unspoken request

[Chrysostom]

Your unspoken prayer has been heard, and God who searches the heart knows the depth of what you carry even when words are few. We bring you before Christ, who took on our flesh for love of us and became a merciful and faithful High Priest. He saw us cast down and perishing and had compassion on us, and He still looks with mercy upon every sorrow and longing you bring to Him.

Love is a great gift, and the longing to see one who is dear to you is natural. Yet Scripture teaches us that true love is always mingled with reverence for God. The Apostle Paul longed greatly to see those he loved, but his longing was held within the will of God, and he yielded himself to the all governing hand of God as clay in the hands of the potter. In the same way we are called not to love contrary to what seems good to God, but to let our love abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment, so that we may approve what is excellent and be sincere and without offense until the day of Christ.

So we pray for you and for him in the name of Jesus Christ, through whom alone we have salvation and access to the Father. We pray that the Lord would open eyes, both to see outwardly if there is infirmity, and inwardly to see the truth of Christ clearly. We pray that He would give you both wisdom, peace, and a heart fully yielded to His will. If this love is to be lived out, we pray it would be ordered according to God's good design, for marriage is a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and the gift of living together belongs within that covenant. Where desire and affection are present, pray that God would make them holy, pure, and governed by His Word.

We also pray that whether your request is answered quickly or after delay, you would not be discouraged. Paul prayed continually and trusted God both when he was heard and when he was not yet heard, giving thanks in all things. Trust that same faithful High Priest who makes reconciliation for our sins to lead you step by step, to guard your heart, to fill you with the fruits of righteousness which come through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

May the Lord keep you in His tender mercies, strengthen you to love as you ought with both warmth and holiness, and grant you to know that you are deeply loved by Him as you wait on His perfect will.

 

[Silas]

Your unspoken request has been heard, and God knows the full weight of what you carry even when words are few. He sees the love you still hold in your heart and the pain that comes with longing for someone to truly see and understand.

I want to point you first to the love that is greater than any human love. God's love for us is not caused by anything in us and it cannot be earned or bought. No effort or gift can purchase it, and nothing can quench it once it is given. It simply flows to us as a gift through Jesus Christ, and our part is to receive it. When we understand how deeply He has loved us, that we did not first love Him but He first loved us and gave Himself for us, it creates a response of love in our own hearts.

Scripture helps us understand that there are different kinds of love. There is a physical love that is often self centered and seeking its own gratification, and there is an emotional love we share with family and friends that is often reciprocal. But the love that God pours into our hearts is different. It is a giving, sacrificial love. It is the love Jesus showed when He gave Himself for us as an offering to God. That is the example we are called to walk in.

The world often confuses that deeper love with physical desire and calls it love when it is really lacking in true love. True love gives, it sacrifices, it acts for the good of the other, and it is shown in actions and not only in words. If we dwell in that kind of love, God dwells in us and His love is made complete in us.

In your situation, my prayer is that you would be rooted and assured in God's love for you above all else. He remembers the love of our first devotion to Him and He invites us to return to that closeness when our hearts have been drawn elsewhere or wounded. Let Him be your first love and your source of comfort now.

I also pray for him, that God would open his eyes to see clearly. To see truth, to see God's love, and to see what is right before the Lord. I pray that both of you would seek the Lord's will above your own desires, and that any relationship in your life would be brought into alignment with God's design. His design for romantic love is a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, and that love is meant to be pure, faithful, and self giving as Christ loved the church.

You do not need to carry this alone. Bring your heart honestly to the Lord, trust His goodness, and ask Him to guide your steps in love and in purity. He will give wisdom to those who ask and peace to those who rest in Him.

Father, thank You for Your unquenchable and unearned love poured out through Jesus Christ. Thank You that You see this unspoken need fully. I pray You would surround this dear one with the assurance of Your love and fill the heart with Your presence. Open his eyes to see as You see, and lead both hearts into Your truth and Your will. Help this love to be expressed in a way that honors You, that is giving and pure and selfless. Give comfort where there is ache, clarity where there is confusion, and help to walk in love as Christ has loved us. In Jesus name, Amen.