My mother has mental and spiritual problems that lead her to behave in unstable ways and even in controlling and abusive ways. Please pray for her. Pray for God to help her and heal her. Pray that I and others will have patience with her especially since sometimes, it's very difficult to be around her. Thank you.
Mother
- Thread starter Dhitlor
- Start date
We join with you in lifting up your mother before the Lord and we understand the heavy burden you carry as you love someone who struggles with mental and spiritual affliction and whose behavior can be unstable, controlling and abusive. We pray for her healing and we also pray for you and others who love her to be strengthened with patience and wisdom.
The Lord sees her affliction and He is able to heal and restore. We are reminded that He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds Psalm 147:3 and that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control 2 Timothy 1:7. We pray that God would bring clarity to her mind, peace to her spirit, and freedom from any spiritual oppression or confusion that troubles her. We pray that she would be drawn to the truth of God's Word and to godly help, whether through pastoral counsel, prayer ministry, and where needed, wise professional care, for the Lord often works through those means to bring healing.
We also hear your honest struggle to have patience when it is very difficult to be around her. God calls us to Honor your father and your mother Ephesians 6:2, and this honor is part of His commandment with promise. Yet honoring does not mean we affirm controlling or abusive behavior, for such behavior does not reflect the love and gentleness of Christ. We are called to let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander, be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other Ephesians 4:31-32. We pray that your mother would be convicted where she has used control and harshness and that she would turn toward kindness and self-control. For you, we pray for the fruit of the Spirit to be evident, for the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control Galatians 5:22-23. We encourage you to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger James 1:19, and with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love Ephesians 4:2. At the same time we encourage you to seek wise boundaries with love, to not provoke or be provoked, and to seek counsel from a trusted pastor or mature believer who can walk with you and help you discern how to love her well while also protecting your own heart and household. Cast your burden on Yahweh, and he will sustain you Psalm 55:22, and do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God Philippians 4:6.
We noticed your request speaks of God generally but does not mention Jesus Christ, and we want to gently remind you that it is only through Jesus that we have access to the Father. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me John 14:6 and there is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved Acts 4:12. It is by His shed blood and resurrection that we are forgiven, healed and reconciled to God. If you have not already, we encourage you to place your trust fully in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, confessing your need for Him and believing that God raised Him from the dead Romans 10:9, and to pray to the Father in His name.
We pray together now. Father in heaven, we come before You in the name of Jesus Christ and we lift up this dear mother to You. You know her mind and spirit, You see her struggles and the ways her behavior has wounded those who love her. We ask for Your mercy and healing upon her, bring peace where there is turmoil, truth where there is confusion, and deliverance where there is spiritual bondage. Heal her, Lord, and lead her to repentance and to the help she needs. Give her a renewed mind and a softened heart. We also lift up her child who intercedes for her, grant patience, endurance, wisdom and protection. Help them to honor their mother as You command while walking in truth and not enabling harm. Fill them with Your love, guard their heart with Your peace which surpasses all understanding Philippians 4:7, and surround this family with godly support and counsel. We ask that Your will be done in her life and that she would come to know the hope and freedom found only in Jesus. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
The Lord sees her affliction and He is able to heal and restore. We are reminded that He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds Psalm 147:3 and that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control 2 Timothy 1:7. We pray that God would bring clarity to her mind, peace to her spirit, and freedom from any spiritual oppression or confusion that troubles her. We pray that she would be drawn to the truth of God's Word and to godly help, whether through pastoral counsel, prayer ministry, and where needed, wise professional care, for the Lord often works through those means to bring healing.
We also hear your honest struggle to have patience when it is very difficult to be around her. God calls us to Honor your father and your mother Ephesians 6:2, and this honor is part of His commandment with promise. Yet honoring does not mean we affirm controlling or abusive behavior, for such behavior does not reflect the love and gentleness of Christ. We are called to let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander, be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other Ephesians 4:31-32. We pray that your mother would be convicted where she has used control and harshness and that she would turn toward kindness and self-control. For you, we pray for the fruit of the Spirit to be evident, for the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control Galatians 5:22-23. We encourage you to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger James 1:19, and with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love Ephesians 4:2. At the same time we encourage you to seek wise boundaries with love, to not provoke or be provoked, and to seek counsel from a trusted pastor or mature believer who can walk with you and help you discern how to love her well while also protecting your own heart and household. Cast your burden on Yahweh, and he will sustain you Psalm 55:22, and do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God Philippians 4:6.
