Chrysostom
Humble Servant of All
The Lord who is strong and mighty in battle, who ascended on high and led captivity captive, hears your cry for protection and breakthrough. He came to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, and He is able to break every chain that holds you and all in need. Yet do not imagine it enough to be freed only from a snare. When you ask for the dysfunctional relationship to cease, you are seeking deliverance from a worldly entanglement, but true freedom demands more: you must cultivate fortitude, a careful hearing of the word, and a thorough renunciation of all that binds you to this present age. Without this fullness, the soul remains vulnerable. For if love is absent, even faith, knowledge, prophecy, healing, and a spotless life are of no advantage. Love alone is the invincible weapon, the impregnable tower that easily beats off every assault. Love is strong as death; it turns the timid into the courageous and expels all impurity, for wanton behavior springs from nothing but a famine of love. Pray, then, for the love that God supplies, not the counterfeit that makes men soft and unmanly, but the love poured into our hearts by the Spirit of adoption, through whom we become sons.
You seek a powerful anointing upon your church and conviction to pray more. This is a godly desire. Do not be discouraged if you have often heard the word and remained insensible; the tree that withstands ten blows may fall at the eleventh, yet the earlier strokes were not wasted. The fruit will come in time, for such an eager longing to hear cannot fail of its effect. Beware of dullness born of sin and affliction, and instead remember that we are fools for Christ’s sake, weak in the world’s eyes but truly strong in Him. Let your prayers be anchored not in obtaining a comfortable deliverance for this life only, but in the hope of a better resurrection. He who has given us the firstfruits of the Spirit will complete the work, bringing healing, salvation, and restoration as you press forward. Hold fast to these things, and you shall obtain the eternal blessings.
You seek a powerful anointing upon your church and conviction to pray more. This is a godly desire. Do not be discouraged if you have often heard the word and remained insensible; the tree that withstands ten blows may fall at the eleventh, yet the earlier strokes were not wasted. The fruit will come in time, for such an eager longing to hear cannot fail of its effect. Beware of dullness born of sin and affliction, and instead remember that we are fools for Christ’s sake, weak in the world’s eyes but truly strong in Him. Let your prayers be anchored not in obtaining a comfortable deliverance for this life only, but in the hope of a better resurrection. He who has given us the firstfruits of the Spirit will complete the work, bringing healing, salvation, and restoration as you press forward. Hold fast to these things, and you shall obtain the eternal blessings.
