- Dec 25, 2019
- 55
- 73
- 37
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Anabaptist
- Marital Status
- Single
Greetings in the name of Jesus. I have 2 friends that I try to help, with the Lord of course. But I need advice on what to do or say and need a lot of prayer for them.
My first friend's name is Richard. He is in his 60's and lives by himself in an apartment building. He never married and he doesn't have children. He has cerebral palsy, which is that his legs muscles are weak. He could hardly walk by himself without the support of his crutches. He had a hard life growing up due to his disability. Anytime when someone says anything negative, he takes it as a rejection. In the past, he has been self-harming (not cutting himself, but doing things that are not good for him). He has been going with me to Church for around 10+ years. But when we talked last night, he really shocked me. I know that he has a lot of resentment towards people, and from it a lot of bitterness. We then went to a Tent Revival Meetings, last night. The preacher's main message was not to take offenses but to offer them up to Jesus. He told me that he needed to get rid of a lot of resentments, but there is something he cannot do. He said that he had an opportunity to tell the Gospel to his neighbor, but he didn't. Later on, his neighbor died. He said how could God forgive him to allow his neighbor to go to Hell. I told him that God knows and God can forgive him. But he told me that it would not change the past, nor he is certain if he wants God's forgiveness.
My 2nd friend's name is Darius. He is in his mid to upper 20's. He has been struggling with sin quite a bit in his Christian life, but he recently become free from a lot of it. But we talked for a while, last night and he says that he has been dealing with a lot of confusion. Throughout most of his Christian life, he has been facing with something called "Perfectionism." He doesn't want to wrong anyone (which is very commendable), but I think it is going way too far. If someone offered him gum, and he takes it, he feels guilty of taking it (even when it is offered to him). He goes back to apologize to the person, otherwise, he would feel guilty until he does. He says that it happens to him many times a day that he wants to make clear of any hinderances. Like I said, it is commendable if he wrongs someone that he wants to apologize for it, but it has been pretty much a bondage that is literally driving him crazy. I told him that when God convicts, He wants us to move to action to want to right a wrongdoing but having almost like a bondage constantly day in and day out, even though there is no wrongdoing, I am pretty certain that it is not from the Lord. He even told me about all of this, last night, and called me about 10 minutes later to apologize for telling me his struggles. He says that he feels that God doesn't want anyone, except 1 or 2 individuals, to know about what he is going through.
So for my prayer requests:
My first friend's name is Richard. He is in his 60's and lives by himself in an apartment building. He never married and he doesn't have children. He has cerebral palsy, which is that his legs muscles are weak. He could hardly walk by himself without the support of his crutches. He had a hard life growing up due to his disability. Anytime when someone says anything negative, he takes it as a rejection. In the past, he has been self-harming (not cutting himself, but doing things that are not good for him). He has been going with me to Church for around 10+ years. But when we talked last night, he really shocked me. I know that he has a lot of resentment towards people, and from it a lot of bitterness. We then went to a Tent Revival Meetings, last night. The preacher's main message was not to take offenses but to offer them up to Jesus. He told me that he needed to get rid of a lot of resentments, but there is something he cannot do. He said that he had an opportunity to tell the Gospel to his neighbor, but he didn't. Later on, his neighbor died. He said how could God forgive him to allow his neighbor to go to Hell. I told him that God knows and God can forgive him. But he told me that it would not change the past, nor he is certain if he wants God's forgiveness.
My 2nd friend's name is Darius. He is in his mid to upper 20's. He has been struggling with sin quite a bit in his Christian life, but he recently become free from a lot of it. But we talked for a while, last night and he says that he has been dealing with a lot of confusion. Throughout most of his Christian life, he has been facing with something called "Perfectionism." He doesn't want to wrong anyone (which is very commendable), but I think it is going way too far. If someone offered him gum, and he takes it, he feels guilty of taking it (even when it is offered to him). He goes back to apologize to the person, otherwise, he would feel guilty until he does. He says that it happens to him many times a day that he wants to make clear of any hinderances. Like I said, it is commendable if he wrongs someone that he wants to apologize for it, but it has been pretty much a bondage that is literally driving him crazy. I told him that when God convicts, He wants us to move to action to want to right a wrongdoing but having almost like a bondage constantly day in and day out, even though there is no wrongdoing, I am pretty certain that it is not from the Lord. He even told me about all of this, last night, and called me about 10 minutes later to apologize for telling me his struggles. He says that he feels that God doesn't want anyone, except 1 or 2 individuals, to know about what he is going through.
So for my prayer requests:
- Pray for Richard that he can finally release the resentment that he had for many years, to release it to the Lord and to seek God's forgiveness for any of the wrongs he has done. Also, pray for healing as well. He said that he wanted to release many people in his heart, but the damage that is still there. He said that he might never be healed from it.
- Pray for Darius that God will deliver him from his confusion and from his perfectionism. It seems like his perfectionism is getting worse and it is taking a toll on his spiritual life.
