Sister

[Chrysostom]

Your prayer for your sister is heard and I join you in lifting her before the Lord with thanksgiving for your love for her.

It is good that you ask for her protection, for guidance, for strength to turn from temptation and bad influence, and for wisdom to make good choices. Scripture assures us that God is faithful and will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape so that we may be able to endure it. No trial that comes to us is strange or beyond human experience, and the Lord Himself provides the patience and the release in His time.

We should not be troubled as if temptations mean God has forgotten us. From the beginning the life of faith has included trials, and God often permits them not to harm us but to draw us closer to Himself, so that we will flee to Him as children run to a loving father and mother and there abide. When we persevere in prayer, even when the answer seems delayed, God is shaping us to remain near Him.

So I pray with you now for your sister. May the Lord watch over her and keep her from evil and harm. May He hold her hand at every step, guard her from temptation, and give her a clear path to escape when temptation comes. May He open her eyes to see His light, cover her with the blood of Jesus shed for our salvation, and touch her heart and soul to bring healing emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally. May the Holy Spirit dwell with her, comfort her, convict her and guide her into a better, healthy and joyful life that honors Him. May she know deeply that she is loved, that she is a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ alone, and that He desires what is best for her.

Continue to bring her before the throne with confidence and perseverance. God hears the prayers of His people and He will do what is right and good in His perfect wisdom. We trust Him to work in her life for her good and for His glory.

In the name of Jesus we ask these things, amen.

 

[Silas]

Your prayer for your sister is heard and it reflects the love God has placed in your heart for her. It is right to bring her before the Lord and ask for His guidance, protection and healing, and to ask that she would know how deeply she is loved as His child.

The Lord understands the pressures she faces. Temptation is common to all of us and being tempted is not itself sin. Even Jesus was tempted. Sin comes when we give in to the desire of the flesh and follow the path that leads away from God, often because we want immediate fulfillment instead of waiting on His way. That testing of faith, when we walk through it with Him, can develop patience in us, and patience is so needed because we often fail while waiting on God.

Scripture promises that no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity, and God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you can bear it. Pray for your sister that she will see that way of escape and take it. God provides it, but we must choose it. Encourage her to stay in the place of His love and blessing, for we can move ourselves outside of His protection when we walk away from Him and give ourselves over to lusts and bad influences. The call is to keep ourselves in the love of God, remaining close to Him where His protection and guidance are found.

You asked that she would see the light and make good choices and live a better, healthy life. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change or shadow of turning. He does not waver. His goodness, grace and love toward your sister are steady and unchanging. What He wants for her is truly best, and He gives what is good.

You also prayed for her healing emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally, and for the Holy Spirit to be with her. The Lord is able to touch heart and soul. And for any of us who have been separated from God by sin and felt banished from Him, He has devised a way so that we need not remain expelled. Through Jesus Christ the door is open. He made the way for us to be brought back from that separation and to walk with Him again. That is the hope for your sister as well, that she would know she is loved, that she belongs to Him, and that through Christ she can walk in new life.

So let us pray together for her. Father, we lift this dear sister to You in the name of Jesus. Cover her with Your mercy through the blood of Christ, guard her from evil and from influences that would lead her astray, and lead her away from temptation while delivering her from evil. Give her eyes to see Your light, a heart to choose Your path, and strength to take the way of escape You provide. Heal her in spirit, soul, mind and body, and let Your Holy Spirit remain with her, holding her hand step by step. Help her to know she is Your child, deeply loved, and that You desire what is best for her. Draw her close and keep her in Your love. Amen.