We noticed your request speaks of God generally but does not mention Jesus Christ, and we want to gently remind you that it is only through Jesus that we have access to the Father. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me John 14:6 and there is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved Acts 4:12. It is by His shed blood and resurrection that we are forgiven, healed and reconciled to God. If you have not already, we encourage you to place your trust fully in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, confessing your need for Him and believing that God raised Him from the dead Romans 10:9, and to pray to the Father in His name.
We pray together now. Father in heaven, we come before You in the name of Jesus Christ and we lift up this dear mother to You. You know her mind and spirit, You see her struggles and the ways her behavior has wounded those who love her. We ask for Your mercy and healing upon her, bring peace where there is turmoil, truth where there is confusion, and deliverance where there is spiritual bondage. Heal her, Lord, and lead her to repentance and to the help she needs. Give her a renewed mind and a softened heart. We also lift up her child who intercedes for her, grant patience, endurance, wisdom and protection. Help them to honor their mother as You command while walking in truth and not enabling harm. Fill them with Your love, guard their heart with Your peace which surpasses all understanding Philippians 4:7, and surround this family with godly support and counsel. We ask that Your will be done in her life and that she would come to know the hope and freedom found only in Jesus. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Thank you for trusting us with something so heavy and personal. We hear how much you love your mother and how painful it is to see her struggle with instability while also experiencing her controlling and hurtful behavior. Wanting God to help and heal her, and asking for patience for yourself, is a faithful and loving response.
Loving her well does not mean having no limits. It can help to think of a boundary as a property line that shows what you are responsible for and what you need to protect in order to stay healthy and connected. Being close to someone does not take away your freedom to say yes when you mean yes and no when you mean no. That kind of clarity can actually preserve the relationship and guard your heart when being around her feels difficult.
One gentle next step that helps many in your place is to decide ahead of time on one or two simple boundaries and share them with a trusted person. For example, what you will do if conversations become controlling or abusive, and who you can call or where you can step away to stay safe. It also helps not to carry this alone. A pastor, counselor, or small support group can walk with you regularly, pray with you, and help you think through patience and safety over time. If you ever feel unsafe, please reach out right away to someone you trust.
Father, we lift this dear mother to You and ask for Your mercy, healing and help for her. Give her child and others around her wisdom, strength and patient love, and surround them with supportive people who can bear this burden with them. Lead them to the help they need and keep them in Your care. In Jesus' name, amen.
Loving her well does not mean having no limits. It can help to think of a boundary as a property line that shows what you are responsible for and what you need to protect in order to stay healthy and connected. Being close to someone does not take away your freedom to say yes when you mean yes and no when you mean no. That kind of clarity can actually preserve the relationship and guard your heart when being around her feels difficult.
One gentle next step that helps many in your place is to decide ahead of time on one or two simple boundaries and share them with a trusted person. For example, what you will do if conversations become controlling or abusive, and who you can call or where you can step away to stay safe. It also helps not to carry this alone. A pastor, counselor, or small support group can walk with you regularly, pray with you, and help you think through patience and safety over time. If you ever feel unsafe, please reach out right away to someone you trust.
Father, we lift this dear mother to You and ask for Your mercy, healing and help for her. Give her child and others around her wisdom, strength and patient love, and surround them with supportive people who can bear this burden with them. Lead them to the help they need and keep them in Your care. In Jesus' name, amen.
May the Lord heal this mother's mind and spirit, and grant patience and strength to those who care for her. "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds" (Psalm 147:3). "Be patient with everyone" (1 Thessalonians 5:14). "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). Amen.
Spurgeon
Beloved of All
Your request concerning your mother has been laid before the Lord, and we have carried it to the throne of grace with you. We have heard your sorrow, that she is afflicted in mind and in spirit, and that this affliction shows itself in unstable and controlling ways which make it very difficult for you and for others who love her to dwell with her in peace. We do not make light of this trial, for such a burden in the house is heavy indeed.
