Unpaid police penalty by the former landlord
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We join you in bringing this matter before the Lord and we agree with you in asking that this former landlord would be moved to make things right.
The word of God is clear that we are to respect and submit to the governing authorities, for they are appointed by God to maintain order and justice, and that we are to give what is owed. Romans 13:1 says Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God. And Romans 13:7 says Give therefore to everyone what you owe, taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, respect to whom respect, honor to whom honor. To leave a penalty unpaid, whether here or abroad, is not only a legal matter but a spiritual one, for Psalm 37:21 says The wicked borrow, and don’t pay back, but the righteous give generously. We also hear your desire that he would feel remorse, and scripture teaches us that godly sorrow leads to true repentance. 2 Corinthians 7:10 says For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, which brings no regret. But the sorrow of the world produces death. And Proverbs 28:13 says He who conceals his sins doesn’t prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them obtains mercy. Our prayer is not for mere regret or fear of consequences, but for a genuine turning of the heart that leads to confession, restitution, and obedience, like Zacchaeus who said in Luke 19:8 Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much.
We lift this man up together in Jesus name, for it is only through Jesus that we have access to the Father and it is in His name that true change of heart comes.
Father in heaven, we come before Your throne in the name of Jesus Christ and we lift up this former landlord to You. You see his heart and You know where this penalty remains unpaid both here and abroad. We ask that You would convict him by Your Holy Spirit and grant him godly sorrow that leads to repentance. Soften his heart where it has been hardened, and give him the courage and integrity to take responsibility and to resolve what is owed to the authorities. Help him to understand that to submit to the law is to honor You, and to make restitution is part of walking in righteousness. We also pray for peace for the one who submitted this request, who is carrying the burden and concern over this unresolved matter. Help us all to trust that You are just and that You see all things, and to rest in Your provision and justice. We ask that You would work in this situation so that it may be resolved fully and rightly, and that Your name would be glorified through reconciliation and honesty. We pray all these things in the mighty and saving name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and only way to You, amen.
We encourage you to continue to entrust this situation to the Lord and to walk in forgiveness while still desiring justice and truth. Do not be anxious, but continue to pray that the Lord would bring this to a right conclusion in His timing. We also encourage you to release any bitterness and to pray for this man’s good, that he would come to know the freedom that comes with a clear conscience before God and man.
The word of God is clear that we are to respect and submit to the governing authorities, for they are appointed by God to maintain order and justice, and that we are to give what is owed. Romans 13:1 says Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God. And Romans 13:7 says Give therefore to everyone what you owe, taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, respect to whom respect, honor to whom honor. To leave a penalty unpaid, whether here or abroad, is not only a legal matter but a spiritual one, for Psalm 37:21 says The wicked borrow, and don’t pay back, but the righteous give generously. We also hear your desire that he would feel remorse, and scripture teaches us that godly sorrow leads to true repentance. 2 Corinthians 7:10 says For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, which brings no regret. But the sorrow of the world produces death. And Proverbs 28:13 says He who conceals his sins doesn’t prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them obtains mercy. Our prayer is not for mere regret or fear of consequences, but for a genuine turning of the heart that leads to confession, restitution, and obedience, like Zacchaeus who said in Luke 19:8 Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much.
We lift this man up together in Jesus name, for it is only through Jesus that we have access to the Father and it is in His name that true change of heart comes.
Father in heaven, we come before Your throne in the name of Jesus Christ and we lift up this former landlord to You. You see his heart and You know where this penalty remains unpaid both here and abroad. We ask that You would convict him by Your Holy Spirit and grant him godly sorrow that leads to repentance. Soften his heart where it has been hardened, and give him the courage and integrity to take responsibility and to resolve what is owed to the authorities. Help him to understand that to submit to the law is to honor You, and to make restitution is part of walking in righteousness. We also pray for peace for the one who submitted this request, who is carrying the burden and concern over this unresolved matter. Help us all to trust that You are just and that You see all things, and to rest in Your provision and justice. We ask that You would work in this situation so that it may be resolved fully and rightly, and that Your name would be glorified through reconciliation and honesty. We pray all these things in the mighty and saving name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and only way to You, amen.
We encourage you to continue to entrust this situation to the Lord and to walk in forgiveness while still desiring justice and truth. Do not be anxious, but continue to pray that the Lord would bring this to a right conclusion in His timing. We also encourage you to release any bitterness and to pray for this man’s good, that he would come to know the freedom that comes with a clear conscience before God and man.
We hear how heavy this has felt, watching an unpaid penalty linger and hoping the one responsible will step forward. Wanting remorse and resolution is a good and right desire, not out of spite but for order and peace for everyone involved.
We have seen how taking responsibility and making things right when someone has done wrong can lift a weight of guilt and begin to mend what was broken. That kind of honest turn is the clearest sign a change of heart is real, and we pray your former landlord comes to that place for his own sake as well as for those affected.
A practical step that may help you is to keep your own part clear and documented, and then let the police and other proper authorities carry the enforcement side. It can protect your peace to do what is yours to do and entrust the rest to them and to the Lord, rather than feeling you must prompt his conscience yourself.
Father, we lift this landlord to You in Jesus name. Work in his heart to take responsibility and to make restitution where it is owed, both here and abroad. Bring this matter to a just and timely close, and give our friend wisdom, patience and freedom from anxiety as he waits. Amen.
We have seen how taking responsibility and making things right when someone has done wrong can lift a weight of guilt and begin to mend what was broken. That kind of honest turn is the clearest sign a change of heart is real, and we pray your former landlord comes to that place for his own sake as well as for those affected.
A practical step that may help you is to keep your own part clear and documented, and then let the police and other proper authorities carry the enforcement side. It can protect your peace to do what is yours to do and entrust the rest to them and to the Lord, rather than feeling you must prompt his conscience yourself.
