Silas
Beloved of All
We are praying with you for your marriage, your children and your home, and for your mother in law as well.
God's design for marriage goes back to the very beginning, before the law was ever given. His divine ideal is that a husband and wife become one, a complementary union in which two lives are joined to become complete in Him. What God has joined together is meant to be guarded as a lifelong covenant. It is that oneness the enemy always wants to divide, and it is right for you to want to protect it in prayer.
Scripture is honest that the deepest bond we have is not merely natural family ties but the bond we have in doing the will of God. When a family together seeks the Lord and loves Him supremely, there is unity. When some in the family do not walk with Him, there can be painful division, and many believers have experienced this in their own homes. Jesus taught that our love for Him must be first, above love for mother or father or children or brothers or sisters, and that where family pulls against devotion to Him, we must choose Him. That does not mean dishonoring a parent, but it does mean that a husband is called to cleave to his wife and that together you are called to cleave to Christ.
It is not surprising that disruption often comes just as you seek to build a life of devotion together. The enemy opposes worship, prayer and the Word in the home. The struggle is not only with people, but spiritual, and the victory is not found in trying to win by arguments or by keeping rules, but by relating to God through His Spirit and His grace. The law could only point out guilt and demand a penalty, but God sent His Son to redeem those under that bondage so we could be adopted as His children and live by the Spirit. In Christ there is power over every demonic influence. When Jesus walked on earth, crowds brought Him those who were afflicted and oppressed, and He ministered with authority over those powers late into the night. He still delivers and still makes a way for cleansing and healing where there seemed to be no hope.
So we are praying for you in this way.
We ask the Lord to cover your home and your children in the blood of Jesus, to set a guard of peace over your marriage, and to make every scheme to divide you powerless and of no effect. We pray for wisdom and discernment for your husband, that the Lord would soften and open his heart to see clearly where division is being sown, and give him grace to lead and protect your home with love and truth while still honoring his mother as Scripture commands. We pray for your children to be shielded from confusion and drawn ever closer to Jesus.
And we are also praying for your mother in law herself, not only that her efforts to harm would fail, but that the Lord would have mercy on her, open her eyes, and bring her to repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ alone. Only He can change a rebellious heart and set a person free from spiritual bondage. We pray that instead of being a source of strife, she would come to know His grace and find peace with God.
Continue to keep your family devotion before the Lord even when opposition comes. Do not return evil for evil, but overcome with prayer, with the Word, with love that speaks truth, and with healthy boundaries that protect the oneness of your marriage. Keep your love for Jesus supreme, and trust Him to be your defender.
May the Lord keep you, give you unity and quietness in your home, and let His presence be the center of your family life.
God's design for marriage goes back to the very beginning, before the law was ever given. His divine ideal is that a husband and wife become one, a complementary union in which two lives are joined to become complete in Him. What God has joined together is meant to be guarded as a lifelong covenant. It is that oneness the enemy always wants to divide, and it is right for you to want to protect it in prayer.
Scripture is honest that the deepest bond we have is not merely natural family ties but the bond we have in doing the will of God. When a family together seeks the Lord and loves Him supremely, there is unity. When some in the family do not walk with Him, there can be painful division, and many believers have experienced this in their own homes. Jesus taught that our love for Him must be first, above love for mother or father or children or brothers or sisters, and that where family pulls against devotion to Him, we must choose Him. That does not mean dishonoring a parent, but it does mean that a husband is called to cleave to his wife and that together you are called to cleave to Christ.
It is not surprising that disruption often comes just as you seek to build a life of devotion together. The enemy opposes worship, prayer and the Word in the home. The struggle is not only with people, but spiritual, and the victory is not found in trying to win by arguments or by keeping rules, but by relating to God through His Spirit and His grace. The law could only point out guilt and demand a penalty, but God sent His Son to redeem those under that bondage so we could be adopted as His children and live by the Spirit. In Christ there is power over every demonic influence. When Jesus walked on earth, crowds brought Him those who were afflicted and oppressed, and He ministered with authority over those powers late into the night. He still delivers and still makes a way for cleansing and healing where there seemed to be no hope.
So we are praying for you in this way.
We ask the Lord to cover your home and your children in the blood of Jesus, to set a guard of peace over your marriage, and to make every scheme to divide you powerless and of no effect. We pray for wisdom and discernment for your husband, that the Lord would soften and open his heart to see clearly where division is being sown, and give him grace to lead and protect your home with love and truth while still honoring his mother as Scripture commands. We pray for your children to be shielded from confusion and drawn ever closer to Jesus.
And we are also praying for your mother in law herself, not only that her efforts to harm would fail, but that the Lord would have mercy on her, open her eyes, and bring her to repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ alone. Only He can change a rebellious heart and set a person free from spiritual bondage. We pray that instead of being a source of strife, she would come to know His grace and find peace with God.
Continue to keep your family devotion before the Lord even when opposition comes. Do not return evil for evil, but overcome with prayer, with the Word, with love that speaks truth, and with healthy boundaries that protect the oneness of your marriage. Keep your love for Jesus supreme, and trust Him to be your defender.
May the Lord keep you, give you unity and quietness in your home, and let His presence be the center of your family life.
