Request for prayer support 🙏

[Chrysostom]

You bring before God a great many requests for your business and your health, and indeed these are matters that weigh upon you. But let us first examine the root of such anxiety. For what is the business you plead for so earnestly but the trade of cosmetics, the adornment of the outward body? Consider then how much care you pour into things that perish, while your soul, the true treasure, may be neglected. It is not wrong to work with your hands and to seek honest provision; the Apostle himself labored as a tentmaker. Yet he gave this rule: "Make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." Do you toil for health and necessity, or does your heart kindle after profit and adornment that inflame desire? If you light a furnace within yourself by chasing after the beautifying of the body, then you have ceased to make provision for the flesh in a godly way. Cut out the root of covetousness, and you will find rest. For every conflict, every deceitful customer, every unfair rival, these spring from the things of this life. Hath a man stolen your goods or a courier deceived you? He hath not injured your soul; only let him not steal your treasure which is above. If you set your affection on heavenly things, you will learn to despise the losses of earth.

As for your body, did not our Lord touch the woman with fever and not only quench the fever but restore her whole health at once? He is able to heal your teeth, your eyes, your leg, and all your infirmities. Yet do not murmur if He permits some affliction to remain for a while. The stomach is aided by a little wine, the flesh by what is needful; but the soul is trained by patience. Entrust yourself to the great Physician, and seek first the health of your soul, for what does it profit to have a whole body and a sick spirit?

You pray for guidance, for wisdom, for God to rebuke unclean spirits and thwart malicious intentions. This is good, for we must wait upon the time of conflict and not rush ahead vaingloriously. When you are brought into trial, stand nobly; when you are not summoned, be quiet and wait. The devil’s overthrow is more derided when we do not chase after contests of our own making. If your new business idea is from God, He will confirm it without your anxious striving. Judge not by outward appearance, by success or failure seen with the eyes, but by the nature of things. The world’s glory is but a name, or rather a shame.

I have spoken many words to you before, and perhaps you have seemed insensible. Yet as a tree that receives ten strokes and at last falls with one blow, so the repeated hearing of God’s truth may at last bear fruit. I beseech you, do not cease from the healing treatment. Even at the very gates of hell one may recover and lay hold of eternal life. Hear the word: if you have ears, hear. Turn your eager desire from the pursuit of invoices and shipments toward the love of hearing the things of God. For we enter heaven when we enter the church with the right disposition; it is possible for one on earth to stand in heaven and behold the things there.

Therefore, instead of multiplying prayers for the success of your cosmetics, pray rather that you may be made a whole man in soul, that you may be useful to the Kingdom by a meek and quiet spirit, by a heart detached from goods and gear. For what is a man profited if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Let your business be so conducted that it is for God’s glory indeed, by your honesty, your contentment, your freeness from covetousness. Then shall the peace of God protect you more than any prayer against tax officials or unfair rivals. I send this word to you diligently, without delay, as a beloved brother, that you might be freed from heaviness. May you learn to despise the things of earth, and then you will find all these lesser things added unto you.

 

[Silas]

Your heart for God's glory and your desire to be useful in His kingdom shine through every line of your request. That very longing is evidence of His Spirit at work in you.

Scripture tells us that wisdom is the principal thing, more valuable than rubies, more desirable than anything this world can offer. The fear of the Lord is its starting point. When we approach our work, our decisions, and even our trials with a holy reverence for Him, we begin to walk in true wisdom. The wisdom that comes from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, and full of good fruit. It will not lead you into envy, strife, or deception, but into honesty and uprightness.

You are asking God for wisdom, guidance, and blessing in business, and that is exactly what He delights to give. Remember the one who asked not for riches or fame but for an understanding heart to lead God's people. The Lord was so pleased that He gave not only wisdom but also wealth and honor. So as you seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, trust that all these practical needs will be added to you. Let your business be marked by honest weights and measures, dealings that are a sweet aroma to Him. A just weight is His delight; false balances are an abomination. Even when the world says you cannot succeed by being honest, God’s wisdom is a defense that money alone cannot provide. It gives life to those who have it.

The enemy will always try to bring confusion, unfair competition, or even spiritual opposition. But the wisdom of this world comes to nothing. The Lord laughs at the schemes of the crafty and thwarts the intentions of the wicked. He is your shield. When you are hit with deceptive customers, lost shipments, or unfair officials, lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. That shipment mix-up, that courier fraud, these are opportunities to watch God work mightily on your behalf as you pray and act with prudence. Ask Him for clear signs and confirmation, and He will guide you.

As for your body, the same God who formed you knit you together in your mother’s womb. Jesus bore our sicknesses and carried our pains. By His stripes we are healed. He is able to restore your teeth, your eyes, your leg, your stomach, every part. Bring these needs to Him persistently, for He cares for you.

So I will join you in asking the Father to pour out His Spirit of wisdom and understanding upon you. May He grant you keen discernment in every transaction, protection from evil, and favor with suppliers and customers alike. May your business become a testimony of His faithfulness. And may your ministries, both in word and deed, bring joy to His heart and glory to the name of Jesus Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Walk in the wisdom from above, and you will see His good hand upon you.