Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer reflects a deep love for those who are hearing the gospel and a clear understanding of how God works to bring salvation.
Thank you for bringing these needs before the Lord with such faithfulness. It is right to thank Him that what looks like foolishness to the world, the preaching of the cross, is in truth His wisdom and His power to everyone who is being saved. The righteousness of God is revealed through faith, and faith comes by hearing the word of Christ. Salvation is truly a gift, by grace through faith, not of ourselves, and it is freely received because the debt of sin has been fully paid. Jesus said it is finished, and the resurrection proves it. It was not possible for death to hold Him, as the Scripture promised that God would not leave His soul in death nor allow His Holy One to see corruption. He who first descended into the lower parts of the earth is the same one who ascended on high and led captivity captive, holding the keys of death and hell. That same power is at work to save and to keep.
You are right to ask for revelation and for spiritual hunger, for wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of Him, and for a thirst for the pure word that causes growth. Our part is to plant and to water the seed of the word, but we can do nothing of real and lasting value apart from Him. He alone gives the increase. Our calling is to be faithful witnesses. Jesus was the faithful witness who showed us exactly what the Father is like, and we are called to reflect Him. The Spirit bears witness, along with the water and the blood, and these three agree. The record God has given is that forgiveness and cleansing are provided through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and the blood of Jesus continually cleanses all who trust in Him. The witness of God is greater than the witness of men, and it calls every person to receive Christ.
It is also right to pray for protection. Jesus prayed that His own would be kept from the evil one, who seeks to snatch away the word that has been sown and who comes to steal and destroy. Yet the Lord is able to keep and to guard. He gives His angels charge to guard His people, and they are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation. You can pray with confidence that the Lord will guard the word that has been heard until it bears fruit, and that the strong man will be bound and his goods plundered as the gospel sets people free.
Thank you for praying for those who are seeking grace to witness in the face of trials and opposition. That pattern is seen throughout the Scriptures, where a wide door for effective service often stands open even while many oppose. When pressure comes, the calling is not to return evil for evil or insult for insult, but to refrain the tongue from evil, to turn from evil and do good, to seek peace and pursue it. It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil, for Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. He left us an example that we should follow in His steps.
May the Lord continue to give you what to say and how to say it as you meet people wherever His Spirit leads, in homes, in public places, among family and friends and even among those who oppose you. The Lord's arm is not too short to save. He is still bringing to remembrance the truth of our need, our sin, the payment made by the sinless Lamb who became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him, His death, His resurrection witnessed by many, His ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit. The right response remains repentance and continued discipleship, a turning from sin with a true hatred of it and a new desire for obedience, trusting Jesus who has become for us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
Keep praying and trusting the Holy Spirit to complete the work He has begun until the day of Christ Jesus. Let your witness be marked above all by love, for love for God is shown in love for one another. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. That spirit, with a single motivation of love for Jesus and not for honor from people, is what makes a witness credible. Your responsibility is to bear witness faithfully to what the Lord has done; His is to bring the conversion and the growth.
May the Lord grant full faith and repentance to all who have heard, water the seed that has been sown, provide further opportunities to share, and keep you and them from the evil one as you ask in the name of Jesus.
Thank you for bringing these needs before the Lord with such faithfulness. It is right to thank Him that what looks like foolishness to the world, the preaching of the cross, is in truth His wisdom and His power to everyone who is being saved. The righteousness of God is revealed through faith, and faith comes by hearing the word of Christ. Salvation is truly a gift, by grace through faith, not of ourselves, and it is freely received because the debt of sin has been fully paid. Jesus said it is finished, and the resurrection proves it. It was not possible for death to hold Him, as the Scripture promised that God would not leave His soul in death nor allow His Holy One to see corruption. He who first descended into the lower parts of the earth is the same one who ascended on high and led captivity captive, holding the keys of death and hell. That same power is at work to save and to keep.
You are right to ask for revelation and for spiritual hunger, for wisdom and understanding in the knowledge of Him, and for a thirst for the pure word that causes growth. Our part is to plant and to water the seed of the word, but we can do nothing of real and lasting value apart from Him. He alone gives the increase. Our calling is to be faithful witnesses. Jesus was the faithful witness who showed us exactly what the Father is like, and we are called to reflect Him. The Spirit bears witness, along with the water and the blood, and these three agree. The record God has given is that forgiveness and cleansing are provided through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and the blood of Jesus continually cleanses all who trust in Him. The witness of God is greater than the witness of men, and it calls every person to receive Christ.
It is also right to pray for protection. Jesus prayed that His own would be kept from the evil one, who seeks to snatch away the word that has been sown and who comes to steal and destroy. Yet the Lord is able to keep and to guard. He gives His angels charge to guard His people, and they are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation. You can pray with confidence that the Lord will guard the word that has been heard until it bears fruit, and that the strong man will be bound and his goods plundered as the gospel sets people free.
Thank you for praying for those who are seeking grace to witness in the face of trials and opposition. That pattern is seen throughout the Scriptures, where a wide door for effective service often stands open even while many oppose. When pressure comes, the calling is not to return evil for evil or insult for insult, but to refrain the tongue from evil, to turn from evil and do good, to seek peace and pursue it. It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil, for Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God. He left us an example that we should follow in His steps.
May the Lord continue to give you what to say and how to say it as you meet people wherever His Spirit leads, in homes, in public places, among family and friends and even among those who oppose you. The Lord's arm is not too short to save. He is still bringing to remembrance the truth of our need, our sin, the payment made by the sinless Lamb who became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him, His death, His resurrection witnessed by many, His ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit. The right response remains repentance and continued discipleship, a turning from sin with a true hatred of it and a new desire for obedience, trusting Jesus who has become for us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
Keep praying and trusting the Holy Spirit to complete the work He has begun until the day of Christ Jesus. Let your witness be marked above all by love, for love for God is shown in love for one another. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. That spirit, with a single motivation of love for Jesus and not for honor from people, is what makes a witness credible. Your responsibility is to bear witness faithfully to what the Lord has done; His is to bring the conversion and the growth.
May the Lord grant full faith and repentance to all who have heard, water the seed that has been sown, provide further opportunities to share, and keep you and them from the evil one as you ask in the name of Jesus.
