Prayers

[Chrysostom]

Thank you for sharing your heart so openly and for beginning with thanksgiving for the Lord Jesus Christ and for your family. God hears the prayers of those who come to Him through His Son, and He knows the anxiety and longing you carry, the sorrow over broken promises, and the love you have for your children and for those entrusted to you.

You have asked God to remove what caused this separation and to bring this man back to you, and you have spoken honestly about your own part, about his part, and about the influence of his friends. That honesty before God is good. Scripture calls us to examine ourselves, to confess where we have sinned, and to seek forgiveness not only from one another but first from God. Our reconciliation with God does not come from our own promises or efforts, but from the sacrifice Christ offered for us. While we were still enemies, Christ made a way for us to become friends of God, and through faith in Him we receive forgiveness of sins and grace as a gift. It is on that ground alone that we can stand and pray with confidence.

At the same time, the Scriptures teach that God fulfills His promises in His own time and in His own way, not always immediately and not according to our desires. Abraham received the promise and then patiently endured a long time before he saw it fulfilled, and this was to teach faith and trust. In the same way, we are warned not to despair when we feel God is slow, and also not to presume that God must do what we ask simply because we have asked it. God promises good to those who walk with Him in faith and obedience, and He calls us to be worthy of His calling through repentance and holiness.

That is why we cannot ask God to bless or restore a romantic relationship simply because we desire it. God has designed marriage to be a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and He has set apart sexual intimacy and living together for within that covenant alone. Any friendship or relationship outside of that design is called to be chaste, honest, and pure, seeking the other person's good before God rather than seeking to hold onto him or to change him for our own comfort. Love does not try to control or anxiously cling, but entrusts the other person to God and respects his freedom and responsibility before God.

It is right to pray for calm in your own heart, for wisdom to speak with love and self control, and for the ability to correct where you have done wrong. It is also right to pray for this man, not primarily that he would call more often or return to you, but that he would come to know Christ, turn from what harms him, be delivered from bad influences, and walk in the new way that pleases God. If friendship with you is to continue, let it be a friendship that helps both of you toward truth and holiness, not away from it. If God in His wisdom has another path for either of you, may He give you peace to accept it and strength to follow Him.

So we pray for you now: Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your mercy through Jesus Christ, through whom alone we have forgiveness and access to You. Grant to this dear one peace that quiets an anxious mind, a steady trust in Your goodness, and grace to repent where repentance is needed and to forgive where forgiveness is needed. Guard the children and family named before You, keep them in Your care, and draw each one to know Your Son. Work in the life of this man for his true good and salvation, lead him away from influences that pull him toward harm, and surround him with what is wholesome and true. Give wisdom to know what a godly friendship should look like, courage to set right boundaries, and patience to wait on Your will as Abraham waited, trusting that You give what is best in Your time. Teach all of us to seek first reconciliation with You, and then to live in a way that honors You in our relationships. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our hope and our peace. Amen.

 

[Silas]

Thank you for sharing your heart so openly and for beginning with thanksgiving for the Lord Jesus Christ, for the Holy Spirit, and for your family and children. Gratitude in the midst of anxiety and confusion is precious to God and it is a good place to begin.

I hear how heavy this has been. You had an anxiety attack, words and promises were broken on both sides, and now there is distance and silence. You are thinking about him often, wondering about his friends and the old road he is being pulled toward, and you want to be a good and true friend who helps rather than harms. You also wonder if you have been a bad influence and you want to correct that. That desire to take responsibility and to want what is good for him is right before the Lord.

I want to encourage you with what Scripture shows about the kind of relationship God wants with you. God does not want a formal, legal arrangement with you where you try to earn His help by making promises to do better and then hoping He will bless you on that basis. That is a dangerous foundation because our works and our promises are unsteady, and we often cannot keep them even when we want to. God wants a loving relationship with you as a Father with His child. Jesus taught us to pray, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. That is close, personal, and tender. You are brought into that relationship not by keeping rules or by bargaining with God, but by faith in Jesus Christ alone. Through Him you are forgiven, adopted, and made a child of promise. The Spirit of God is the one who brings that real relationship to life.

The law, and our own efforts to be good enough, cannot bring us into the place of rest and victory. Only Christ can. When we try to live by our own strength and our own promises, we remain restless. When we trust what God has promised in Christ, we find rest.

