We have heard your heart for your dear friend and we join with you in lifting her up before the throne of grace in Jesus' name. We are deeply moved by her faithfulness, that she loves Jesus and is faithful to attend church services even while laboring far from home in a Gulf country to provide for her family, and we are also grieved to hear how heavy and weary she has become under the weight of many trials coming one after another from her work and from relationships.
We want to speak first to her discouragement and to the words she sent you. She said she will not ask anything again because she feels God has not given her joy and happiness, that she wants only to live privately and in peace away from people, that she needs nothing from God, and that if He wants to take her breath He can. We understand this is the language of a deeply wounded and exhausted soul who has carried burdens since childhood without feeling the love and peace she longs for. Yet we must gently and lovingly correct what does not align with truth, because we love her and want her to be restored.
The scriptures tell us to cast all our anxiety on him, because he cares for us, 1 Peter 5:7, and to be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, Philippians 4:6. To say I will not ask anything again is to close the very door God has opened for us through Jesus. Jesus said Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you, Matthew 7:7. We encourage her not to stop asking, seeking and knocking, for our Father hears and He answers according to His perfect will and timing.
We also must address her thought that God has given her to the wrong hands and therefore made her fall into sexual sin, and that if He had given her the right person she would not have sinned. This is not what the Bible teaches and we say this in love to bring freedom. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed, James 1:13-14. God never causes us to sin. Sexual sin which is any sexual intimacy outside of marriage between a man and a woman is fornication or adultery and we are each responsible before God for our choices. No partner or circumstance forces us to sin, though heartbreak and loneliness make temptation stronger. If she has fallen in this area, there is forgiveness and cleansing through repentance and the blood of Jesus, for If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, 1 John 1:9. We do not condone continuing in such relationships. If God has put marriage on her heart, we pray for a godly spouse, a marriage that honors God as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman, and we encourage her to pursue courtship only with a fellow believer in Christ with marriage as the goal, for we are told not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, 2 Corinthians 6:14, and that marriage should be held in honor and the bed undefiled, Hebrews 13:4. Having multiple partners is not God's design and will only deepen her wounds and distance her from peace.
Her statement that she needs nothing from God and only needs herself and her own peace also grieves us, because apart from Him we can do nothing, John 15:5, and true peace is not found in isolation away from people but in Christ Himself. He says Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest, Matthew 11:28. The peace she longs for since childhood, the love she has not yet found, is found fully in Him. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus, Philippians 4:7. To withdraw and live private and alone is not the answer, for God has placed us in the body of Christ for fellowship, encouragement and bearing one another's burdens. Even when we feel forsaken, we are promised Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit, Psalm 34:18, and that he will not leave us nor forsake us, Hebrews 13:5.
We also hear in her words a weariness with life itself, saying she will just live till He takes her breath. We want to tenderly remind her that her life is precious to God and He has purpose for her still. For we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose, Romans 8:28. The trials she faces are not a sign that God has abandoned her or that she has done something bad to make Him punish her. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, James 1:2-3. Jesus told us In the world you have trouble, but cheer up. I have overcome the world, John 16:33. Her joy is not dependent on perfect circumstances but on the unchanging presence of Christ.
We thank God that she loves Jesus, for it is only through His name that we have access to the Father and salvation. As it is written, there is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved, Acts 4:12, and Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me, John 14:6. Because she has begun her journey with God long ago, we urge her to continue walking with Him, not turning inward to self-reliance but turning fully to Him.
We pray together now for her.
Father in heaven, in the name of Jesus Christ we lift up this precious daughter to You. You see her labor in a foreign land, her sacrifice for her family, her faithful attendance to Your house, and You also see every tear, every disappointment, every wound from relationships and work. Lord we ask You to forgive her where she has blamed You for her sin and where she has believed she does not need You. Wash her with the blood of Jesus, cleanse her from all sexual sin and all unrighteousness, and give her a heart of true repentance and wholeness. Restore to her the joy of Your salvation and uphold her with a willing spirit, Psalm 51:12. Let her hear Your voice saying When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, Isaiah 43:2, and Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God, Isaiah 41:10.
Father, heal the deep ache she has carried since childhood for love and peace. Reveal to her that You are love, 1 John 4:8, and that Your steadfast love never ceases. Give her Your peace that surpasses understanding to guard her heart. Lift this heavy discouragement and the desire to isolate or to give up on asking. Teach her to pray without ceasing, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, and to trust that You hear. If it is Your will for her to be married, we ask You to prepare a godly husband for her, a man who loves You above all, that she may enter into a holy marriage that honors You. If You call her to remain single for a season, give her contentment and purpose in serving You. Provide for her needs at work, protect her from exploitation and grant her favor, and comfort her family back home. Let her know her life has great value and that You have plans for her, plans for peace and not for evil, to give her hope and a future, Jeremiah 29:11.
We ask You to surround her with godly fellowship, with sisters and brothers who will not let her walk alone, and to help her friend who intercedes for her to be a continual encouragement. Keep her breath in Your hands for Your glory and let her live to testify of Your goodness. In Jesus' precious and mighty name we pray, amen.
We encourage you to continue to stand with her, to share the scriptures with her, to urge her not to isolate but to stay connected to faithful believers, and to gently call her to repentance and hope in Christ alone. We are praying with you that God will turn her mourning into joy and her weariness into strength.
. Amen
