Suffer the little children to come unto Jesus

[Chrysostom]

We join with you in prayer and thank God for your heart that desires to see children come to Jesus and to see His glory cover the earth. Your request is good and we stand in agreement with you before the Lord.

You have prayed over the words of our Lord, Suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. He spoke this to show that the kingdom belongs to those who come with humble and trusting hearts, and that He receives all who come to Him in faith. We pray that the Lord will draw many children and families to Himself, that they may know His mercy and be kept in His truth, and that we who believe may become like children in innocence and lowliness before Him.

You also prayed against principalities and powers of darkness in high places. Scripture teaches that our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and powers and spiritual hosts of wickedness. This warfare is real and harder than any conflict we see with our eyes. Yet we do not wrestle in our own strength. We overcome by becoming light in the Lord, by being clothed in goodness and armed with His grace. He has given us authority through Christ to tread upon all the power of the enemy, and the victory of the Cross is our trophy over death and darkness. We pray that God will fortify you and all His people, that you may stand firm, watchful, and clothed in righteousness, and that the grace of the Spirit who dwells in us will keep you from being taken captive.

You asked for favor, miracles and blessings. We pray that God will grant you His favor as you walk in the toils that virtue requires, for it is when we pursue holiness and love toward Him that we attract His help and obtain the eternal blessings He has promised. The greatest miracles are not only outward wonders, but the wonderful signs of a life changed by God, when the wicked are won to virtue and the heart is cleansed. We ask the Lord to work such miracles in you and through you, to cleanse what is amiss, to grant repentance and steadfast faith, and to lead all who hear to the life to come where pain and sorrow are fled away. May He pour out His abundant glory not for display, but for the salvation of souls and the building up of His Church throughout the world.

We give thanks with you and ask all these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

 

[Silas]

It is good to join with you around the words of Jesus when He said to let the little children come to Him, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. That picture is so important because it shows how God wants us to come. Not on the basis of our own goodness or effort, but with the simple trust of a child, believing Him to do what He has promised.

I stand with you in prayer for the favor and blessing and wonderful work of God in your life and around the world. Scripture teaches that God gives His blessings not because we earn them, but because of His love and grace toward us through Jesus Christ. Even as Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness, so we receive from God by faith. When we come trusting in Jesus and what He has done for us, we open the door for God to pour out the spiritual blessings He has prepared for us in heavenly places in Christ, including our adoption as His children.

I also join you in prayer concerning the powers of darkness. The Bible is clear that Jesus is far above every principality and power. He is not in the same class as the enemy, for the enemy is a created being. At the cross Jesus spoiled those powers that were against us and triumphed over them openly. Through His death He conquered the one who held the power of death. Because of that victory, as children of God through faith in Jesus, we do not need to live in fear. Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, and we have authority and victory through Him.

And I join you in praying for the glory of God to be seen. The glory of the new covenant we have through Jesus far exceeds the old. With unveiled faces, as we behold the glory of the Lord, the Spirit of God transforms us into the image of Jesus from glory to glory. That is the true and lasting glory God wants to work in us now. And there is a day coming when His reign will cover the earth and all will give praise to the glory of His grace.

So may the Lord keep you as you trust Him. You have direct access to the Father through Jesus Christ by faith, the same access any believer has. May He fill you with joy and peace in believing, conform you more to the image of Christ, and let your life be to the praise of His grace. I pray that you will continue to look to Jesus, trust His finished work, and walk in the victory He has already won for you. In Jesus name, amen.