Remember the family unit

In the previous post from discerningyouth.net we delved into key underpinning reasons for why we often find it so difficult to make the right choices in our youth. These considerations went a long way to explaining challenges regarding sensitive concepts dealt with in Blog Post 1, and how we can triumphantly combat these challenges. A key matter treated was that of courtship and marriage, and in how to navigate different peer pressures that come our way in these areas.

The committed nuclear family unit, and framing courtship (who to ‘go out with’ and consider potentially marrying) considerations with this view in mind, has been the stalwart of a stable and happy society for thousands of years. Putting things in perspective, British culture is founded on Christian values for family life. Many in our day may not call these values Christian, but a proper committed marriage and raising of children within a safe home is a Christian concept. Sadly, the truth is that most people now do not approach courtship, marriage and family life from this perspective. There may be a committed marriage, but the thought of our Creator God, the Bible and prayer is often almost completely absent. As a result, the children grow up with little or no understanding of right and wrong, and are left to their own devices, bombarded by influences from social media, screens and peer pressure at school. We commend faithful single parents who have found themselves in this situation of raising a child on their own, and a single praying parent far exceeds the benefit of two prayerless parents. We also remember the wonderful blessing of faithful grandparents – never underestimate the effect of a quietly praying grandparent, and their good influence on their grandchildren.

It is actually remarkable how many parents seem content for their children to freely use the internet or screens, and for them to be directed by so-called friends in what to look for there. It is difficult to conclude that any such parent has the slightest certainty that what their daughter or son may be exposed to will be good. Have we copied anything from what we heard online, or from friends, or in films, that we know is wrong and we regret? Answer this honestly from your heart. Did we get any immoral ideas from these influences? Did we act on these ideas? There is a popular trend of acknowledging certain dangers in these areas, such as the risk of getting ideas for physical self-harming. Though it is right to call out this terrible risk, very few acknowledge the equally dangerous and far more common risks that arise from hurtful ideas on romantic relationships (see Blog Post 1 for further detail on this).  At this point, we must ask a serious question – do we wish for our future children to be more influenced by strangers online than us as parents? Even this very concept is concerning in itself, but considering how harmful and destructive most of these influences are, the issue becomes much darker.

Remember what the family was supposed to be. A married loving husband and wife, raising children if gifted with children, within a safe, nurturing and joyful family home. Even without children, the married couple themselves form a beautiful home and family life. Not everyone can have children, but adoption is still a wonderful opportunity to give an orphaned child a safe and nurturing home if a couple sense a calling to that. Some may already be realising the tragic lie that is permeating our generation currently. This is that raising a family, even just being married at all, is restrictive and oppressive.  Low and behold, this is in fact yet another lie. I hope this is a relief to the minds of many reading this, and I truly believe it will be. And once again we encounter the twisting of reality and the use of half-truths, which present a seemingly intermediate kind of view. The half-truth often used is the ‘You’re too young to get married because you need to get your career first’ idea. It is a half-truth because there is wisdom in preparing well and having some form of financial stability to embark on marriage. However, the idea of needing to have ‘career status’ and abundant financial ‘riches’ before considering marriage is a deeply flawed idea. As is the idea that you should mess around for a bit and ‘have fun’ before settling down. Marriage is the bit that is meant to be fun, and immensely joyful – the issue is approaching the consideration, preparation, and the life-long marriage itself, in the right way!

The actual truth is that we should get married when it is right to get married and when we have peace that we have met the one who we are supposed to marry, the one whom we love and cherish. Obviously this includes the UK legal age of marriage as a minimum. Note that the UK legal marriage age has traditionally been the same as the legal age of consent, in line with values explained at length in Blog Post 1, which makes perfect sense emotionally, biologically and spiritually. If one is raised, the other should of course also be raised. The right time to marry could be soon after that point, or it could be many years later, even 10–20 years or more down the line. The general trend we are seeing is too much of a normalisation towards the upper bracket of marrying later, for the wrong reasons (three of these reasons have just been mentioned), but the same problem could be cited for any of us who rush into marriage early for the wrong reasons.

