Greetings,
When
I picked up the phone her tone said it all. She was broken. She was in despair.
She felt powerless. Why? As she began to explain to me, she was the mother of a
child that had severed all communication. Furthermore, years
had passed and now she had a granddaughter—a
child she had never met. Can you imagine? She was without solutions. She had
tried to figure it out, to bring resolution in her own strength, and to wait on
God. In spite of all of this, nothing changed. In her desperation for
reconciliation, she made a call. Little did she know that the time had finally
come for her power encounter with the Living God.
Years
ago when I was still in Bible school I volunteered for the prayer line of the
church that I was attending. It was a powerful experience. In that position I
not only had the opportunity to minister to people locally, but to people
around the country and even from other nations. The head pastor of the church
had international influence and so prayer requests came in from many places.
In
this kind of ministry a person gets exposed to a lot of things... people seek
help for issues they don't seek help for in person. The option of anonymity
plays a big role in the effectiveness of prayer lines. Some of the stories and
situations I was presented with were frankly mind-blowing. For instance, there
was the woman whose father would periodically come after her and rape her. Due
to his connections, she could never successfully press charges.
Then
there was the issue of the woman whose husband was getting involved with a
secret society. His behavior was beginning to get very weird. Moreover, when
she would start asking too many questions weird things would happen. For
instance, she found a literal animal organ in a drawer. It manifested without
anyone breaking, entering the home, or putting it there. This kind of activity
was the product of real sorcery.
Of
course I can't forget to mention the woman who called in with certain health
problems. As I began to pray for her, I realized that she was heavily
demonized. So there I was, in that little room on the phone, driving out demons
in another nation. As I was going at it, I could hear her in the background
literally vomiting as the demons were being driven from her. The presence of
God on me during that call was like a thick cloud that even the other prayer
warriors in the room felt. To those Christians that want to remain naive to the
needs that people have in the real world—I do not recommend
volunteering for a prayer line!
As
I ministered in this position our instructions were simple. Don't counsel,
don't prophesy, just pray. A prayer warrior learns quickly that to be
effective, their perspective of God must remain bigger than whatever situation
they are hearing. For me, this was an essential platform. It worked to launch
me forward in my ability to minister to real needs in a real world. A world
oppressed by a real devil.
And
so it was that during my service that I met a certain lady on the other end of
the phone line. Her story broke my heart. She had not had communication with
her daughter for years. To add insult to injury, during that time the daughter
gave birth and did not allow her mother to so much as see her grandchild. The
mother was a committed Christian and despite her best efforts and intentions,
reconciliation had not come to their family. She had not been able to enjoy
open communication with her daughter and remained totally estranged from her
grandchild. What could she do?
Maybe
you or someone you know is in a similar situation. The relationship between
them and their children has become entirely broken, and reconciliation seems
impossible. Maybe as a parent you have found yourself in this situation and all
you can do is blame yourself. Your shortcomings, your mistakes, your inadequacies:
how can you expect anything better than the pain you have because of the divide
that exists between you and your children?
In
other situations you may be caught up in a difficult situation because your
children have gone astray. Your walk with Christ has divided them from you.
They want their lifestyle and they reject yours. This was the case with this
woman and her daughter. She was trusting Jesus, but it was difficult. As a
matter of fact, the Bible is clear that hope deferred makes the
heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life
(Proverbs 13:12).
So
there I was, preparing to stand with this woman for reconciliation between her
and her daughter. But what could one prayer do when years of waiting and
praying had already been lifted up? The answer: Quite a bit! Together, we put
our faith in a promise of God found in the book of Isaiah. If you have children
that have gone astray, I encourage you to memorize and pray according to the
following promise regularly. It is written, "But thus saith the Lord,
Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the
terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save
thy children (Isaiah 49:25)."
The
very next week I received a special phone call while volunteering on the prayer
line. If you can believe it, it was the same woman! The chances of this
happening were incredibly small! So small, in fact, I believe it was a God
thing. The news: the very next Sunday after our prayer, the daughter showed up
at her church with her child! In an emotional and tearful reunion, forgiveness
and reconciliation manifested. With man this is impossible, but with God, all
things are possible.
