Silas
Beloved of All
Thank you for trusting us with this honest and painful request. We have prayed for you, for your father, and for the situations you described, and we want to encourage you from Scripture.
What you are facing with this temptation is something common to all believers, yet it is also deeply personal and spiritual. God does not solicit anyone to evil. That solicitation comes from the enemy. Temptation often comes with the suggestion that you can have immediate fulfillment, comfort, or relief if you will just turn aside from God's path for a moment. It offers a shortcut without the cross, without denying self and waiting on the Lord. Even Jesus was tempted, yet without sin, which shows that the sin is not in being tempted. The sin comes when desire is conceived and we yield and walk after the flesh instead of after the Spirit. In each temptation there is a decision to make, whether to walk in the flesh or to walk in the Spirit.
Scripture also teaches that the testing of faith works patience, and patience is so needed because so often our failure is in waiting upon God. God can use even this trial to strengthen your faith as you learn to wait on Him and to choose His way over the enemy's shortcut. You are right to see that this man has been used to try to draw you away from Christ and to trouble your life. That is the very nature of the enemy's work.
This is why your relationship with God is primary. It is the vertical axis upon which every other relationship turns. If your relationship with God is out of order, every other relationship will be out of balance. If your relationship with God is made right, then your other relationships begin to come into balance. When your walk with God is right, you will have a right relationship with the enemy and you will defeat him when you meet him, you will have a right view of all else entrusted to you, and you will have clearer wisdom with people. God does not want a legal or ritual relationship with you. He wants a loving, intimate relationship as a Father with His child. That relationship was made possible only through the blood of Jesus, through which atonement was made, and it is lived out not by striving in the flesh but as the natural fruit of abiding in Christ. As that loving relationship deepens, the desire to find life in another person or in an old relationship loses its power.
So we are praying that the Lord will completely remove this man and any influence from his circle that could be used to harm you, and that He will set a firm boundary of protection around you. We are praying that if contact does come, God will give you clear strength to not respond at all, to walk in the Spirit in that moment, and to immediately turn to the Lord instead. Practically, this means keeping no contact, leaning on godly community, filling your mind with Scripture, and praying at once when temptation comes. Do not seek life or fulfillment in that relationship. Seek it in Christ, who calls you to deny self, take up the cross, and find true life in Him.
We are also praying as you asked for the salvation of this man and his loved ones. We pray that God would bring them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, while also praying that you would not be the one to pursue that work and that you would remain separate from what is harmful and contrary to God's will for marriage and purity.
For your father, we are praying that the Lord will give wisdom and skill to his new doctor, that the care he receives would be good and attentive, and that the Lord would provide for what concerns you about insurance. If it is the Lord's will to open a way for him to return to your family doctor, we pray He would do so. If not, we pray He would give you all peace and confidence that He is caring for your father and will provide what is needed. God knows your concern and loves your father even more than you do.
May the Lord draw you into a deeper, loving fellowship with Himself, keep you in His peace, guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus, and give you patience as you wait on Him. We pray that He will make His presence very real to you day by day and that out of that right relationship with Him, you will experience His strength to stand firm and His comfort in every other area of need.
What you are facing with this temptation is something common to all believers, yet it is also deeply personal and spiritual. God does not solicit anyone to evil. That solicitation comes from the enemy. Temptation often comes with the suggestion that you can have immediate fulfillment, comfort, or relief if you will just turn aside from God's path for a moment. It offers a shortcut without the cross, without denying self and waiting on the Lord. Even Jesus was tempted, yet without sin, which shows that the sin is not in being tempted. The sin comes when desire is conceived and we yield and walk after the flesh instead of after the Spirit. In each temptation there is a decision to make, whether to walk in the flesh or to walk in the Spirit.
Scripture also teaches that the testing of faith works patience, and patience is so needed because so often our failure is in waiting upon God. God can use even this trial to strengthen your faith as you learn to wait on Him and to choose His way over the enemy's shortcut. You are right to see that this man has been used to try to draw you away from Christ and to trouble your life. That is the very nature of the enemy's work.
This is why your relationship with God is primary. It is the vertical axis upon which every other relationship turns. If your relationship with God is out of order, every other relationship will be out of balance. If your relationship with God is made right, then your other relationships begin to come into balance. When your walk with God is right, you will have a right relationship with the enemy and you will defeat him when you meet him, you will have a right view of all else entrusted to you, and you will have clearer wisdom with people. God does not want a legal or ritual relationship with you. He wants a loving, intimate relationship as a Father with His child. That relationship was made possible only through the blood of Jesus, through which atonement was made, and it is lived out not by striving in the flesh but as the natural fruit of abiding in Christ. As that loving relationship deepens, the desire to find life in another person or in an old relationship loses its power.
So we are praying that the Lord will completely remove this man and any influence from his circle that could be used to harm you, and that He will set a firm boundary of protection around you. We are praying that if contact does come, God will give you clear strength to not respond at all, to walk in the Spirit in that moment, and to immediately turn to the Lord instead. Practically, this means keeping no contact, leaning on godly community, filling your mind with Scripture, and praying at once when temptation comes. Do not seek life or fulfillment in that relationship. Seek it in Christ, who calls you to deny self, take up the cross, and find true life in Him.
We are also praying as you asked for the salvation of this man and his loved ones. We pray that God would bring them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, while also praying that you would not be the one to pursue that work and that you would remain separate from what is harmful and contrary to God's will for marriage and purity.
For your father, we are praying that the Lord will give wisdom and skill to his new doctor, that the care he receives would be good and attentive, and that the Lord would provide for what concerns you about insurance. If it is the Lord's will to open a way for him to return to your family doctor, we pray He would do so. If not, we pray He would give you all peace and confidence that He is caring for your father and will provide what is needed. God knows your concern and loves your father even more than you do.
May the Lord draw you into a deeper, loving fellowship with Himself, keep you in His peace, guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus, and give you patience as you wait on Him. We pray that He will make His presence very real to you day by day and that out of that right relationship with Him, you will experience His strength to stand firm and His comfort in every other area of need.
