Prayer for friend mental health

[Goodbook]

can you please pray for my friend in hospital for a sound mind, also she has eating issues may be binge eating disorder I notice the symptoms and she might be denying it to herself, or being doubleminded.
pray the lord give her strength and that she find fellowship as shes been out of fellowship and church for a long time and her husband is not a believer (yet?)

For more I posted on christian advice asking how to deal with it or support her after hospitalisation as just been a friend over the years but dont want to be an enabler.

But this thread is just a prayer request, for her and her family who love her.

 

[drjean]

Check out Dr Caroline Leaf and her epigenetics... so many "self help" books but they all fail because they don't have God as the basis for our healthy thinking. It's "stinkin' thinkin'" that gives us mental and physical struggles. May you find the strength to pray with her at length, focussing upon God's mercy and love for us. None of us are perfect except in His eyes.

 

[rockytopva]

Father I pray blessings on this request, support for this friend, and for the healing of this condition in Jesus name I pray. Also taking these needs before God in prayer on the 1:15PM bbnradio.org Family Altar program.

 

[LoricaLady]

Praying for insight, guidance, strength, healing.

 

[Remny]

Bless you. Your concern for your friend is beautiful and I shall pray. I hope God works blessings into your friend's life. I hope you are able to inspire change in her as well, but if not. Remember, that may not be your purpose. Your purpose may simply be to bring your friend comfort.

 

[Goodbook]

Lord thank you for giving me lots of insight into my friend.

I dont know about the comfort thing, because its not me that shes looking to comfort its food. I seem to be just a tool so she can indulge her addictions and its affecting my walk.


She dismissed any idea of going to church and kinda insisted we meet at the mall, which is I know a place where she can spend and get her fix. But I dont want to go to the mall anymore. And my other friend who knows her doesnt either. Also i dont have money to fritter away at the mall.

 

[Goodbook]

I will just say next time she rings I dont want to go to the mall with her. Just make it real clear am not going to do that anymore cos id rather go to church and if she wants to come we go togther.

Otherwise am thinking i want to let go of this friend when it comes down to it, i cant fellowship with an unbeliever, if she chooses god of her belly over the true God.

 

[Goodbook]

Was also hearing about the churches of revelation last sunday, and what struck me is shes lukewarm.

Neither not nor cold.
And Jesus had a thing to say about that.

Another thing I read is one of the churches had believers but they were listening to Jezebel and being seduced..and eating things sacrificed to idols. At first i thought what. Does that still happen today? It happened back then, but when I thought about it and whats driving my friend to behave this way it could be Jezebel spirits.

She wants me to eat lots and wear bling and spend money. Thats what she likes to do and not be condemened for it, while still claiming to be a christian. But faith without works is dead.

 

[Goodbook]

Please pray against the jezebel spirit that seems to have got a stronghold on my friend.

I cant be around her when shes like this.

 

[Goodbook]

Was reading this book about binge eating disorder, and said just plan food free activities, so that means no more meeting up for lunch or at the mall where she also seems addicted to shopping.

Sometimes we go for a walk or hotpools. But im going to suggest church, and just say dont like going to mall anymore.

She has symptoms of overeating like heartburn. I dont want her to die of food related illness. I wont say anything though only if she asks me for help. I have never been on a diet (except for the time i was semi vegetarian) but she is always on them superobessed with food. I dont know what to say in response.

But I do think i need time apart from this friend and pray God will step in, maybe He will draw her toward himself, or another elder can be a friend. Im younger and i realise when shes under the influence of Jezebel, she can be controlling only doing what she wants and trying to suck me in to her addictions as well.

 

[Goodbook]

Lord has shown me need to pray about her mother too as her good intentions may be exacerbating her disorder..ie, she tells her to lose weight, and then her sister gangs up on her as well.

She needs to know her Father loves her no matter how much or little she weighs. And that her outward appearance doesnt matter God looks on the heart.

 

[Goodbook]

My friend wants to go home for christmas but when i suggested go to church she was like she didnt feel up to it. I think shes avoiding the issue, giving up or giving in too easily.

