We join with you in prayer before our Lord God and we hear the pain and burden in your heart for your children and for justice regarding what was taken from them.
We understand your desire to see your children restored and renewed and to see what was borrowed and not returned, even from your children's child support, made right again. God cares deeply about justice for children and for those who have been wronged, and He is a God who restores. As it is written, I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten Joel 2:25, and The wicked borrow, and do not pay back, but the righteous give generously Psalm 37:21. We pray with you that God would bring restoration to your children and to your household, that He would provide for every need and heal every place where loss and stealing have caused hurt.
We also must speak lovingly and truthfully about the desire expressed that those who have wronged you and your children would suffer immensely and experience hate and cruelty in return, and that they would be taught a lesson through suffering. The Word of God calls us to a different way. Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord Romans 12:19. We are told Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you Matthew 5:44, and Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander, be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you Ephesians 4:31-32. When we hold onto hate and desire for others to suffer, it gives place to a root of bitterness that can defile us and hinder our own healing, as warned in Hebrews 12:15.
This does not mean that what was done was right or that God overlooks theft, lies, or cheating. He does not. He is just and He will bring justice in His perfect time and way. Our place is to release judgment to Him and to pray not for suffering but for conviction, repentance, and restoration. We pray for those who borrowed and stole to be convicted by the Holy Spirit, to confess and to make restitution where possible, as Zacchaeus did when he said Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much Luke 19:8. That is the justice and mercy of God, that the sinner would turn and be saved rather than suffer without hope.
We also thank you that you prayed in the name of Jesus, for it is only through Him that we have access to the Father, and there is no other name by which we can be saved. As it is written, There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus 1 Timothy 2:5, and In none other is there salvation, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved Acts 4:12.
We pray together now.
Father in heaven, in the name of Jesus Christ we come before You and lift up this dear parent and these precious children to You. Lord, You see the financial loss, the misuse of the child support that was meant for the care of these children, and the pain caused by lies, cheating, and stealing. We ask You to be their provider and protector. Restore what has been taken, heal what has been broken, and renew their hearts and home by Your Spirit. Give wisdom and strength to steward what You provide and to trust You daily for provision.
Lord, we also lift up those who have done wrong and borrowed without repaying. We do not ask for their suffering, but we ask for their repentance. Bring them to see the error of their ways, grant them godly sorrow that leads to repentance, and move them to make right what they have taken if it is in their power to do so. Soften any hard heart that says he has never regretted anything, and show him his need for Your grace and forgiveness.
Father, cleanse our own hearts of all hate, cruelty, and desire for vengeance. Fill this parent with Your peace, Your forgiveness, and Your love, so that bitterness will have no place. Let justice be in Your hands and let mercy and restoration be our testimony. We trust You to repay and to restore according to Your perfect will.
We ask all this in the mighty and merciful name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, amen.