Silas
Beloved of All
Your heart for your children and for the peace and holiness of your home comes through so clearly, and it is right to bring all of these burdens to the Lord in prayer.
God has shown from the beginning that He places a high value on the family. When He called Jacob to return to the land of his fathers and to his family, He added the promise that He would be with him and deal well with him. That remains His heart today, to be present with His people as they seek to walk in His way and to keep the family together under His care. Part of that care is His protection. Scripture teaches that He gives His angels charge over His own, that He surrounds His people as a hedge, and that He clothes believers in the full armor of God, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. It is right to ask for that covering over your minds, hearts, bodies, home, yard and vehicles, and for the peace that surpasses all understanding to guard your hearts in Christ Jesus.
You are also right to desire healing for your son. The Gospels show Jesus healing both the woman who had suffered for years and who touched Him in faith, and the little daughter of Jairus who was at the point of death. He is still the Lord who heals, and Isaiah declares that by His stripes we are healed. We join you in asking the Lord for His mercy over your son, for calmness, gentleness and peace of mind, for relief from anxiety and sensory distress and from the memories that trouble him, and for a joyful, settled day under the care of his caregiver. We pray the same for your younger daughter, for strength after exhausting days, for health, for help in her studies and work, for Godly friendships, and for wisdom to manage what God has entrusted to her, including her responsibilities at home. If a move would harm her health, overwhelm her schedule, hinder her care for what is in her charge and bring financial hardship, pray that God will give her clear wisdom and courage to stand steadfast and to say no, as she has done before.
Your prayer for unity is precious to God. Scripture gives a beautiful picture of family loyalty in Ruth, who clung to her mother in law and said where you go I will go, and your people will be my people. It also gives the picture of the kinsman redeemer who spreads his covering over those in his family to protect and provide. That covering points to Christ Himself, who covers His people with His own righteousness and protection. Pray that the Lord will strengthen that kind of loving, respectful and unbreakable bond between you and your children, that your words would be kind, your thoughts pure, and your home filled with His light for all who enter.
At the same time, Scripture warns that living in the midst of corruption can cost a family dearly. Lot was a righteous man, yet his choice to dwell near a corrupt city brought moral harm to his children. And the story of Jacob's family shows that going outside God's design for marriage brings confusion and sorrow. Laban's deception of Jacob, giving him one daughter when he had labored for another, and the resulting household with two sisters and their maids as wives, is a case of polygamy that Scripture records but never presents as God's good pattern. From the beginning God's design has been one man and one woman in a lifelong covenant, and sexual union and living together belong only within that covenant.
For that reason we cannot ask God to bless a living arrangement outside of marriage, and we join you in praying as you have prayed, that the Lord would speak to your older daughter about the sin of living outside of marriage and draw her with loving kindness to repentance and to a life of purity that honors Him. Living together is not marriage and does not give the rights or covering of marriage. We pray that God will give her spiritual clarity, restore her gratitude for her family, her faith, friendships and work, and give her wisdom not to follow, idolize or mimic rebellious or manipulative ways, and not to put a young man before her family, her purpose, her health, her finances and her walk with Christ. We pray that every ungodly tie would be broken, that any control or deceptive influence from this young man or his mother would be removed if it is not the Lord's will, and that if it be His will for their lives, He would bring even them to salvation through Jesus Christ alone, for with God nothing shall be impossible. We pray that He would frustrate every plan that seeks to bring division, isolation and chaos into your family, and that He would protect your daughter's job, finances, self esteem and relationships.
We also stand with you against every spiritual attack, jealousy, spite and manipulation. The promise remains that no weapon formed against you shall prosper. Ask the Lord to remove what is not of Him, to let every dark and deceptive influence lose power and flee, and to fill your home with His anointing, guidance and favor. Pray that your children would be beacons of His light at work, school and in every activity, working efficiently without being overworked or exhausted, and that your whole family would know His favor, joy and satisfaction together.
May the Lord grant you a peaceful and joyful day together in Him, restore what has been broken in a Godly and respectful way, and cause your home to overflow with the Holy Spirit. We trust Him with you for healing, restoration and breakthrough in every area, believing that He hears the prayers of a parent who seeks His will above all else.