She wouldnt have ended up in hospital if shed just told her husband where she was going. Or talked to her husband about her problem whatever it was.

If shed gone for a really long walk, but then just called her husband to let him know where she was and if he wasnt able to come fetch her, called for a taxi or caught a bus or even called me she wouldnt have ended up there. Instead she called her dad who lives two and a half hours away and he got the police or ambulance to look for her and the way she was behaving they took her to hospital not home.

What was she trying to escape is what i kinda want to know. With all the eating issues she never has any time to do anything else, like she could study and learn something but never in the time ive known her has she learned anything new like done a course or anything like that. She just cant concentrate on anything other than her eating and weight and shopping it seems.

 

[Goodbook]

Apparnetly she left school early didnt finish. But she used to work, studied floristry but running a business was difficult and she gave up. She tells me she always has dreams of going back to high school.

But back in those days many ppl didnt finish high school and it was easy to find jobs. Then theres an unplanned pregancy that she doesnt like to talk about at 21 she has only mentioned it once or twice to me, the baby was handicapped had downs and taken for adoption, then she married (another guy) and never had children with him. I think maybe that trauma was the beginning of it all.

I dont know what else other than what she shared. Maybe she can talk to some fellow patients in hospital about whatver shes gone through. Thats where i met her. I can imagine that she wants to be close to her mum but she cant if she feels she disappointed her. I cant ever talk to my mum about some things without her judging me plus she had kept me in the dark about so many things growing up.

 

[Goodbook]

Maybe thats when she left church cos she told me her neighbours used to take her to sunday school and she was quite active in youth groups and sports. Think maybe she just met a guy who wasnt a believer and got seduced into the world.

 

[Goodbook]

Please keep praying, and undesrtand this is in confidence that God will touch her. Im not one to spill secrets it is just being honest to God about her life. You cant be healed if you dont confess things to one another. Im sure He has already forgiven her for messing up but she may not have forgiven herself.

 

[Goodbook]

I dont know if she has any former friends from that time as only really one other friend she hangs out with that i hadnt met, or maybe only met once.

But shes become good friends with a friend i met at church and we would read the bible and pray together.
I think if you had a rough time growing up you wont always keep all the friends you hung out with in highschool and i suppose if you go astray from church its hard to return. she does say im her forever friend. But if shes not in fellowship with others and isolated its just so easy to turn to food for comfort.

 

[Goodbook]

saw friend in hospital, don't think she makes any connection with overeating and how she ended up there, kind of laughs it off, so, decide best to leave it, again seemed dismissive of going to church.
Still wants to go shopping but I'm not going to do that anymore, just not interested.

Think her moods can easily change. So may not see her for a while, there was a gym and exercise machines in the hospital, for someone so keen on constantly telling me she works out, doesn't even set foot there. They wouldn't allow her outside the hospital anyway, but she seemed more cheerful than when my friend called her last.

Feel like am going round in circles when I hang out with her now.

 

[Goodbook]

Update

She hasnt called since and other friend rang to say she called her at home.i had given her the number as shes asked for my friend to call her. Other friend said she Talked for about a minute but then she cut her off.

So i guess thats that...she hasnt rung me since so think will just leave it, as she doesnt exactly listen to anything I say.

 

[Goodbook]

she rang me this morning at 7:30 am unusual for her, I'm half asleep, turns out she wants to 'go shopping and have lunch'.
I said I don't want to (or not really) and I will call her back later.

I'm not sure I will know what to say when I call her back. She doesn't seem to really care or listen to what I say.

 

[Goodbook]

She called back today and asked to go shopping, i said no, she asked again to go shopping and lunch I said no as have no money, so she finally said what would you like to do and I said go for a walk to the garden so she agreed and then said in a couple of weeks, so, will see, as then she cut the call short and never made a date.

She is back on meds and her mother bought her an exercise machine thing.

Im not really sure what to pray for anymore cos I dont think anything has changed. So I will just have to treat her like an addict and keep my distance and not let myself be manipulated.

She doesnt really have any memory of anything deeper other than what she eats and what she weighs and wears in most of her conversation with me. :-(