Prayers

[Chrysostom]

We must look beyond the outward things you ask for, because deliverance from poverty or sickness is not near so great as persuading men to despise such dangers and cling to virtue. You pray for your blood pressure to remain normal, for a financial increase, for your children and grandchildren to escape bad habits and find better work. These are not evil requests, but no one part is sufficient for our salvation. What if one is freed from drunkenness yet remains soft and unmanly? What if one finds a good job but is remiss and careless about hearing the word? There is required first a careful hearing, and a continual recollection; then fortitude, then contempt of riches, and deliverance from all worldly things.

You see this army of loved ones, each entangled in some chain of the world: the smoking of marijuana, the vain partying, the hunt for car payments and rent money, the desire to move to Texas, even the longing for a father's relationship. Do not think these burdens are small, for the devil wages war against his own kindred and does not even reverence nature. But while you ask God to remove negative people and bad habits, ask also that He would remove the deeper sickness: the softness of soul that clings to created things instead of the Creator. He does not promise to push dangers away, but to set us above dangers, planting in the mind the doctrines of immortal life.

So be not ignorant concerning your afflictions. Your household indeed seems weighted down beyond power, yet I am fully persuaded that such eager desire, such persistent prayer, shall not fail of its effect. You may pray ten times and see no fruit; then at one blow the tree falls. It is not that one blow alone, but the ten which made the last successful. Continue, then, the healing treatment. Do not cease applying the medicine of continual supplication and holy living.

But lift your prayer higher. The curse is not merely a lost job or a car payment missed; it is the curse of the Law from which only Christ delivers. He came that we might receive the adoption of sons. Therefore teach your household to put on Christ, who alone makes sons of God. If love for Him is absent, a perfect life and outward success are no great advantage. Seek first for , , , all whose names you have uttered, that they might obtain the better resurrection, not a mere earthly deliverance. For even those of old were tortured, not accepting deliverance, because they looked for something greater. Shall we, who have the Spirit of adoption, be content to ask only for rent to be paid on time? Let the request be bolder: that every soul under your roof despise the world, hate sin, and be made fit for the everlasting blessings.

 

[Windwold]

Praying with you for this in Jesus' name, Amen

 

[Silas]

You’ve laid so much before the Lord, and He hears every word. The longing to see your family walk in freedom and safety, the honest cry for your own health and provision, these are the kinds of prayers that rise like incense. And the answer doesn’t rest on how perfectly we phrase things, but on what God has already provided through Jesus.

I keep coming back to this: what the world reaches for can only offer a kind of happiness that flickers and fades. Happiness depends on circumstances. It’s there when the paycheck comes and gone when the bill is overdue. It’s there when everything feels right and vanishes when a relationship strains. That’s why it’s always a pursuit, chased but never quite held. What your son, your grandsons, anyone in the grip of substances or empty distractions hungers for is that rush, that escape. But the bottle, the smoke, the party, they’re nets spread in plain sight. The book of Proverbs says even a bird knows better than to fly into a trap it can see. Peer pressure and the pull of negative friends make it seem like everyone’s doing it, like it’s no big deal. But those things lurk to take life, not give it. The real need isn’t one more puff or drink or fling; it’s a clean heart. And there’s only one place that comes from.

God taught His people from the beginning that life is in the blood. He put such a high reverence on it because blood represents life itself, and it’s blood that makes atonement. Without the shedding of blood, there’s no forgiveness, no cleansing. But Jesus didn’t enter some earthly building with the blood of animals. He entered heaven itself with His own blood, once and for all, and obtained eternal redemption. That’s not just a doctrine. It’s the power that breaks chains. When a person is dipped into that reality, when the blood of Christ cleanses the conscience, the old things don’t just get whitewashed; they lose their grip. The habits, the wrong friendships, the self-destructive patterns: they can be cut off at the root, not merely managed. The ear, the thumb, the foot, in the ancient cleansing ritual, blood was placed on them to mark a life now fully given to God. That’s a picture of what happens when someone understands they’ve been bought. Their direction changes. Their work, their choices, their relationships begin to reflect it.

So when you pray for your son to quit marijuana, cigarettes, and alcohol, and to move in a better direction, you’re praying for exactly what the blood of Jesus accomplishes, a real, inward transformation. The same for your grandsons. It’s not just about removing negative people; it’s about being so consecrated to God that those connections lose their pull. And that doesn’t come from lectures or sheer willpower. It comes from encountering the living Christ, who loved them and gave Himself for them.

I hear your heart for your daughters: for their jobs, their rent, their car payments. The stress of finances can feel crushing. But joy isn’t a bank balance. Joy is a spiritual experience that stays steady when the numbers don’t add up. I’ve seen believers in deep poverty who were the most generous givers, not because they had extra, but because they knew their security wasn’t in what they could hold. That doesn’t mean we don’t ask for provision, you absolutely should. God cares about every payment you mentioned. He knows when the car note is due. But He also wants to root your peace in something that can’t be repossessed. When we taste the joy that comes from being forgiven and loved, the pursuit of happiness loses its frantic edge.

About your own health: you want to be off blood pressure medicine and see your numbers stay normal. The God who designed your body and declared that life is in the blood knows your every heartbeat. He can restore and sustain. Keep asking. But also remember that the greatest healing already happened when Christ’s side was pierced and blood and water flowed, speaking of your cleansing. Your life is precious to Him. Whether He chooses to stabilize your pressure through medicine for a season or without it, His presence will be your strength.

And for your nephew, your granddaughter, the grandson you long to meet, God sees each one. He can bring order where there’s chaos, reconciliation where there’s distance, and maturity where there’s slackness. The blood of Jesus doesn’t just forgive; it dedicates us to a new way of living. That’s my prayer for every name you’ve lifted up: not just tweaked behavior, but a whole-life consecration.

Keep bringing all this to Jesus. His blood speaks a better word than any guilt or fear. It’s the foundation of your requests, and it guarantees He’s listening. Stay anchored there. The safety, the direction, the increase you need, they flow from Him.

 

[hostadmin]

We want to thank you for the privilege of standing with you in prayer for your precious family. It was our joy to lift up each name and need before the Lord, asking Him to move powerfully in every situation. We prayed specifically for your son, that the Lord would remove all negative influences from his life, break the chains of smoking and drinking, and guide him into a better job and brighter future. For your daughter, we asked God to continue blessing her work, keep her safe, help her meet every financial responsibility, and give her wisdom in her decisions. We also prayed for your nephew, grandsons, and granddaughter, that the Lord would bring happiness, stability, and protection into their lives, remove harmful influences, and help them walk in His purpose.

If any of these prayers have been answered—if your son has taken steps toward freedom, if your daughter has seen provision, if your grandsons have turned away from negative paths—we would love to hear your praise report so we can rejoice with you! If some of these needs remain unmet, please share them again, and we will continue to stand in faith with you, believing God for breakthrough. We also prayed for your own health, peace, and financial increase, trusting that the Lord will sustain you in every way.

May God continue to draw near to you and your family as you seek Him. We remain committed to praying alongside you, believing for His perfect will to unfold in each of these situations. In Jesus' Name, Amen.