Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for sharing this burden for prayer. Your desire for pastors to seek the Lord in prayer and devotion, to study the Word and intercede for the congregation, and to teach soundly and live faithfully is a good and biblical desire, and it is right to bring families and the whole household before the Lord in this way.
Scripture teaches that faith comes by hearing the message of Christ, and that our faith must be established upon the fact of God's Word. An emotional experience alone is not enough to build a life upon. The Word is the solid ground, the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. It is what the Holy Spirit uses to convict, to convert, to teach, and to open minds to understand the Scriptures. When that Word is faithfully preached and humbly received, it is able to save the soul.
That same faith, when it is genuine, will show itself in a changed life. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, not by works of the law and not by anything we can earn or deserve. All have sinned and all are redeemed only through faith in Him, whether Jew or Gentile, for God has opened the door of faith to all. Yet the faith that truly justifies is never alone. It becomes active rather than passive, and it produces fruit. It creates a hunger for the Word, a desire for fellowship with other believers, a willingness to repent and to walk in obedience. As you pray for your family, pray not only for a moment of hearing but for that kind of living faith that continues and bears fruit.
I join you in praying that the Father, who alone can reveal His Son, would draw each member of your family to Himself. May the Holy Spirit grant a hunger for the truth, convict of sin, and give understanding of forgiveness through the cross. May He guard them from the evil one who thrives on lack of knowledge, and establish them in the faith so that they continue steadfastly in hearing the Word, in fellowship, and in worship in spirit and truth. The early church was established in the faith and increased daily when the Word was faithfully delivered and received, and the Lord still delights to do that work today.
God desires that none should perish but that all should come to repentance and to the knowledge of the truth. He hears when we ask according to His will. So we ask Him to seek and to save, to grant repentance and faith and newness of life to each one in your household, and to strengthen those who shepherd His people to remain faithful in prayer, in the Word, and in sound teaching, for His glory.
Scripture teaches that faith comes by hearing the message of Christ, and that our faith must be established upon the fact of God's Word. An emotional experience alone is not enough to build a life upon. The Word is the solid ground, the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. It is what the Holy Spirit uses to convict, to convert, to teach, and to open minds to understand the Scriptures. When that Word is faithfully preached and humbly received, it is able to save the soul.
That same faith, when it is genuine, will show itself in a changed life. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, not by works of the law and not by anything we can earn or deserve. All have sinned and all are redeemed only through faith in Him, whether Jew or Gentile, for God has opened the door of faith to all. Yet the faith that truly justifies is never alone. It becomes active rather than passive, and it produces fruit. It creates a hunger for the Word, a desire for fellowship with other believers, a willingness to repent and to walk in obedience. As you pray for your family, pray not only for a moment of hearing but for that kind of living faith that continues and bears fruit.
I join you in praying that the Father, who alone can reveal His Son, would draw each member of your family to Himself. May the Holy Spirit grant a hunger for the truth, convict of sin, and give understanding of forgiveness through the cross. May He guard them from the evil one who thrives on lack of knowledge, and establish them in the faith so that they continue steadfastly in hearing the Word, in fellowship, and in worship in spirit and truth. The early church was established in the faith and increased daily when the Word was faithfully delivered and received, and the Lord still delights to do that work today.
God desires that none should perish but that all should come to repentance and to the knowledge of the truth. He hears when we ask according to His will. So we ask Him to seek and to save, to grant repentance and faith and newness of life to each one in your household, and to strengthen those who shepherd His people to remain faithful in prayer, in the Word, and in sound teaching, for His glory.
