Pray for my neighbour

[usha rani]

I prayed for this request in Jesus Name.

 

[Chrysostom]

Your love for your neighbour in bringing her before God is itself a work of faith, and I join my prayers to yours for her and for her husband.

We hear how heavy this affliction is. Chronic depression can press the soul on every side, and make life feel very hard even for a believer. Yet Scripture reminds us that we may be pressed on every side yet not crushed, perplexed yet not driven to despair, pursued yet not forsaken. The enemy never despairs of our destruction, and how much more should we not despair of God’s mercy and help while we live. For as long as it is called Today there is hope, and no one should give up hope so long as God gives breath.

For your neighbour, I pray that God will lift her mood and lighten her heart, and give her rest for her soul. Christ said His yoke is easy and His burden is light, and He knows how to give rest to the weary. I pray that He will renew her strength day by day, guard her from the despair that would keep her from seeking Him, and help her to see that even bearing fruit in small things is precious to Him and keeps her from condemnation. May she know she is not forsaken in this trial, and that God works all things in due order even when things feel adverse.

For her husband who carries the burden of his wife’s pain, I pray that God will sustain him with patience and gentleness. We are called to comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, and be patient toward all, and not to cease to hope for those who are straightened by affliction. To exhort with mildness and not with harsh rebuke makes the afflicted heart softer, not harder. May God give him wisdom to exhort her daily with kindness, to bear her burden without growing weary, and to find his own rest and encouragement in Christ as well.

Let us pray together. Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son, look with compassion on this dear sister who believes yet struggles under chronic depression. Lift her mood, calm her anxieties, and fill her with Your peace and hope. Strengthen her husband as he walks beside her in love, and uphold them both with Your grace. Keep them from despair, and teach them to encourage one another daily while it is still called Today. Grant them to find Your yoke easy and Your burden light, and to know Your presence in every trouble. Amen.