For few weeks now I have been praying to the Lord about some things and He never fails to answer every one of them. My friend’s brother was surrounded by pure negative influences from his family, friends, and even his girl friend. They would all pull him back down when he tries to make something good out of his life. They would discourage him from doing anything good. They just wanted him to stay home, don’t work, drink alcohol 24/7, smoke (cigarettes, blunt, weed), party, speak foul language, and have sexual relationships with as many girls as he can get (even though he had a girl friend).
He has been surrounded by this type of influence since the age of sixteen. He dropped out of high school (10th grade) because of the negative influences, and has been locked up several times for getting caught with his cousins and friends doing illegal things. He has two sons that he doesn’t help to take care of and running around trying to make more. His older sister was the only one that would try to talk him out of it but she was the last person he wanted to listen to. She tried sending him to rehab center but he refused. She tried encouraging him to go to church but he just laughed in her face. He is now twenty-six years old and about to turn twenty-seven in couple months but has only gotten worst over the years. He has been in this situation for over ten years. At this point his sister had given up hope that he will ever become anything good in life.
His sister and I have been friends now for about four months. His sister was a little afraid to tell me what was going on whenever I would stop by her place. But one day she couldn’t hold it inside any longer and broke down before me. She told me all about the situation and how it was affecting her inside. Then she asked me to pray for her and her brother. I told her no problem and we began to pray that afternoon. We prayed that the Lord will remove all negative influences in her brother’s life and remove anyone in his life that doesn’t belong there. We prayed that the Lord will restore him back into the church and help him to get back on the right path. We prayed believing that the Lord heard us and was going to answer.
After the prayer I went home and as soon as I open my front door the phone rang and it was her calling me. I was surprise to see her calling me when I just left her house. She was out of breath and had a hard time controlling herself to let me know what was going on. So I tried calming her down so she can talk to me and let me know what is going on. She said, “My cousins that my brother use to hang around with has a warrant out for their arrest for selling drugs and having it in their possession and they are running away to Florida to escape the police.” I was standing there with my mouth open like, “Wow! God took care of that very quickly!” She was so happy that at least half of the crowd her brother hanged around with was gone. But of course there were still others that were in the area.
Couple weeks later all his friends split up, some went to live in NYC and others went their own way. After his cousins and friends left he was not able to go clubbing because he doesn’t have a car or any money. Keep in mind that he has not worked in over ten years and was living off his family and the people he hanged around with. So after they were gone he was left with almost nothing. He wasn’t able to flirt around with females on the computer anymore. He didn’t have a phone to call any female to hook up or anything.
But of course he still had one person in his life that was a negative influence to him—his girlfriend. She would always buy him alcohol, cigarettes, give him cocaine to sniff and discourage him from looking for a job. She wanted him to stay home and take care of her son (that she had from another guy). She hated his family and almost discouraged him from going to visit his sister or anyone that would try to talk some sense into him. So he was left alone in her place with nothing. They had almost nothing no cable, no phone, no internet, no computer. Wow! Because there was nothing to do and no where to really go he stayed there and consumed alcohol 24/7. He woke up with a bottle and went to bed with a bottle. This went on for couple more weeks.
My friend and I was happy about the ones that the Lord removed but we were discourage that he still had one that was very close to him still around him. His girlfriend had no desire to change and was not a person you could talk to about changing. So we continued to pray for the Lord to have his way in her brother’s life and to help him become better. After seeing no results we thought maybe the Lord can help her to change with him. About five days later his girlfriend got a notice saying that she has until July 1st to get out of the apartment because she was 3 months behind on her rent. She doesn’t have anyone in the area so we thought maybe she would have moved back to NYC where her family is located. But to our surprise on July 1st they both moved in with his other sister.
