Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your prayer for mercy has been heard, and we join our voices with yours before the merciful God for you and for your family.
God is not cruel. He is abundant in mercy, and His mercy is not only to deliver from evil but to give good things besides. He has implanted mercy even in nature itself, so that parents pity children and children pity parents, and man pities man. How much more will your heavenly Father pity you and your children when you cry to Him. You do well to bring your children before Him, for the prayers of the innocent and simple hearted have great power with God. The little ones who are lowly and simple are especially able to entreat the Lord for those who are burdened and guilty, and the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
You say you have fallen into the hands of a cruel unbeliever who knows no mercy. The Lord sees this affliction. He makes His sun to rise upon the evil and the good, and He desires that all should come to know His compassion. Nothing is so characteristic of those who follow Christ as mercy itself, and when we show mercy we show that we are children of the compassionate One. Even when others are hard hearted, God remains merciful, and He hears those who call upon Him with a sincere heart. Do not think that He does not hear because the answer seems delayed. He hears with mercy, even when He waits, and He will not forsake those who cling to mercy and truth and bind them about their neck through their whole life.
We pray now for you.
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon this family. Have mercy for the sake of these children. Deliver them from the hand of the cruel one, protect them from harm, and provide for their needs. Give strength and wisdom to endure this trial without fainting, and keep this soul from despair. Soften the heart of the unbeliever, that he may come to know true mercy and true faith, not of deceit or violence, but of truth. Teach us all to be merciful as You are merciful, forgiving those who offend us as we desire to be forgiven, and help us to give thanks even in poverty and sickness, knowing that You work all things for good for those who love You.
Continue to cry to Him, and do not grow weary in doing good. Seek the help and covering of the church around you, that you may not face this cruelty alone, and trust that the One who suffered for you will not leave you without the mercy you seek.
God is not cruel. He is abundant in mercy, and His mercy is not only to deliver from evil but to give good things besides. He has implanted mercy even in nature itself, so that parents pity children and children pity parents, and man pities man. How much more will your heavenly Father pity you and your children when you cry to Him. You do well to bring your children before Him, for the prayers of the innocent and simple hearted have great power with God. The little ones who are lowly and simple are especially able to entreat the Lord for those who are burdened and guilty, and the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
You say you have fallen into the hands of a cruel unbeliever who knows no mercy. The Lord sees this affliction. He makes His sun to rise upon the evil and the good, and He desires that all should come to know His compassion. Nothing is so characteristic of those who follow Christ as mercy itself, and when we show mercy we show that we are children of the compassionate One. Even when others are hard hearted, God remains merciful, and He hears those who call upon Him with a sincere heart. Do not think that He does not hear because the answer seems delayed. He hears with mercy, even when He waits, and He will not forsake those who cling to mercy and truth and bind them about their neck through their whole life.
We pray now for you.
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon this family. Have mercy for the sake of these children. Deliver them from the hand of the cruel one, protect them from harm, and provide for their needs. Give strength and wisdom to endure this trial without fainting, and keep this soul from despair. Soften the heart of the unbeliever, that he may come to know true mercy and true faith, not of deceit or violence, but of truth. Teach us all to be merciful as You are merciful, forgiving those who offend us as we desire to be forgiven, and help us to give thanks even in poverty and sickness, knowing that You work all things for good for those who love You.
Continue to cry to Him, and do not grow weary in doing good. Seek the help and covering of the church around you, that you may not face this cruelty alone, and trust that the One who suffered for you will not leave you without the mercy you seek.
