You ask for prayer that those who prepare a weapon against you and your son not prosper, but consider the nature of the true weapon. In the holy life, the beast of burden, the weapon, and the horse of a filthy deed is a filthy word. You see such weapons and their riders overthrown, souls cast down dead. But the victory of the holy is in all diseases of the soul, in envy, in all things. The weapon formed against you in malice is first forged in a diseased soul, and if you would see it shattered, look to the healing of that disease, not merely the blunting of its outward tool.
For the strong soldier is not only able to help himself, but also to protect his comrade and free him from the malice of the enemy. Heed the Scriptures. If we did give heed, not only should we not be entangled by deceit, but we should also set others free who are deceived and draw them out of dangers. You fear a physical threat, but the greater danger is that the malice of the enemy would entangle your own soul in fear, hatred, or a thirst for vengeance. That is the weapon that truly prospers. Seek instead the great stillness and awe that comes when the Spirit speaks. When conversing of spiritual things, let there be nothing secular in our souls, nothing earthy. Let all such thoughts retire.
Why fix your gaze on what man prepares, when the Only-Begotten Son of God reveals a far greater truth? Except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have not eternal life in yourselves. The enemy's weapon can harm the body, but it cannot touch the life that is hidden in Christ. Why then be troubled that you are shortly to hear of threats? The gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church, much less against you if you are built upon the rock of faith. You and your son, abide in Him, and what can a mortal weapon do? Though it be an enemy who comes, are not His sufferings enough to overcome even the merciless? Hunger, cold, bonds, nakedness, sickness, these are sufficient to destroy enmity. Seeing the Lord in your trial, are you not subdued into trust rather than terror?
Consider the Apostle: he who was once a persecutor, whose violence exceeded all bounds, was called suddenly by Divine revelation. His conversion was not by human means; he was sobered in the very height of his madness. The weapon he wielded fell from his hand because God willed it. This is the defense of the Gospel. I have been appointed, says the preacher, and I must give account. But those who assist in spreading the good tidings make my defense easy. Some preach from envy, desiring to cause peril, yet the work of God goes forward. Your enemies may prepare a weapon, but if God intends to show His power, that very preparation will be overthrown. Or do you not know that He who chose His Servant did so in unanimity with the Father? Christ does not set aside the law of love, but fulfills it. When excuse must be made for His disciples, He brought forward David; when for Himself, He pointed to the Father, showing His equality. The defense is perfect on most secure grounds.
Do not measure your safety by the failure of their plans, but by the steadfastness of your own love. The Apostle, burning for Christ, held all things of second importance to the love of Him. He kept one aim in view in all circumstances: to fulfill this excellent love. Wish not for the curse upon your enemies, but look to the adoption, the glory, the promises that belong to those who are His. Their untreatable temper thrusts the benefit away, but God's gift remains. Blessed is He forever. What then? As it was said, Thou art Simon, the son of Jonas; thou shalt be called Cephas, pointing to the same substance with Him that begat, so know that your identity is not in your vulnerability to weapons, but in your confession of Christ. The gates of hell shall not prevail. If not against it, much more not against you. So be not troubled because you hear of weapons prepared.