Chrysostom
Beloved of All
We have received your heartfelt prayer and we thank you for trusting us with these deep longings for love, stability and a united home. We hear your desire for peace after past wounds and for a future where you and your sons are cared for and secure.
Because we want to pray in a way that honors God, we cannot ask Him to bless this relationship exactly as you have worded it. Scripture teaches that marriage is honorable and is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and that sexual intimacy and living together belong within that covenant alone. It also teaches that marriage preserves the holiness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ by guarding us from impurity. To pray that a man would simply release or set aside his former marriage in order to enter a new love would be to ask God to set aside what He calls holy. That would wound what God has joined and then ask Him to heal a different wound. Instead we are called to heal our own failings first and to raise up what has been cast down, not to cast down further.
We also cannot pray that God would quickly open doors for a fiance visa or for cohabitation and proposal apart from clear moral and legal clarity about his marriage past. If he is still bound by marriage, the faithful path is to honor that covenant, seek wise pastoral and legal counsel, and pursue repentance and reconciliation where possible. Where a divorce has already occurred on biblical grounds, there is still need for healing and holiness before entering another covenant. Love that honors God is patient, chaste and orderly, and does not pursue union outside of marriage.
So we want to pray with you differently, asking for what God promises to give. We pray that both of you would come to know salvation through Jesus Christ alone and to walk in obedience to Him. We pray that your senses would be exercised by continual hearing and experience of the Scriptures, so that you can discern good and evil and understand His will day by day, even if understanding comes slowly. We pray that God would grant clarity, not confusion, and that He would soften hearts toward repentance, truth and holiness rather than simply toward a new relationship. We pray for healing of past wounds in a way that does not create new wounds for others, including former spouses and children.
For your sons, we pray that they would be protected, loved and formed in a home marked by peace and holiness, and that any father figure in their lives would love them with a pure and responsible love that reflects Christ. For you, we pray for provision, wisdom and the support of a faithful local church that can walk with you closely, know your story fully and give you ongoing counsel.
If you are longing for marriage, we encourage you to pursue it only in the Lord, with sexual purity, without living together beforehand, and with full honesty before God and before civil authorities. Seek counsel from a trusted pastor who can examine the history of the former marriage, help you understand what faithfulness requires now, and guide you in steps that are both legally right and biblically holy.
Let us pray together:
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son, we ask for mercy and wisdom for this dear one and for ### and for these children. Lead them to know You truly and to submit to Your righteousness rather than their own desires. Grant them a love for Your Word, a commitment to holiness and peace with all, and the courage to do what is right even when it is costly. Heal what has been broken according to Your truth, guard them from impurity, and order their steps so that whatever future You give them will honor You above all else. Amen.
Because we want to pray in a way that honors God, we cannot ask Him to bless this relationship exactly as you have worded it. Scripture teaches that marriage is honorable and is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and that sexual intimacy and living together belong within that covenant alone. It also teaches that marriage preserves the holiness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ by guarding us from impurity. To pray that a man would simply release or set aside his former marriage in order to enter a new love would be to ask God to set aside what He calls holy. That would wound what God has joined and then ask Him to heal a different wound. Instead we are called to heal our own failings first and to raise up what has been cast down, not to cast down further.
We also cannot pray that God would quickly open doors for a fiance visa or for cohabitation and proposal apart from clear moral and legal clarity about his marriage past. If he is still bound by marriage, the faithful path is to honor that covenant, seek wise pastoral and legal counsel, and pursue repentance and reconciliation where possible. Where a divorce has already occurred on biblical grounds, there is still need for healing and holiness before entering another covenant. Love that honors God is patient, chaste and orderly, and does not pursue union outside of marriage.
So we want to pray with you differently, asking for what God promises to give. We pray that both of you would come to know salvation through Jesus Christ alone and to walk in obedience to Him. We pray that your senses would be exercised by continual hearing and experience of the Scriptures, so that you can discern good and evil and understand His will day by day, even if understanding comes slowly. We pray that God would grant clarity, not confusion, and that He would soften hearts toward repentance, truth and holiness rather than simply toward a new relationship. We pray for healing of past wounds in a way that does not create new wounds for others, including former spouses and children.
For your sons, we pray that they would be protected, loved and formed in a home marked by peace and holiness, and that any father figure in their lives would love them with a pure and responsible love that reflects Christ. For you, we pray for provision, wisdom and the support of a faithful local church that can walk with you closely, know your story fully and give you ongoing counsel.
If you are longing for marriage, we encourage you to pursue it only in the Lord, with sexual purity, without living together beforehand, and with full honesty before God and before civil authorities. Seek counsel from a trusted pastor who can examine the history of the former marriage, help you understand what faithfulness requires now, and guide you in steps that are both legally right and biblically holy.
Let us pray together:
Father, in the name of Jesus Christ Your Son, we ask for mercy and wisdom for this dear one and for ### and for these children. Lead them to know You truly and to submit to Your righteousness rather than their own desires. Grant them a love for Your Word, a commitment to holiness and peace with all, and the courage to do what is right even when it is costly. Heal what has been broken according to Your truth, guard them from impurity, and order their steps so that whatever future You give them will honor You above all else. Amen.
