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Prayers Of The Saints
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The Prayers Of The Saints
I noticed Marilyn right away because of the tattoos. She had the look of someone who has lived a very difficult life. She was sitting with her husband and they were keeping to themselves. She did not seem to want to talk.
The other couple at the table was very talkative. They were Christians and have been married 53 years. They have a grandson living in Jacksonville.
We were eating a dinner at a tourist attraction. The five of us were sitting at the same table. Marilyn and her husband could hear the conversation I was having with the other couple.
When I mentioned recently celebrating my 31st wedding anniversary, I heard a very quiet and almost shy voice say, “That is really impressive.”
I looked over at her and asked it this was her husband. She said that they had been married for 1.5 years. They have five children between them. They are all from former marriages. The youngest is 19.
This is Marilyn’s third marriage. She spent the first 16 years of her life in a children’s home. She did not say what happened to her biological family but she obviously has no contact with them.
Her adoptive parents were Christians and felt led to help troubled teenager. Marilyn joined their home and they adopted her. At this point, Marilyn’s husband lovingly spoke up and said that his wife was a “wild child.”
Marilyn’s new family got her active in church and she accepted Christ. Her behavior improved and she had hope of a future. She thought her church and her new family were a gift to her.
Unfortunately, things did not continue to go well for Marilyn in that new home. Her adoptive father tried to molest her and offered her money to cooperate. She refused. He then tried to manipulate her with the religion and said that if she became involved with him, that would make her truly part of their family. She refused again. She was wise to the ways of the world by this time and knew enough to know that what he was asking was wrong.
Her biological brother found her and her new family made an attempt to help him as well. Marilyn was completely devastated when she found out that her brother and her new father had become involved. Her brother was gay and eventually died of AIDS.
Marilyn tried to tell her church what was going on in her home but no one would believe her. Her adoptive father was on the board and very active. They took his side and she was deeply hurt.
She believes the church let her down. At that point, she gave up on God and turned to drugs. She became a serious drug addict. She walked the terrible road of drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, and multiple marriages.
Her adoptive mother never gave up on her and continued to reach out to her. She gives her mother’s faith and stubbornness credit for her return to sanity.
She hit a bottom and got in Narcotics Anonymous. She worked hard and was able to get off the drugs and alcohol.
She began reading her Bible and does this faithfully. Little by little, she has begun to straighten out her life. She is drug and alcohol free and has a husband that obviously loves her. He was respectful and supportive of the very serious conversation we were having.
Marilyn still has much of her past to deal with. Demons of the past haunt her and threaten her new found happiness.
Her adoptive father passed away. She said that in many ways, he had helped her. His inconsistent behavior confused her. She said that she loved him. She has mixed feelings about him that need to be resolved.
Her son is also addicted to the very same drug she was. He is in jail for a DWI and Marilyn is hoping they will commit him to a drug treatment program. She is agonizing over her son and feels a responsibility to help him. Obviously, she knows her lifestyle has influenced her son in a negative way and she carries that guilt.
She has only returned to church occasionally. Her anger and disappointment with the church is still there. She longs for what they offer but struggles with how they let her down.
Her husband has his own issues with the church. He is a Christian but says his church asked him to stop coming when he wanted to wear jeans. I assured him that many churches today wear jeans.
Recently, she has gotten so busy with her son and her new marriage that she has stopped going to her Narcotics Anonymous meetings. While she still keeps in touch with her sponsor, that is not the same as going to meetings. She admitted that she needs her meeting. She wants her son to get in Narcotics Anonymous.
As I listened to Marilyn, I knew I was looking at one of God’s miracles.
For her to be sitting across the table at a tourist attraction is a miracle. Her lifestyle should have claimed her life.
The fact that she is drug and alcohol free is another miracle. The drug she was addicted to is one of the hardest to beat.
She has plenty to be bitter over. Her biological and her adoptive parents let her down. The church disappointed her. She could feel as if God abandoned her as a child. Instead, she turned to God for help.
That she is in a nurturing relationship is amazing. Her husband is supportive and seems to understand what she is facing. He is obviously impressed with what she has overcome.
I realized, sitting across from Marilyn that I was looking at someone who was at great risk. Marilyn’s demons have left her for now but they want to come back to the home that they enjoyed. Satan is not happy that Marilyn has “swept her house clean.” He will use the problems with her son combined with the anger and confusion she still holds for her father and the church to confuse her.
It is critical for Marilyn to fight for her continued road of recovery. She needs to fill her “newly swept” house with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Bible says she is in grave danger of actually being worse if she does not do so.
Luke 11:24-26
When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left. When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first."
(from New International Version)
Marilyn needs to attend the meetings of Narcotics Anonymous. She needs the support of this group to stay drug and alcohol free. She committed that she was going to return. She believes returning will also help her son. It may or may not help her son but it will help to protect her as she grieves for her son.
She needs to get in a loving church that will teach her a better way to live. She needs to be surrounded by God’s people. She needs people to teach her how to be married. She needs to be in a body of saints that will protect her through their prayers.
We discussed how to pick the right church for her.
We talked a little about looking for a church that laughed. Laughter is a sign that a church is joyful. Churches that truly love God are joyful.
Habakkuk 3:18
I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
(from New International Version)
We talked about a Christ centered church that reads the Bible. You can tell a church that reads a Bible by listening to the flutter of pages turning as the pastor announces the scripture.
She needs Jesus and the word of God. Jesus is actually called “The Word.” The Bible is called “The Word of God.”
Jesus is the fulfillment of “The Word.” In Jesus, there is life. He is Marilyn’s light.
John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
(from New International Version)
We talked about a church that loves God and their neighbor. I suggested that if the church did not immediately welcome her and embrace her, it was not the right church for her. I also suggested that they look for a church where people were jeans.
Marilyn needs to put on the full armor of God to protect her from demons returning. If she uses the armor of God, when evil comes, she will be able to combat it.
Ephesians 6:13-18
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
(from New International Version)
We are told to keep praying for all the saints. A saint is someone who has been made perfect in Christ. When we are made perfect in Christ, he forgets our past. Marilyn is a saint in need of prayers. If you are a saint and are forgiven by grace, please stop and pray for Marilyn.
Pray that she will keep her commitment to return to her Narcotics Anonymous meetings. Pray that she will forgive the people who have hurt her. Pray that she and her husband will find a church. Ask for her protections from the demons that want to return to their former home.
If you have recently “swept your house clean,” heed the warning. Fill your house with the love of God. Surround yourself with saints that you can call on the pray for you. Turn the Jesus and let the love of Christ surround you.
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