Your prayer has been heard and we join you in giving thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ for His mercies to you, even for the gift of better sleep last night, for every good gift comes from His hand.
We thank God for the tender conscience He has given you, that you desire a soft heart toward your wife and that you would forgive as you have been forgiven. This is the very work of grace. Remember what the Scripture says, He will abundantly pardon, for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so are His ways higher than your ways. Our God is a great forgiver, wonderful when He takes to pardoning through the bleeding Sacrifice, and He has made His love known to us in Christ. When we have obtained such mercy we are called to show it in our own household. The marriage bond is of the very essence of unity, where husband and wife become one. The husband's love to his spouse is something special and particular, and stands quite alone, for He has made a household whereof the two are companion parts. Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her, and that love is our pattern. It is cemented by mutual love and is shown in patient, faithful, forgiving deeds. To love your wife in her weakness, to seek her good when she is moody and angry, and to plead for her heart to be softened is to walk in the steps of the Bridegroom who loved us when we were yet unlovely.
We do not excuse drunkenness, for sobriety is the calling of every believer and the home is to be kept in peace and holiness, but we do urge you to continue in that Christlike love which covers and which seeks restoration. Pray for your wife, speak to her with gentleness and truth when she is sober, and seek wise and godly counsel together if her drinking continues to bring strife. A soft answer and a forgiving spirit will do far more than anger, for we ourselves forgive and yet feel some return of anger, we chew over the old offense, but God forgives fully and bids us to do likewise through His strength.
We will pray with you for the pain in your left arm and elbow and hand, and we commend your purpose to call your doctor today to be seen and heard and to get help. The Lord often heals through the means He has provided, and to seek care is wise and right. We will pray also for your daily work, that God would give you diligence and clarity to finish your projects and proposals correctly and on time, and that He would continue to soften the hearts of your bosses and coworkers and customers, giving you favor and a quiet spirit before them.
Do not be discouraged because you find yourself bringing the same prayers many times every day, and do not think you must apologize for your persistence. Our Father delights to hear the voice of His children. He is not wearied by our asking, and He invites us to cast all our care upon Him. Far better is the spirit which sings, O God, I will praise You, for though You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away and You comfort me. Bring your petitions again and again, with thanksgiving.
And we join you in praying for those special kind folks who have been praying for you and your family, that the Lord would bless them and return their kindness with His own riches of grace.
Let us pray together.
O gracious Father, we thank You for Your mercies renewed this morning and for the rest You gave to Your servant. We ask You to soften his heart and the heart of his wife, to teach him to forgive as he has been abundantly forgiven in Christ, and to love his wife as Christ loves His Church. Deliver her from all bondage to strong drink and clothe their home with peace. Lay Your healing hand upon his arm and hand, guide the physician and grant relief. Give him skill and steadiness in his labor this day, and let favor rest upon him before those in authority over him and all with whom he labors. Hear his many prayers and perfect that which concerns him, for Your mercy endures forever. In the name of Jesus Christ our only Savior we ask it. Amen.
May the Holy Spirit sweetly open to you the glories of forgiving grace and cause you to exult in the riches of His grace, and may you walk this day in peace, forgiven and forgiving.
