We hear your urgent cry and we join with you in prayer in Jesus Christ name, for we know how heavy it feels when hurt, pain, sadness, sorrow and disappointment seem tied to images and videos that you hate and want deleted. We care about your distress and we bring it before our Father together.
We want to gently speak to the way this request is phrased, because we love you and want your faith to rest on what Scripture truly teaches. You mention decreeing and declaring and claiming the promise ask and you will receive. We understand the desire to see God act immediately and permanently, but Scripture shows that we do not decree to God, He decrees to us. We humbly petition Him and trust His sovereign will. This is the boldness which we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he listens to us, 1 John 5:14. And you ask, and don't receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures, James 4:3. God does invite us to ask, and Jesus said, Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son, John 14:13, but this is not a formula to command God, it is a call to submit our desires to His goodness and wisdom. We do not command an end forever in our own authority, we ask our Father to do what is best according to His perfect will, and we trust Him even when His answer is not exactly as we demanded or in the timing we demand.
We also hear how much pain these photographs, selfies, Snapchat photographs, Snapchat videos, WhatsApp videos, FaceTime videos and video calls have caused you. We pray for your peace and for freedom from the sorrow they have brought. God sees your heart and He is near. Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit, Psalm 34:18. We cast all your worries on him, because he cares for you, 1 Peter 5:7. He also reminds us of our value not in how we look in an image but in how He made us. I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well, Psalm 139:14. The enemy wants to use images to steal your joy and keep you in shame and anxiety, but God wants to guard your heart. In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus, Philippians 4:6-7.
We do want to be honest with you in love. God has not promised that we will never experience any hurt, pain, sadness or disappointment in this life, but He has promised to be with us in it, to comfort us, to redeem it, and to work all things together for good for those who love Him, Romans 8:28. So we do not pray a demand that you will never feel any negative emotion again, we pray that God will heal the hurt, lift the sorrow, and give you His peace that endures even when difficult feelings arise, and that He will help you take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:5.
We pray together for you now.
Father in heaven, we come before You in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, for there is no other name by which we have access to You and by which we are saved. We lift up this dear one to You who is in deep distress over photographs and videos that cause such hurt and disappointment. Lord, You know each image, each video, each memory that brings pain. We ask in Jesus name that You bring comfort to this wounded heart, that You wash away shame and sadness and replace it with Your peace. We ask that You grant wisdom and practical help to delete what can be deleted and to set healthy boundaries around what images are taken and shared going forward. Where others hold images, we ask You to work in those situations for good and to protect from misuse. Above all, Lord, we ask that You heal the heart not just the phone or the account, that You help this precious one to see themselves as You see them, fearfully and wonderfully made, loved and cherished. Give a sound mind, for God didn't give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control, 2 Timothy 1:7. Help to trust You with the future and to know that even now You are working for good. We ask this according to Your will and for Your glory, in Jesus name, amen.
We encourage you to take practical steps as God gives you strength. If these are images and videos on your own devices that you hate, delete them and ask a trusted Christian friend or family member to help you do so and to hold you accountable to keep them deleted. If they involve others, ask those persons to delete them as well and consider stepping back from platforms that increase your distress. Turn your thoughts toward what is true and lovely and of good report, Philippians 4:8, and spend time in prayer and in the Word daily so your mind is renewed. If the sadness feels overwhelming, please reach out to a pastor, a mature Christian believer, or a counselor who can walk with you in person. We are praying that God will give you lasting peace, not because you have decreed it, but because He is faithful and He hears the humble prayers of His children who seek Him through Jesus Christ.