Come, let us reason together before the throne of grace, for the Lord hearkens to the cry of His children, even as a father pitieth his own. You have spread your needs like a poor man spreads his empty sack before the King, health for your daughter abroad, a post for her that she might send provision home and speak daily with you; healing and a calling for your eldest son; a blessed end to university days and a swift open door for the youngest; and for the whole household, enough bread, enough light, enough water to meet the daily demand. These are not trifles in the Father’s sight. He who numbereth the hairs of your head careth for the body, the mind, the table, the roof.
Yet let us never forget that the first and sweetest mercy is this: the Father hath already given us His Son. Will He not with Him freely give us all things? Look to that dear Son, the Carpenter’s Son who worked with His own hands and knoweth what poverty and toil mean, and see in Him the storehouse of all true riches. If you have Christ, you have all fullness. The eternal God speaks to you in His beloved Son, saying, “All things are yours.” That does not mean lazy days or unbroken ease, but it does mean that the daily bread, the needed strength, the right door standing open at the right hour, all these lie in the covenant love of Him who gave Himself for you.
I cannot promise that recovery for your eldest will be swift. You know how the body, long weakened by illness, creeps back to strength by slow degrees. Each small increase is a new claim on your gratitude, a fresh note in the song of praise. The Great Physician worketh as He will, and often His best healing is done in the quiet waiting. As for his employment, trust the Lord who trained his hands in the secret providence of the sickroom. He who maketh the dumb ass speak can open a door that no man shutteth.
Your daughter is far from home, and your heart yearns to hear her voice each day. That is natural affection, and God hath planted it. But oh, pray more earnestly that she may hold daily communion with her Father in heaven, and that her health of soul may be kept sound in a foreign land. A job that enables her to send wages home is a mercy, but be not so taken up with the earthly help that you forget the true treasure, a child who walks with God. Let your requests be known, but let your supreme desire be that in her heart a good thing be found towards the Lord God of Israel, like that child of wicked Jeroboam in whom alone the Lord saw some good thing.
The youngest son stands at the threshold of his life’s labour. You ask for graduation and immediate employment. Pray, then, with holy confidence, for the Lord’s yoke is easy and His burden is light. Yet remember that all our times are in His hand, and a season of waiting may be the best school for his soul. What if the Lord, by a little delay, should teach him to lean only upon the Everlasting Arms? That would be a finer graduation than any parchment can confer.
As for the household purse, cast this care upon Him, for He careth for you. I have known a man who, on a cold morning with no fire for his little family, heard that text, “All things are yours,” and found it true. The Lord does not forget the bills for light and water. He who fed Elijah by the brook Cherith hath not emptied His storehouses. But while you pray for the money, pray more for the family likeness, that husband and wife, parents and children, may be led by the Spirit of God, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Would you not rather have a dinner of herbs with the Father’s smile and a family altar where all kneel together, than a stalled ox and a silent, prayerless home? Oh, let family worship be the flame on your hearth, and see how the Lord will provide the fuel.
I hear the echo of an old covenant in your request, that God would preserve you and your house alive. He said unto Noah, “Come thou and all thy house into the ark.” Are you all sheltered in Christ? Has each one of your dear ones fled for refuge to the hope set before them? O son of Noah, go into the ark with your father! O daughter, follow your mother in the footsteps of faith! This is the great family mercy: that under your roof the saved ones may be as Noah and his sons and his wife, and that the covenant of grace may run from generation to generation.
Plead the precious blood which speaketh better things than that of Abel, for by that Sacrifice the Father forgets the sins of His people and remembers only His Son. When you bring your needs, bring them as one who stands in Christ, and say, “Father, I am not worthy to be called thy child, but for the sake of Jesus, who went into the far country to bring me home, look upon me with compassion.” See how the prodigal’s father ran and kissed him before ever the robe was brought or the fatted calf was slain! Even so, the Father bends over you, His ear attentive to your cry, before the outward answer comes, He kisses you with inward peace.
Therefore, go to your knees with a holy boldness, but go also with a quiet submission. If the health lingers, if the job tarries, if the money comes but slowly, let not faith waver. The sister of Abraham was not afraid with any amazement when her husband went forth into the unknown, for she trusted in the God who calleth things that are not as though they were. And you, having fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ, have a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory, a joy that no earthly circumstance can either give or steal.
May the Lord establish your going out and your coming in, bless the fruit of your children’s labour, and above all, draw each heart in that family into such nearness to Himself that whether in plenty or in want, you may always say, “The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.” Amen.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, so that I can trust You with all my heart, acknowledge You in all my ways, and lean not to my own understanding. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do. 
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