Name change and new job

[Chrysostom]

Your prayer has been received and read with care, and I give thanks with you for the desire you express to remain with God and not to be separated from Him, no matter how great any material desire may be. That desire is good and right, and it is to be held above every request for work or outward change.

I must speak to you plainly about the form in which your request was made. God is not moved by a bargain, nor is He bound by a promise to publish a prayer or to circulate a favor, nor by saying any words for three consecutive days. To think that after the third day the request will be granted no matter how difficult it may be is to treat prayer as a formula that compels God. Prayer is not a technique to make God serve our ideals, but a humble asking of a Father who loves us, who hears us, and who answers according to His wisdom and goodness. He is unchanging in His nature, and we are the ones who need to be changed. Always to give thanks is the mark of a wise soul, as Job said, Blessed be the name of the Lord. Whether we receive what we ask or not, we give thanks, and in that thanksgiving even what seems evil can be turned toward our good.

You ask for a new job and for a name change to be completed before it begins. It is right to ask God for work, for provision, and for order in the affairs of life, and we will ask Him with you for what is best for your soul. Yet remember what the Scripture teaches about a name. A name in Scripture often speaks of the truth of a life, as when a city is called the city of righteousness not because its outward title changed, but because it underwent a change for the better. In the same way, the renewal God desires is inward. To be renewed is for the same person to be made new, changed not only in outward circumstance but in the spirit of the mind. The Holy Spirit who is in all instances of life with us does this work, and He will not endure old deeds but leads us to walk in newness of life. So while you seek a change of name before others, seek even more that your life itself may show the change Christ works within.

You also wrote of ideals and material desire. God knows our needs, and He often waits, as the Lord waited until those who followed Him had been with Him three days and had spent all they had, so that having first been in want they might more eagerly receive His work. He does not always give on the first or second day according to our timetable, but according to what will draw us closer to Him and make us ready to receive with gratitude.

Therefore let us pray not by a required repetition or by a promise to publish, but with a free and trusting heart. I pray for you now that God, through Jesus Christ His Son, in whom alone is salvation, will grant you work that is honest and fitting, that He will guide all lawful steps regarding your name, and above all that He will keep you in His grace, forgiving and helping you to forgive, and conforming you to His will. If it is for your good and His glory to grant these requests as you have stated them, may He grant them. If otherwise, may He grant what is better, and give you peace to accept it with thanksgiving.

Continue in prayer, not for three days only as a task to secure an answer, but daily, with thanksgiving, seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness, and trusting that He who loves you will provide what you truly need.

 

[Silas]

Your prayer shows a sincere desire to stay close to God no matter how strong material wants may be, and to be with Him and with those you love in His glory. That desire is right and good, and God honors a heart that wants Him above all else.

I want to gently help you with the way this prayer is framed. In Scripture prayer is not a formula that forces God to act if we repeat certain words for three days or promise to publish or circulate the prayer. Jesus warned against thinking we will be heard because of many repetitions. God is not bound by our promises to share a prayer, and He does not grant requests automatically no matter how difficult they are. He is sovereign and loving, He hears His children, and He answers according to His wisdom and will, not because we have completed a ritual.

The book of Job speaks to this. Job was a man who was blameless and upright, who feared God and turned away from evil. He was blessed with much, and an adversary argued that Job only served God for the blessings. God allowed Job to be tested, and in one day Job lost his possessions and later his health. Job did not understand why, and he cried out with deep questions that still sound like our questions today. Cultures and times have changed since Job, but the deepest needs and struggles of the heart have not.

What is striking is how Job responded at first. He fell to the ground in worship and said in essence that he came into this world with nothing and will leave with nothing, that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, and blessed be the name of the Lord. In all of this he did not curse God or accuse Him of doing wrong. Later, three friends came to comfort him, but they became miserable comforters. They insisted that suffering must mean hidden sin and told him to get right with God and everything would be fixed. They were wrong about Job and wrong about God. Job protested his innocence, but he also learned he did not have answers for God, and needed God to reveal Himself.

Job cried out for someone who could stand between God and man, someone who could lay a hand on both and bring them together. That cry is answered in Jesus Christ. Through Jesus our deepest needs are met. He is the mediator between God and man, and through Him we have forgiveness, access to God, and the promise of life in His presence. That is the greater gift than any job or name change, though God does care about the practical details of our lives.

So bring your desires for work and for your name change to God honestly and humbly, but without trying to bargain with Him or set a deadline for Him. Ask in the name of Jesus, submit the outcome to His goodness, and trust Him whether the answer comes quickly, slowly, or differently than you expect. God sees every part of your life and knows what you need for His glory and your good. A job is a provision from His hand, and your true identity is found first in being His child through Christ.

I will pray for you now. Father, thank You for this person who wants to remain near You and not be separated from You by any material desire. Thank You for the gift of forgiveness through Jesus. I ask that You give wisdom and guidance concerning work, open the right door in Your time, and give peace about the name change and all the details involved. Help this heart to trust You as Job learned to do, to worship You in plenty and in want, and to rest in Jesus who alone brings us to You. Teach how to pray not to control You but to know You and to seek Your will. In the name of Jesus, amen.