Pray, and the Lord of Hosts Will Respond| A Prayer for Surrender, Healing, and Strength

This week's episode of Unspoken Stewardship is different — no teaching, no deep dive. Dr. Lynn Abies felt led by the Lord to simply pray. Before entering prayer, she shares a personal celebration: her 10-year wedding anniversary. The rest of the episode is a fervent, heartfelt prayer covering those who are striving, fearful, mentally exhausted, physically hurting, grieving, financially stretched, spiritually dry, and more — ending with a plea for the Church, the world, and a powerful blessing over every listener.

Transcript

Intro

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Welcome to Unspoken Stewardship, where faith, culture, and responsibility intersect. Unspoken Stewardship is a thoughtful, honest podcast exploring the responsibilities we carry but rarely discuss. From faith and finances to culture, technology, leadership, and discernment, this podcast examines what it really means to steward our lives with wisdom and integrity. Hosted with depth, clarity, and compassion, each episode invites listeners into conversations that challenge shallow narratives, confront cultural blind spots, and calls us back to faithful living beyond what's preached, posted, or publicly praised. Hey you guys, my name is Dr. Lynn IBS, and welcome back to Unspoken Stewardship. Welcome for the first time if this is your first time here. This week is going to be different. There is no deep dive. I just felt strongly in my spirit to pray and the Lord of hosts will respond. I kept sensing that over and over again. And before we even go into that direction, for those of you who care about me a little bit, I want to share something with you guys. Depending on when you're gonna be listening to this, I am celebrating my 10-year wedding anniversary. Okay? Woo-hoo. Alright, round of applause. I am super thankful and grateful to the Lord that I have been able to celebrate 10 years with my husband. So if you know the Lord, continue to pray for us. Continue to pray for us individually for our union and all the things. And one day I might do an episode dedicated to marriage and my marriage and all the good stuff. But until then, I just wanted to keep you guys updated. Alright, let you know my life a little bit. But I'm immensely grateful. My heart is so full. So I just wanted to share that with you guys. Cause I love y'all and all that, you know. I can be in my business a little bit. But like I said, this week's episode is strictly me praying. And if you know me personally or if you've encountered me at all, I take prayer very seriously. I take praying without ceasing fervently, very seriously. And I don't have a fear in praying for people or with people. However, I am very mindful of publicly displaying prayer. I don't know why. It's just something about it I'm not too fond of. But the Lord was very clear with me. This episode is going to meet me strictly praying. So that's what we're gonna do. If you're listening right now, whether you're weary, striving, grieving, afraid, mentally exhausted, maybe you might be feeling physically worn down, emotionally burdened, you might be spiritually dry, or simply just in need of God. This prayer is for you. And even now, before we begin, let your heart settle before him. He sees you, he knows he is near to all of us. I want you to posture your heart before the Lord. I want you to go into a quiet space, whether that is your bathroom, a little corner in your house, whether you're at work, go to the car, whatever. I just want you to really cultivate a space and a posture for the Lord. And if you can't even go on your face before the Lord as we go into this prayer, I would really love for you to do so, just so we can just posture our bodies and our hearts to be needy for the Lord in this hour. And I just pray that as you join me in prayer, that the Lord of hosts will respond. So we're about to pray. Father, in the name of Jesus, we come before you with reverence, with humility, and just with deep need. God, you are holy, you are righteous, you are merciful, you are kind, you are just, you are faithful, you are the Lord of hosts, you are the God who sees, the God who knows, the God who reigns, and the God who does not fail. Before we ask you for anything, we just pause and acknowledge who you are. You are not a distant God. You are not uninvolved, you are not confused by what confuses us. You are not threatened by what threatens us. You are not shaken by what shakes this world. You sit high, yet you are near to the brokenhearted. You are glorious in majesty and gentle with your people. Holy Father, we thank you for Jesus. Thank you that our hope is not ourselves. Thank you that our hope is not in our own strength, our own wisdom, our own discipline, our own striving, our own image, our own money or our own influence or our own ability to keep it all together. Thank you that our hope is in Christ alone. Thank you that Jesus lived the life we could not live, that he died the death we deserve to die, rose in power, and now intercedes for us even now. Thank you that because of Christ, we can come boldly to the throne of grace and find mercy and help in time of need. And Lord, today we come needy for the ones who have been striving, striving to be enough, striving to earn love, striving to prove themselves, striving to hold everything together, striving to look strong while they are quietly falling apart. Holy Father, I ask that you would meet them in that place. Expose every false burden, break every ungodly yoke, silence every lie that says they have to become their own savior. Remind them that they are dust and that you are God. Remind them that they were never called to carry what only you can hold. Teach them what it means to abide. Teach them what it means to rest in you. Teach them what it means to labor from love and not for it. Lord, for the one struggling to say yes to you, the one who knows what you are requiring but is afraid of the cost. I pray for holy courage. For the one you have been