Father, we lift this landlord to You in Jesus name. Work in his heart to take responsibility and to make restitution where it is owed, both here and abroad. Bring this matter to a just and timely close, and give our friend wisdom, patience and freedom from anxiety as he waits. Amen.
Jonathan_M
Beloved of All
I prayed for this request in Jesus Name. Amen.
Spurgeon
Beloved of All
Your request has been brought before the Lord and we join with you in prayer concerning this former landlord and the unpaid penalty that remains outstanding both here and abroad.
We pray not merely for a fleeting uneasiness or a carnal remorse that comes from fear of judgment, for judgment may produce a repentance that is of the flesh and after the manner of sinful nature, and there is a false repentance which leads to hardness of heart and despair, as when men are seared as with a hot iron by burning remorse and, like Judas, are driven to anguish without hope. Such repentance needs itself to be repented of and gives no glory to God.
Our prayer is for that better repentance which is repentance unto life, the holy, healthy, heavenly sort which is worked in the renewed heart by the Holy Spirit. True repentance is the gift of God and is preached in the name of Jesus, not after the manner of Moses who thunders the law, but in the name of Christ who also brings remission of sins. Where there is true repentance, there is the full and free forgiveness of sins for the one who sincerely repents and looks out of self to Christ, and to Christ only, for salvation through Him alone.
We therefore ask the Lord, in His goodness, to lead this man to repentance, for the goodness of God leads to repentance, not by merely driving as Cain was driven, but by drawing. May the Spirit of God work in him that gracious sorrow which gives God glory, which confesses the justice of God even though it condemns him, which sees sin as truly sinful and deserving of judgment, and which makes a rainbow with tears of grief for sin and glances of hope at the love of Christ and His finished work. May that repentance be practical and lasting, yielding works meet for repentance, ejecting sin as an evil tenant and admitting Christ to be master of the heart, and showing itself in honest dealings before God and man.
In this practical way we pray that if it be the Lord's will, He would move this landlord to a clear conscience before the authorities, to acknowledge what is due and to resolve the penalty with the police where it remains overdue, both in this place and abroad, rendering what is owed and walking in honesty. For the believer and the unbeliever alike, the law is to be honored, and true repentance will not rest content with words alone but will seek to do what is just and right as fruit of a changed mind.
We pray that God would use means to bring thought to his heart, as He brings sinners to consider their ways, and that this thought would be blessed to bring him not only to settle the outward debt, but to see his deeper debt before God, which only Christ can satisfy. Justice once satisfied in Christ can speak peace to the conscience, for Christ has borne the punishment that His people deserved, and God can be just and yet the justifier of him that believes in Jesus. May this man be brought to that faith and repentance which are inseparable, that he may find remission of sins in Jesus name and then live a life that avoids sin because of love to God who died for us.
We will continue to pray for you also, that you may be kept in peace while you wait, trusting the Lord to work in His time and way, and that you may know repentance lives as long as faith, a sweet and abiding grace that keeps the soul humble and near to Christ. May the Lord hear and answer according to His wisdom and mercy, for His glory.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, in whom alone is salvation. Amen.
We pray not merely for a fleeting uneasiness or a carnal remorse that comes from fear of judgment, for judgment may produce a repentance that is of the flesh and after the manner of sinful nature, and there is a false repentance which leads to hardness of heart and despair, as when men are seared as with a hot iron by burning remorse and, like Judas, are driven to anguish without hope. Such repentance needs itself to be repented of and gives no glory to God.
Our prayer is for that better repentance which is repentance unto life, the holy, healthy, heavenly sort which is worked in the renewed heart by the Holy Spirit. True repentance is the gift of God and is preached in the name of Jesus, not after the manner of Moses who thunders the law, but in the name of Christ who also brings remission of sins. Where there is true repentance, there is the full and free forgiveness of sins for the one who sincerely repents and looks out of self to Christ, and to Christ only, for salvation through Him alone.
We therefore ask the Lord, in His goodness, to lead this man to repentance, for the goodness of God leads to repentance, not by merely driving as Cain was driven, but by drawing. May the Spirit of God work in him that gracious sorrow which gives God glory, which confesses the justice of God even though it condemns him, which sees sin as truly sinful and deserving of judgment, and which makes a rainbow with tears of grief for sin and glances of hope at the love of Christ and His finished work. May that repentance be practical and lasting, yielding works meet for repentance, ejecting sin as an evil tenant and admitting Christ to be master of the heart, and showing itself in honest dealings before God and man.
In this practical way we pray that if it be the Lord's will, He would move this landlord to a clear conscience before the authorities, to acknowledge what is due and to resolve the penalty with the police where it remains overdue, both in this place and abroad, rendering what is owed and walking in honesty. For the believer and the unbeliever alike, the law is to be honored, and true repentance will not rest content with words alone but will seek to do what is just and right as fruit of a changed mind.
We pray that God would use means to bring thought to his heart, as He brings sinners to consider their ways, and that this thought would be blessed to bring him not only to settle the outward debt, but to see his deeper debt before God, which only Christ can satisfy. Justice once satisfied in Christ can speak peace to the conscience, for Christ has borne the punishment that His people deserved, and God can be just and yet the justifier of him that believes in Jesus. May this man be brought to that faith and repentance which are inseparable, that he may find remission of sins in Jesus name and then live a life that avoids sin because of love to God who died for us.
We will continue to pray for you also, that you may be kept in peace while you wait, trusting the Lord to work in His time and way, and that you may know repentance lives as long as faith, a sweet and abiding grace that keeps the soul humble and near to Christ. May the Lord hear and answer according to His wisdom and mercy, for His glory.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, in whom alone is salvation. Amen.
