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Protecting Family Members Through Prayer and Faith

Protecting Family Members Through Prayer and Faith

The concept of protecting family members through prayer and faith is rooted in biblical teachings and has been a cornerstone of Christian practice throughout history. In Joshua 2:13, Rahab asks the Israelite spies to "spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death" [1]. This plea illustrates the deep concern for the well-being of family members and the recognition of God's power to protect them.

The Bible emphasizes the importance of prayer in protecting and caring for one's family. Ephesians 6:18 instructs believers to "pray at every time in the Spirit, and watching to this same thing with all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints" [2]. This verse underscores the significance of persistent and Spirit-led prayer for the protection and welfare of loved ones.

According to Easton's Bible Dictionary, prayer is "converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him" [3]. This definition highlights the personal and relational nature of prayer, which is essential for seeking God's protection over family members.

Torrey's Topical Textbook provides further insight into the biblical basis for protecting family members through prayer. Under the topic "Families," it notes that families of saints are blessed and should be taught the Scriptures, worship God together, and live in unity [5]. The textbook also lists "To pray for them" as a duty toward the afflicted, referencing Acts 12:5, Philippians 1:16,19, and James 5:14-16 [4].

John Calvin, one theologian, emphasizes the importance of praying for one another, noting that "we all obtain whatever is good is our common Father" and that we should "commit them to the care and protection of the best of parents" [6]. Calvin's Institutes also highlight the need for believers to pray for each other, recognizing that God's protection is indispensable.

The practice of praying for family members is not limited to individual prayer. Family prayer and worship are also encouraged in Scripture. Torrey's Topical Textbook notes that families should "Worship God together" [5], and 1 Corinthians 16:19 mentions "the church that is in their house," indicating a tradition of family worship.

Adam Clarke, a Methodist/Wesleyan commentator, observes that "one person full of faith and prayer may be the means of drawing down innumerable blessings on his family and acquaintance" [7]. This comment on Luke 4:38 highlights the potential for individual faith and prayer to positively impact those around them.

The early Christian tradition also valued prayer for family members and the broader community. The Apostolic Constitutions, a patristic text, advises believers to "visit orphans and widows" and to assist those harassed by evil [8]. Augustine, in his Confessions, writes about the importance of prayer in times of need, describing a "learned ignorance" that comes from the Spirit of God and emphasizing the need for continual and fervent prayer [9].

The Westminster Confession of Faith, a Reformed confession, states that "the grace of faith... is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the Word, by which also, and by the administration of the sacraments, and prayer, it is increased and strengthened" [10]. This confession underscores the role of prayer in nurturing faith and, by extension, in protecting family members through that faith.

Sources

  1. Joshua “Joshua 2:13 (NASB) — and spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death."”
  2. Ephesians “Ephesians 6:18 (LITV) — through all prayer and petition, praying at every time in the Spirit, and watching to this same thing with all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints.”
  3. Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Prayer — Is converse with God; the intercourse of the soul with God, not in contemplation or meditation, but in direct address to him. Prayer may be oral or mental, occasional or constant, ejaculatory or formal. It is a "beseeching the Lord" (Ex. 32:11); "pouring out the soul before the Lord" (1 Sam. 1:15); "praying and crying to heaven" (2 Chr. 32:20); "seeking unto God and making supplication" (Job 8:5); "drawing near to God" (Ps. 73:28); "bowing the knees" (Eph. 3:14). Prayer presupposes a belief in the personality of God, his ability and willingness to hold inter”
  4. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Afflicted, Duty Toward The — To pray for them -- Ac 12:5; Php 1:16,19; Jas 5:14-16. To sympathise with them -- Ro 12:15; Ga 6:2. To pity them -- Job 6:14. To bear them in mind -- Heb 13:3. To visit them -- Jas 1:27. To comfort them -- Job 16:5; 29:25; 2Co 1:4; 1Th 4:18. To relieve them -- Job 31:19,20; Isa 58:10; Php 4:14; 1Ti 5:10. To protect them -- Ps 82:3; Pr 22:22; 31:5.”
  5. Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Families — Of saints blessed -- Ps 128:3-6. Should Be taught the Scriptures. -- De 4:9,10. Worship God together. -- 1Co 16:19. Be duly regulated. -- Pr 31:27; 1Ti 3:4,5,12. Live in unity. -- Ge 45:24; Ps 133:1. Live in mutual forbearance. -- Ge 50:17-21; Mt 18:21,22. Rejoice together before God. -- De 14:26. Deceivers and liars should be removed from -- Ps 101:7. Warning against departing from God -- De 29:18. Punishment of irreligious -- Jer 10:25. Good -- Exemplified Abraham. -- Ge 18:19. Jacob. -- Ge 35:2. Joshua. -- Jos 24:15. David. -- 2Sa 6:20. Job. -- Job 1:5.”
  6. CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 75: we all obtain whatever is good is our common Father ( Mt. 23:9 ), every thing which has been distributed to us we should be prepared to communicate to each other, as far as occasion demands. But if we are thus desirous as we ought, to stretch out our hands and give assistance to each other, there is nothing by which we can more benefit our brethren than by committing them to the care and protection of the best of parents, since if He is propitious and favourable nothing more can be desired. And, indeed, we owe this also to our Fath”
  7. Luke (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Luke 4:38: Simon's wife's mother - See on Mat 8:14-17 (note). As soon as Peter began to follow Christ, his family began to benefit by it. It is always profitable to contract an acquaintance with good men. One person full of faith and prayer may be the means of drawing down innumerable blessings on his family and acquaintance. Every person who knows the virtue and authority of Christ should earnestly seek his grace in behalf of all the spiritually diseased in his household; nor can he seek the aid of Christ in vain.”
  8. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 8: Twelve Patriarchs, Excerpts, Epistles, Apocrypha, Decretals — CHAP. XII. -- RULES FOR VISITS, EXORCISMS, AND HOW PEOPLE ARE TO ASSIST THE SICK, AND TO WALK IN ALL THINGS WITHOUT OFFENCE. (part 1): Moreover, also, this is comely and useful, that a man "visit orphans and widows," [21] and especially those poor persons who have many children. These things are, without controversy, required of the servants of God, and comely and suitable for them. This also, again, is suitable and right and comely for those who are brethren in Christ, that they should visit those who are harassed by evi”
  9. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 1: Augustine — Confessions, Letters — CHAP. XV.--28. There is therefore in us a certain learned ignorance, so to speak--an ignorance which we learn from that Spirit of God who helps our infirmities. For after the apostle said, "If we hope (part 2): bereaved and desolate 469 condition? Whosoever, then, understands that he is in this world bereaved and desolate as long as he is a pilgrim absent from his Lord, is careful to commit his widowhood, so to speak, to his God as his shield in continual and most fervent prayer. Pray, therefore, as a widow of Christ, not yet seeing Him whose hel”
  10. Westminster Confession of Faith (Reformed) “Westminster Confession of Faith (Reformed, 1646), CHAPTER 14: CHAPTER 14 Of Saving Faith 1. The grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls, is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts, and is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the Word, by which also, and by the administration of the sacraments, and prayer, it is increased and strengthened. 2. By this faith, a Christian believeth to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God himself speaking therein; and acteth differently upon that which each particular passage th”
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