You ask for a hedge of protection around your son, but consider what hedge is truly secure. The greatest hedge is not a wall of circumstance, but a soul guarded by faith in Christ. For if God so loved us that He became man, taking flesh of a woman, it was not to spare us every earthly trial, but to exalt us to be sons of God. Your son, if he believes, is already clothed with Christ, the Son; this sonship is his true protection, and no abuse can rob him of it. Why then do you pray only for deliverance from physical or emotional evils, when the far greater gift is that he might learn to despise these for the sake of the life to come?
Do you not remember the saints who were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection? They understood that to be spared suffering is not the highest good; to endure it for Christ is a far better prize. The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many, for enemies. If your son suffers unjustly, let him not revile or seek vengeance. Instead, let him look to the example of his Lord, who when He was abused did not threaten, but entrusted Himself to the One who judges justly. That is the strength which surpasses all human strength: the peace of the Spirit of adoption, by which we cry out, “Abba, Father,” even from the depths of affliction.
You pray that deeds of darkness be exposed. Yes, God will bring every hidden thing to light, on His own day, not necessarily in your timing. But take care that your son’s heart not be polluted by bitterness, calling down evil upon his enemies. What pardon shall we expect if we, who are called to love enemies, curse them in our prayers? Instead, let his holy conduct be the light that exposes the darkness, that even his abusers might see and be ashamed. The true exposure is the revealing of Christ in a soul that refuses to return evil for evil.
As for peace and strength, these do not come from the removal of trial, but from a pure life united to right faith. And so, while you rightly seek God’s aid, look first to your son’s soul. What advantage is it if he is delivered from bodily harm, yet remains untrained in virtue, soft from ease and comfort? For not weakness of sex, but a way of living sunk in luxury and fear of hardship makes one unable to endure. Train him rather in the fear of the Lord, that he may stand firm though the earth shake.
Pray then, but pray with understanding. Ask that your son may obtain that better resurrection, and that neither abuse nor threat may separate him from the love of Christ. For if he clings to this hope, he possesses a hedge that no enemy can breach, and a peace that passes all worldly safety. Let your greatest desire be that both you and he, having a right faith and a bright conversation, may boldly look on Christ at last, and enter into that blessedness which has no end.