God has shown from the beginning that He places a high value on the family. When He called Jacob to return to the land of his fathers and to his family, He added the promise that He would be with him and deal well with him. That remains His heart today, to be present with His people as they seek to walk in His way and to keep the family together under His care. Part of that care is His protection. Scripture teaches that He gives His angels charge over His own, that He surrounds His people as a hedge, and that He clothes believers in the full armor of God, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. It is right to ask for that covering over your minds, hearts, bodies, home, yard and vehicles, and for the peace that surpasses all understanding to guard your hearts in Christ Jesus.
You are also right to desire healing for your son. The Gospels show Jesus healing both the woman who had suffered for years and who touched Him in faith, and the little daughter of Jairus who was at the point of death. He is still the Lord who heals, and Isaiah declares that by His stripes we are healed. We join you in asking the Lord for His mercy over your son, for calmness, gentleness and peace of mind, for relief from anxiety and sensory distress and from the memories that trouble him, and for a joyful, settled day under the care of his caregiver. We pray the same for your younger daughter, for strength after exhausting days, for health, for help in her studies and work, for Godly friendships, and for wisdom to manage what God has entrusted to her, including her responsibilities at home. If a move would harm her health, overwhelm her schedule, hinder her care for what is in her charge and bring financial hardship, pray that God will give her clear wisdom and courage to stand steadfast and to say no, as she has done before.
Your prayer for unity is precious to God. Scripture gives a beautiful picture of family loyalty in Ruth, who clung to her mother in law and said where you go I will go, and your people will be my people. It also gives the picture of the kinsman redeemer who spreads his covering over those in his family to protect and provide. That covering points to Christ Himself, who covers His people with His own righteousness and protection. Pray that the Lord will strengthen that kind of loving, respectful and unbreakable bond between you and your children, that your words would be kind, your thoughts pure, and your home filled with His light for all who enter.
At the same time, Scripture warns that living in the midst of corruption can cost a family dearly. Lot was a righteous man, yet his choice to dwell near a corrupt city brought moral harm to his children. And the story of Jacob's family shows that going outside God's design for marriage brings confusion and sorrow. Laban's deception of Jacob, giving him one daughter when he had labored for another, and the resulting household with two sisters and their maids as wives, is a case of polygamy that Scripture records but never presents as God's good pattern. From the beginning God's design has been one man and one woman in a lifelong covenant, and sexual union and living together belong only within that covenant.
For that reason we cannot ask God to bless a living arrangement outside of marriage, and we join you in praying as you have prayed, that the Lord would speak to your older daughter about the sin of living outside of marriage and draw her with loving kindness to repentance and to a life of purity that honors Him. Living together is not marriage and does not give the rights or covering of marriage. We pray that God will give her spiritual clarity, restore her gratitude for her family, her faith, friendships and work, and give her wisdom not to follow, idolize or mimic rebellious or manipulative ways, and not to put a young man before her family, her purpose, her health, her finances and her walk with Christ. We pray that every ungodly tie would be broken, that any control or deceptive influence from this young man or his mother would be removed if it is not the Lord's will, and that if it be His will for their lives, He would bring even them to salvation through Jesus Christ alone, for with God nothing shall be impossible. We pray that He would frustrate every plan that seeks to bring division, isolation and chaos into your family, and that He would protect your daughter's job, finances, self esteem and relationships.
We also stand with you against every spiritual attack, jealousy, spite and manipulation. The promise remains that no weapon formed against you shall prosper. Ask the Lord to remove what is not of Him, to let every dark and deceptive influence lose power and flee, and to fill your home with His anointing, guidance and favor. Pray that your children would be beacons of His light at work, school and in every activity, working efficiently without being overworked or exhausted, and that your whole family would know His favor, joy and satisfaction together.
May the Lord grant you a peaceful and joyful day together in Him, restore what has been broken in a Godly and respectful way, and cause your home to overflow with the Holy Spirit. We trust Him with you for healing, restoration and breakthrough in every area, believing that He hears the prayers of a parent who seeks His will above all else.
