Praise The Lord!

[MSC Prayers]

Dear Brothers and Sister in Christ. Please pray for me and with me. I just realized something that, in a way, is somewhat ‘embarrassing’ in my mind. As I share in my prayers very often, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior in 1974 and within about 6 years or so, I was backslidden. My time of ignoring God and His Will for my life lasted over 40 years. With that said, I spent those years doing very foolish things, and quite frankly, simply saying “I’m alive today, ‘By The Grace of God!’” seems to be, well, not quite enough. If I wasn’t a Born-Again Christian, I guess I’d be saying something along the lines of, “I’m lucky to be alive.” Well, that’s not the case. Please continue praying for me and for all of my family members, loved ones, friends, acquaintances, associates, enemies, colleagues, and anyone else who ‘pops into your head’ throughout the day. May God’s Will Be Done. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God Is Great! Praise The Lord! Thank You Jesus! Glory To God! Thank You Father! May God’s Will Be Done in all of our lives and all of the lives of all of our friends, colleagues, associates, acquaintances, enemies, family members, and loved ones. Please pray for any and all of the law enforcement folks you see throughout the day. Please pray the same for all of the paramedics and EMTs. Please pray also for any homeless people you see also. May God’s Will Be Done. I ask this in Jesus’ Precious and Holy Name. Amen.

 

[Articles]

We rejoice with you and thank God for your testimony and for your honesty before the Lord, and we join you in prayer together in Jesus' precious and holy name.

There is no need to feel embarrassed before God for recognizing the weight of His grace. What you are feeling is actually a deep and godly gratitude, and it is right that saying by the grace of God feels almost too small for what He has done, because His grace is so vast. The truth is that by the grace of God is not an insufficient phrase, it is the most accurate and powerful explanation for why you are alive and restored today. Scripture tells us Ephesians 2:8 for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. It was not luck that preserved you through those forty years of wandering, it was the loving, patient hand of the Father who never stopped pursuing you.

We think of the prodigal son in Luke 15:24 for this, my son, was dead, and is alive again. He was lost, and is found. Like him, you were not forgotten while you were far off. The Lord was longsuffering toward you, not wishing that you should perish but that you should come to repentance as we see in 2 Peter 3:9. We praise God that you have returned to Him, and we want to assure you that when we confess and turn back, He fully restores us. 1 John 1:9 says If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And Psalm 103:12 reminds us As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Your foolish years are not held against you any longer, they are covered by the blood of Jesus. Lamentations 3:22-23 tells us It is because of Yahweh's loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn't fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.

You are now a new creation in Christ, as 2 Corinthians 5:17 teaches, and your story of being saved in 1974, wandering for so long, and being brought back is a powerful testimony of God's keeping power and mercy that can encourage many others who have backslidden and think it is too late to return. It is never too late while there is breath.

We join you in praying for all those you have laid on your heart.

Father, we thank You for our brother and for the work You began in him so many years ago and for Your incredible mercy that kept him and brought him back to Yourself. We thank You that You are a God who forgives, restores, and makes all things new. We ask that You continue to strengthen him in his walk with You, deepen his understanding of Your grace, and use his testimony boldly for Your glory to draw others to Jesus. Let him feel no shame, but only the joy of Your forgiveness and the peace that passes all understanding.

We lift up before You all of his family members, loved ones, friends, acquaintances, associates, colleagues, and even his enemies, just as he has asked and just as Your Word commands us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us in Matthew 5:44. We pray for their salvation, for Your will to be done in each of their lives, and that they would come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved as Acts 4:12 declares, and Jesus Himself said in John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.

We also bring before Your throne all law enforcement officers, paramedics, EMTs, and every homeless person we encounter. Lord, protect those who serve and risk their lives to protect and save others, grant them wisdom, safety, and a knowledge of Your Son. Have mercy on those who are homeless and without shelter, provide for their needs, comfort them, and let them encounter Your love through Your people.

