poiema Too Many Miles
Posts: 82
(12/10/03 8:33 pm) Reply
For a friend...
I have a friend who is really struggling with some depression/relationship issues right now. He's searched for "validation" through relationships with several women, but has always ended up getting burned and feeling like a failure--unloved and unlovable. He's at a place right now where he feels there is no hope and has resigned himself to living a life of loneliness.
He's a Christian, but isn't well-grounded in Scripture and his walk has been pretty shaky over the years. We've just finished doing the "Purpose-Driven Life" study at our church and it seems to have helped him get a little back "on track", but his steps are hesitant and stumbling, and he really needs a very real touch from the Lord right now.
I feel like the Lord has given me some very specific areas in which to pray for him and I would like to ask you all to join me in praying these things for my friend:
1) He has an emotional tie to a former girlfriend that he can't seem to break and he needs to be set free of that connection--I'm praying specifically for an immediate, miraculous break, because it's a desperate situation.
2) He needs to comprehend that he is fearfully and wonderfully made in God's image and find peace in who he is and WHY he's been created.
3) He needs to believe that God has a purpose and a plan for his life...and that it's for his good. (Jeremiah 29:11)
4) He needs assurance that the Lord intends for him to find peace/contentment in THIS life..."in the land of the living" and that he doesn't have to wait until he dies to have that peace. (Psalm 27:13-14)
Thank you all for praying...I can't wait to see how the Lord works in this situation to bring about the change He wants to happen in my friend's life.
(And please pray for me as well, because I'm committed to walking alongside him in this journey, no matter how long it takes and how difficult it sometimes is.)
I'm made with my Father's hands,
I'm made with His breath of life.
I'm fearfully, wonderfully made.
Rainee63 The Zone Will Never Die
Posts: 541
(1/6/04 6:56 pm) Reply
I'll be praying...
I know you posted this a while back, but your friend is in my prayers... Has anything changed since your first post?
poiema Too Many Miles
Posts: 94
(1/6/04 10:24 pm) Reply
Re: I'll be praying...
He is still really struggling. He has admitted to me that he sees some of the "horrible" things about the former girlfriend, but he still can't seem to make the final break emotionally. I feel that he uses the situation as a defense mechanism--if he claims a tie to someone, no matter how horrible the situation, he doesn't have to face the fact that he's alone...and he effectively builds a wall to keep anyone else out.
Honestly, I sometimes feel like I'm more of a hindrance than a help in this situation, because he's afraid that *I* am going to hurt him...on one hand, he trusts me enough to confess his heartaches to me, but on the other hand, he doesn't trust me enough to believe that "a friend loves at all times". He is wrapped up in the world's twisted definition of "love" and can't accept the unconditional love of God or the "as unconditional as humanly possible" love that a friend can give.
Thanks for praying--I appreciate it. The Lord has answered a couple of really specific prayers (ones that I didn't post here) and I KNOW it was a direct intervention from Him, so that has been encouraging. He hasn't been comfortable with me praying with him yet, but he has asked me to pray for him when I get home, so that's a start, at least. Things have been kind of rough lately, but I'm hanging in there.
"...look at where you're sitting right now and remember that heaven is so close you could unzip the air and step right through and into glory, into the final burning presence of He who takes what is left and shows us the beauty of who we really are in Him and who we were meant to be since He first thought us up." ~~Andrew Peterson~~
poiema Too Many Miles
Posts: 99
(1/12/04 10:49 pm) Reply
Good things!!
I had dinner with my friend tonight and we talked for several hours--I came away SO encouraged by some of the things that he said and I just wanted to share with everyone that God IS answering these specific requests--there have been changes in each of the four areas I listed...maybe not quite so dramatic as I would hope, but I know that God's timing is PERFECT.
"...look at where you're sitting right now and remember that heaven is so close you could unzip the air and step right through and into glory, into the final burning presence of He who takes what is left and shows us the beauty of who we really are in Him and who we were meant to be since He first thought us up." ~~Andrew Peterson~~
Jan Wonderfully Made Moderator
Posts: 758
(1/13/04 1:16 am) Reply
Re: Good things!!
Thanks for the update, Dena. My prayers are with the both of you. Continue to be an encouragement to your friend - he's lucky and blessed to have you as a friend.
And I know I've been afraid of
Every little thing
But today I join creation
when I raise my head and sing
She's opend my eyes, and now I'm where I belong, joined in a song
You're truly amazing ...
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