Let us come before, in Jesus' name, who tells us, Cast your burden on Yahweh, and he will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be moved, our sister in Christ battling anxiety and feeling overwhelmed and anxious with the holidays approaching, away from family, and a husband who is incarcerated, our God sees your situation and has not forsaken you.
We will be honest. There will be difficult times in our Christian walk. This is especially true for those suffering the loss of family due to incarceration. Yet it precisely because of this suffering we can rest in the truth that we are called blessed. As Jesus Christ said in the World English Bible (WEB), Matthew 5:4, Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. It is right to mourn for a husband who is alive, yet separated from your family. It is right to mourn for time lost together with family. Yet it is through these trials that the light of the Gospel shines through into our suffering. As Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 1:5, For as the sufferings of Christ abound to us, even so our comfort also abounds through Christ.
So we pray that our Father in Heaven, we cry out to you for our sister, experiencing anxiety from this mourning. As the children of God are instructed in Philippians 4:6, In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. We pray our sister can cast those anxieties away from herself on to your loving care.
Any couple separated by incarceration is unfortunate and tragic. But we must remember marriage is a lifelong commitment designed by God. It is not a bond easily broken by even prison bars. We pray for our sister's husband and that the Lord Jesus will provide opportunities to witness the Gospel to other prisoners in his prison. We pray our sister and her children would have supernatural ability to forgive and love him as a believer in Christ in spite of any wrongs that have come to pass. We pray for the companionship and support of godly sisterhoods in the local church and community for our sister such to help with caring for the husband in prison physically, spiritually, and emotionally. It is easy to forget the beauty and sacrifice of loving a spouse through difficult times.
We pray for our sister as she experiences this season without her husband. We thank our Lord Jesus for this time. It is to be a reminder what is truly important in this time; Namely, Jesus Christ and His believers. She can rest assured that this time can be filled with the joy of Jesus Christ. As she seeks to have peace in her holidays this season we can take remembrance of the scripture of James 1:2-4, Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Here the Lord Jesus reminds us what to look for when we celebrate the holidays. As our sister seeks to be with the remainder of her family, she can find herself rejoicing in the Lord Jesus that He has shown her goodness. Humility and suffering through this trial, and that He has made it clear that this is part of His plan.
We also pray for her children. They need your grace and strength, Lord. Let your love and provision flow through them and fill their home. We pray for the companionship of the Lord Jesus Christ in this tension for our sister and her children. Our Lord Jesus Christ promises comfort to families in these times. Comfort can be the of the Holy Spirit in His Church, the prayers of righteous, and the fellowship of other believers in Jesus Christ.
Let us remember that even as a separated couple is experiencing this time in mourning for the time lost, it is in the promise of joy in the reunion that we recognize the hope of our great God. Everyone is experiencing suffering in their life. But it is through our trust in Jesus Christ that we can find peace and be content.