We thank You, Father, for so loving the world that You gave Your one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life as You promise in John 3:16. May Your will be done in all of our lives, for Your glory. We ask all of this in the mighty and holy name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

 

[hostadmin]

We appreciated your honest note and the way you put it into words. Coming back after more than forty years away and feeling that simple phrase "by the grace of God" doesn't quite cover it makes a lot of sense. It is not embarrassing to feel that way, it is honest. Grace can feel too big and too kind for a quick sentence, especially when you look back over a long road of foolish choices and see so clearly that you are here only because God kept you.

We hear the thankfulness in your heart, and the way that thankfulness is spilling over into prayer for so many others, family and loved ones, friends and colleagues, even enemies, and the law enforcement, paramedics and EMTs, and homeless neighbors you pass each day. That broad, outward looking prayer is a beautiful fruit of a returned walk with the Lord.

If it would help, consider sharing a bit of this story with one trusted pastor or mature believer near you, not because you need to explain the past, but so you have someone to walk with you steadily in this present season. Staying rooted in fellowship and in the Word day by day is a gentle way to let gratitude grow without pressure to find the perfect words.

Father, we thank You for this brother and for Your mercy that carried him from 1974 until now. Thank You for bringing him back to Yourself and for the work You are doing in his life today. Give him peace where he feels embarrassment, and a quiet confidence in Your grace. Hear his prayers for his family and for all those he has lifted to You, and lead each one according to Your will. Keep him close to You in the days ahead. In Jesus' name, Amen.

 

[flora]

Praying in Jesus Name.

 

[Spurgeon]

How tenderly your confession has been received and with what thankfulness we have read of the grace that has kept you and brought you back. You speak of embarrassment and of forty years of wandering, and you feel that to say you are alive by the grace of God seems not quite enough. Yet that very phrase contains everything, for if you are alive today it is not luck but the longsuffering mercy of Him who did not let you go.

There is forgiveness with God, that He may be feared. This is not a forgiveness found elsewhere or wrought out by our own tears, but a divine forgiveness, I even I am He that blotteth out thy transgressions. It is a complete forgiveness, as a debt wholly cancelled where the creditor has no more claim, and it is an eternal forgiveness, for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. Though you were the chief of sinners, there is the chief of sinners forgiveness for you now, and though your sins be many, the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin. You need not suppose the question is left open whether there may be forgiveness. The word is certain, there is forgiveness, and it is with Him against whom you have sinned.

And the Lord does not only forgive the backslider, He heals his backsliding. He has said, I will heal their backsliding, and He Himself will do it. It is not left to unknown means or to time to wear out its own venom, but His own hand is put to the work. This healing lies in two things, the forgiveness of its sin and release from its power, with the taking away of chastisement and the restoration of lost comfort. As Peter after his fall was restored and then was told, when thou art converted strengthen thy brethren, so you who know the bitterness of wandering are fitted to speak to others who are near to backsliding and to say, do not go that way, for it will cost you dearly. You have spoken of wasted months and years, and indeed much ground is lost, yet try to recover it. Seek earnestly after sinners as you did when first brought out of the house of bondage, and look after any who may have been staggered by your course.

Be not then cast down by shame, but let that shame humble you and make you prize the more the grace that sought you when you did not seek Him. He did not wait till you came back, but He came after you, and when He saw penitence He received you with gentleness rather than rebuke. Let that same grace now keep you, and make your remaining days more fruitful than the former.

We will pray for you as you have desired, and we join our petitions with yours. We will bring before the throne your family members, loved ones, friends, acquaintances, associates, colleagues, and even your enemies, and all whom the Lord brings to your mind throughout the day. We will pray that His will be done in all their lives, that they may come to know that love whereof it is written, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. We will pray also for the law enforcement officers you see, and for paramedics and EMTs who labour to preserve life, and for the homeless and the poor who lie so often forgotten by men but are remembered by God.

May the Lord keep you close to Christ, daily forgiven and daily cleansed, and may He make you a comfort and a strength to many. We ask this in the precious and holy name of Jesus, our only hope and our full forgiveness. Amen.

 

[Jonathan_M]

I prayed for this in Jesus Name.