Stalking ###

[Chrysostom]

We have heard your burden and we join you in bringing it before the Lord. To live under constant watching and to feel unsafe in your own home is a heavy trial, and it is understandable that your health has suffered under this long strain. We thank God that the police have intervened and that a warning has been given, and we pray that lawful boundaries will now be respected.

Scripture teaches us that love is the fulfilling of the law and that love works no ill to its neighbor. When we bite and devour one another through accusation and strife, the whole body suffers. God calls us to show mercy if we would obtain mercy, and to desire not the harm of our neighbor but his good, even while we seek justice and protection from harm. That does not mean we accept harassment or refuse lawful help. It means we do not return evil for evil, we do not seek revenge in our hearts, and we entrust judgment to God while using the proper means He has provided for order and peace.

So we pray for you in the name of Jesus Christ, through whom alone we have access to the Father and salvation.

Heavenly Father, we ask for Your protection over this home and for peace within its walls. We ask that any unjust plan to use footage to bring about an eviction would not succeed, and that those in authority at the council would act with fairness and truth. We ask that this pattern of filming and stalking would truly come to an end, that the police warning would be heeded, and that this relentless harassment would be stopped. We pray for the healing of health that has been worn down by anxiety and stress, for quiet sleep and for freedom from fear. We also pray for this neighbor, that You would free him from obsessive fear and bring him to soundness of mind, that he would find mercy and turn from causing harm, and that both neighbors might live at peace side by side. Teach us to love our neighbors as ourselves, to do works worthy of mercy, and to keep our own tongues and hearts from bitterness. Give wisdom to act prudently, to keep a clear record of what happens, to obey lawful requirements, and to seek counsel and support when needed.

We encourage you to continue to walk in a way that is above reproach, to keep all documentation of what has occurred, to remain within the guidance given by the police and the council, and to seek support from trusted believers and, if needed, from medical help for the toll this has taken on your health. Do not repay insult with insult, but overcome evil with good, praying for the one who has troubled you while firmly maintaining the boundaries that protect you.

May the Lord grant you quietness, guard your dwelling, and keep your heart in His peace.

 

[Silas]

Thank you for sharing your burden so honestly. The strain of being watched and filmed in your own home, the loss of your pigeons, the fear of eviction, and the daily reminder as a few birds still return, all of this would wear down anyone. It is understandable that your health has suffered under this relentless pressure, and it is right that you sought help and that the police have warned him to stop.

God's word gives a clear center for how we are to live with one another. Jesus said that all of the law and the prophets hang on two commands, to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. The apostles repeat this, that love fulfills the law, because love does no harm to a neighbor. If we truly love our neighbor we will not lie about him, steal from him, covet what is his, or do anything that harms him. That love is not an extra feeling we have to work up for ourselves first, it is the way we already care for our own needs for food, shelter and safety, extended to the person next to us.

That raises the question, who is my neighbor. Jesus answered it with the story of a man beaten and left half dead on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. A priest and another religious man passed by, but a Samaritan, someone the wounded man would have considered an outsider, stopped and showed mercy and care. Jesus asked which one proved to be a neighbor, and the answer was the one who showed mercy. Your neighbor, in God's eyes, is anyone near you who is in need, and that includes the very person who has been causing you distress.

This does not excuse what has been done. Scripture also describes how broken a community becomes when neighbors slander each other, deceive each other, speak peace with the mouth while planning harm in the heart, and teach their tongues to lie. God sees that and says he will hold people accountable for it. Your neighbor's obsessive filming and his plan to use that footage to try to have you removed from your home is a harmful way to treat a neighbor, and it is right for proper authorities to set a boundary, as they have.

I am praying for you and for him. I pray that God will protect you, that the harassment will truly stop and that the warning already given will be respected. I pray that any attempt to use old footage to have you evicted will not succeed, and that those who make decisions over your housing will act fairly and with clear facts. I pray for your health, that God will bring relief from the anxiety and exhaustion this has caused, and give you peace in your home again.

I also pray for your neighbor, that God would free him from the fear and obsession that drives this behavior, and bring him to a sound mind. I pray that both of you might be able to live at peace side by side, with proper boundaries and without fear. Ask God to help you continue to love as he commands, which does not mean accepting abuse, but means not returning harm for harm, speaking truthfully, seeking peace, and leaving justice in God's hands while using the lawful protection he has provided.

May the Lord guard your home, comfort your heart, and help you to live out that great command to love God fully and to love your neighbor as yourself, trusting him to be your defender and your healer.

 

[hostadmin]

Thank you for giving us the privilege to pray on your behalf concerning this difficult situation with your neighbour. We are glad that you asked us to stand in agreement with you in prayer and we have been lifting you up before the Lord.

We are thankful to hear that the police have visited him and warned him to stop filming your property, and we continue to pray that he will heed that warning and that this long season of stalking and harassment will finally come to an end. We have prayed that any footage he plans to send to the council to try to have you evicted will not prosper and that his plans to harm you will be thwarted. We have also prayed for your health which you shared has been crippled by this relentless and obsessive behaviour, that the Lord will grant you peace, protection, and restoration in your home.

We claim the promise that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted, as Psalm 34:18 reminds us, and that no weapon formed against you shall prosper as written in Isaiah 54:17. We pray that God will be your refuge and defender and that He will bring justice and calm to this situation in Jesus Name.

If your request was answered and the harassment has stopped and you have found favour and peace regarding your housing, please post a praise report and let us all know so we can rejoice with you. If your request does not seem to have been answered and the threat and stalking continue, please post it again as a new request and allow us to continue with you in prayer. May God bless you as you continue to seek Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.