As a carefully considered viewpoint, it seems beneficial for UK citizens to consider marrying younger and raising families earlier, where this is appropriate and we have peace with that. The people who push the aforementioned lie will often add on about 10 years to the legal age or more as a blanket ‘normal’ scenario, which influences more people to marry later and later. They will also push the idea of separating sexual interactions from reproduction, and that you do not have to wait until marriage for sexual interactions of any nature (one of the big issues is guys being unwilling to consider or commit to marriage, messing around with a completely flawed and lustful view of women). They are completely wrong and this idea is hurting and misleading multitudes of young people right now – the reasons for why they are wrong, and why the original way was right, are discussed at length in Blog Post 1 and referenced in Blog Post 2.

Worth noting is that some of the most amazing blessings in this life come from waiting a long time for something – if the Lord asks us to wait a long time for marriage, which is the case for many of us, we will surely be blessed in that as we wait patiently in a pure way for the right reasons. Good things come to those who wait. Remember there is a completely fresh start in the Lord Jesus for those of us (which is all of us) who have made mistakes in whatever area that may be – we have all messed up in some way or another, in thought, word or action (see especially Blog Post 2). Never believe the lie (yet another lie) that if you have been waiting a long time for marriage that means that you are ‘not attractive enough’ or ‘not wanted enough’ – never believe this; it is a lie. It could be that we have to learn certain difficult lessons in order to grow into the person we are meant to be before marrying, but this is a totally different concept and is a profoundly positive one – it is because our loving Creator God only wants us to have His best! It is likely to be that you are so mature minded, beautiful and conscientious that the guys around are too silly and shallow to consider you because they know that you will not be the kind to just have a casual relationship – the Lord is saving you for the one, the one you will never regret waiting for. Never compromise in this area. Many girls are doing exactly this because they wrongly think that there are no guys who are willing to wait in purity and patience until marriage and willing to be serious in that way – be clear that this is a serious mistake. To be rather frank, these guys in their current state do not deserve you, and vice versa (it is not always guys who are the issue, but it mainly is). If you have gone down this route or started to do so, please turn back. You have a fresh start ahead of you, with the smiling approval of the Lord Jesus. Run from those who are leading you otherwise. Take this free gift of faith, and you will never regret it. Remember too, and this is essential, that none of us have any righteousness of our own – all righteousness is imputed to us by the Lord Jesus if we trust in Him.

In the Book of James (written in the A.D. 40s) from the Bible, James most likely being a biological brother of Jesus, we read that ‘every good gift and perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.’. What a wonderful truth. It is absolutely worth waiting for the one.

And if we are called to be single, so what? Remember what being single actually means, which is probably different to what popular narratives around us say (see Blog Post 1). If this is our life-long calling, God will give us prolonged peace in this blessed calling. If we do have romantic desires (desire to have a spouse), then it would seem we are called to be married, at the right time, so don’t fret about this matter.

Clearly, all these matters make for a complex and confusing landscape if we do not understand what courtship, marriage and family life is meant to be – how to form a happy and joyful family life. Many of us growing up now are confused because we have had no guidance in Christian values like previous generations used to. It is the hope that we can walk through key concepts together for restoring this, in this article and others.

Consequences of separating off and demoting reproduction

Popular modern narratives (e.g. from TV, the political elite, ‘celebrities’, social media, peer pressure, even modern-day school teachings) present the raising of children as a burden, a somewhat boring and restrictive stage of life as a couple. These narratives are not always presented directly but can come from a general indirect narrative which gives this impression. Perhaps we have witnessed arguing parents or discouragements in the family home in which we grew up, giving us a negative impression of what family life is. Many of us may have witnessed, and felt the effects of, the sad situation of a marriage breakup. For some of us we may even have grown up in abusive homes. We do not underestimate these sad influences, which become deeply engrained in our mindset. Vitally, we also do not underestimate the opportunity to form our own family in future in a completely different way, back to the proper joyful way according to Christian values. This is an opportunity. And a fresh start. Called to this opportunity (meeting the right person to marry – see Blog Post 1 and 2 for details on this), we must take it, for the good of our potential future children and the health of society.

