One more pleading

[Chrysostom]

Your heartfelt petition has been heard and we join you in bringing it before God with compassion for the pain of these three months apart from your grandchildren. To love them so deeply and to be unable to hear their voices is a heavy sorrow, and it is right that you have turned to prayer in this shelter season while also carrying concern for your beloved's health.

We do not come to God on our own merit, but only through Jesus Christ. He saw us cast down and perishing and in love took our flesh to become a merciful and faithful High Priest. By Himself He purged our sins and has given us the word of reconciliation, so that through Him alone we have access to the Father. It is in His name and through His sacrifice that we can ask for mercy, for healing, and for peace in our families.

We pray with you now. Father in heaven, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ Your Son, we ask for Your mercy on this family. We ask for Your healing hand upon the beloved whose health is fragile, and for Your comfort and provision in this time of shelter. We ask for peace of mind and protection for the grandchildren, that their hearts would be guarded from bitterness and confusion. We ask that You would open a way for wholesome communication to be restored in a manner that honors You, whether by phone service restored or by other right means, according to Your wisdom. We ask that You would soften hearts on every side, and remove spite and domineering words, and replace them with grace and truth. Help this grandmother to respond not with poison in return, but with the patience and love that reflects Christ, who reconciled us while we were still enemies.

A house divided against itself cannot stand, and the Lord desires reconciliation and peace where there has been estrangement. That does not mean that every hurt is immediately removed, but it does call us to pursue what makes for peace as far as it depends on us. Continue to pray, to bless those who speak against you, and to speak well of your daughter before your grandchildren rather than repaying harsh words with harsh words. They are intelligent enough to see, as you said, but they most need to see in you a steady example of kindness, self control, and trust in God. Seek godly counsel nearby, respect rightful boundaries while the living arrangements are unsettled, and commit the timing of when your daughter moves to her own residence to the Lord's providence.

We thank God for His presence in your life and for your gratitude even in trial. We will continue to hold you, your grandchildren, your beloved, and your daughter before the Lord, asking that He who is faithful to make reconciliation for sin would bring healing, restore right fellowship, and be glorified in all things. May the Lord give you strength for each day, guard your heart in Christ Jesus, and keep your grandchildren in His peace until you can speak again. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Your love for your grandchildren and your desire to honor God in this painful separation is evident, and thank you for sharing your heart so openly. To have raised them as your own and now to be kept from even speaking with them for these months is a deep sorrow, and it is understandable that you feel the weight of it so heavily while you are in the shelter and also carrying concern for your loved one's health.

Scripture gives a picture that speaks to your situation. When Esther had lost both her father and mother, her cousin Mordecai took her and raised her as his own daughter. Even when she was taken into the king's house and he could no longer be with her daily, he walked each day near the court to learn how she was and what was happening to her. His care did not stop when separation came, and she continued to respect his guidance as she had when she was brought up by him. That faithful, watching love reflects the heart you have shown in raising your grandchildren and continuing to lift them before the Lord even when you cannot reach them by phone.

That same account reminds us that God is not limited by closed doors. Mordecai told Esther that if she did not act, deliverance for their people would arise from another place, and he asked her to consider that God may have allowed her position for such a time as this. Circumstances that look like coincidence are part of God's larger purpose. In the same way, Joseph was sent ahead into Egypt through hardship so that later God could sustain his father Jacob and the whole family through famine. God sees families and He works to sustain and deliver them, even when human opposition seems strong.

Your daughter's actions have hurt you, and it is right to bring that pain honestly to God. At the same time, the Lord calls us to not return spite for spite but to pray for those who oppose us and to trust Him to work in their hearts. Your grandchildren are intelligent, as you said, and God can guard their minds and give them peace even when they hear unkind words. He can also soften hearts that have become hard and domineering. Rather than trying to break a stronghold by your own effort, ask God to do what only He can do, to remove what is harmful and to bring truth, calm and respect into that home until there is a more peaceful living arrangement.

God is not bound to one phone or one service. He is able to open another way for communication when it is His timing, and He hears your prayers even when a call cannot go through. Continue to walk before the Lord on their behalf each day as Mordecai did, with steady prayer and trust.

Let us pray together.

Father, in the name of Jesus Christ who alone is the way of salvation, thank You that You see this grandmother, her grandchildren, and her loved one who needs healing. You know the separation, the shelter, the months without hearing their voices, and the hurt caused by angry words. Lord, place Your hand upon the grandchildren, guard their hearts and minds, give them peace and clarity, and let them know they are loved and prayed for. Provide a way for right and healthy communication to be restored in Your timing, whether through a phone or another means You provide. Work in the daughter's heart, soften what is spiteful and controlling, bring conviction where needed and grace to speak with kindness and truth. Bring peace into that home and guide each step toward a more stable and peaceful residence for all. Touch the loved one who is unwell with Your healing and sustaining grace, and draw each person in this family closer to Jesus. Lead all relationships in this family to be ordered according to Your Word and Your good design, for Your glory. We ask this in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus Christ, amen.