“And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” Matthew 19:4-6
This month, we are focusing our prayers on the FAMILY. As Jesus himself taught us, the nucleus of a new family begins when God joins together a man and woman, and they become ‘one flesh’, husband and wife. When a husband and wife bear children, they add to their titles, father and mother, and are charged by God to bring their children up in “the training and instruction of the Lord.” This may all seem very elementary to many of us, but to our culture this truth has been hidden, and God’s original design, which is from ‘the beginning’ is now seemingly new revelation to many. We pray ferventlyActs 26:18, for the Lord “to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.” So they may experience Jesus’ own promise to them, that they “will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.”
When we watch television or see movies, it appears as if everything but God’s model is portrayed as modern, acceptable, and attractive. Because of this, we pray fiercely that we would not be fooled or lulled asleep by a culture continually trying to redefine and redesign truth. We pray passionately that the Lord guards our hearts and minds as husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, grandpas and grandmas, and aunts and uncles so that we can be good examples to the younger members of our families who are watching and following us. We pray faithfully that we would, “be an example … in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” (1 Tim 4:12b). Afterall, the saying, ‘more is caught than taught’, holds much truth.
We pray earnestly for families led by single parents, grandparents who are parenting again, adoptive and stepparents and older siblings – that God would give them abundant grace to prevail in the midst of the unique challenges that they face from day to day. We pray zealously for the family, the place where foundations are poured, faith is forged, and beliefs are passed on. Where most of what we carry into and through life, whether positive or negative, is imparted to us as our family unit interacts and develops together through the days, months, and years. We pray sincerely Galatians 5:22-23a, that the Holy Spirit “produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”, in our immediate family, extended family, and in all of the families that we personally know and interact with.
And, we pray wholeheartedly for you and your family … that the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you all the days of your lives. May He be your defense, your peace, your provider, protector, and healer who will never leave nor forsake you. And may you and your family experience His love, joy, peace and presence in a very real and tangible way today - and until He returns. In Jesus' name we pray, amen!
Standing with you in prayer,
Dion Elmore
Vice President, Marketing and Public Relations