Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer reflects a right and biblical burden, and we join you in it. The desire for truth and righteousness that you are asking God to stir in others is itself a work of His Spirit. Jesus said blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. That hunger is not natural to us. God Himself plants it, and only He can satisfy it.
Every person is body, soul and spirit, and each part has its thirst. The body thirsts for what it needs to live, the emotions thirst for love and security, but the spirit thirsts for God. People try to fill that spiritual thirst with many other things, with knowledge, position, success, even with careful keeping of the law, but none of those things satisfy. As you noted, education alone does not make a person righteous. A person can be highly trained in the law and still fall short of the glory of God, as we all do. The idea that man is the measure and that we invent our own moral guide only leaves us empty. True understanding of ourselves comes when we see God as He is, and when we see Him we see our own need.
That is why Scripture says God does not delight merely in outward sacrifice or religious performance. What He desires and will not despise is a broken spirit and a contrite heart. Psalm 51 puts it clearly. God is not looking for a show of righteousness, but for a heart that is broken over sin, that hates sin enough to turn from it. There is a sorrow that is of the world and brings death, and there is a godly sorrow that works repentance leading to salvation and to real change. Repentance always means a change, a turning away from what is evil in His eyes and a turning toward Him.
True righteousness is not something we establish for ourselves by our good works outweighing our bad works. We cannot make ourselves righteous. The righteousness God gives is apart from the law and comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness, and in the same way God counts our faith for righteousness when we trust completely in what Jesus did for us on the cross. There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who said I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. It is His blood that covers, His righteousness that is imparted to us when we believe.
So we pray with you that the Lord would bring that true revelation to those you mentioned, to the team and to the lawyers and representatives who are bound in falsehood. We ask that Jesus, who is the truth, would set them free, for He said the truth shall set you free. We ask that God would cover those who are His with His peace and understanding, and that He would teach all involved to love righteousness and to act with compassion and honesty, to regard human life and to speak truthfully. We pray that God would work on hearts to bring godly sorrow, a brokenness over sin, and a thirst that will not be quenched by anything less than His truth and His righteousness, and that this would lead to genuine repentance and a new way of living.
We also affirm your humble spirit in this. It is right not to boast or to look down on others, for we all fall short and we all need the same mercy. Having received mercy, we are called to show mercy, to love others because we love Him, and to reach out to whoever is in need as our neighbor. May the Lord keep you in that humility and love as you continue to intercede, trusting that His will is perfect and that light is sown for the righteous. We thank God for His Holy Spirit who intercedes for us, and we ask that His will be done and that His name be exalted in all of this. Amen.
Every person is body, soul and spirit, and each part has its thirst. The body thirsts for what it needs to live, the emotions thirst for love and security, but the spirit thirsts for God. People try to fill that spiritual thirst with many other things, with knowledge, position, success, even with careful keeping of the law, but none of those things satisfy. As you noted, education alone does not make a person righteous. A person can be highly trained in the law and still fall short of the glory of God, as we all do. The idea that man is the measure and that we invent our own moral guide only leaves us empty. True understanding of ourselves comes when we see God as He is, and when we see Him we see our own need.
That is why Scripture says God does not delight merely in outward sacrifice or religious performance. What He desires and will not despise is a broken spirit and a contrite heart. Psalm 51 puts it clearly. God is not looking for a show of righteousness, but for a heart that is broken over sin, that hates sin enough to turn from it. There is a sorrow that is of the world and brings death, and there is a godly sorrow that works repentance leading to salvation and to real change. Repentance always means a change, a turning away from what is evil in His eyes and a turning toward Him.
True righteousness is not something we establish for ourselves by our good works outweighing our bad works. We cannot make ourselves righteous. The righteousness God gives is apart from the law and comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness, and in the same way God counts our faith for righteousness when we trust completely in what Jesus did for us on the cross. There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who said I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. It is His blood that covers, His righteousness that is imparted to us when we believe.
So we pray with you that the Lord would bring that true revelation to those you mentioned, to the team and to the lawyers and representatives who are bound in falsehood. We ask that Jesus, who is the truth, would set them free, for He said the truth shall set you free. We ask that God would cover those who are His with His peace and understanding, and that He would teach all involved to love righteousness and to act with compassion and honesty, to regard human life and to speak truthfully. We pray that God would work on hearts to bring godly sorrow, a brokenness over sin, and a thirst that will not be quenched by anything less than His truth and His righteousness, and that this would lead to genuine repentance and a new way of living.
We also affirm your humble spirit in this. It is right not to boast or to look down on others, for we all fall short and we all need the same mercy. Having received mercy, we are called to show mercy, to love others because we love Him, and to reach out to whoever is in need as our neighbor. May the Lord keep you in that humility and love as you continue to intercede, trusting that His will is perfect and that light is sown for the righteous. We thank God for His Holy Spirit who intercedes for us, and we ask that His will be done and that His name be exalted in all of this. Amen.