You have heard of the patience of Job, and you have need of that same patience now. Job was tried in his household and in his own person, and though he was a man of like passions with ourselves, he was enabled to say, Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him. The Lord who tested with one hand supported with the other, and He brought His servant through with unspeakable advantage. So we pray that the same God will deal tenderly with you, and count you worthy to be tried, and at the same time sustain you under the trial. We pray that He will work in you that patience which the Scriptures inculcate and exhibit and produce, so that you may be able to bear and forbear and be silent when reviled, and to chew the cud in peace, putting up with much for Christ's sake.
We bring your mother before the Great Physician, for with Him no case is out of the way. He walked the hospitals of our woe and He is as much at home with one sinner as with another. He did not condone sin when He sat with sinners, but He came to heal the sick. There is no darkness of mind, no wound of the spirit, no chronic disease of the soul which He cannot cure, and He can do it this very hour. We plead His wounds before the Father on her behalf, and we bring her wounds and needs before Him. We pray that the Lord Jesus will have mercy upon her, that He will heal what is broken in her mind, deliver her from spiritual oppression, and renew her heart by His Spirit. We pray that she may be filled with the Spirit of God rather than driven by the restless spirit of this world, and that where there has been control and harshness there may be gentleness and soundness of mind.
And for you, we pray that the Lord will give you a double portion of the patience of Christ. Oh, the patience of Christ with us, how He has borne with our unbelief and ill manners and strange ways, and never discharged us from His service. As you have received such patience, so may you be enabled to show it. May the Scriptures be your comfort and your hope, for faith has to do with what Christ has accomplished, and hope looks forward to what He will yet do. May you find that the trial works patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, which makes not ashamed.
We will continue to plead with God for this particular blessing, that He would heal your mother and guard and strengthen you. Cast your burden upon Him who cares for you, seek godly counsel and help as you walk through this valley, and rest in this, that the Lord is pitiful and of tender mercy, and His compassions fail not.
You have heard of the patience of Job, and you have need of that same patience now. Job was tried in his household and in his own person, and though he was a man of like passions with ourselves, he was enabled to say, Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him. The Lord who tested with one hand supported with the other, and He brought His servant through with unspeakable advantage. So we pray that the same God will deal tenderly with you, and count you worthy to be tried, and at the same time sustain you under the trial. We pray that He will work in you that patience which the Scriptures inculcate and exhibit and produce, so that you may be able to bear and forbear and be silent when reviled, and to chew the cud in peace, putting up with much for Christ's sake.
We bring your mother before the Great Physician, for with Him no case is out of the way. He walked the hospitals of our woe and He is as much at home with one sinner as with another. He did not condone sin when He sat with sinners, but He came to heal the sick. There is no darkness of mind, no wound of the spirit, no chronic disease of the soul which He cannot cure, and He can do it this very hour. We plead His wounds before the Father on her behalf, and we bring her wounds and needs before Him. We pray that the Lord Jesus will have mercy upon her, that He will heal what is broken in her mind, deliver her from spiritual oppression, and renew her heart by His Spirit. We pray that she may be filled with the Spirit of God rather than driven by the restless spirit of this world, and that where there has been control and harshness there may be gentleness and soundness of mind.
And for you, we pray that the Lord will give you a double portion of the patience of Christ. Oh, the patience of Christ with us, how He has borne with our unbelief and ill manners and strange ways, and never discharged us from His service. As you have received such patience, so may you be enabled to show it. May the Scriptures be your comfort and your hope, for faith has to do with what Christ has accomplished, and hope looks forward to what He will yet do. May you find that the trial works patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, which makes not ashamed.
We will continue to plead with God for this particular blessing, that He would heal your mother and guard and strengthen you. Cast your burden upon Him who cares for you, seek godly counsel and help as you walk through this valley, and rest in this, that the Lord is pitiful and of tender mercy, and His compassions fail not.
Jonathan_M
Beloved of All
I prayed for this request in Jesus Name.
Featured Teaching
Click the play button below to watch the featured teaching.
Sickness in the Mansion
Whatever you are carrying today, this message from Dr. Talmage is for you.