Much could be said by means of explaining why reproduction should not be separated from the interactions which lead to it. However, we will endeavour to clarify this as concisely as possible. It should be noted that we do not mean that sexual interactions always lead to reproduction, but are merely affirming that there is an intimate and harmonious link which should not be disrupted or severed. The key thing to understand is what real love is, and to realise that real love is not lust. Love and lust are two completely different things. Sadly, for many of us, we do not realise this until we have messed up in a way which reveals this truth but where we still do not understand the difference. We just know we are hurt and that we are not with the right person. Perhaps many of us have never even considered the difference. 

With true love, we have peace about the person, in a way that is patient and pure. We will be willing to wait for this person for however long it takes, and in a pure way. This links back to Blog Post 1 where we considered the principles of waiting until marriage and how many of us have a good desire for this from a young age before we get badly influenced by others.

In the Bible, in 1 Corinthians 13:4–7, we read:

‘Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemingly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.’

This beautiful portion of Scripture summarises what actual love is, here referred to as ‘charity’ in the King James Version or Authorised Version (KJV / AV) of the Bible. Indeed love is all about giving, and it is loyal, never failing. In the New International Version (NIV), these verses are worded as follows, which could be helpful for understanding the meaning of the words in more modern English:

‘Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.’

We see the common theme of loyalty, patience and glad continuation through all challenges and difficulties that will surely arise at some stage. True love transcends arguments or specific personal weaknesses that may cause friction between two imperfect human beings. We are all imperfect now, but those of us in Christ we will be made perfect in heaven and the new Creation, on the day that Christ returns (note the Lord Jesus clarified, when walking the earth, that there will be no marriage anymore from that time, because we will be like the angels – this will be an indescribably perfect place).

What is not love, is the prevailing lustful tendencies underlying motives for casual romantic relationships. Certain feelings can be mistaken for love, but are actually just lust or infatuation. Popular media, elite politics, university social culture, peer pressure, and increasingly more of modern teaching in schools and universities, routinely normalise this worldview. They claim it is normal and healthy, but it is in fact the exact opposite and does much harm to young people especially.  Lust is not patient. It impatiently pursues sexual gratification, without caring for the purity of the other person, and without any thought of waiting until marriage. It detaches and disrupts reproduction from the interaction and turns sexual interactions into a mere pleasure product and the precious individuals into objects. This also explains why the common lie of, ‘Use contraception and it is all fine’ is so catastrophically wrong and harmful. Do not believe this lie. Someone with this attitude is actually unlikely to have any consideration whatsoever of marriage to you. There can be a place for contraception within marriage, but this is perhaps a separate matter for a different article – one thing certain is that if it is used, this should be within marriage only. The only one who deserves you is the one who will wait with you in patience until marriage and pray with you and your children.

When we compare and contrast love and lust in this methodical way, it may appear that we should be able to distinguish between these without too much difficulty. However, be careful. It is often not as simple as it may seem. Often, it is not until we have experienced a sense of true love in our heart for someone that we have met, that we finally know the difference. When that happens, we know the difference. The desire for the person will be stronger than ever, but there will be a mysteriously strong willingness to be patient and wait until marriage for any kind of sexual interactions, even though the strength of desire (which includes physical attraction) is even stronger than with a lustful desire. At this point we realise that the two things are entirely different entities altogether. Lust can pollute true love as well, attempting to spoil a good and perfect gift, so we need to be careful to guard against that. They key is to seek the strength of God by the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Truth) to channel our mind towards love and away from the lusts of the flesh (see Galatians 5:16, from a letter which the Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatian church from Rome in the A.D. 40s or 50s). It also becomes clear at this point why reproduction should not be a detached concept.

The safety of women and girls and the sanctity of life

Due to the prevailing influences of our day that go against these beautiful Christian values, many sadly try to attract a romantic partner in ways which attempt to arouse lust rather than pure love. For example, many girls may think that they need to dress immodestly in order to attract a guy, not realising that they are in fact attracting the wrong people and very likely pushing away the one who actually loves them and may even be the one to marry. The one they are looking for is the one they are pushing away.

