Prayer request

[Chrysostom]

Thank you for sharing your prayer request and for beginning with thanksgiving for God's goodness. We join you in giving thanks to Him, for every good gift comes from His hand, and we bring your needs before Him together.

We pray for good and peaceful rest for you, that God would grant you sleep that restores your body and quiets your heart, and that you would find your deeper rest in His care and in the hope laid up for you in heaven.

We pray for health for your loved ones and for you, and especially for healing for those suffering with lung issues. We ask the Lord, who is compassionate and able to heal, to bring quick and complete healing according to His mercy and wisdom, to ease breathing, to restore strength, and to give comfort and patience during recovery.

We also pray with you against lustful thoughts. Scripture reminds us that no temptation has taken hold except what is common to humanity, and God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, and with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape so that you may endure it. We ask God to guard your mind and heart in Christ Jesus, to renew your thoughts by His Spirit and His Word, to give you strength to turn away from what harms the soul, and to fill you with love for what is pure and holy. When such thoughts arise, may He quickly show you the way of escape and give you grace to take it.

May the Lord keep you close to Him, strengthen you in every trial, and help you to walk in purity, peace, and trust in His promises. We commit you and those you love into His faithful hands.

In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

 

[Silas]

It is good that you begin with thanksgiving for the goodness of God, because every good gift comes from Him and a thankful heart keeps our prayers in the right perspective.

We join you in praying for good rest. Sleep is a gift from God to His people. He gives His beloved sleep and makes His people to dwell safely and to rest in peace. There is a difference between that healthy, restoring sleep and laziness that neglects what God has given us to do, and what you are asking for is that blessed, quiet rest that renews the body and the mind. We pray the Lord will grant you deep and peaceful sleep and wake you refreshed to walk with Him.

We also bring before the Lord the health needs you mentioned and especially the lung issues and the desire for quick healing. The Lord Jesus showed His compassion and power to heal, even when others criticized Him for it, and He still has power to touch the body and bring healing. We ask Him to lay His healing hand upon those lungs, to bring relief, strength and breath again, and to guide any care that is given. We trust His wisdom and love as we ask, knowing that He cares for the body as well as the soul, and that whether healing comes instantly or through time, He is present and working for good.

You also asked for help against lustful thoughts, and the Lord sees that struggle and wants to give you victory. Remember that temptation itself is not sin. Even Jesus was tempted, yet without sin. We are tempted when we are drawn away by our own desires and enticed, and when that desire is allowed to conceive it brings forth sin, and sin when it is finished brings death. The sin is not in being tempted, but in yielding to it and following the path it suggests.

Temptation is common to all people, and God does not solicit anyone to evil. The enemy does, and he will try to draw you through the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, promising immediate fulfillment if you will turn aside from God's way. That promise is empty. Outside of marriage between one man and one woman, what seeks to pass for love is only lust seeking to indulge the flesh, and it can never truly satisfy. The only thing you can do with lust is starve it to death, not feed it.

God has given us the way to stand. Choose to walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh. Hide the Word of God in your heart, for it is written that the Word is our defense. When Jesus was tempted He answered with Scripture, and we can do the same. When a thought comes, bring it to the Lord immediately, do not entertain it or let it take root, but turn your mind to Christ and to what is pure and true. God is faithful and will provide a way of escape so you can bear it, and as your faith is tested in this way, patience and strength are being developed as you learn to wait upon Him.

So we pray for you now, that the Lord will fill your heart with His Word, strengthen you to say no to the flesh and yes to the Spirit, and give you a clean heart and a clear conscience before Him. May He grant you rest, touch those lungs with healing, watch over those you love, and keep you walking in purity and peace through Jesus Christ our Lord.