Repent of our sin toward Him in daring to play God and deciding we knew best. Lets us lay aside the paralyzing guilt and blame of how did we get to this point. Realize that like the man born blind, addictions are not always the fault of society, or parents…but sin infects us all. Despite our sin, God will extract His glory, and only then we will we be serving Him. John 9:1 And passing by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, Master, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither has this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God might be revealed in him.
We must recognize man was created for the Glory of God, and not God for the convenience of man.
Re 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. When we give Him all our cares and realize He will execute His pleasure…only then we are in line with the design of God.
Our prayers will then exalt God and like Moses be jealous for His name and His word and His glory and then we can pray back Gods own words back to Him. Ro 4:20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. God said He honored His word more than His Name and you have no more correct prayer when you can correctly say “God, You said and I believe you and will wait and watch You do as You said.
Do we know what He said about the lost or have we written them off to hell? Have we found it easier to meddle with the physical activity than to actually believe God and move with Spiritual power.
Do we see a white harvest needing only workers and a word fitly spoken to our loved ones? Do we obey Gods command to pray for workers in that harvest? Our prayers fill the need for the workers if we feel unqualified to minister directly. Lu 10:2 And he said unto them, The harvest indeed is plenteous, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth laborers into his harvest. Pray that God send the laborers when we feel unqualified to understand addiction.
Pray that God place in us His love for the lost – that love and spiritual wisdom, that sees though hopelessness and can truly help, not enable them .
Pray He correct our unbelief and so our lives reflect a walk in faith, having given our fears and our grief to him. Our walk must first reflect a faith and trust that reflects our belief that God knows where our loved ones are 24/7.
Pray that God works the circumstances to bring the addict to that moment of sanity – “To come to themselves” and He place the desire in them as He draws them to himself. God is always previous.
Pray that God find a way to extract His glory out of a hopeless case, for He is no more God than when He does the impossible. God is looking for hopeless cases. Any less than hopeless and we steal His glory and diminish what only He can do.
Is 58 talks of a fast to break bands of wickedness and to release heavy burdens….This is what you can do for your loved ones. You fast and pray. You learn to care for the truly needy. It will get you out of the obsession of a life on hold because of the addict and their sin. The process will transform you and you will be granted the spiritual power to cast down Satan’s high places and tear down his strongholds.
There is Spiritual power in fasting but let us work with God’s knowledge and according to the wisdom of His word in dealing with sin. Then we can tear down High places and not enable sin. It is by desiring the Glory and the will of God more than our own food. The hunger and thirst for righteousness must exceed that for physical food, for us to given the power to tear down what Satan and the flesh have enslaved us to.
Isiah 58 v 6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
58 v 7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when you see the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall by thy rearward.
Addiction is a spiritual issue so let’s take our loved ones to the great Healer. Thank God for the wound that will drive them into His arms and in that weakness they will later say “Where I am weak, there Christ is strong!”
In their repentance and in their deliverance they can teach other transgressors Ps 51:0 Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me.11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
And that is how God works….a spiritual work not one of our doing.