Before mentioning the next point, it must be noted that immodest dress is never an excuse for inappropriate behaviour towards someone dressed like that. Disgustingly, there are men who do think this, and we have been seeing more instances of these kinds of attitudes to women and girls in the UK over the past few years as we have drifted further away from Christian values and imported ideologies and cultures that are completely opposed to the precious Christian values of our land and people. By dressing modestly and carefully, we can help protect ourselves from these dangers, but most importantly not attract the attention of the wrong people even in more ordinary romantic contexts.

Choosing to dress modestly (e.g. long length, loose-fitting, non-enticing clothing) is beautiful and pretty, and the one who loves you will be immensely attracted to you for who you are and what you are – they will be impressed by your deportment, conduct and elegance, but most importantly, your heart. This includes physical attraction, which will be the patient, overflowing, heart-warming love that is willing to wait however long it takes in approaching marriage consideration. The one who loves you does not need to be aroused by you exposing yourself. Remember this desire and attraction will be incalculably stronger than the impure lust described in the previous section – love is pure and peaceful. Hold on to true love.

Two of the most beautiful aspects of genuine love are protection and trust, like a mother bird protecting her chicks under her wings. The chicks trust their mother entirely for protection, with no doubt whatsoever that her desire is genuine. Indeed, God’s love, the gold standard of love, is described for us in this way in Psalm 91:

‘He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.’

In theology and philosophy, different types of love have been characterised. God’s all encompassing love is the gold standard for all genuine components of love. In this article, it could be suggested that we are primarily considering the agape (unconditional love) and eros (physical attraction) forms of love, within courtship and marriage considerations. Indeed, the Bible describes Christ’s love for the Church as an image for the love of a husband and wife – this is the key example for us to look to in how a husband and wife can love each other unconditionally and with utmost sacrificial care for one another, with a particular role for the husband to protect and lead the family spiritually with gentleness and care. 

By embracing these basic ordinary values, we safeguard ourselves from many common consequences that can lead to difficult dilemmas down the line.

Affirming the sanctity of life has become a sensitive issue in our day, predominantly due to rejecting these values. The term ‘sanctity of life’ refers to the preciousness and value of any human life from the point of fertilisation through to natural death in old age or any age. Here we will deal with the early life stage, embryonic life in the womb, while affirming the sanctity of life in old age as well.  The leading reason this issue has become so sensitive in society and political environments is that children are increasingly conceived in inappropriate contexts. Important to note is that rape and danger to mother’s life are very specific, and separate, contexts, and we are not going to dwell on these here – the vast majority of abortions in the UK are nothing to do with either of these. Briefly on the evil of rape – there may be a strong case for aborting in this scenario, but it must be understood what exactly an abortion procedure involves, and its effects. No sane women, for whatever reason, will choose to abort their baby lightly, and should be treated with utmost sensitivity and empathy. In the case of a baby who is ill in the womb, the author once heard an excellent seminar from a pre-natal surgeon, who compellingly conveyed the priority of preserving the life of both mother and baby as far as is safely possible – that is the focus.

A developing baby in the womb is a new genetic individual, being intricately woven together and connected to a beautifully designed placental network. Even by 8–10 weeks post-fertilisation the placental development is well underway for oxygen and nutrient exchange, the heart is beating by six weeks and implantation in the endometrial stroma is completed within just 10–12 days.   

Not all choices are good choices. Often, by accepting incorrect answers to good questions (see also Blog Post 1), we end up putting ourselves in a place of perplexing dilemmas. A major one is that of getting pregnant unintentionally. What would we do in this scenario? Do we wish to be in this situation? 

Where should we be making the choice? It must be re-stated that we are not talking of rape here. This is also not an accusation to those of us who have become pregnant unintentionally, but an affirmation that you should never feel pressured into aborting your baby. Run from anyone who implies any such narrative. This is a new beautiful life, with huge potential. Some may now be thinking, ‘Well, that’s what contraception is for, isn’t it?’. This popular idea misleads many, many, people, and misses the point entirely.