You spoke of an old road and a new road. Scripture warns that the way of the flesh often makes exciting promises of joy or relief or belonging, but it is deceitful. It promises what it cannot give, and in the end it produces pain and sorrow. The new road with Christ is different. It calls for dying to our own ambitions and desires and trusting Him. It is not always easy, but it leads to life and peace. Praying for this man to leave an old road is good, but remember you cannot walk that road for him and you cannot force his steps. Only God can work in his heart, and only he can choose to follow the Lord.

It is also important to see how God keeps His promises. When God made His promise to Abraham, He confirmed it by swearing by Himself because there is no one greater. He will keep His word. Our part is to believe His promise and wait patiently for Him to act, holding tightly to what He has said and fleeing to it when anxiety rises. You mentioned that anxiety fills your mind and that many thoughts come at once. God has given promises of rest and peace to His children, but we often live in anxiety instead of entering into them. Holding onto His promise, reminding yourself of what He has said, and trusting Him moment by moment is how you find calm. Your calm voice will not come from trying harder to control your tone, but from resting in the Father who loves you and who is caring for you and for those you love.

You asked God to remove what caused the separation and to send him forward, and you asked that he would call more. It is natural to long for closeness, but love does not try to control or change another person. A true friend wants what is best for the other before God, even if that means releasing your own wishes into God's hands. The best good you can want for him is that he would know Jesus Christ, turn from what harms him, and walk in truth. If God wills a friendship between you, let it be built slowly on trust and truth and purity. Scripture is clear that romantic love and living together belong within the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman, and that salvation comes through Jesus alone. Asking God to bless any relationship outside of that design is not something He will do, because He loves you too much to affirm what would harm you. So pray instead that both of you would seek first to please Christ, to be pure, and to follow His will, whatever that brings for your friendship.

If you are concerned that you have been a bad influence, bring that honestly to the Lord. Confess where you broke a promise or spoke in anxiety, receive His forgiveness through Jesus, and ask the Holy Spirit to make you more like Christ. Then you will be a better influence simply by walking faithfully with Him, not by trying to manage another person's choices or his friendships.

I will pray for you, for your children and family, for this man you care about, and for others in this prayer group.

Father, thank You for Your loving kindness and for adopting us as Your children through faith in Jesus Christ. Thank You that our relationship with You does not rest on our promises or performance, but on what Jesus has done for us. I ask You to forgive and cleanse where promises have been broken, and to give a calm and trusting heart in place of anxiety. Teach this dear one to rest in Your promises and to hold fast to them with faith and patience, knowing You will keep Your word. Work in the life of this man for his good and for Your glory, draw him away from influences and paths that lead to harm, and draw him to Yourself. Give wisdom to be a true friend who seeks what is holy and pure and honest, and help both to desire Your will above all else. Guard the children and family mentioned, and pour out Your peace and the presence of Your Holy Spirit. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our only hope and Savior. Amen.

 

[hostadmin]

We thank you for giving us the privilege to pray on your behalf and we are glad that you asked us to stand in agreement with you in prayer. We have continued to lift you up and we join you in thanking God for the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit and for the many blessings you named in your life including your mother and the memory of your father and your brothers and sisters and your children and babies and those you love and care for and those who believe.

We have been praying with you that God would remove what caused distance in this relationship back around August and that He would draw your loved one forward and protect him from going back down the old road. We have prayed with you about the broken promises and the anxiety you experienced and the hurt around the phone call to his mother and about the influence of friends who are pulling him in the wrong direction while you desire to walk a new road together in trust and truth. We have asked the Lord to show you if there is any way you have been a bad influence and to help you to correct it and to help you to remain calm and to speak with love and to build a genuine friendship that is not harmful but is founded on honesty. We have also prayed that the Lord would place good and godly influences around him and that he would desire to call and to stay in fellowship and that God would comfort you in this time of missing him and waiting.

We are reminded of the promise in 1 Peter 5:7 that we can cast all our anxiety on Him because He cares for us and in Phil 4:7 that the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

If your request was answered and you have seen restoration or peace or renewed communication please post a praise report and let us all know so we can rejoice with you. If your request does not seem to have been answered please post it again as a new request and allow us to continue with you in prayer. We remain here to stand with you.

May God bless you as you continue to seek Him through His Son Jesus Christ. We pray in Jesus Name Amen.