Silas
Beloved of All
Your burden for pastors and for your family is evident and it is right to bring it before the Lord. I join you in praying that those who preach and shepherd would seek God first, as Jesus taught in Matthew 6:33, giving themselves to prayer, to daily devotion, to careful study of the Word, and to a life that matches what they teach. A healthy church needs overseers who are spiritual men, appointed to watch over the flock, to teach sound doctrine faithfully, and to lovingly confront sin according to Leviticus 19:17 and Matthew 18, not to overlook it. That kind of faithfulness does not come from striving for numbers or from competition and vainglory, and it does not come from professional methods to build a budget. It comes from seeking the Lord Himself.
I also pray with you for your family and for all who come through the doors of the church, that the Father would draw them as Jesus promised in John 6:44, and that they would not forsake assembling together as Hebrews 10:25 exhorts, but would gather for the Word, for prayer, for fellowship and for worship in spirit and truth as in John 4:24. What God intends for His church is seen most clearly in the book of Acts, where believers continued steadfastly in the apostles teaching and fellowship, and the churches were established in the faith and increased daily. History shows many failures when the church has grown cold, compromised with the world, or lost love and therefore known the absence of the Spirit's presence. The early pattern is different. It is a people purified from hypocrisy and leaven, walking in love and good works, with Christ Himself as the head of the body.
For your loved ones, I pray that God would give a hunger for His Word as a newborn desires milk, as 1 Peter 2:2 describes, and that the Holy Spirit would bring revelation. Flesh and blood does not reveal who Jesus is, as the Lord told Peter in Matthew 16:17, but the Father in heaven reveals Him. So I ask that the Spirit would convict, teach, and open minds to understand the Scriptures as in Luke 24:45 and John 16:8 and 16:13, and that faith would come by hearing the preached message as Romans 10:17 teaches, leading to repentance, forgiveness of sins, and newness of life. We have the example of the household in Philippi who heard the word, believed with all their house, rejoiced, and were baptized. God desires that none should perish but that all should come to repentance and to the knowledge of the truth, as 2 Peter 3:9 and 1 Timothy 2:4 teach, and His promise in Acts 16:31 still stands that salvation is offered to all who believe.
I pray also for protection, that the Lord would keep you all from temptation, from evil people and deception, and from the evil one himself, as Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:13 and John 17:15. Put on the whole armor of God described in Ephesians 6:10 to 20. Temptation itself is common to all and is not sin, even Jesus was tempted, yet sin comes when we yield to the desire of the flesh. Each temptation calls for a choice whether to walk according to the flesh or according to the Spirit, and as faith is tested, patience is developed. The Lord said to the church in Smyrna to be faithful even unto death and He would give the crown of life, and to the faithful He promises to keep them through trial.
May the Lord uphold those who intercede for you, as Aaron and Hur upheld the hands of Moses while Joshua fought in the valley in Exodus 17, and may your prayers be lifted like incense before Him as Psalm 141:2 describes, with hearts lifted up as in Lamentations 3:41 and holy hands lifted as in 1 Timothy 2:8. We can pray with confidence that when we ask according to His will He hears us, as 1 John 5:14 assures, and that He who began to speak of this great salvation through His Son, the captain of our salvation who brings many sons to glory, will continue to seek and to save the lost as in Luke 19:10. I ask the Father to grant you and your household faith to receive what you ask in Jesus name, to grow in the knowledge of Christ crucified for our sins as Galatians 2:20 declares, and to walk in the protection, vision, and anointing of the Holy Spirit.
I also pray with you for your family and for all who come through the doors of the church, that the Father would draw them as Jesus promised in John 6:44, and that they would not forsake assembling together as Hebrews 10:25 exhorts, but would gather for the Word, for prayer, for fellowship and for worship in spirit and truth as in John 4:24. What God intends for His church is seen most clearly in the book of Acts, where believers continued steadfastly in the apostles teaching and fellowship, and the churches were established in the faith and increased daily. History shows many failures when the church has grown cold, compromised with the world, or lost love and therefore known the absence of the Spirit's presence. The early pattern is different. It is a people purified from hypocrisy and leaven, walking in love and good works, with Christ Himself as the head of the body.
For your loved ones, I pray that God would give a hunger for His Word as a newborn desires milk, as 1 Peter 2:2 describes, and that the Holy Spirit would bring revelation. Flesh and blood does not reveal who Jesus is, as the Lord told Peter in Matthew 16:17, but the Father in heaven reveals Him. So I ask that the Spirit would convict, teach, and open minds to understand the Scriptures as in Luke 24:45 and John 16:8 and 16:13, and that faith would come by hearing the preached message as Romans 10:17 teaches, leading to repentance, forgiveness of sins, and newness of life. We have the example of the household in Philippi who heard the word, believed with all their house, rejoiced, and were baptized. God desires that none should perish but that all should come to repentance and to the knowledge of the truth, as 2 Peter 3:9 and 1 Timothy 2:4 teach, and His promise in Acts 16:31 still stands that salvation is offered to all who believe.
I pray also for protection, that the Lord would keep you all from temptation, from evil people and deception, and from the evil one himself, as Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:13 and John 17:15. Put on the whole armor of God described in Ephesians 6:10 to 20. Temptation itself is common to all and is not sin, even Jesus was tempted, yet sin comes when we yield to the desire of the flesh. Each temptation calls for a choice whether to walk according to the flesh or according to the Spirit, and as faith is tested, patience is developed. The Lord said to the church in Smyrna to be faithful even unto death and He would give the crown of life, and to the faithful He promises to keep them through trial.
May the Lord uphold those who intercede for you, as Aaron and Hur upheld the hands of Moses while Joshua fought in the valley in Exodus 17, and may your prayers be lifted like incense before Him as Psalm 141:2 describes, with hearts lifted up as in Lamentations 3:41 and holy hands lifted as in 1 Timothy 2:8. We can pray with confidence that when we ask according to His will He hears us, as 1 John 5:14 assures, and that He who began to speak of this great salvation through His Son, the captain of our salvation who brings many sons to glory, will continue to seek and to save the lost as in Luke 19:10. I ask the Father to grant you and your household faith to receive what you ask in Jesus name, to grow in the knowledge of Christ crucified for our sins as Galatians 2:20 declares, and to walk in the protection, vision, and anointing of the Holy Spirit.