On July 2nd, my friend went by the house to check on them to see how they were doing and if they need any groceries or money. To her surprise her brother was completely wasted and was dirty. He smelled horrible and was talking nonsense. So she got worried and asked what happened to him. His girlfriend started lying about the situation and kept saying she doesn’t know what is wrong with him. So my friend asked her sister why she allowed this to happen to her brother. No one wanted to say anything and was looking confused. My friend became very upset and started yelling at his girlfriend for giving him drugs and allowing him to drink himself sick. They said he hasn’t eaten anything in days and she was giving him alcohol for his meals.
Of course when I heard this I was like, “Doesn’t he have a mouth to say no and go prepare his own meal.” But they told me she kept him drunk all the time and as soon as he starts getting up she would give him another bottle or something to smoke. So he was “out of it” most of the time. After hearing this message I went on my knees the same time and asked God to have mercy on him and remove the girlfriend if she doesn’t belong in his life. Two days went by and there was no change.
On Sunday July 5th, I noticed a missed call from my friend but getting ready to go to church I decided to call her after I return from second service. After I got home from second service it slipped my mind to call her back. So Monday afternoon while I was on my lunch break she called me again. I answered and she told me that her brother’s girlfriend packed up her things and went back to NYC. I was like, “What? No way!” She was jumping around yelling. I was completely shocked. I stood still for about couple seconds without moving a muscle. I was amazed at how the Lord can work in our lives.
Her brother is still sick and looking a mess from the substances he allowed to enter into his body but at least there is no one giving it to him anymore. Now it is up to him to decide if he wants to accept the change and move in a positive direction. He still has a long way to go before he is fully restored and cleaned up but at least there is hope and the Lord will continue the job that He has begun in that young man’s life. Maybe one day that young man will stand up and share his testimony with others of how the Lord delivered him and cleaned him up. There is no situation too hard that God can’t deliver you out of. There is no addiction too great that he can’t break.
I told you this story because I believe it is a great testimony of how God answers our prayers. He knows what is going on but there are times he wants us to come to him and trust that he will deliver. There were moments when we thought nothing was going to happen but we still trust that the Lord will deliver in his own timing and he did.
Don’t stop praying for lost souls out there. Be a person that your friends can come to and share their hurts and pain and allow the Lord to give you the words to comfort and pray with them. There are many people out there that need a shoulder to lean on—why not give them yours.
He has been surrounded by this type of influence since the age of sixteen. He dropped out of high school (10th grade) because of the negative influences, and has been locked up several times for getting caught with his cousins and friends doing illegal things. He has two sons that he doesn’t help to take care of and running around trying to make more. His older sister was the only one that would try to talk him out of it but she was the last person he wanted to listen to. She tried sending him to rehab center but he refused. She tried encouraging him to go to church but he just laughed in her face. He is now twenty-six years old and about to turn twenty-seven in couple months but has only gotten worst over the years. He has been in this situation for over ten years. At this point his sister had given up hope that he will ever become anything good in life.
His sister and I have been friends now for about four months. His sister was a little afraid to tell me what was going on whenever I would stop by her place. But one day she couldn’t hold it inside any longer and broke down before me. She told me all about the situation and how it was affecting her inside. Then she asked me to pray for her and her brother. I told her no problem and we began to pray that afternoon. We prayed that the Lord will remove all negative influences in her brother’s life and remove anyone in his life that doesn’t belong there. We prayed that the Lord will restore him back into the church and help him to get back on the right path. We prayed believing that the Lord heard us and was going to answer.
After the prayer I went home and as soon as I open my front door the phone rang and it was her calling me. I was surprise to see her calling me when I just left her house. She was out of breath and had a hard time controlling herself to let me know what was going on. So I tried calming her down so she can talk to me and let me know what is going on. She said, “My cousins that my brother use to hang around with has a warrant out for their arrest for selling drugs and having it in their possession and they are running away to Florida to escape the police.” I was standing there with my mouth open like, “Wow! God took care of that very quickly!” She was so happy that at least half of the crowd her brother hanged around with was gone. But of course there were still others that were in the area.
