By Susan M. Thomas
Honestly, I would like this article to be written by someone who would have not had the bitter root grown within them regarding a family member who has not accepted the Lord as their Saviour. I wish I was able to say that I was writing this with a winning streak against this battle. Truth be told, I am not. Moreover, in these past few weeks, when the fear of coronavirus was at its peak and the family member I was harboring real anger and frustration towards fell to its clutches, I was in a disarray of thoughts. Hardly being on my knees pleading for the person’s soul, I started focussing inward and thinking what a relief it would be not to be oppressed by the same.
Writing this makes me feel like a cruel person and I know this breaking in my heart, even when I struggle to love someone, not saved, especially because of the verbally abusive relationship we have been in for so long, I can rest assured that God is at work. I hope there will be reconciliation and genuine love in your relationship with the person who hurt you too. I hope that while you read this, the same breaking – that sweet taste of Jesus’s love for others, even his enemies, could be the starting point to begin to understand His compassion for all.
In my early days of knowing Jesus through God’s Word, I was both awed and scared. Awed, because it was (and still is) the most extraordinary experience I had been through. Scared, because it gave me a sense that I will never be able to live up to the standards expected from me of being a Christian. I ran away a lot. Later, I hoped against hope that He would take me back even when that was only a feeling. I was never far from Him. Through mentoring and discipleship with women who were elder to me, my eyes were opened to see the deep spiritual battle I was in. I was broken many times in my helplessness and I never felt prepared to fight this battle.
Even then, God’s mighty hand worked (and still does) miraculously within me to share the example set by another loved one to pray in this struggle. Gratitude fills my heart for the people in my life who have led me, and are still walking me through it.
Some ways I have been guided to do so is by remembering the following while in prayer:
Forgiveness: Jesus forgave us. Period. No questions asked, He never asked our permission. He just did. What price can we pay for His sacrifice? If so, then, the fact and command remains even in the prayer Jesus himself teaches us – “Forgive us Lord as we forgive those who sin against us”. Oh what truth lies in that, even our unbelieving heart knows that!
Hence, the first thing I hope and pray for you is that God will work each day in you to make you the person who can willingly forgive people who hurt you. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” – John 14:27. So, if your heart is troubled, rest in His peace today and the assurance of your inheritance, even if this suffering refuses to cease.
“By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” – 1 Peter 1:4. You are not alone and your suffering is not in vain!
Wear your armour right: This is a spiritual battle that your college degree or your years of experience in the workplace won’t prepare you for. You need to prepare as a soldier of Jesus Christ by putting your armour on. The Bible says, “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” – Ephesians 6:11
We carry on fighting a battle not by giving in to rage or fear, but by being aware that this battle cannot be won by might or by power but only by the Spirit of the Lord. While praying for someone’s soul to be saved, the Devil rails against this desire. He schemes against us by sometimes not battling us directly but by attacking the weakest family member (faith-wise). This is a terrible trial when it comes: financial troubles, illnesses or any loss out of the ordinary are some common ways the suffering compounds. You may feel like giving in and being defeated but our God is faithful even when we are unfaithful. Do not be weary but “..fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” – Hebrews 12:13
Apart, from the above, we can pray about the following to occur in the unbeliever’s heart:
A desire to know God. Every human being, having been created by God, is designed to find complete satisfaction in rejoicing and loving Him. Nothing else can really fill that – even in your fears and anxieties, you know God is in you and working through you. Imagine if the person you are praying for has such a longing! It inevitably would have been there, but maybe over time and because of many incidents in their own lives, God never got priority, and all the fears that are making them captive needs this all-encompassing love. Let us pray that the craving grows in them, each day, more and more.
Moving towards the Word of God. We know how the Bible is the ultimate and true Word of God. If the person you have been praying for has never known about this book ever, then that person might never have tasted Jesus as you have! So, one of the most important things is to remember that Apostle Paul says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then can they call on the One in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach?” Romans 10:14. We may not be the most willing people to preach or even talk gently to them, but there is someone who speaks best while reading the Bible – The Holy Spirit. If the Bible hasn’t been the book they have ever read, you need to bring them one IMMEDIATELY! The Bible says, ‘everyone’ who calls on the Lord will be saved. Pray that their heart draws towards the peace-giving true gospel and that they will find promises of God in this wonderful gift that you have given them!
Counsellors and gospel-centered people in their lives. We may be the ones whom God has put in their lives to begin to pray for them, but the family of God works best when we work together. All things are possible with God. So let us also pray (and I say this more so for people who come from traditional Eastern families) that the person you are praying for would be surrounded by the people of God willing to help them grow in their faith. As we come from different cultures and as our roles in our social construct vary, it could be that there may be walls that may be hard for us to climb to reach them by our preaching to them, but there is then, even more need that we pray that God put such people in their circles. Let us speak the truth without shame or anger. Just as each of us who has come to the loving experience of Christ more so by fellowship and thanksgiving, we can pray that the same may come in their lives. This could be instrumental for them to come closer to the saving knowledge of our Lord.
So I hope that as sisters, daughters, mothers, sister-in laws, daughter-in laws etc., God would give us courage to overcome fear as Sarah and continue in our battle in prayer like Hannah!
Susan is an architect/landscape designer by profession from New Delhi, India. She talks to and mentors students in the professional field who struggle with passion and following Christ. She volunteers with non-governmental organizations as much as she can and hopes to serve the disadvantaged with her God-given talents. Currently, she is taking a break after graduating from her Masters' degree and is practicing her guitar skills, all this while enjoying Zoom Fellowship calls with her small group friends.
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