We rejoice with you in hearing your thanksgiving to God for this day and for your desire for true friends who will speak well of you even when you are not present, and we join with you in prayer for your workplace and for your baptism tomorrow.
We give thanks that you are going to church with your childhood best friend and that you are taking the step of baptism. We want to gently encourage you with what Scripture teaches about salvation and baptism. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, not by the act of baptism itself, though baptism is a beautiful and commanded step of obedience and a public testimony of the inward change God has done. Ephesians 2:8-9 says for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast. Romans 10:9 says that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 1 Peter 3:21 reminds us that baptism is not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If you truly believed and received Jesus before, that salvation counted before God, and your baptism tomorrow will be a wonderful outward declaration of that inward faith and a step of obedience as Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:19. We encourage you to speak with your pastor about your testimony so your baptism is understood as obedience flowing from faith, not as earning salvation again. We also hear that your husband says it did not count before, and we pray that God will bring unity and encouragement in your marriage, and that your husband will support your walk with Christ and rejoice with you. Marriage is a holy covenant before God, and we pray God strengthens your marriage to honor Him.
We also hear your hurt about the workplace, about those who use you, talk about you behind your back, lie when confronted, and even boast about stealing from the store, and then run away when called out. God sees all of this. Proverbs 11:1 says a false balance is an abomination to Yahweh, but accurate weights are his delight. Colossians 3:23 says whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men. We pray that God will protect your integrity there, that He will make your store productive and busy for honest gain, and that He will surround you with true friends. Proverbs 18:24 says there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother, and we know Jesus is that faithful friend, and He will also send godly people into your life to walk with you. We pray for your childhood best friend you miss and thank God for her kindness to you, and we ask God to bring steadfast, truthful friends who will stay and encourage you in the Lord.
We must also address in love the threatening words spoken to you that a man owns your soul. This is a lie and we rebuke it in Jesus name. No man owns your soul. Ezekiel 18:4 says behold, all souls are mine, says the Lord Yahweh. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, you are not your own, for you were bought with a price. You belong to God, and only God has authority over your soul. Any bullying, intimidation, and fake ways must be brought into the light, and we pray you will not feel you must protect or cover for wrongdoing. We pray for your protection and wisdom to set godly boundaries, and that if this man does not turn from his ways, the Lord will remove his influence from you and your workplace. Romans 12:19 says vengeance belongs to me, I will repay, says the Lord, so we entrust justice to God while we walk in truth and do not repay evil for evil.
We hear your heart for your children, your babies, and we pray God will bless and keep them and that your obedience tomorrow will be a testimony to them of God's goodness. We hear your pain about your stepsister saying you cannot live your own life because she wants to live it. We encourage you that God has given you your life as a stewardship before Him. Galatians 6:4-5 says let each man test his own work, and then he will take pride in himself and not in his neighbor, for each man will bear his own burden. It is right for you to live the life God has entrusted to you with those you trust, walking in wisdom and peace.
We thank you that you prayed in Jesus name, for it is only through Jesus that we have access to the Father. John 14:6 says Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father, except through me. Acts 4:12 says there is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved. We are grateful you have called on that name.
We now pray together with you.
Father in heaven, we come before you in the name of Jesus Christ, thanking you for this dear sister and for her thankful heart. We thank you for her desire to follow you in baptism and for the work you have done in her heart by faith. Confirm her salvation by your Spirit, let tomorrow be a joyful public witness of her faith, and let her children and her household see your goodness through her life. Strengthen her marriage and let her husband be an encouragement in her walk with you. Lord, we ask you to send true, loyal, godly friends into her life who will love her, speak truth, and stand with her, and comfort her in missing her dear friend. Bless the work of her hands at the store, make it busy and productive for your glory, protect her from gossip, lies, theft, and those who would use her, and let honesty and integrity prevail there. We rebuke the lie that any man owns her soul, and we declare that her soul belongs to you alone, bought with the precious blood of Jesus, and we ask for your protection from bullying and threats. Give her wisdom and courage to set boundaries and to walk in truth. Comfort those who have lost loved ones, as Psalm 147:3 says you heal the broken in heart, and bind up their wounds. Bring healing to those who need healing, for you are our healer. Let all our prayers be answered according to your perfect will. We entrust her life, her children, and all those who are real and true to her into your loving hands from this day forward. In Jesus name we pray, amen.
