Satan is Hard At Work in Our Family

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Really nice title, isn't it?  I wasn't sure if I would even post tonight, but I know that some of you out there are truly prayer warriors, and I need your prayers.

I know I have shared bits and pieces of family issues on here.  I'll try to keep this brief for the recap.  I am a divorced mother of a 7-year-old girl, Martha.  I live with my mom and dad.  For six months out of the year, my best friend, Martin, comes from England and stays with us.  He is not a Christian, but I believe he would be called a seeker.  My dad pretends to be a Christian but suffers from severe mental illness and ultimate laziness.  My mom and I are committed Christians.  My daughter is young but definitely following after the Lord.

Things have truly come to a head this time around.  My dad refuses to take care of himself, and he would rather curl up all day in front of the TV and eat, sleep, and be merry. There is a lot of work to do out here in the country, and all we ask is that he helps the best he can.  He refuses to do it.  He hates Martin.  He can't stand having Martha and me in the house.  And he has played the game of church so long that those on the outside think he's wonderful but we know the truth.

We have drawn some very hard lines with my dad in recent days because we are tired of his behavior.  It is very draining on us.  One of the problems is that my mom seems somewhat reluctant to enforce what she says.  I am willing to support her, but Martin has now directed some of his anger at my mom.  I am caught in the middle.  My mom yelled at me tonight when I tried to approach the topic.  And now Martin is saying he won't come back after the next six months.

Mom and I both had sensed that Satan is using my dad to keep Martin from being saved.  I know it is true.  I can't remember if I shared this, but a couple years ago, I had a horrendous nightmare concerning Martin.  I dreamed that Satan was sitting on his earthly "throne" (that's the only word I can use to describe it--remember he is the prince of the power of the air and the god of this world).  He snarled that he was not going to let Martin go.  I remember awaking from that dream truly terrified and horrified.  I was truly caught in  a terrifying spiritual warfare.  Though I may sound like I am out of mind, I know that demons are real.  I can remember an afternoon when I was so terrified, and I was physically thrown to the ground--I know that sounds crazy.  I had to drive, and I asked God to drive my car.  And He did.

Now, why do I share all this?  For those of you who are prayer warriors and even for those of you who are not, please say a prayer for my family.  Pray that God will keep us close to Him.  Pray that the chains that entangle Martin will be broken.  I don't know what the answer is, but God does.  It was only last night that I cried out to God and said that I was not going to give up.  And no, I am not praying for Martin's salvation so we can get married.  I am praying for his salvation because he needs the Lord.  The last thing Martin said to me before he went to bed was---"Same garbage (but he used a colorful word), different day."  He is fighting back tears--and he doesn't cry easily.  He does not feel wanted here even by my mom.

I will be posting a book review tomorrow night--I didn't quite finish it today.  Thanks for letting me post this personal stuff.  And really, I promise you I am not crazy.  You don't have to believe anything that I shared.  Disregard this post if you want.  I don't share like this very often.  But I knew I needed to.