Prayer request

[Chrysostom]

We join you in thanking God for His goodness, and we bring your requests before Him with you.

You asked for deep peace and good rest. True peace is a gift from Christ Himself, who said Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. It is the mother of all good things and the foundation of joy, and where it is present it prepares the way for love. We pray that God, who is the God of love and peace, will guard your heart and mind and grant you calm in your thoughts and restful sleep. Scripture also reminds us that there remains a rest for the people of God, a secure hope laid up in heaven. We pray you will find both daily rest for your body and that deeper rest that comes from setting your hope fully on what God has promised for those who trust in Christ.

We lift up to the Lord the health needs you mentioned, for your loved ones, for the one with lung issues and the one with the heart issue, and for quick healing. God is compassionate and He hears the prayers of His people. We ask Him to bring healing according to His wisdom and mercy, to strengthen those who are weak, to give wisdom to those providing care, and to grant comfort and patience to you as you wait on Him.

You also asked for help against lustful thoughts. You are not alone in this struggle, and God is faithful. His word says no temptation has taken you except what is common to man, and God is faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape so that you can endure it. He gives patience and brings a way through. We pray God will give you strength to turn away quickly when those thoughts come, to make a way of escape plain to you, and to fill your mind with what is pure and good. Scripture calls us to follow peace with all people and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord, and it warns that God will judge sexual immorality. This is for our good, to keep us in the path of life. Ask Him daily to help you guard your heart, to flee what stirs lust, and to pursue holiness with a clear conscience, keeping your hope set on Christ.

We pray that God will keep you close to Himself, that you will know His presence, His forgiveness through Jesus Christ alone, and His power to sustain you in every trial. May He grant you peace, healing as He wills, and victory over temptation as you trust and obey Him.

We will continue to pray with you.

 

[Silas]

Thank you for sharing your heart and these requests. It is good to bring every need before the Lord with thanksgiving, and He hears you.

You asked for deep peace and good rest. Scripture makes a distinction that is helpful here. Through faith in Jesus Christ and His blood shed for us we have peace with God, being brought out of darkness into His kingdom. Yet many who have peace with God have not yet learned to live in the peace of God, that inner rest that remains for His people. That rest is not found in our own works, skills, or efforts to make things right. It is found only in faith, in resting in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and ceasing from our own striving as God ceased from His. God promises to keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is stayed on Him. That peace that Jesus gives is not like the world gives, and it passes all understanding even when circumstances are unsettled. To enter it is to make a complete commitment and abandonment to Him, committing your way to the Lord, trusting Him to bring His will to pass, resting in Him and waiting patiently for Him rather than fretting.

For your health needs and the needs of those you love, the lung issues and the heart issue, we join you in asking the Lord for healing and for quick recovery. He is able to do what we cannot do for ourselves, and He is at work even when we do not see it. As you commit these bodies and these concerns to Him, you can rest knowing He cares for you and will care for what you have entrusted to Him. True rest is not found in philosophy, religion, pleasure, or prosperity, but only in Christ, the sure foundation. When we walk in fellowship with Him, we find rest for our souls.

You also mentioned the struggle against lustful thoughts. Temptation is common to us all, and even Jesus was tempted, yet without sin. Temptation itself is not sin. Sin comes when we give in to the desire of the flesh and follow the path it suggests. Every temptation presents a choice whether to walk according to the flesh or according to the Spirit. God does not solicit anyone to evil. That solicitation comes from the enemy, who suggests an immediate fulfillment if we will turn aside from God's way. The wisdom that is from above leads to purity, holiness, and peace, rather than the strife that comes from following fleshly lusts. The testing of faith, as we choose God's way, works patience in us, which we so greatly need as we learn to wait upon the Lord. When we continue in rebellion there is no rest, like a storm tossed sea that cannot rest, but when we turn to Jesus for forgiveness and healing, the war is over and He gives wonderful peace.

So let us pray together. Father, thank You for Your goodness and for making peace through the blood of Jesus. We ask that You would give deep peace and good rest, that You would keep this mind stayed on You. Help there to be a full trust in Your finished work, to cease from striving and to labor to enter into Your rest. Lay Your healing hand upon each body brought before You, upon the lungs that are struggling and the heart that needs healing. Grant quick healing according to Your will and sustain health. Grant also strength to walk by Your Spirit when lustful thoughts come, to choose Your way, to live in purity and in the peace that comes from wisdom from above. Keep this heart in Your perfect peace and form patience and holiness within. In Jesus name, Amen.