nudging toward obedience, toward repentance, toward truth, toward surrender, toward discipline, toward letting go, toward beginning, toward ending, toward speaking, toward serving, toward returning. I ask that you would strengthen their inner being. Let fear lose its grip. Let excuses lose their power. Let compromise become bitter to them. Let obedience become beautiful to them. Let them see that your will is not a cruel place. Your will is where life is. Your will is where peace is. Your will is where freedom is. Your will is where you are glorified most fully in us. Holy Father, for the one battling mental anguish, mental torment, unstable thoughts, exhaustion, despair, heaviness, panic, confusion, numbness, racing thoughts, intrusive thoughts, hopelessness, or deep emotional weariness, Lord, keep their mind. Keep their mind, Lord. In the name of Jesus, keep their mind. The Bible says you keep him perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. So I ask for that peace. Not a shallow peace, not a fragile peace, not a temporary distraction, but deep, steady, and keeping peace, God. Guard minds in Christ Jesus. Where there has been torment, bring quiet, where there has been confusion, bring clarity, where there has been despair, bring lights, where there has been accusation, bring truth, where there has been shame, bring the reminder that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And Father, for those who need help beyond what can be hidden with a smile, I pray that you would give them the humility and courage to reach for wise help, godly help, honest help, healthy help. Let them not feel ashamed for need and support. Let them not isolate in the dark. Let them not confuse secrecy with strength. Surround them with wise counsel, faithful community, and people who know how to both pray and carry burdens with tenderness and truth. Lord, for physical bodies that are tired, hurting, inflamed, weak, sick, or waiting for healing. I ask for mercy, God. You made these bodies. You are mindful of our frame. You know every cell, every system, every pain, every diagnosis, every symptom, every place where weakness has become discouraging. Father, stretch out your hand and heal. Bring relief where there is pain. Bring restoration where there is damage. Bring endurance where the process is long. Bring faith where people feel disappointed. Bring patience where the weighting is heavy and where immediate healing does not come. Be the sustaining grace in the middle of it. Be their keeper in the middle of it. Be their comforter in the middle of it. Be their strength in the middle of it. Lord, for those dealing with fear, I ask that you expose it and uproot it. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of the future, fear of not having enough, fear of losing people, fear of obedience, fear of surrender, fear of being seen, fear of being misunderstood, fear of not measuring up, fear of what is happening in this world. Father, your word says you have not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. So I pray for soundness of mind. I pray for steady hearts. I pray for rootedness in truth. I pray that where fear has made people passive, you will awaken faith. Where fear has made people controlling, you will teach surrender. Where fear has made people shrink back, you will call them forward in holy boldness. Lord, for those carrying deep inadequacies, the ones who feel behind, unqualified, unnoticed, unwanted, underprepared, or deeply aware of their weakness, I pray that you will remind them that your strength is made perfect in weakness. Deliver them from self-obsession, masquerading as humility. Deliver them from constantly measuring themselves by other people. Deliver them from disqualifying themselves when you have called them to trust you. Let them remember that you have always used jars of clay so that the surpassing power may belong to you and not to us. Let them know that their lack is not a surprise to you. Their weakness is not news to you. Their need is not a barrier to you. You are the God who supplies. Father, I lift up the one who feels spiritually dry, the one who has become distracted, the one whose prayer life has gone quiet. The one whose Bible has stayed closed. The one who still loves you but feels dull, tired, and far away. Draw them back. Stir hunger in them. Break through the fog. Give them a fresh love for your word. Give them a fresh desire for prayer. Give them a fresh tenderness and repentance. Restore the joy of your salvation. Remind them that you are not calling them back into performance. You are calling them back into communion. Lord, we pray for those who are grieving. Those grieving people, places, dreams, former versions of themselves, broken relationships, miscarried hopes or painful disappointments. Be near to them, God. Do not let grief harden them. Do not let sorrow swallow them up. Sit with them in the ache. Minister to them in ways no human can. Let them know that tears are not weakness. Let them know that groaning is not faithfulness. Let them know that you collect every tear. Let them know that the man of sorrows is not unfamiliar with pain. Father, we pray for those under financial pressure, those who are anxious about provision, those trying to stay afloat, those who are in transition, those who have made mistakes, those who are trying to rebuild, those who are learning stewardship in real time, those who are obeying you with what they have and still feel in stretch. Lord provide. Give daily bread. Give wisdom. Give discipline. Give strategy. Close doors that lead to compromise, God. Open doors that align with integrity. Break greed. Break fear. Break shame. Teach your people how to steward in peace and with clean hands and a pure heart. Let no one make an idol out of lack or an idol out of increase. Keep us low before you, dependent on you, grateful before you. Lord, for the church in these times, purify us, purify our motives, purify our appetites, purify our speech, purify our pulpits, purify our witness, purify our love, purify our stewardship, purify