Silas
Beloved of All
Your cry to be safe and to see your family protected is heard, and the longing for refuge is one that God Himself understands and has provided for.
In the Scriptures God commanded that cities of refuge be established in well chosen, central places so that a person in danger could flee and be protected from vengeance. The roads to those cities were to be kept clear and well marked, with signs pointing the way to refuge, so that anyone who needed safety could find it without confusion. Inside the gates that person was protected and given a fair hearing. Vengeance was not left to an angry family member to carry out on the spot, but was restrained and brought under God's law and justice. Yet that refuge was not a cover for settled hatred or for a planned act of malice. If a matter was done out of premeditation and hatred, there was no safety even inside the city. And even for those who were sheltered, living away from home could feel like confinement, so God gave a provision of hope and release, so that the one waiting would not despair of ever going home again.
All of this points to the greater refuge God has given us in His Son. The Scripture says we have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us in Christ. He Himself is our refuge. The psalms speak of the Lord of hosts, vast and mighty, and then bring it close and personal by saying the God of Jacob is our refuge. David, when he was pursued and felt there was no safe place among men and no human help to be found, prayed, you are my refuge and my portion in the land of the living, attend unto my cry, deliver me from my persecutors for they are stronger than I. At another time he prayed, deliver me from my enemies, for I flee to you to hide me.
It is right to ask God to protect you and your family and to separate you from harmful influences, and especially to turn completely away from any former involvement with the occult, which Scripture warns against. God does call His people to come out from darkness and to walk in fellowship with Jesus, and He can set wise and firm boundaries around your home. At the same time, asking God to keep a permanent hatred or to make you never have to live at peace in your heart toward others can become a burden that harms you. Vengeance belongs to the Lord, and He is the just judge. He invites you to bring the hurt, the fear that your family is being torn apart, and the anger you feel, and to leave the judgment of others in His hands, while you seek His protection and His healing for your own heart.
So we will pray that you find refuge not merely in distance from people, but in Christ Himself. May He be your hiding place, may He guard your family, give you wisdom for healthy boundaries, heal what has been wounded by past associations, and replace fear and bitterness with His peace. May He redeem you from death and give you abundant life as you walk in fellowship with Him, and may you know that you are upheld in integrity and set before His face forever. Blessed be the Lord God from everlasting to everlasting.
Father, in the name of Jesus, we ask that You be this one's refuge and defense. Cover this family with Your protection, lead them away from every influence of darkness, grant wisdom for every relationship and boundary, bring healing where there has been tearing apart, and teach them to do Your will as they trust You. Give hope where there has been despair, and let them know the safety of fleeing to Christ. Amen.
In the Scriptures God commanded that cities of refuge be established in well chosen, central places so that a person in danger could flee and be protected from vengeance. The roads to those cities were to be kept clear and well marked, with signs pointing the way to refuge, so that anyone who needed safety could find it without confusion. Inside the gates that person was protected and given a fair hearing. Vengeance was not left to an angry family member to carry out on the spot, but was restrained and brought under God's law and justice. Yet that refuge was not a cover for settled hatred or for a planned act of malice. If a matter was done out of premeditation and hatred, there was no safety even inside the city. And even for those who were sheltered, living away from home could feel like confinement, so God gave a provision of hope and release, so that the one waiting would not despair of ever going home again.
All of this points to the greater refuge God has given us in His Son. The Scripture says we have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us in Christ. He Himself is our refuge. The psalms speak of the Lord of hosts, vast and mighty, and then bring it close and personal by saying the God of Jacob is our refuge. David, when he was pursued and felt there was no safe place among men and no human help to be found, prayed, you are my refuge and my portion in the land of the living, attend unto my cry, deliver me from my persecutors for they are stronger than I. At another time he prayed, deliver me from my enemies, for I flee to you to hide me.
It is right to ask God to protect you and your family and to separate you from harmful influences, and especially to turn completely away from any former involvement with the occult, which Scripture warns against. God does call His people to come out from darkness and to walk in fellowship with Jesus, and He can set wise and firm boundaries around your home. At the same time, asking God to keep a permanent hatred or to make you never have to live at peace in your heart toward others can become a burden that harms you. Vengeance belongs to the Lord, and He is the just judge. He invites you to bring the hurt, the fear that your family is being torn apart, and the anger you feel, and to leave the judgment of others in His hands, while you seek His protection and His healing for your own heart.
So we will pray that you find refuge not merely in distance from people, but in Christ Himself. May He be your hiding place, may He guard your family, give you wisdom for healthy boundaries, heal what has been wounded by past associations, and replace fear and bitterness with His peace. May He redeem you from death and give you abundant life as you walk in fellowship with Him, and may you know that you are upheld in integrity and set before His face forever. Blessed be the Lord God from everlasting to everlasting.
Father, in the name of Jesus, we ask that You be this one's refuge and defense. Cover this family with Your protection, lead them away from every influence of darkness, grant wisdom for every relationship and boundary, bring healing where there has been tearing apart, and teach them to do Your will as they trust You. Give hope where there has been despair, and let them know the safety of fleeing to Christ. Amen.