Couple weeks later all his friends split up, some went to live in NYC and others went their own way. After his cousins and friends left he was not able to go clubbing because he doesn’t have a car or any money. Keep in mind that he has not worked in over ten years and was living off his family and the people he hanged around with. So after they were gone he was left with almost nothing. He wasn’t able to flirt around with females on the computer anymore. He didn’t have a phone to call any female to hook up or anything.
But of course he still had one person in his life that was a negative influence to him—his girlfriend. She would always buy him alcohol, cigarettes, give him cocaine to sniff and discourage him from looking for a job. She wanted him to stay home and take care of her son (that she had from another guy). She hated his family and almost discouraged him from going to visit his sister or anyone that would try to talk some sense into him. So he was left alone in her place with nothing. They had almost nothing no cable, no phone, no internet, no computer. Wow! Because there was nothing to do and no where to really go he stayed there and consumed alcohol 24/7. He woke up with a bottle and went to bed with a bottle. This went on for couple more weeks.
My friend and I was happy about the ones that the Lord removed but we were discourage that he still had one that was very close to him still around him. His girlfriend had no desire to change and was not a person you could talk to about changing. So we continued to pray for the Lord to have his way in her brother’s life and to help him become better. After seeing no results we thought maybe the Lord can help her to change with him. About five days later his girlfriend got a notice saying that she has until July 1st to get out of the apartment because she was 3 months behind on her rent. She doesn’t have anyone in the area so we thought maybe she would have moved back to NYC where her family is located. But to our surprise on July 1st they both moved in with his other sister.
On July 2nd, my friend went by the house to check on them to see how they were doing and if they need any groceries or money. To her surprise her brother was completely wasted and was dirty. He smelled horrible and was talking nonsense. So she got worried and asked what happened to him. His girlfriend started lying about the situation and kept saying she doesn’t know what is wrong with him. So my friend asked her sister why she allowed this to happen to her brother. No one wanted to say anything and was looking confused. My friend became very upset and started yelling at his girlfriend for giving him drugs and allowing him to drink himself sick. They said he hasn’t eaten anything in days and she was giving him alcohol for his meals.
Of course when I heard this I was like, “Doesn’t he have a mouth to say no and go prepare his own meal.” But they told me she kept him drunk all the time and as soon as he starts getting up she would give him another bottle or something to smoke. So he was “out of it” most of the time. After hearing this message I went on my knees the same time and asked God to have mercy on him and remove the girlfriend if she doesn’t belong in his life. Two days went by and there was no change.
On Sunday July 5th, I noticed a missed call from my friend but getting ready to go to church I decided to call her after I return from second service. After I got home from second service it slipped my mind to call her back. So Monday afternoon while I was on my lunch break she called me again. I answered and she told me that her brother’s girlfriend packed up her things and went back to NYC. I was like, “What? No way!” She was jumping around yelling. I was completely shocked. I stood still for about couple seconds without moving a muscle. I was amazed at how the Lord can work in our lives.
Her brother is still sick and looking a mess from the substances he allowed to enter into his body but at least there is no one giving it to him anymore. Now it is up to him to decide if he wants to accept the change and move in a positive direction. He still has a long way to go before he is fully restored and cleaned up but at least there is hope and the Lord will continue the job that He has begun in that young man’s life. Maybe one day that young man will stand up and share his testimony with others of how the Lord delivered him and cleaned him up. There is no situation too hard that God can’t deliver you out of. There is no addiction too great that he can’t break.
I told you this story because I believe it is a great testimony of how God answers our prayers. He knows what is going on but there are times he wants us to come to him and trust that he will deliver. There were moments when we thought nothing was going to happen but we still trust that the Lord will deliver in his own timing and he did.
Don’t stop praying for lost souls out there. Be a person that your friends can come to and share their hurts and pain and allow the Lord to give you the words to comfort and pray with them. There are many people out there that need a shoulder to lean on—why not give them yours.
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