Bonnie and I sat together at a mutual friend’s celebration. As we talked, we bonded in the way that only fellow believers do. I shared with her my struggles with a daughter caught in drug abuse and all its awful consequences. I was living a very defeated, frustrated life at the time. I attended church regularly and read my Bible, but felt downcast and discouraged about my children and their rebellion.
After a prayer for deliverance in my own life, a great deal of my burden was lifted. Then Bonnie and I embarked on a 21-day Daniel fast, something I would have previously thought impossible! God was faithful, though, as always, and He sustained me the whole way. Each day, Bonnie and I prayed together for our families and the impact has been eternal!
It was as if Light came back into my darkened world. As a result of our prayer and fast, inside my heart there is now a sense of peace, reassurance, and power that was not there previously. And what seemed to have been lost, a strong desire to be steadfast in pursuing God no matter the outside turmoil, has returned to me.
My family is still not walking as I would like, but God is working. I have seen some promising changes. As it says in Ezekiel 36:36, “I the LORD, build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate. I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.” He is the one who works as I submit to Him, believing His promises.
Confessing His Word gives me strength for each day and faith that, in time, as “I believe in the Lord Jesus, I will be saved—me and my household. “ Acts 16:31. I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in me (and my family) will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6.
It is an awesome privilege to be part of Great Commission, even to those within my own family and home. One HUGE thing I had overlooked was my impact on the lives of my adult children and husband. Each day, Bonnie prayed that we would be “gifts” to our family and love them with perfect love. I have been reminded about the important part I play by cooperating with the Lord in winning my family to Christ. As I’m now daily speaking His Word out loud I am being strengthened in my inner man and able to be a vessel of His love for them.
Praise God for His patience with us!
Dottie
