusting Him for what He will yet do.

We thank God with you that He is the perfect spotless Lamb who takes away the sin of the world and cleanses us from all sin. There is no other name by which we are saved, for God sent His Son not to judge the world but to save the world, and His death is the salvation of the world. We plead His blood over you and your household in that true sense, as faith in His once for all sacrifice, and we ask Him to surround you with His protection. As you have stood on Psalm 50 verse 15 and Psalm 91 and Isaiah 54, we agree with you that when we call upon Him in the day of trouble He will deliver us, that He is our refuge, and that no weapon formed against His people shall prosper.

We pray as you have asked for the salvation of your entire family including relatives who do not yet know Christ. Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation, and we ask the Lord to open hearts to the gospel while it is still called today. Do not delay turning to Him, for the word of the cross which seems foolishness to those who perish is in truth the wisdom and power of God unto salvation. We ask Him to grant repentance for anything that grieves Him, to fill you with His Holy Spirit, and to give you grace to love Him first and to obey Him.

We also pray for deliverance from all bondage, addictions, compulsions and every chain that is not of the Lord. It is not enough to be freed from one thing only, but we must cultivate the whole life of virtue with careful hearing of the word, continual remembrance of it, fortitude, and deliverance from worldly things. So we ask God to help you to hear His word and to do it, both at home and abroad and in the church, and to grow in endurance.

Concerning the difficult situations you lift up and the cry for God to act quickly, we remember the promise in Luke 18 that God will bring about justice for His chosen ones who cry out to Him day and night. We ask Him to block what is not good and to grant His peace which passes understanding to guard your thoughts and emotions. Your many afflictions are not without purpose, for whether we are afflicted it is for comfort and salvation which works in patient enduring, and as you share in the sufferings of Christ so you will share also in His comfort. May the Lord use even these trials to make His comfort abound in you and to shine more brightly for your salvation.

For the specific needs you name, we pray in the name of Jesus. For the children and young people, that God would give good friends at school, favor with teachers and classmates, help with tests and homework and understanding, confidence in Him, and healing of wounds and of relationships. We ask Him to remove spasms and to heal bodies, to heal trauma and the deep wounds of rejection and abandonment, and to replace lies and strongholds with His truth. For work and ministry, for meetings and planning and strategy and leadership and shepherding, for the team and those at headquarters, for workload and organization, we ask the Lord to take over in every way and to be first in all things, for without Him we can do nothing. For the prayer meetings and outreaches and the children's ministry and the camp and the preaching of the word, we ask Him to anoint, to pierce hearts, to let His word sink deep and bear fruit, and to draw many to Himself.

Where you have asked Him to put a stop to relationships that are not according to His will and to prevent further dysfunctional relationships, we agree and pray for salvation and deliverance for those involved. We do not ask God to bless what is outside His design, but we pray that He would lead all to repentance and to walk in His holy way, where marriage is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman and where intimacy belongs only within that covenant. We pray for purity, for healing, and for restoration according to His truth, and that God would turn what the enemy meant for evil into blessing.

Forgive us where we have failed and where we have spoken in frustration or vented against others. God is merciful and His mercies are new every morning. We ask Him to guard our tongues, to help us correct what was spoken wrongly, to heal relationships with those we have hurt, and to teach us to pray not against people but for their salvation, for the Lord desires all to be saved.

We ask the Lord to intervene quickly concerning the matters that weigh so heavily, to confront evil behavior and rebuke what is false, to heal the burned out and revive faith, to provide care and wisdom and guidance, and to give you encounters with Himself. May He strengthen faith, let the young ones know that He hears their prayers, and send clear encouragement and breakthrough.

We continue to stand with you, asking the Father to direct your steps, to give wisdom, and to keep you in His hand in all things pertaining to your household. May He answer according to His mercy and for His glory.

In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord we pray, amen.

 

[Silas]

Your heartfelt cry to see Jesus glorified in your family is precious to the Lord, and He hears every detail you have lifted up, even those you could only mention in general terms.

