Silas
Beloved of All
Your cry for help has been heard, and I understand how heavy and harassed you feel with opposition that seems to come from neighbors, family, friends, the workplace and even unseen spiritual pressure. Feeling surrounded in this way can create deep fear and distress, and it is right to bring it to the Lord.
Scripture shows that fear is one of the main tools used to weaken faith. When the wall was being rebuilt in Jerusalem, the enemies of the people tried again and again to make the leaders afraid, hoping that fear would stop the work and cause a wrong reaction. The faithful response was not to give in to fear but to look to God and keep doing what He had called them to do. Fear and faith cannot rule the heart at the same time. When fear rises, the answer is to turn to the Lord who is our light and salvation. The psalmist asked, whom shall I fear when the Lord is the strength of my life, and declared that though enemies came against him, they stumbled and fell, and though a host should encamp against him his heart would not fear because the Lord hides His people in His shelter in the time of trouble. The Lord who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps, and He keeps His own.
It is also true that God sees all wrongdoing and will bring perfect justice in His time. The Bible speaks of a coming day when those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel will be separated from His presence, and it shows that God alone is the righteous judge. But that judgment belongs to Him, not to us. We are told not to seek vengeance for ourselves, for vengeance belongs to the Lord, and He will repay. Jesus taught us to love our enemies and pray for those who oppose us, and He made forgiveness central to how we pray. In the prayer He gave His disciples He taught us to ask, forgive us as we forgive those who have sinned against us, and He stressed that a forgiving spirit is essential for His followers.
David often prayed for deliverance when he was pursued and when false witnesses rose against him. He cried out, deliver me from my enemies and from those who rise up against me, and he asked God to be his defense. Yet he left the outcome in God's hands and learned to move from despair to trust and even to song as he remembered God's mercy and faithfulness.
So I will not join you in asking God to bring plagues or bloodshed or death upon people, or to burn others to ashes, for that is not how Jesus calls us to pray. Instead I will pray with you for what God does promise to give.
I pray that the Lord will lift fear from your heart and fill you with faith and peace, that He will be your light and your strong shelter, that He will guard you from all evil and from every spiritual attack, and that no weapon formed against you will prosper because you are kept in His care. I pray that you will know His presence as a refuge where you are safe, that He will quiet the evil tongues and confusing troubles around you, and that He will give you wisdom and love toward those near you. I pray also for those you see as foes, that God would bring conviction where there is sin, that any practice of witchcraft or sorcery would be shown to be empty and powerless before Christ, and that those people would turn from darkness to the salvation that is only through Jesus. And I pray that you will be given grace to forgive as you have been forgiven, so that bitterness does not take root and your fellowship with God remains clear and close.
Keep staying close to the Lord in His Word and in prayer, walk in clean hands and a pure heart before Him, and seek the support of faithful believers who can stand with you, encourage you, and help you grow in faith and love even in a time of pressure.
Scripture shows that fear is one of the main tools used to weaken faith. When the wall was being rebuilt in Jerusalem, the enemies of the people tried again and again to make the leaders afraid, hoping that fear would stop the work and cause a wrong reaction. The faithful response was not to give in to fear but to look to God and keep doing what He had called them to do. Fear and faith cannot rule the heart at the same time. When fear rises, the answer is to turn to the Lord who is our light and salvation. The psalmist asked, whom shall I fear when the Lord is the strength of my life, and declared that though enemies came against him, they stumbled and fell, and though a host should encamp against him his heart would not fear because the Lord hides His people in His shelter in the time of trouble. The Lord who keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps, and He keeps His own.
It is also true that God sees all wrongdoing and will bring perfect justice in His time. The Bible speaks of a coming day when those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel will be separated from His presence, and it shows that God alone is the righteous judge. But that judgment belongs to Him, not to us. We are told not to seek vengeance for ourselves, for vengeance belongs to the Lord, and He will repay. Jesus taught us to love our enemies and pray for those who oppose us, and He made forgiveness central to how we pray. In the prayer He gave His disciples He taught us to ask, forgive us as we forgive those who have sinned against us, and He stressed that a forgiving spirit is essential for His followers.
David often prayed for deliverance when he was pursued and when false witnesses rose against him. He cried out, deliver me from my enemies and from those who rise up against me, and he asked God to be his defense. Yet he left the outcome in God's hands and learned to move from despair to trust and even to song as he remembered God's mercy and faithfulness.
So I will not join you in asking God to bring plagues or bloodshed or death upon people, or to burn others to ashes, for that is not how Jesus calls us to pray. Instead I will pray with you for what God does promise to give.
I pray that the Lord will lift fear from your heart and fill you with faith and peace, that He will be your light and your strong shelter, that He will guard you from all evil and from every spiritual attack, and that no weapon formed against you will prosper because you are kept in His care. I pray that you will know His presence as a refuge where you are safe, that He will quiet the evil tongues and confusing troubles around you, and that He will give you wisdom and love toward those near you. I pray also for those you see as foes, that God would bring conviction where there is sin, that any practice of witchcraft or sorcery would be shown to be empty and powerless before Christ, and that those people would turn from darkness to the salvation that is only through Jesus. And I pray that you will be given grace to forgive as you have been forgiven, so that bitterness does not take root and your fellowship with God remains clear and close.
Keep staying close to the Lord in His Word and in prayer, walk in clean hands and a pure heart before Him, and seek the support of faithful believers who can stand with you, encourage you, and help you grow in faith and love even in a time of pressure.
