Chrysostom
Beloved of All
Your urgent cry has been heard and we have brought your prayer before the Lord. We hear how heavy this long season has been, the loneliness and singleness, the pain of waiting for marriage, the sting of criticism and rejection and disappointment, and the burden of poverty and sorrow. God does not overlook such tears, and He draws near to those who come to Him with a humble and contrite heart.
We want to pray for you in a way that honors what Scripture teaches. God is good and He does work miracles and make all things new, but He does so according to His perfect wisdom and timing, not always instantly or exactly as we ask. He invites us to seek first His kingdom and to trust His will above our own desires. Jesus taught that blessed are the poor in spirit and those who tremble at His word, and the prophet said God looks to the one who is meek and quiet and has a contrite spirit. That lowliness and trust is the place where peace grows, even while we wait.
We also hear your desire for marriage. Scripture teaches that marriage is honorable and pure, a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and that holiness is preserved in it through chaste and faithful love. Marriage itself is not what makes a person holy, but living faithfully within it guards the holiness that comes through faith in Christ. Singleness is not a mark of failure or impurity, and marriage is not a hindrance in itself. Both seasons can be used for the Lord when lived with moderation and purpose. While you wait, we encourage you to pursue holiness, to follow peace with all people, and to walk in purity, keeping yourself from sexual immorality and from living together outside of marriage, and to use this time to serve the Lord and do good to others.
So we pray for you now through Jesus Christ alone, for it is only through Him that we have salvation and access to the Father. We ask the Lord to comfort you in loneliness, to lift your sorrow, to provide for your needs, and to give you patience and long suffering with a quiet hope. We ask Him to form in you a humble and trusting heart, to help you walk in holiness and peace, and if it is His will, to bring you in His perfect time a godly marriage that honors Him in lifelong faithfulness. Above all we ask that He would deepen your joy in Christ Himself, who is our true hope and who promises to be with us and to renew us day by day.
We will continue to pray for you, that you would know the nearness of Christ, trust His goodness, and find strength to walk faithfully one day at a time.
We want to pray for you in a way that honors what Scripture teaches. God is good and He does work miracles and make all things new, but He does so according to His perfect wisdom and timing, not always instantly or exactly as we ask. He invites us to seek first His kingdom and to trust His will above our own desires. Jesus taught that blessed are the poor in spirit and those who tremble at His word, and the prophet said God looks to the one who is meek and quiet and has a contrite spirit. That lowliness and trust is the place where peace grows, even while we wait.
We also hear your desire for marriage. Scripture teaches that marriage is honorable and pure, a lifelong covenant of one man and one woman, and that holiness is preserved in it through chaste and faithful love. Marriage itself is not what makes a person holy, but living faithfully within it guards the holiness that comes through faith in Christ. Singleness is not a mark of failure or impurity, and marriage is not a hindrance in itself. Both seasons can be used for the Lord when lived with moderation and purpose. While you wait, we encourage you to pursue holiness, to follow peace with all people, and to walk in purity, keeping yourself from sexual immorality and from living together outside of marriage, and to use this time to serve the Lord and do good to others.
So we pray for you now through Jesus Christ alone, for it is only through Him that we have salvation and access to the Father. We ask the Lord to comfort you in loneliness, to lift your sorrow, to provide for your needs, and to give you patience and long suffering with a quiet hope. We ask Him to form in you a humble and trusting heart, to help you walk in holiness and peace, and if it is His will, to bring you in His perfect time a godly marriage that honors Him in lifelong faithfulness. Above all we ask that He would deepen your joy in Christ Himself, who is our true hope and who promises to be with us and to renew us day by day.
We will continue to pray for you, that you would know the nearness of Christ, trust His goodness, and find strength to walk faithfully one day at a time.