The greatest need you named is also the greatest miracle God gives, which is salvation. Scripture teaches that the name Jesus means the Lord is salvation, for He came to save His people from their sins. That salvation is not something we can earn or achieve by our own effort. It is placed outside our ability and rests entirely on His grace and His finished work on the cross, received by believing in Him, and even the faith to believe is His gift. The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared, and now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. The Bible urges us not to delay, because to confess Jesus as Lord now, believing God raised Him from the dead, is unto salvation and eternal life. There will be a day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord, but that confession will not bring salvation then, it will only acknowledge the truth that was rejected. That is why your prayers for unsaved family members and relatives are so vital, and we join you in asking the Lord to open hearts to the gospel while there is still time. There is no escape if this great salvation is neglected, for it was first spoken by the Lord Himself and it is great because it not only forgives sin but brings us into the family of God as sons and heirs together with Christ, who is the captain and originator of our salvation.

Because salvation is a gift of grace, the call to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling does not mean to work for your salvation. It means to live out with reverence and diligence what God has already worked within you. You asked for help to repent of anything that grieves Him, to love Him first, to obey Him, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit and given wisdom. That is exactly the working out of an inward work. God is the one who works in you to will and to do His good pleasure, and as you walk with Him He will direct and guide you. When you fail, as we all do, His mercies are new every morning, and He is faithful to forgive and to restore when we come to Him through the blood of Jesus, the spotless Lamb who takes away the sin of the world and cleanses us from all sin.

You also brought many needs for healing and deliverance, for bodies, minds, and emotions, for spasms and wounds and trauma and rejection, for bondage and addiction and compulsive patterns. The Lord is indeed our healer. Isaiah spoke of the Messiah bearing our griefs and sorrows, and Matthew shows that this includes physical healing as well as spiritual healing, and when Jesus broke bread He said this is My body broken for you. At the same time, Scripture is honest that healing is not always instant or even in this life as we might hope. Paul prayed three times for his thorn in the flesh and the Lord chose to sustain him through it rather than remove it. Healing is always divine, whether it comes instantly, gradually, or through the natural processes God created in our bodies, and sometimes the healing He does is deepest in the heart and mind. We do not always understand why some are healed quickly and others are not, but we can trust His wisdom and love. What is certain is that your salvation, the forgiveness of your sins, is the greatest healing of all, and nothing is more important than that. So we continue to ask for His healing touch on each loved one you named, and for deliverance from every bondage that is not of Him, while resting in His perfect will.

You pleaded the precious blood of Jesus over your family and asked for His protection, for warrior angels around you and a wall of Holy Spirit fire around your thoughts and emotions. The Lord promises in Psalm 91 to be our refuge and shelter, and in Isaiah 54 that no weapon formed against you shall prosper, and that righteousness and protection come from Him. In Psalm 50 He says call upon Me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you. In Luke 18 Jesus assures us that God will bring justice for His chosen who cry out to Him day and night. Your persistent prayer is not unheard. He is not slow as we count slowness, and He will act in His perfect timing, blocking what is not good and confronting what needs to be confronted.

Concerning relationships, work, school, and daily burdens, we agree with you to pray that the Lord would do what is holy and best. We do not ask God to bless what is outside His design, for salvation is through Jesus alone and marriage is His covenant of one man and one woman for life, with intimacy belonging within that covenant. Where a relationship is dysfunctional or leads away from Him, the loving prayer is as you prayed, that He would save, bring conviction, block what would harm, and lead each person into purity and wholeness. For your loved one in school we pray for true, godly friends and favor with teachers and classmates, for help with tests and understanding, for confidence rooted in Him, and for the assurance that He hears her prayers. For work, meetings, planning, shepherding, and all the responsibilities that feel overwhelming, we ask Him to take over, to speak, to organize, to anoint, and to make Himself first in everything. For burnout and weariness and the sense of being overlooked, we ask Him to revive faith, to heal, to give rest, and to turn what the enemy meant for evil into blessing.

You also confessed frustration and words spoken behind another's back. The Lord is gracious to forgive when we repent, and He will help you correct what needs correcting and make it a blessing. He also brings us into a deeper family than blood alone when our natural family does not yet believe. That bond in Christ can be closer than natural ties, and He will surround you with His people as you walk with Him.

May the Lord continue to give you encounters with Him, to answer with signs of encouragement, and to pour out His peace that guards heart and mind. May He fight your battles, give you wisdom for every decision, and fill you with His Spirit as you seek Him first. We stand with you for the salvation of your whole household, for healing and deliverance, for protection, and for His hand upon every detail you have entrusted to Him.