Okay, i think i understand. My friends father must finally embrace Jesus as his Savior, before these things leave him alone.
This IS getting more complicated! If your friend's father is not a believer, you still CAN exert some positive influence, in many different ways. Very often, the
most effective way to do this involves not saying a word to them, but praying on their behalf. (This is called "intercession," and also intercessory prayer. The Biblical book of Job concludes with a lesson about how powerful this is!)
This doesn't remove the importance of being around him, and "letting your light shine" as you interact with him, and speaking as you get the chance.
But I must point out that quite the opposite of what you seem to expect, whatever these evil spirits are, they are likely to be MORE troublesome if and when this person turns to the Lord. It's even likely that they're bothering him now, solely because he may be close to doing that already. So this is a VERY important situation, and an important time, for you.
Again, victory = recognizing EVERY good thing as being G-d Himself, in the person of the Holy Ghost,
through the Lord Jesus Christ. If some of those good things happen to be in you, in your mind, in your heart, etc., do NOT allow that to inflate your ego or make you think you are anything other than a jar of clay, made from dirt. I don't mean to be harsh or mean, but this degree of humility is ESSENTIAL, and where evil spirits usually attack first!
2 Corinthians 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices."
That leads me to another question.
Do you think my prayers help him at all, or for the other people i pray, even though i dont speak to them at all?
YES!! A couple other things are important to understand:
1) G-d sees our prayers as a sweet-smelling perfume. This also enables us to stay in His Presence better, and that is what changes us, making us more like Jesus.
2) Our prayers should be for what we KNOW G-d wants already, not to try to get G-d to change His mind for us:
2 Cor 1:20 For all the promises of God in him [are] yea, and in him Amen"
I take this to mean we are to use our dominion (what he gave mankind via Adam and Eve) to put our "so be it" along with what we know He already says yes to. this is a VERY deep subject all by itself, and I have no idea what you may already know on the topic?
So we KNOW G-d wants this person not to be oppressed by the devil. How?
Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing
all that were oppressed of the devil"
tegan and sara ... they're lesbians, And of what i've heard thats a very big sin.
i've researched about homosexuliaty and christianity, Some sources claim that its not a sin, but the majority does. So my question is is homosexuality really a sin, and if it is, what does my prayers for them, or other people really do, Im sorry for this very complex question.
Don't apologize - this is important stuff! First of all, I understand that music can be uplifting. I'm a musician myself; just got back from playing bass in Church, and am about to start practicing trumpet and keyboards, and may have a rehearsal tonight.
Next, be honest with yourself: could you care about people who are thoroughly unattractive and even ugly as much as you care about tegan and sara? You don't need to answer me or answer here, but addressing this in honesty before your Lord can be very revealing of what is in our hearts. If you can't, it is likely your prayers have the wrong motivation. Again, I don't mean to be harsh, but the Truth only sets us free when we know it.
Next, practicing homosexuality is a sin, but all sin carries the same consequence of separation from G-d. And all of us can come to G-d the same way, via the Cross. It's important that we become very familiar with how this works!
So to reach out to anyone "in sin," we need to recognize that we ourselves struggle with things that are just as offensive to G-d, and He Loves us anyway. Far more than we can comprehend, or return to Him. His Love is indeed Pure!
In this frame of mind, how we pray for and otherwise reach out to the lost stays simple, and is much more effective. I think we should have a sub-forum devoted solely to how to pray ...
We don't really know what G-d has in mind for these 2, or anyone else. He might be working on other areas of their lives and be content to let this one thing go for now, or they might be completely oblivious to Him altogether. G-d CAN take sinful desires away from us:
Ezekiel 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh."
This is a good thing to pray for ... also:
"he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned." (Isaiah 50:4)
