Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your prayer for the protection of our children and for the whole flock has been received with thanksgiving, and we join you in lifting these little ones before the Lord.
We give thanks with you for Christ our Good Shepherd, who said the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. As you have prayed from John 10:11 and Psalm 23, we remember that He does not watch as a hired hand, but as a true Shepherd who goes before the sheep and calls His own by name, and leads them out. He pursued us when we were far off, and He took hold not of angels but of the seed of Abraham, taking our flesh upon Himself so that our humanity might be lifted up. That is the measure of His love shown in 1 John 4:10, and it is the reason we can trust Him to carry the lambs in His bosom as Isaiah 40:11 says, and to feed them as Ezekiel 34:15 promises.
You have prayed rightly that the children may know the Holy Scriptures from youth, as Paul taught Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:15. This is the greatest protection. When parents and those who have care of children instill the fear of God from their first youth, God Himself becomes their wall, a wall that cannot be broken, and He will guard them better than any earthly father could. Teach them the Scriptures, teach them to love Christ, and that inner guard will keep them when outward contrivances fail.
We also join you in praying for the ministry of angels, for the promise stands that He will give His angels charge over those who fear Him, and that the angel of the Lord camps around those who fear Him as Psalm 34:7 says, and that the angels of the little ones always behold the face of the Father as Matthew 18:10 teaches. The church itself is a place of angels, a palace of God, and when we gather we do so among countless witnesses. Yet we remember that angels are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation, while Christ Himself is the Shepherd and Lord who holds all authority in heaven and on earth as Matthew 28:18 declares.
We hear your concern for wolves and for evil and impostors, even when they appear as clergy or ministers, as Acts 20:28 and 2 Timothy 3:13 warn. The Shepherd knows His sheep and His sheep hear His voice, and those who do not belong to Him are shown by their unbelief. We pray that God would expose every deception, bind the work of the enemy, and draw the weary and heavy laden to find rest in Christ, whose yoke is easy and burden is light as Matthew 11:28 says. We submit ourselves to God and resist the devil, trusting the promise that he will flee, and we put on the armor of God that the minds and bodies of our children may be kept from the evil one.
We pray now for every child named and unnamed in your request, for extended families, for mothers and fathers, for babysitters and all who watch over them, for the flock of God among us. May the Lord strengthen them, heal any who have been hurt, shed His love abroad in their hearts by the Holy Spirit as Romans 5:5 says, and cause them to grow in wisdom and knowledge under shepherds after His own heart as Jeremiah 3:15 promises. May they be as signs from the Lord as Isaiah 8:18 says, dwelling securely because the Shepherd stands in the strength of the Lord as Micah 5:4 declares, until there is one flock and one Shepherd as John 10:16 foretells.
We ask all this not by our own power, but in the majestic Name of the Lord our God, trusting that He works all things according to the counsel of His will and for the furtherance of the gospel, and that He will keep these little ones from stumbling. May the Lord keep their eyes from evil and their feet on His path, and may they shine forth as the righteous in the kingdom of their Father.
In the Name of Jesus Christ our Shepherd, Amen.
We give thanks with you for Christ our Good Shepherd, who said the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. As you have prayed from John 10:11 and Psalm 23, we remember that He does not watch as a hired hand, but as a true Shepherd who goes before the sheep and calls His own by name, and leads them out. He pursued us when we were far off, and He took hold not of angels but of the seed of Abraham, taking our flesh upon Himself so that our humanity might be lifted up. That is the measure of His love shown in 1 John 4:10, and it is the reason we can trust Him to carry the lambs in His bosom as Isaiah 40:11 says, and to feed them as Ezekiel 34:15 promises.
You have prayed rightly that the children may know the Holy Scriptures from youth, as Paul taught Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:15. This is the greatest protection. When parents and those who have care of children instill the fear of God from their first youth, God Himself becomes their wall, a wall that cannot be broken, and He will guard them better than any earthly father could. Teach them the Scriptures, teach them to love Christ, and that inner guard will keep them when outward contrivances fail.
We also join you in praying for the ministry of angels, for the promise stands that He will give His angels charge over those who fear Him, and that the angel of the Lord camps around those who fear Him as Psalm 34:7 says, and that the angels of the little ones always behold the face of the Father as Matthew 18:10 teaches. The church itself is a place of angels, a palace of God, and when we gather we do so among countless witnesses. Yet we remember that angels are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation, while Christ Himself is the Shepherd and Lord who holds all authority in heaven and on earth as Matthew 28:18 declares.
We hear your concern for wolves and for evil and impostors, even when they appear as clergy or ministers, as Acts 20:28 and 2 Timothy 3:13 warn. The Shepherd knows His sheep and His sheep hear His voice, and those who do not belong to Him are shown by their unbelief. We pray that God would expose every deception, bind the work of the enemy, and draw the weary and heavy laden to find rest in Christ, whose yoke is easy and burden is light as Matthew 11:28 says. We submit ourselves to God and resist the devil, trusting the promise that he will flee, and we put on the armor of God that the minds and bodies of our children may be kept from the evil one.
We pray now for every child named and unnamed in your request, for extended families, for mothers and fathers, for babysitters and all who watch over them, for the flock of God among us. May the Lord strengthen them, heal any who have been hurt, shed His love abroad in their hearts by the Holy Spirit as Romans 5:5 says, and cause them to grow in wisdom and knowledge under shepherds after His own heart as Jeremiah 3:15 promises. May they be as signs from the Lord as Isaiah 8:18 says, dwelling securely because the Shepherd stands in the strength of the Lord as Micah 5:4 declares, until there is one flock and one Shepherd as John 10:16 foretells.
We ask all this not by our own power, but in the majestic Name of the Lord our God, trusting that He works all things according to the counsel of His will and for the furtherance of the gospel, and that He will keep these little ones from stumbling. May the Lord keep their eyes from evil and their feet on His path, and may they shine forth as the righteous in the kingdom of their Father.
In the Name of Jesus Christ our Shepherd, Amen.
