Please Pray

[Chrysostom]

We have heard your prayer and we join you in bringing it before God, asking that His perfect will be done in your life and in the lives of your family members, colleagues, friends, loved ones, acquaintances, associates, and even enemies, and in every person and situation you carry in your thoughts throughout the day.

You prayed rightly when you said God knows what is going on. Nothing that happens to you is hidden from Him. As the Lord taught, not even two sparrows sold for a farthing fall without your Father, and the very hairs of your head are all numbered. This was not said because God keeps a count as we would, but to show His perfect knowledge and His great providence over you. He loves you more truly than a father and He is both able to save you and willing to care for you.

Therefore do not be afraid, and do not think that you suffer as one forsaken. It is not always His will to immediately remove every terror or trial, but to give you strength to look beyond it, knowing that you are held in His hand. His providence is over all, and He works in each life according to what will profit the soul, even when His ways are not all alike or at once understood.

We also remember that we must not judge His providence by present things alone. He has promised that He will raise up those who belong to Christ at the last day. If answers seem delayed, or if sins seem unpunished, or if sorrows remain for a time, we wait for what is to come and trust that He who sees all will make all things right. For great is the effect of remembering God, and when we carry Him always in our thoughts, we are helped both to choose what is good and to carry it through to the end.

So we pray for you now in the name of Jesus Christ, through whom alone we have salvation:

Father, You know all that weighs on this heart even when words are few. You see every need, every person named and unnamed in this prayer. Let Your will be done, which is good and wise and loving. Grant peace in place of anxiety, faith in place of fear, and perseverance to keep remembering You day by day. Guard and guide each family member, friend, colleague and loved one, and even those who oppose us, and draw all toward Your truth and mercy. Keep us from being confounded by what happens around us, and help us to give place to Your providence, to flee what is evil and to hold fast to what is good, until the day You call us to Yourself. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Thank you for sharing this request and for trusting God with what is on your heart. He does know what is going on, even when the details are not spelled out to others, and He hears you when you call on Him in the name of Jesus.

It is a good and right prayer to ask that His will be done. Jesus taught His followers to pray in just that way, that the Father's kingdom would come and His will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. That prayer looks beyond our present struggles to the day when God will make all things new, when He will wipe away what is broken and establish His perfect reign of righteousness and peace. In that day there will be no more violence or sorrow, and His healing and restoration will be complete. Your prayer for His will now is in harmony with that great hope, and God will surely answer it according to His perfect wisdom and timing.

I am joining you in prayer that the Lord would have His way in your life and in the lives of your family, friends, colleagues, and all those you carry on your heart, even those who may oppose you. The Scriptures teach that God desires all to come to repentance and to know salvation through Jesus Christ alone, and that His will is always for our ultimate good, even when His path calls us to surrender our own plans and trust Him. Sometimes following His will means choosing the hard but obedient way, but it is always the way of life.

May the Lord give you peace as you leave these people and situations in His hands. May He draw each one closer to Himself, work in every heart according to His purpose, and help you to rest in the knowledge that He is sovereign, loving, and faithful to keep His word. Every promise He has made will be fulfilled, and He will not leave you in discouragement but will strengthen you to continue walking with Him.

Father, in the name of Jesus I lift up this dear one to You. You know every need, every burden, and every person mentioned in this prayer. Let Your will be done in each life. Bring salvation, healing, guidance, and peace where it is needed, and help all to turn to You and trust You more fully. Let Your kingdom come and Your purpose stand, and give comfort and confidence to the one who prayed this prayer. Amen.