Why is contraception not the answer? It is worth at this point calling out again the deceptive lie so often pedalled from popular media, peer pressure, and even within schools – ‘Just use contraception, and it’s fine. It’s normal to be sexually active before marriage.’. This kind of narrative is tragically misleading and requires strong faith to refute and reject. There have even been horrific cases of young girls who have been abused, where instead of being supported and their abusers investigated, they were just told about contraception and ‘sexual health’. This is an extreme example, but the same principle stands for ordinary romantic considerations – using contraception is not the answer to sexual activity outside marriage. These interactions affect us in a very serious way – we are made in the image of God, and therefore union of our bodies in these ways has biological, emotional and spiritual effects accordingly. The answer is to get back to lovely ordinary Christian values for courtship and marriage described in this blog post and Blog Post 1. For help in dealing with the strong opposition and social challenges in returning to these beautiful ways, see Blog Post 2.

School pupils exposed to the kind teaching on contraception described above should ask direct questions to any teacher who presents this narrative, challenging them with the beautiful alternative of going back to the ordinary approach of waiting until marriage (see Blog Post 1 for detail on what this means and for help engaging with this issue). Parents should know exactly what is being taught in schools, and may need to switch to home education if these kinds of misleading sexualised teachings are present. The sexualisation of children is not OK, and considering these matters for those of age for marriage should be from a wholesome, patient and pure perspective. There are a number of quality Christian schools that have been set up to safeguard against these dangers, so this is a great option as an alternative to home schooling.

Why pro-life organisations often miss the point

Various pro-life organisations have sincerely tried to stand up for the sanctity of life, and rightly so. Around 250 000 (quarter of a million) babies are killed in the womb every year in the UK according to recent statistics, with a record number exceeding 290 000 in 2023 and the number currently at around 110 000 for the first half of 2026 alone. As mentioned previously, the number of these related to rape or danger to mother’s life is a remarkably tiny proportion of that figure. Since abortion was legalised in A.D. 1967, more than 10.5 million babies have been killed in the womb in the UK. The main root cause has been described here, and thought-through manageable solutions to the problem are presented in Blog Post 1 and towards the end of Blog Post 2.

When considering the harms of the abortion pandemic, it is important we understand the nature of abortion procedures, be that by traditional limb by limb extraction (surgical), vacuum aspiration, or via chemical induction methods. The anatomical details are too distressing and painful to describe here, but we should understand what happens. Relatedly, we should understand what a foetus looks like from early gestation and the basic cellular, molecular and genetic basis of this life. This is a new genetically unique individual.

Remember that the emotional and spiritual side to going through this is a commonly underestimated component, as are the significant physical risks to at-home chemical-induced terminations. Noone should have to go through such a traumatic experience, whatever the method and wherever it is carried out. Anyone who has gone through this, and especially if reading this article, should feel in no way whatsoever condemned or judged, but rather treated with support, empathy and with a sure hope of better days to come – many people are coerced into abortions, indirectly or directly, and even those who have genuinely wanted to abort their baby have to suffer the consequences for which they should never be made to re-traumatise themselves with. Instead there is a peaceful and joyful fresh start ahead, taking a new approach and leaving behind these sad days.

Having gone over the concepts and considerations in this article, we will hopefully already have realised that abortion procedures are certainly not merely ‘healthcare’. The political elite and mainstream popular narratives (who are disconnected from ordinary citizens) will tell us otherwise, but they are not telling us the truth. To give an idea of how detached these people are who profess to be leading the country, enough of them voted in favour of allowing abortion up to parturition (up to birth) that this has now become law. This reveals their utter disregard in terms of emotional, biological and spiritual understanding, not least for ordinary family values. It is also obviously also not a form of contraception and should never be treated as such. We should be looking to prevent people from getting into these difficult scenarios, not promoting abortion procedures as ‘normal’ while allowing the cause of these scenarios to go on hurting people. The reasons for this are clearly set out above, with the joyful solution expanded upon extensively in Blog Post 1.

Sadly, although usually from sincere and caring motives, many pro-life organisations appear to miss the point in how to address the abortion pandemic. They often appear to focus entirely on the unborn baby’s identity and appear too dismissive of the mother – not because they do not care about the mother but because they feel that affirming the life in the womb (and it is a life) should be the priority. It should be noted that not all individuals volunteering or working with these organisations hold that detached view. The problem is that the skewed prioritisation can give the impression of dismissing the actual root cause, that of women being impurely treated and getting into a scenario where they feel the need to consider an abortion. Many people will jump to accuse these organisations, referring to rape. Although it is right to call out the evil of rape, good pro-life organisations are not focusing on this, and they should make that clear. The vast majority of abortions have nothing at all to do with rape nor danger to mother’s life, which are distinct contexts for separate consideration.