our doctrine, purify our desires. Forgive us where we have been distracted. Forgive us where we have made platforms bigger than prayer. Forgive us where we have made appearance bigger than holiness. Forgive us where we have chased relevance more than righteousness. Forgive us where we have loved comfort more than the cross. Forgive us where we have wanted the fruit of Christ without the surrender of discipleship. Make us holy, Lord. Make us faithful, Lord. Make us people who tremble at your word. Make us people who love truth and love people. Make us people who are full of conviction and full of compassion. Make us people who are not easily moved by trends, by panic, chaos, or deception. Root us deeply in Christ and Father for everything happening in this world. The violence, the deception, the confusion, the fear, the unrest, the pride, the instability, the hardness, the grief, the wars and hearts and nations, the things seen and unseen. We confess that we need you. This world cannot heal itself. Human wisdom is not enough. Politics are not enough. Platforms are not enough. Money is not enough. Innovation is not enough. We need the Lord. We ask for mercy over families. Mercy over children. Mercy over churches. Mercy over cities. Mercy over nations. Mercy over the vulnerable. Mercy over the weary. Mercy over those who have never heard the true gospel clearly. Mercy over those trapped in darkness and deception. Let the gospel spread. Let repentance spread. Let biblical literacy spread. Let genuine discipleship spread. Let revival be more than emotion. Let awakening be rooted in truth. Let people not only gather in crowds but bow and surrender. Let Christ be exalted. Let sin be forsaken. Let idols fall. Let cold hearts come alive. Let homes become places of prayer. Let hidden compromise be brought into the light. Let true holiness become beautiful again. Lord of hosts, respond. Respond to the prayers of your people. Respond to the cries of the reary. Respond to those on the edge of giving up. Respond to those who feel buried under the weights of life. Respond to those who have been faithful and private and are growing tired. Respond to those who need breakthrough. Respond to those who need conviction. Respond to those who need comfort. Respond to those who need to be interrupted by mercy. Respond to those who need a holy awakening in their hearts. And Father, let conviction run deep, but let it never drive us from you. Let conviction draw us near. Let it purify us. Let it soften. Let it wake us up. Let it make sin look as grievous as it is and Christ look as glorious as he is. Let hope rise in every listener. Not hope in themselves. Not hope in changing times. Not hope in feelings, but hope in Jesus. Fix our eyes on Christ. When we are confused, fix our eyes on Christ. When we are tired, fix our eyes on Christ. When we are tempted, fix our eyes on Christ. When we are grieving, fix our eyes on Christ. When we are healing, fix our eyes on Christ. When we are waiting, fix our eyes on Christ. When we are blessed, fix our eyes on Christ. When we are stretched, fix our eyes on Christ. Do not let us make an idol out of breakthrough. Do not let us make an idol out of relief. Do not let us make an idol out of being seen as strong. Do not let us make an idol out of any gift you give us. Give us yourself, Lord. Because if we have you, we have what we need most. Teach us to love you more than the ease. Teach us to trust you more than our own understanding. Teach us to obey you quickly. Teach us to repent fully. Teach us to forgive deeply. Teach us to endure faithfully. Teach us to suffer with hope. Teach us to rejoice with humility. Teach us to live like people who belong to Christ. And Father, I pray over every person listening right now. May they be kept by the power of God. May they be strengthened in the inner man. May they be anchored in truth. May they be comforted by your spirit. May they be convicted where needed. May they be healed where needed. May they be corrected where needed. May they be encouraged where needed. May they be protected from the schemes of the enemy. May they grow in discernment. May they grow in love. May they grow in holiness. May they grow in steadfastness. May they grow in Christ-likeness. Keep them, Lord. Keep their mind. Keep their hearts. Keep their body. Keep their steps. Keep their home. Keep their faith. Keep their witness. Keep their soul. And for the one who feels like they are barely holding on, remind them that they are not ultimately being held together by their own grip, but by yours. We love you, Lord. We honor you. We need you. We trust you. And we ask all of this in the mighty, beautiful, keeping, healing, saving name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Well man, I pray that it blessed you deeply because it blessed me. I want you to sit with it, go back and pray through it again if you need to. And more than anything, let this drive you to the Lord Himself. Like I tell you guys every week, this podcast is a tool, but it does not replace your own intimate time with God. The Bible says trust everything and hold fast to what is good. So keep your gaze on Christ. He is faithful and he is able to keep you. So I love you guys. Jesus loves you more. And I'll see you next week. Thanks for listening to Unspoken Stewardship. You are seen, you are loved, and you are entrusted. And what you do with what you hear matters. So make sure you steward it well. And let me say this clearly: this podcast is not a substitute for your child of God. Go sit with him. Open your Bible, pray, wrestle, test everything you hear, including me, the way scripture tells us to. Let the Spirit lead you into truth. Think deeply and don't outsource your discernment. If this conversation strengthened you, make sure you're following so you don't miss what's next. Share it with someone who might need it. And if it's been a blessing to you, leave an honest review so it can reach beyond this space. So until next time, restore your life faithfully, love God deeply, and love people well.