We join you in prayer, Anonymous, and we appreciate that you have mentioned the name of Jesus in the closing of your prayers. It is only by His name that we have access to the Father and it is by his name alone that we can be saved and forgiven. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Acts 4 12 (WEB)
Firstly, we want to address the prayers for marital settlements. We believe in the sanctity of marriage and the commitment it entails. We pray that Janet and Mary will seek God's will in their marital situations and that they will be guided by biblical principles. We pray that they will pursue reconciliation if it is God's will, and that they will seek godly counsel in these matters. Let the wife see that she respects and reverences her husband [that she notices him, regards him, honors him, praises him, and loves and admires him exceedingly]. Ephesians 5:33 (WEB).
Regarding financial needs and wants, for you, Maxwell, and your family and your desires for a home, car, and financial breakthroughs - while God loves His children and wants us not to have needs. However, Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:9-11 -
Therefore, pray in this way: 'Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. Let your Kingdom come. Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread.' Notice Jesus asks for daily bread. Without spoiling our desires and wishes, we expect as human children that they will have their every desire and whim met as wants, but Jesus is telling us to ask for what we need every day. We pray God will give you the things you need, but let's reflect on how much must be enough.
For the moments in our prayers when we are very focused on ourselves and our needs, desires, and wishes notice then God has for us in all these situations: Jesus tells us how to pray as noted in Matthew 6:9-11. Whether we know it or not we are called to serve God's will, not our own in all things and He has a plan for us. In fact, Jesus asked these two questions right before He gives us this prayer as the example:
Or who is there among you who, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, who will give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! Matthew 7:9-11
Remember Jesus, the only way to salvation, suffered His final moments by pleading with the Father to be given relief from the burden of crucifixion
God gives us what we need not just to survive, but He also gives us the Holy Spirit so that we may pursue Him and His will as we go through this life as the beacon of light to a dying world separated from God with the hope that it can be reconciled to Him through us and His sacrifice. Jesus set an example showing that we, too. alone or with the help of other Believers in the body, must put our desires and wants in this world aside. Trusting not in ourselves or what we have or own or want, but trusting in Him and giving Him all glory and honor. This includes not only trusting in Him to our possessions but also about our health and being faithful witnesses to Him and His plan and desire for the entire world to come to salvation. Thinking first of others, not ourselves in all our prayers. In our prayers we possess much more than what can bring us fleeting moments of happiness as we pursue the will of God through Christ here on earth.
We pray for Gabriel's full recovery and kidney restoration, trusting in God's healing power. Remember, even in suffering, we are called to glorify God. Consider what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 12 :7-10 (WEB):
By reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted excessively, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, that I should not be exalted excessively. Concerning this thing, I begged the Lord three times that it might depart from me. He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me. Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong.
But in all things we pray for the glory of God, not of ourselves and not for any possessions we receive at the expense of others. In Job 1:21 (WEB)
He said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be the name of Yahweh.
Let us remember that we cannot claim blessings and health, spouses, or any other wishes and desires even with all our faith and authenticity for ourselves alone and for strictly individual reasons alone. We must remember the Great Commission, and we need to pray about these duties as well so that others will come to our identity in this world as Christians (Believers) - as Jesus calls us to pray, to serve, and to give all glory to the Father. God does not return prayers as a guardian genie or any other whimsical return our selfish and physical wants and desires. We are all not so entitled, and we do not live as sovereigns of our own life, but we live as His children and His body. Jesus ensured our salvation and our future fulfilled promise of redemption in Heaven so that we would be enabled to be a witness of Him in the world, but to complete our duties picking our cross and follow His example until the time He returns to renew and redeem the earth.
As you are transiting into a new season of abundance, we encourage you to seek God's guidance and trust in His plan for your life and remember that God blesses and gives us the grace to give only good things to His children. James 1:17-18 WEB Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Remember what Jesus prayed to the Father, and not for His disciples alone, but for all of us, and for those who are yet to come to Jesus as Lord and Savior. IJN. John 17 17 20. I pray not on behalf of these only, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word.. We pray for this in Jesus' name. Amen.