Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your suffering and the danger you have endured have been heard with great sorrow, and I have brought your cries before the Lord in prayer. To receive electric shocks in your own home, to bear wounds on your skin, to need medical care and even to seek another place to wash, and then to be met not with compassion but with denial, threats, demands for payment and talk of eviction, is a heavy affliction. It is right that you have sought help, kept the medical reports and the electrician's documentation, and shown the truth to others. God sees what has been done in secret and what has been done openly, and He does not overlook the cry of those who are wronged.
I pray with you that the Lord will deliver you out of all these afflictions, as the Psalm says, and keep you in safety. I pray that He will guard you from further harm, from false accusation, from any entry or violence against you, and that He will make the truth plain to all who need to see it. I pray also that what is life threatening in that dwelling will be fully exposed and not covered over by any false report, for the Lord loves truth and hates deceit.
I join you in praying for those who have hardened their hearts, the landlord, the contact person, the owner, the team, the lawyer and the woman who has harassed you. Scripture teaches that a hard heart does not yield to the word of God, just as callous flesh does not yield to the physician's hand, and that from hardness comes unbelief, having eyes but not seeing and having ears but not hearing. Yet the same Scripture teaches that a word from God, sounded in the ear, can soften the hardened soul more than fire. So I pray that God in His longsuffering will still call them to repentance, that He will take away the heart of stone and give a heart of flesh, that He will grant them godly sorrow which works repentance unto salvation and not merely the shadow of repentance. May they rend their hearts and not only their garments, with a broken and contrite heart which God will not despise, and may they turn, confess what is true, ask forgiveness and make restitution where it is due, including any compensation that justice requires.
We must also remember that God has shown great patience, calling all to return, but those who continue unyielding treasure up for themselves wrath against the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God. It is not God who stores up that wrath for them, but they themselves by refusing His goodness and warning. On that day each will receive his due, for here many may harm without justice, but there the judgment is perfectly righteous. For this reason I pray that the fear of God will come upon them now, while there is still time to repent, that their arrogance and abusive speech will be broken, that lies will be exposed and that every plan to harm or deceive will come to nothing.
For you, I urge you to continue steadfast in prayer and in hearing the divine Scriptures, for from this comes every benefit and reformation of life. Do not let hatred take root in your own heart, but commit your cause to the Lord who judges righteously. Do not repay evil for evil. Keep your documentation in order, seek lawful and wise counsel for protection and for what is owed to you, and stay under the care of those you trust. The Lord is your refuge and your witness.
Let us pray. Heavenly Father, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ Your Son, through whom alone is salvation, look upon this Your servant who has been wounded and threatened and falsely accused. Comfort, protect and provide for him. Let truth be revealed and let justice be done. Soften the hard hearts of those who have acted without remorse. Grant them sight to see, ears to hear, and a true turning from unscrupulous and irresponsible ways. Break the power of evil and bring all deeds into the light, that what is dangerous may be repaired and what is unjust may be set right. Give to Your servant peace, strength and a heart kept from bitterness, and let Your will be done in all things. Amen.
I pray with you that the Lord will deliver you out of all these afflictions, as the Psalm says, and keep you in safety. I pray that He will guard you from further harm, from false accusation, from any entry or violence against you, and that He will make the truth plain to all who need to see it. I pray also that what is life threatening in that dwelling will be fully exposed and not covered over by any false report, for the Lord loves truth and hates deceit.
I join you in praying for those who have hardened their hearts, the landlord, the contact person, the owner, the team, the lawyer and the woman who has harassed you. Scripture teaches that a hard heart does not yield to the word of God, just as callous flesh does not yield to the physician's hand, and that from hardness comes unbelief, having eyes but not seeing and having ears but not hearing. Yet the same Scripture teaches that a word from God, sounded in the ear, can soften the hardened soul more than fire. So I pray that God in His longsuffering will still call them to repentance, that He will take away the heart of stone and give a heart of flesh, that He will grant them godly sorrow which works repentance unto salvation and not merely the shadow of repentance. May they rend their hearts and not only their garments, with a broken and contrite heart which God will not despise, and may they turn, confess what is true, ask forgiveness and make restitution where it is due, including any compensation that justice requires.
We must also remember that God has shown great patience, calling all to return, but those who continue unyielding treasure up for themselves wrath against the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God. It is not God who stores up that wrath for them, but they themselves by refusing His goodness and warning. On that day each will receive his due, for here many may harm without justice, but there the judgment is perfectly righteous. For this reason I pray that the fear of God will come upon them now, while there is still time to repent, that their arrogance and abusive speech will be broken, that lies will be exposed and that every plan to harm or deceive will come to nothing.
For you, I urge you to continue steadfast in prayer and in hearing the divine Scriptures, for from this comes every benefit and reformation of life. Do not let hatred take root in your own heart, but commit your cause to the Lord who judges righteously. Do not repay evil for evil. Keep your documentation in order, seek lawful and wise counsel for protection and for what is owed to you, and stay under the care of those you trust. The Lord is your refuge and your witness.
Let us pray. Heavenly Father, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ Your Son, through whom alone is salvation, look upon this Your servant who has been wounded and threatened and falsely accused. Comfort, protect and provide for him. Let truth be revealed and let justice be done. Soften the hard hearts of those who have acted without remorse. Grant them sight to see, ears to hear, and a true turning from unscrupulous and irresponsible ways. Break the power of evil and bring all deeds into the light, that what is dangerous may be repaired and what is unjust may be set right. Give to Your servant peace, strength and a heart kept from bitterness, and let Your will be done in all things. Amen.
