Silas
Beloved of All
A parent’s heart can be stretched to the breaking point when a child is in danger, especially when the child doesn’t see the peril. Your fear is the fear of any loving father or mother: that in a single moment, everything could be lost. I hear your desperation as you plead for angels to surround him, to keep him from leaving, to guard his very breath. That instinct to protect is a deep echo of how fiercely you love him.
We see something of that same urgency in the Scriptures when a nobleman whose son lay dying traveled twenty miles just to find Jesus. He didn’t send a servant; he went himself, driven by love for his son. When he found the Lord, he begged him to come and heal the boy. That father was utterly dependent on someone greater than himself to save his child. You understand that feeling. You’re doing what you can do: you’ve asked him to stay, and now you’re turning to the only one who holds all power.
Your love for your son points to a far greater love. When Abraham was told to take his son, his only son, the son he loved, and offer him up, the words cut to the heart of the Father’s own sacrifice. God did not withhold his only begotten Son. He gave him for us. The cross stands as the undeniable proof that the Father knows exactly what it costs to see a beloved Son in deadly peril. Jesus himself spoke of being lifted up, like the serpent in the wilderness, because it was the only way redemption could come. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand, yet he sent him into the world to suffer and to die. So when you pray for your son, you are praying to a God who has not stood aloof from the agony of a father’s love. He went through the deepest loss himself.
That truth can steady your soul right now. Your son may not recognize the evil around him or the fragility of life, but the Lord sees it all. The same Jesus who was declared to be the beloved Son at his baptism is the heir of all things. He has authority over every road, every vehicle, every decision being made tonight. Ask him to exercise that authority. Trust that his angels do attend those he chooses to guard.
But remember also what it means to be a son. A father disciplines the son he loves. If your son belongs to the Lord, then even these reckless steps are not outside his reach. The chastening hand of God is a strange comfort, but it is a comfort: it marks us as his children. So your prayers are not just for physical safety. They are prayers that your son would be kept and ultimately brought to his senses, that he would know the voice of the true Father and live.
Let your love, like that ancient king’s cry over his wayward boy, be poured out in honest prayer. “Oh my son, my son.” God hears that cry. He is not indifferent to a mother’s or father’s tears. But do more than cry out in fear. Lay hold of the promises bound up in the Son of God, who gave his life for sinners, who seeks a bride and gives eternal life to those who believe in him. The Son of David, the Son of God, the one who said “I am” before Abraham ever existed, he is able to save your son completely, both from physical harm and from the far greater danger of remaining apart from him.
So pray with that confidence. Ask the Lord to command his angels concerning your boy tonight. Ask him to quiet the impulse to drive and to clear his mind. But then entrust him to the God who knows what it is to give an only Son. Whatever this night brings, the Father has not abandoned his throne, and his Son is mighty to save. Rest your weight there, and keep pleading the promises that are yours in Christ.
We see something of that same urgency in the Scriptures when a nobleman whose son lay dying traveled twenty miles just to find Jesus. He didn’t send a servant; he went himself, driven by love for his son. When he found the Lord, he begged him to come and heal the boy. That father was utterly dependent on someone greater than himself to save his child. You understand that feeling. You’re doing what you can do: you’ve asked him to stay, and now you’re turning to the only one who holds all power.
Your love for your son points to a far greater love. When Abraham was told to take his son, his only son, the son he loved, and offer him up, the words cut to the heart of the Father’s own sacrifice. God did not withhold his only begotten Son. He gave him for us. The cross stands as the undeniable proof that the Father knows exactly what it costs to see a beloved Son in deadly peril. Jesus himself spoke of being lifted up, like the serpent in the wilderness, because it was the only way redemption could come. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand, yet he sent him into the world to suffer and to die. So when you pray for your son, you are praying to a God who has not stood aloof from the agony of a father’s love. He went through the deepest loss himself.
That truth can steady your soul right now. Your son may not recognize the evil around him or the fragility of life, but the Lord sees it all. The same Jesus who was declared to be the beloved Son at his baptism is the heir of all things. He has authority over every road, every vehicle, every decision being made tonight. Ask him to exercise that authority. Trust that his angels do attend those he chooses to guard.
But remember also what it means to be a son. A father disciplines the son he loves. If your son belongs to the Lord, then even these reckless steps are not outside his reach. The chastening hand of God is a strange comfort, but it is a comfort: it marks us as his children. So your prayers are not just for physical safety. They are prayers that your son would be kept and ultimately brought to his senses, that he would know the voice of the true Father and live.
Let your love, like that ancient king’s cry over his wayward boy, be poured out in honest prayer. “Oh my son, my son.” God hears that cry. He is not indifferent to a mother’s or father’s tears. But do more than cry out in fear. Lay hold of the promises bound up in the Son of God, who gave his life for sinners, who seeks a bride and gives eternal life to those who believe in him. The Son of David, the Son of God, the one who said “I am” before Abraham ever existed, he is able to save your son completely, both from physical harm and from the far greater danger of remaining apart from him.
So pray with that confidence. Ask the Lord to command his angels concerning your boy tonight. Ask him to quiet the impulse to drive and to clear his mind. But then entrust him to the God who knows what it is to give an only Son. Whatever this night brings, the Father has not abandoned his throne, and his Son is mighty to save. Rest your weight there, and keep pleading the promises that are yours in Christ.
