We hear the deep pain and longing in your heart, and we are moved by your desire to use your gifts—including your puppetry—for God’s glory and the good of others. Your journey has been marked by suffering, discrimination, and the weight of unmet expectations, yet you have also seen God’s faithfulness in your achievements and your heart for those who are overlooked. We want to lift you up in prayer, but first, let us address a few things with the truth and love of Scripture, for we care deeply about your walk with Christ and your alignment with His will.
You have mentioned your desire to honor God with your talents, and that is commendable. The Bible tells us in **1 Peter 4:10-11**, *"As each has received a gift, employ it in serving one another, as good managers of the grace of God in its various forms. If anyone speaks, let it be as it were the very words of God. If anyone serves, let it be as of the strength which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."* Your passion for puppetry and storytelling could indeed be a powerful tool for sharing the Gospel and encouraging believers—if it is pursued in submission to God’s leading and not as a means of personal validation or rebellion.
However, we must gently but firmly address the tone of frustration and bitterness toward your parents. The fifth commandment calls us to *"Honor your father and your mother,"* as reiterated in **Ephesians 6:2-3**: *"‘Honor your father and mother,’ which is the first commandment with a promise: ‘that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth.’"* While it is understandable that you feel misunderstood, Scripture does not permit us to harbor resentment or disrespect, even when we disagree with our parents. Their concerns may stem from love, even if misguided, and we must pray for wisdom to respond with humility. Proverbs 1:8-9 reminds us, *"My son, listen to your father’s instruction, and don’t forsake your mother’s teaching: for they will be a garland to grace your head, and chains around your neck."*
We also notice your mention of not wanting to conform to their expectations for your appearance, such as cutting your hair. While outward appearance is not the measure of a man’s worth, **1 Corinthians 10:31** tells us, *"Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."* If your hair or appearance becomes a stumbling block to your witness or your relationship with your family, it may be worth prayerfully considering whether this is an area where you can yield for the sake of peace and unity. Similarly, your frustration with their acceptance of worldly behaviors in others—such as drinking, tattoos, or gluttony—while they criticize your dreams reveals a double standard that is painful. Yet Jesus calls us to focus on our own obedience, not compare ourselves to others. **Matthew 7:3-5** warns, *"Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? Or how can you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye;’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye."*
As for your career path, we encourage you to seek God’s will above all else. **Proverbs 16:3** says, *"Commit your deeds to the Lord, and your plans shall succeed."* If puppetry is truly the path God has for you, He will open doors that no man can shut. But we must also caution against pursuing this dream out of a desire to prove yourself to your parents or the world. **Colossians 3:23-24** reminds us, *"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ."* If God calls you to this ministry, He will provide the means, the connections, and the favor—even with your parents. However, if this is a personal ambition rather than a God-given calling, it may lead to further disappointment.
We also sense a deep loneliness in your words—a longing for connection, for a wife, and for children. These desires are good and God-given, but we must surrender them to the Lord’s timing. **Psalm 37:4-5** encourages us, *"Also delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in him, and he will do this."* We pray that God would prepare you to be a godly husband one day, but we also urge you to seek contentment in Christ alone for now. Pursue friendships within the body of Christ, and invest in your local church. Isolation can breed bitterness, but community brings healing.
Finally, we must address the tone of defiance in your words: *"If that stays I won’t go anyway their way."* This is not the spirit of Christ, who, though He was God, *"humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross"* (**Philippians 2:8**). Submission to authority—even when it is difficult—is a mark of spiritual maturity. We urge you to soften your heart and ask God to help you respond with grace, even if your parents do not fully understand your vision.
Now, let us pray over you:
Heavenly Father, we lift up our brother to You, knowing that You see his heart, his pain, and his dreams. Lord, You have walked with him through discrimination, loneliness, and near-death experiences, and yet You have preserved him for a purpose. We ask that You would heal the wounds of his past—the rejection, the unfairness, the moments he felt unseen. Replace his bitterness with Your peace, and his frustration with Your patience. Soften his heart toward his parents, Lord, and give him the wisdom to honor them even when he disagrees. Help him to see them through Your eyes, and grant them a spirit of understanding and encouragement toward him.
Father, we ask for clarity regarding his gifts and calling. If puppetry is the path You have for him, open doors that cannot be shut. Connect him with the right people in Christian studios, and provide the resources he needs to glorify You through this ministry. But if this is not Your will, redirect his steps and give him a heart that is willing to follow wherever You lead. Remind him that his worth is not in his career, his talents, or his parents’ approval, but in Christ alone.
Lord, we also lift up his longing for marriage and family. Prepare him to be a godly husband, and if it is Your will, bring a godly wife into his life in Your perfect timing. Surround him with brothers and sisters in Christ who can encourage him, sharpen him, and walk alongside him. Protect him from the snare of loneliness and the temptation to find identity in anything other than You.
We rebuke any spirit of rebellion, bitterness, or self-pity that may be taking root in his heart. Fill him instead with Your Holy Spirit—with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (**Galatians 5:22-23**). Help him to trust You with his future, knowing that You hold all things in Your hands.
Finally, Father, we ask that You would use his story—his struggles and his triumphs—for Your glory. Whether through puppetry, voice work, or another avenue entirely, may his life be a testament to Your faithfulness. Give him a heart that seeks first Your kingdom and Your righteousness, trusting that all these things will be added to him (**Matthew 6:33**).
We pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, who alone is worthy of all praise and honor. Amen.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. 
