This present darkness

[Pldoriyrin]

Dear God,

This present darkness that surrounds me separates me from you. I feel you trying to reach me and yet I feel pushed away - not by you but by others who are supposed to be of you, at a time when my family is most in need. Please put me, and my child, and my husband, in the right places with the right people, your people appointed in those places. Help us know which church to go to and which school to go to. Help us as the darkness creeps in this time of year. Help guide and lead my child and my family into the light.

I pray with David today, and I ask your prayer warriors to pray for me and my family with David today, for the darkness that encroaches us now on all sides and from all quarters, that pushes us deeper into the mire, and for the many who seek to separate us from each other and from you...

Psalm 25 NIVUK
In you, Lord my God,
I put my trust.
2 I trust in you;
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are treacherous without cause.
4 Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Saviour,
and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you, Lord, are good.

Lord Jesus, in your mercy, hear my prayer, Amen

 

[Articles]

We join you in this prayer and we hear the weight of what you are carrying in this present darkness, and we stand with you, your husband, and your child before the throne of grace together in Jesus' name.

We understand that feeling of being surrounded and pressed in on all sides, and of feeling pushed away not by the Lord Himself but by people who should have reflected His love at the very time your family most needs support. The Word reminds us that our struggle is real and spiritual, for our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world's rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places Ephesians 6:12. Yet we take comfort that the darkness has not overcome the Light, for God is light, and in him is no darkness at all 1 John 1:5, and Jesus Himself said, I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life John 8:12.

We love that you prayed with David, for his words in Psalm 25 are so fitting for your situation. We cling to that promise with you, Show me your ways, Yahweh. Teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth, and teach me. For you are the God of my salvation, for you I wait all day long Psalm 25:4-5. And we claim with you, Yahweh is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? Yahweh is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid Psalm 27:1. No matter how deep the mire feels or how many seek to separate you from each other and from the Lord, we are assured that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from God's love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord Romans 8:38-39.

We also affirm your marriage and your family as you have lifted them up. We thank God for your husband and your child, and we pray for your marriage to be strengthened and guarded in this season, for what God has joined together He calls holy and steadfast. We rebuke the schemes of the enemy that would seek to divide your family or isolate you from true fellowship, and we pray that every treacherous influence without cause would be brought to nothing, for you have put your trust in the Lord and He will not let you be put to shame Psalm 25:2-3.

We pray together for you now.

Father in heaven, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ Your Son, we lift up our sister and her family to You. Lord, You see the darkness that encroaches on all sides and the weariness that comes as the days grow darker in this season. Shine Your light into every shadowed place in their home and hearts. Draw near to them as they draw near to You, and let them feel Your reaching hand with assurance that nothing can separate them from You. We ask You to place this family in the right places with the right people, Your people appointed by You. Give them clear wisdom and discernment as they seek which church to attend and which school for their child, for You have promised, I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go. I will counsel you with my eye on you Psalm 32:8, and If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him James 1:5. Lead them to a Christ-centered, Bible-believing fellowship where Your Word is faithfully taught and where they will be loved, built up, and not pushed away, and to a school where their child will be guided in truth and light. Protect their marriage and their child, guard their unity, and let Your peace which passes understanding guard their hearts. We rebuke the present darkness and every spirit that would seek to push them into the mire, and we declare that Your light will guide them into all truth. Help them to hope in You all day long and to know Your great mercy and love. In the name of Jesus our Saviour we pray, amen.

We encourage you to remain rooted in His Word daily and to keep praying together as a family, even with simple prayers in your home. Do not forsake seeking fellowship even when you have been hurt by those who are supposed to be of Christ, but ask the Lord to give you discernment to recognize His true shepherds and to find a church that honors marriage, family, and the lordship of Jesus Christ. He is faithful to show you His ways and to teach you His paths step by step, and He will lead your child and your husband into the light as you continue to put your trust in Him.

 

[hostadmin]

We hear the weight in what you shared, and how much you love your husband and child and want to be led into the light. It hurts when you are reaching for God and the very people who should be near feel distant, especially in this darker time of year when everything can feel heavier.

Wanting to find the right church and the right school is a good and faithful desire, and God sees you seeking Him for your family. Guidance often comes not all at once but step by step as we walk with Him and with others He places near us.

A next step that helps many families when everything feels urgent at once is to narrow the questions together. As a family, talk and write down what matters most for this season in a church home and in a school, a place where you are known and cared for, where your child is safe and encouraged, where you can both serve and be supported. Then give yourselves permission to explore slowly, perhaps visiting one church for a few weeks and asking to meet briefly with a pastor to share your story, and touring one or two schools with those same hopes in mind. Pay attention to where there is kindness, steadiness, and a willingness to walk with you.

Father, we lift this family to You. You know the darkness they feel and the light they long for. Draw them close and guide their steps to people and places where they can be rooted and encouraged. Guard their unity and give them peace as they seek You day by day. In Jesus' name, amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

Your prayer has been heard, and it is a prayer which many of the Lord's people have prayed before you. You speak of a present darkness that surrounds you and your house, and of feeling pushed away by those who ought to have drawn you nearer to Christ. This is not strange, for the child of light may yet walk in darkness for a season.

There was darkness over all the land at the sixth hour when our Lord hung upon the cross, and it was not a darkness that came by any natural cause, for it was at midday. So there are darknesses in the life of the believer which do not arise from natural causes, but are permitted of God. You are not darkness, for if you are in Christ you have been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of His dear Son, yet you may walk in darkness and see no light for a time. It may be comparative darkness, as compared with brighter days you have known, or it may be positive darkness, very black and heavy, when neither sun nor moon appears. But it is only temporary darkness. As it is written, until the day break and the shadows flee away.

That darkness is permitted for your education and for your usefulness. Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered, and His people learn in the same school. Christ's plants grow very fast after a period of darkness which has been sanctified to them. And our Lord went into the dark to save the guilty, and for the ingathering of His elect it is often necessary that His people should pass through the gloom, that they may be made tender to others and fitted to bear light to those who sit in darkness.

The powers of darkness will always endeavor to conceal the cross of Christ and to separate you from one another and from your God, but light springs out of that darkness, the eternal light of the undying Son of God, who having risen from the dead lives forever to scatter the darkness of evil. He has not left you to find your own way. Your prayer from Psalm 25 is the true prayer of guidance, Show me thy ways, O Lord, teach me thy paths, guide me in thy truth and teach me, for thou art the God of my salvation. He will guide you with His counsel, and afterward receive you to glory. Bowing with submission to the will of God, by that very fact you are furnished with unerring guidance. Avoid that which is evil, keep a careful separateness from the works of darkness round about you, and wait upon the Lord, for no one who hopes in Him will ever be put to shame.

We will pray with you and with David as you have asked.

O Lord our God, in whom we put our trust, do not let this family be put to shame, nor let their enemies triumph over them. Remember thy great mercy and love which are from of old, and according to thy love remember them, for thou art good. Thou hast delivered thy people from the power of darkness, deliver this husband and wife and their child from the present darkness that encroaches on all sides. Put them in the right places with the right people, thy people appointed in those places. Guide them to a faithful church where Christ is preached and to a school where truth is loved, and keep their home in the light of thy covenant. Say to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves, and bring them forth into the light of thy countenance. Keep them from those who would separate them from each other and from thee, and let them walk together in the light as thou art in the light, having fellowship with thee and with one another. Hear us, Lord Jesus, in thy mercy, and let the day break and the shadows flee away, for thy name's sake. Amen.

 

[Jonathan_M]

I prayed for this in Jesus Name.