Here at Teen Challenge I sometimes hear stories that amaze me. I once spoke to a guy while he was in a hospital bed awaiting a liver transplant. He took 500 Tylenol tablets to try to kill himself! I didn't know that that was a sure way to end your life, perhaps even more successful than a bullet! But in the end he was blessed because he had people praying for him, God did heal him and he was delivered! He came to San Francisco TC and God was able to do a work in his life.
The previous story though has really opened my eyes to how easily the enemy of your soul can enter in and destroy a family, especially one that is not Christ centered. My prayers have always been for the lost or those in bondage to some drug or other life-controlling problem, until at one of our TC choir outings I preached a sermon in a small church about a year ago. As I prayed for God to give me a message He opened my eyes to one very real truth, People come to our Center because other people lead them here. It is not very often someone comes to us because they themselves decided to seek help, (unless they have been here before). And we don't go out and do an outreach and bring them in right off the street. They come because someone who loves them searched for them or was waiting for them to finally "get tired" and in the mean time they prayed for them believing God will someday reach them and when He did they brought them here because they heard about what God is doing in Teen Challenge. That is the effectiveness of our outreach endeavors, we do evangelize the lost but mostly we reach out to churches, (meaning the people in the church). In almost every case a wife or mother or friend or even Pastor says to me "I have been praying for him for so long..."
Since that morning in that small church my prayers have changed! Today I pray for the family of believers who pray for their loved ones who are dying of addiction. I pray that they will always hold on to the Hope that is in Christ and in His promises. I pray that God will remove the spirit of judgment and allow a mother or wife, a father or son, or whoever it is that is praying to do so without any prejudice or pride or condemnation, that every hindrance will be removed, that faith and the power of love will be the catalyst for change.
We are all in need of His mercy, none any more than the next guy. I don't care if you're a drug addict, drug dealer or prostitute, whether you are a teacher, lawyer or housewife, God's mercy is for the poor in spirit. It's not measured out because of where you sleep or where you work or what you do with your day. It is given freely to all who will ask, whether you are asking for yourself or for another.
I also pray for my sister who is lost and addicted to drugs. I still have a heart for the countless others out there who are hurting and I do still pray for them from the deepest reaches of my spirit, but when I pray for my sister there is a level of pain involved that can only come from a deep-rooted personal connection. Just as so many others out there, I too understand what it is like to see someone you've always known and loved become someone you don't recognize any longer. We pray for them and wish that they can return to us and have things as they used to be. The truth is, they are forever changed as we too are changed by the experience. But Christ has overcome the world and we are the spoils of His victory! Us and them!
Some years ago a survey was done that stated that every 30 days there are 20 million people using illicit drugs in America. And for every one of those people they directly affect 5 other people. There were 300 million people in America back then, so that means that one third of our nation was directly effected by the drug epidemic.
Today those numbers are even higher. Because of the meth epidemic and the growing abuse of prescription drugs, America faces it’s biggest challenge yet! What make us effective in what God has called us to do, IS YOU. You are one of the other five! God wants to use you to save them all!
Cy L. Nunez
Showing posts with label pills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pills. Show all posts
Friday, June 13, 2008
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
Here at Teen Challenge I sometimes hear stories that amaze me. I once spoke to a guy while he was in a hospital bed awaiting a liver transplant. He took 500 Tylenol tablets to try to kill himself! I didn't know that that was a sure way to end your life, perhaps even more successful than a bullet! But in the end he was blessed because he had people praying for him, God did heal him and he was delivered! He came to San Francisco TC and God was able to do a work in his life.
The previous story though has really opened my eyes to how easily the enemy of your soul can enter in and destroy a family, especially one that is not Christ centered. My prayers have always been for the lost or those in bondage to some drug or other life-controlling problem, until at one of our TC choir outings I preached a sermon in a small church about a year ago. As I prayed for God to give me a message He opened my eyes to one very real truth, People come to our Center because other people lead them here. It is not very often someone comes to us because they themselves decided to seek help, (unless they have been here before). And we don't go out and do an outreach and bring them in right off the street. They come because someone who loves them searched for them or was waiting for them to finally "get tired" and in the mean time they prayed for them believing God will someday reach them and when He did they brought them here because they heard about what God is doing in Teen Challenge. That is the effectiveness of our outreach endeavors, we do evangelize the lost but mostly we reach out to churches, (meaning the people in the church). In almost every case a wife or mother or friend or even Pastor says to me "I have been praying for him for so long..."
Since that morning in that small church my prayers have changed! Today I pray for the family of believers who pray for their loved ones who are dying of addiction. I pray that they will always hold on to the Hope that is in Christ and in His promises. I pray that God will remove the spirit of judgment and allow a mother or wife, a father or son, or whoever it is that is praying to do so without any prejudice or pride or condemnation, that every hindrance will be removed, that faith and the power of love will be the catalyst for change.
We are all in need of His mercy, none any more than the next guy. I don't care if you're a drug addict, drug dealer or prostitute, whether you are a teacher, lawyer or housewife, God's mercy is for the poor in spirit. It's not measured out because of where you sleep or where you work or what you do with your day. It is given freely to all who will ask, whether you are asking for yourself or for another.
I also pray for my sister who is lost and addicted to drugs. I still have a heart for the countless others out there who are hurting and I do still pray for them from the deepest reaches of my spirit, but when I pray for my sister there is a level of pain involved that can only come from a deep-rooted personal connection. Just as so many others out there, I too understand what it is like to see someone you've always known and loved become someone you don't recognize any longer. We pray for them and wish that they can return to us and have things as they used to be. The truth is, they are forever changed as we too are changed by the experience. But Christ has overcome the world and we are the spoils of His victory! Us and them!
Some years ago a survey was done that stated that every 30 days there are 20 million people using illicit drugs in America. And for every one of those people they directly affect 5 other people. There were 300 million people in America back then, so that means that one third of our nation was directly effected by the drug epidemic.
Today those numbers are even higher. Because of the meth epidemic and the growing abuse of prescription drugs, America faces it’s biggest challenge yet! What make us effective in what God has called us to do, IS YOU. You are one of the other five! God wants to use you to save them all!
Cy L. Nunez 
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