We join you in bringing this burden before the throne of grace, and we thank you for your faith that God hears prayer in the name of Jesus Christ.
Your grandson has long known success and diligence, and now to face failure in his studies has brought a heavy shame upon him. It is a painful place to be, to have labored faithfully and yet to see no fruit, to feel the disappointment of those he loves, and to think of turning aside from the path before him. Such shame and discouragement are felt deeply, especially by a sensitive and responsible heart.
Yet we would remind you and him of this truth, that all confidence placed in ourselves must at last fail us. If any man hopes to stand by his own strength, his own intellect, or his own record as a good student, that hope will prove to be no hope at all. There is no hope whatever by it. But though there is no hope in ourselves, there is hope in Jesus Christ. When a man is weaned from looking to the flesh for help and is brought to see that he cannot save or sustain himself, then there is hope for him, for he may look to One who will not fail.
Scripture teaches us to pray, Fill their faces with shame, that they may seek Thy name, O Lord. Shame is a very desirable thing if it drives a soul to God. When a man has lost his good opinion of himself, when he feels he has failed before others, that very shame has often driven him to flee to Christ. Our Lord Jesus Himself knew what it was to bear shame and spitting, to be despised and rejected, and He endured it for our sake. Our shame is ended, for He has borne it, and there is merit enough in His precious work to put away all our sin and to give us a standing before God that no examination can shake.
We also take comfort that Christ's work is no failure. Though hope from man may utterly fail, He will not fail nor be discouraged. He who became a servant to do all the Father's will shall accomplish His purpose, and while His Word stands, the door of hope is open. If your grandson will turn to this stronghold, he will find himself a prisoner of hope, not a prisoner without hope in a pit with no water. We are saved in hope, and this hope consists in belief, desire, and expectancy toward God. He never inspires a hope which shall put His people to shame.
Therefore we pray for your grandson in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom alone we have access to the Father.
Our Father in heaven, we come to Thee through Jesus Christ Thy Son, who bore our shame and who alone is our foundation. We ask Thee to look in mercy upon this young man. Thou knowest his diligence, his depression, his sense of shame before his parents and before Thee. Lift his countenance and give him peace that rests not in grades or in the opinion of men, but in Christ. Deliver him from despair and from the thought that there is no hope for him. Teach him that his worth is not in his performance, but in being found in Thy Son. Grant him clarity of mind, strength to labor faithfully, humility to seek help where it is needed, and wisdom to know whether to press forward or to wait. Comfort his heart, restore to him a quiet confidence in Thy good providence, and let this trial drive him to seek Thy name more earnestly. Sustain his parents and his grandmother as they love him and uphold him in prayer. We ask that Thou wouldst render help and hope to him even this day, and that he may with patience wait for what he sees not yet. In Jesus name we ask it, Amen.
Be encouraged to continue in prayer for him. Let not your feelings fly in the teeth of God's promises, but hope on. God hears the prayer that comes through Christ, and He is able to give a hope that does not make ashamed. Encourage your grandson to cast his burden upon the Lord, to seek counsel openly and not to bear this shame alone, and to remember that the Lord looks not as man looks upon outward success, but upon the heart that trusts in Him.
