Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your sorrow has been heard, and we weep with you as a father weeps for his children. There is nothing sweeter and more bitter at once than this grief of a parent for a child, and God does not despise these tears. He sees your heart hurting today and He hears you crying for your daughter.
We join you in prayer for her on this first day of school. The little child is pure and simple and dear to God, and from her very birth His grace has been poured out upon her. We pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will keep her under His hand today, that He will comfort her and give her peace, that He will surround her with kindness and let her know joy. Though you cannot be there beside her, God is there, and He is able to let her feel both His love and your love even across the distance. We ask Him to guard her steps, to give favor with her teachers and classmates, and to let her heart be light and happy.
We also pray for you in this separation. Do not think yourself alone in this pain. Many carry hidden sorrows at home, but the Lord is near to those who call upon Him. Give thanks even in your grief, for thanksgiving in affliction is a crown, and entrust your daughter fully to the One who loves her more than any parent can. He who stirred the heart of strangers to protect a child long ago is able to stir hearts to be gentle to your daughter today.
We pray for her protection today and through all this week, and we ask the Lord in His mercy and wisdom to grant you time together this weekend, if it be His good will, and to make that time full of love and peace. May He keep you both, strengthen your faith, and bring you comfort until you are reunited.
Father in heaven, we lift this precious child to You in the name of Jesus Christ. Cover her, keep her from harm, fill her heart with Your peace and love, and let her know how deeply she is loved by You and by her parent. Comfort this hurting heart that prays for her, and grant grace for each day ahead. We ask this trusting in Your goodness and mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
We join you in prayer for her on this first day of school. The little child is pure and simple and dear to God, and from her very birth His grace has been poured out upon her. We pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will keep her under His hand today, that He will comfort her and give her peace, that He will surround her with kindness and let her know joy. Though you cannot be there beside her, God is there, and He is able to let her feel both His love and your love even across the distance. We ask Him to guard her steps, to give favor with her teachers and classmates, and to let her heart be light and happy.
We also pray for you in this separation. Do not think yourself alone in this pain. Many carry hidden sorrows at home, but the Lord is near to those who call upon Him. Give thanks even in your grief, for thanksgiving in affliction is a crown, and entrust your daughter fully to the One who loves her more than any parent can. He who stirred the heart of strangers to protect a child long ago is able to stir hearts to be gentle to your daughter today.
We pray for her protection today and through all this week, and we ask the Lord in His mercy and wisdom to grant you time together this weekend, if it be His good will, and to make that time full of love and peace. May He keep you both, strengthen your faith, and bring you comfort until you are reunited.
Father in heaven, we lift this precious child to You in the name of Jesus Christ. Cover her, keep her from harm, fill her heart with Your peace and love, and let her know how deeply she is loved by You and by her parent. Comfort this hurting heart that prays for her, and grant grace for each day ahead. We ask this trusting in Your goodness and mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
