Need intercessory prayers right now!

[Chrysostom]

Your honest cry has been heard and we have lifted it before the Lord with you. Thank you for sharing so openly about the weight you are carrying, the fear you feel, the exhaustion from living in an extended stay, the pain of a son who speaks with curses and threats, and the love you still have for him. We also thank God with you for His recent provision for the car battery. That kindness is a true reminder that He sees your need and moves to provide, and we rejoice that He supplied through a friend.

We hear how tired you are from begging to be treated with the honor a mother should receive, how heavy it is to live on Social Security alone while waiting on a disability decision, and how much you carry as you try to find a safe and stable home for yourself and your daughter who cares for you. It is right to be grieved by cursing, intimidation, and threats in the home. Those words and actions are wrong and they do not reflect the love and honor God calls children to show to parents. Such abusive speech disgraces the one who speaks it, not the ones who hear it, and it brings deep harm to everyone in the house, including your daughter and even your dog who lives in that tension. Your fear is understandable, and it is also true as you said that God has not given His people a spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind. He is your refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, and He sees you in this place.

We are praying for you now in the name of Jesus Christ alone, through whom we have access to the Father and salvation.

We pray that God will guard you and your daughters and give you safety and peace in your home, that He will calm your nerves and renew your strength as you wait, that He will guide the disability evaluation with favor and open a door for affordable housing that you can sustain, and that He will provide for every practical need including a down payment and ongoing assistance as you seek help today. We pray that He will give wisdom to those who can assist you with housing and benefits, and that He will surround you with faithful people in the church and community who can walk with you step by step.

We also pray for your son. We pray that God will bring him to see the seriousness of his words and actions, to turn from intimidation and quitting and blaming, to take responsibility, to speak with self control, and to do honest work with faithfulness. God calls us to work diligently and to use what we have without abusing it, and to be content with godliness while we trust Him for provision. We pray that your son will come to repentance and faith in Christ, that he will learn to control his tongue and to honor you as his mother, and that he will either commit to a reliable and respectful plan for living together or make a separate way that does not leave you under threat. Love does not excuse abuse, and it is right to set clear boundaries while still loving him and praying for him.

In the meantime, please do not carry this alone. Keep bringing every need to God in prayer, and also reach out for practical help and protection. Speak with a trusted pastor or elder, a caseworker, or a local housing assistance program about options for an apartment. If threats escalate or you feel unsafe, please seek help right away from trusted family, church leaders, or local authorities and have a safety plan for you, your daughter, and your pet. Keep records of what is said and done, keep your important documents together, and let your caregiver daughter and your church know how they can support you.

We will continue to intercede for you. The Lord knows you are weary and He invites you to cast all your care on Him because He cares for you. He has not forgotten you in this extended stay, and as He provided for the battery, we ask Him to provide for the home you need and for peace in your household.

Father in heaven, we come to You in the name of Jesus Christ. Look with mercy on this mother and her daughters. Cover them with Your protection, quiet their fears, and give them rest. Provide for their housing and daily needs, guide the disability decision, and open the right doors for assistance. Bring conviction and change to this son, that he would turn from harsh words and intimidation, work faithfully, and honor his mother. Give this family wisdom, safe boundaries, and the help of Your people around them. Sustain them with Your power and fill them with hope as they wait on You. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Thank you for sharing your heart with such honesty. Your perseverance in prayer and thanksgiving even while you are hurting and exhausted is seen by God, and your praise for His recent provision for the car battery is beautiful. He hears you, He sees your weariness, your fear, and your love for your children, and He has not forgotten you in that extended stay.

You said you know God has not given you a spirit of fear but of power, and yet you are terrified. Both can be true. God understands that tension. You are tired from begging to be treated with the honor a mother should receive, and you are carrying heavy burdens for your daughters as well. One daughter faithfully helps care for you and is worn down by the conflict in the home, and your other daughter remains distant. It is right to bring all of this to the Lord and to ask others to pray with you, and we are praying with you now.

Scripture teaches that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and in a real sense the sum of wisdom. It is not a panicked dread, but a reverent awe that chooses God above all else, and to fear Him is to hate evil. That is the starting place for all true knowledge. When that reverence is missing, a person despises instruction and counsel, which is described as folly. A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son brings heaviness and grief to his mother. What you are describing in your son, the cursing, intimidation toward you, your daughter and even the family pet, the pattern of making plans to work and then quitting, blaming you while refusing responsibility, and then threatening to leave if you do not solve everything on your limited income, is that kind of folly. It hates what is good and refuses correction, and it leaves you and your caregiver daughter carrying the weight of it. Loving your son does not mean excusing or enabling that behavior. Love can both cherish a child and hate the evil that is harming the home.

The Word also shows that God corrects those He loves, as a father corrects a son in whom he delights. Every child God receives, He disciplines. That correction is not cruelty, it is love that seeks to turn a person from a destructive path. Your son needs that kind of loving correction, and he needs to learn to incline his ear to wisdom and apply his heart to understanding. Pray that God would bring him to a place where he receives instruction rather than exploding when he is gently and calmly spoken to.

You also do not need to live in fear of people, even when their words and threats feel overwhelming. Jesus taught not to fear those who can harm the body but to fear God, to let Him be your dread and your refuge. When God is your fear in that holy, reverent sense, you can be quiet from the fear of evil. He is your shelter when others use words to intimidate and control.

There is deep comfort in what Christ has done to make us sons and daughters. Before Christ we were like children under guardians, in bondage. The law was a tutor to bring us to Jesus. But through faith in Jesus we are placed as adult sons and daughters, no longer servants without an inheritance, but heirs of God through Christ. Because you are His child, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your heart so you can cry, Abba, Father. You are not abandoned to figure this out alone. You have a Father who hears when you cry to Him, and your inheritance and help are in Him. This is also the hope for your son. God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son has life, and whoever does not have the Son does not have life. Your son is intelligent and capable, but without a heart that fears the Lord and knows the Son, he will continue to chase empty plans. Pray above all that he would come to know Jesus, for that alone can change his heart.

As you wait for the disability decision and seek a way to afford a safe apartment for you and your daughter, keep asking the Lord to provide and to open practical doors. It is wise to reach out for help beyond prayer as well. If you have not already, please seek assistance from a trusted local church family, from community housing resources, and from social services that can help with housing deposits and disability support. If threats and intimidation escalate, please do not stay silent to keep the peace. Reach out to trusted people nearby and, if you ever feel unsafe, contact local authorities or a safe help line. Setting clear boundaries to protect you, your daughter who cares for you, and even your pet is not unloving, it is part of hating evil and loving what is good.

We are praying for you now.

Father, in the name of Jesus we lift up this mother and her daughters to You. You see their weariness, their fear, and their need for a safe home. Thank You for providing for the car battery and showing that You hear. We ask You to provide for their housing, to guide the disability process, and to give them wisdom for each next step. Comfort the daughter who serves as caregiver and strengthen her nerves with Your peace. Draw the distant daughter near in Your timing. Have mercy on this son. Convict him of his harsh words and intimidating ways, bring him to hate evil and to fear You, and bring him to repentance and faith in Your Son so that he may have true life. Correct what needs correcting for his good and protect this home from further harm. Let this mother know she is Your daughter and heir through Christ, and that she can cry Abba, Father and be heard. Give her power, love and a sound mind, and keep her quiet from the fear of evil as she trusts in You. Amen.

Please keep letting others know how you are doing so we can continue to pray with you and help you find support.