We must address the matter of abortion with empathy, and an understanding of the root causes. The only way we truly deal with the root is to encourage the next generation (and current generation) to treat women purely in line with Christian values. The author of this article finds it perplexing why pro-life organisations do not focus more on this. The aim of Blog Post 1 is to provide a clear outline for this, in how we can all take a fresh start. This is a particularly exciting opportunity for those of us in our youth – we do not have to end up in these situations in the first place! Enough is enough. Let’s take a fresh start.

A joyful road home

For those of us in our youth, we have the easiest solution here, if it could be put that way. Our path home doesn’t have to have a steep cliff edge to climb up – we have an opportunity to get onto the narrow path now and be careful to stay on it. That said, it doesn’t mean that our soul is any safer than anyone else’s, regardless of how much or little we may have messed up. However far down the cliff we may have fallen, there is a direct and sure route back to safety. If we are apart from Christ, then we cannot enter heaven and will remain off the cliff to our death, regardless of how ‘good’ we consider ourselves (e.g. if we think we are good just because we have never had an abortion, or even have kept our virginity until marriage – this does not make us ‘good’, nor any better than someone who has had an abortion or has not kept their virginity until marriage) – this does not have to be the case, so why would we delay accepting the free gift of eternal life (see Blog Post 2)?

For those of us who have already been seriously hurt by being mistreated and having gone through traumatic experiences, in romantic contexts, pregnancy termination or otherwise, the healing process may have some rocky patches or could be quicker than we’d have thought – either way, we will make it, and the route back to the narrow path is direct and certain if we trust in God. Our loving Creator God will bring us safely home. We do not have to doubt. In Psalm 3:3–4, we read,

‘But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto the LORD with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill.’

Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and He will surely keep us safe. Any good that can be attributed to us is all of Christ. From this standpoint, we naturally desire God’s beautiful design for the world, for family life as it was meant to be. For all of us, it won’t be an easy time keeping to the narrow path in this life because of opposition around us (see Blog Post 1 and 2), but we keep praying and we keep believing amidst all the rocky patches of this life as we head towards the final destiny of eternal life in heaven and the new Creation where there shall be no more death and no more tears – keep encouraging those around you by choosing the correct route home. Others will be encouraged to run to safety as well, and we will never regret it.

Conclusion of the matter

In closing, we remember these encouraging words from Revelation 21:4 and 1 Thessalonians 5:24:

‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’

‘Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.’

A prayer for deliverance and protection

Whether we have prayed before or not, our Lord is smiling upon us as we call out to Him in prayer. Indeed our Lord, when asked how to pray, gave a prayer example for us, The Lord’s Prayer. It used to be the case that most people would know The Lord’s Prayer off by heart. The author of this article fondly remembers with amazement attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on the streets of London in A.D. 2022, where as part of the funeral service broadcast to the street, most of those standing there (the general public) were saying The Lord’s Prayer out loud when it came to that part of the service. It was remarkable how much of the general public in attendance actually still knew this prayer, many more than we may expect. Let’s not put out that smouldering candle – there is yet hope for it to be re-ignited and for the Light of Christ to shine in this land once again! 

So, let’s pray together with warmth of heart, with a sure hope, with confidence that the Lord really is hearing our prayer:

Our Father, who art in heaven.

Hallowed be Thy name.

Thy Kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.

Amen

Remember too, that many of the Psalms are prayers by people with a broken heart and hurt by the distresses of life. Through prayer and trust, they see the Lord restore joy to their heart. Psalm 23 is a lovely example of this.

A nice prayer to pray by ourselves on behalf of others on our heart, or together as a family at the end of family Bible and prayer time, is this grace first spoken by the Apostle Paul in his second letter to the Corinthian church, written in the A.D. 50s (1 Corinthians 13:14):

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all, for evermore. Amen.