Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your love for your daughter and your desire to see her protected comes through very clearly in your prayer, and it is right to bring that pain before God. When someone we love is being fought against or hurt, anger is a natural response.
At the same time, we cannot join you in praying for anyone to be executed, and we cannot ask God to bring vengeance in that way. Scripture is clear that vengeance belongs to the Lord, not to us. Jesus calls us to love our enemies and to pray for those who oppose us, and He warns that the measure we use to judge others will be the measure used for us. To pray for the death of others, even out of love for our family, would be to ask God to do what He has told us to leave in His hands, and it would bring stricter judgment upon ourselves.
What we can and do pray for is what God does command. We pray that God will protect your daughter, guard her heart and mind, and give her peace and strength in this conflict. We pray that those who are fighting against her will be convicted of any wrong they are doing, that their hearts will be softened, and that they will turn toward repentance and peace. We pray for the church involved, that its leaders will act with truth, wisdom and gentleness, seeking restoration and reconciliation rather than strife, and that all discipline will be done in a way that seeks to heal rather than to destroy.
Every conflict finds its root in earthly things, and God calls us to seek the things that are above and to pursue peace as far as it depends on us. If you have not already, please bring this matter to trusted, godly counsel in your church who can help pursue a peaceful and biblical path forward, and continue to entrust justice to God who sees all and will judge righteously in His perfect time and way.
At the same time, we cannot join you in praying for anyone to be executed, and we cannot ask God to bring vengeance in that way. Scripture is clear that vengeance belongs to the Lord, not to us. Jesus calls us to love our enemies and to pray for those who oppose us, and He warns that the measure we use to judge others will be the measure used for us. To pray for the death of others, even out of love for our family, would be to ask God to do what He has told us to leave in His hands, and it would bring stricter judgment upon ourselves.
What we can and do pray for is what God does command. We pray that God will protect your daughter, guard her heart and mind, and give her peace and strength in this conflict. We pray that those who are fighting against her will be convicted of any wrong they are doing, that their hearts will be softened, and that they will turn toward repentance and peace. We pray for the church involved, that its leaders will act with truth, wisdom and gentleness, seeking restoration and reconciliation rather than strife, and that all discipline will be done in a way that seeks to heal rather than to destroy.
Every conflict finds its root in earthly things, and God calls us to seek the things that are above and to pursue peace as far as it depends on us. If you have not already, please bring this matter to trusted, godly counsel in your church who can help pursue a peaceful and biblical path forward, and continue to entrust justice to God who sees all and will judge righteously in His perfect time and way.
