We have read your request with burdened hearts and with thanksgiving, and we are standing with you in prayer in Jesus' name. We thank God that after months of silence you were able again to pray and worship Jesus and to feel His presence in your room. That is no small thing, that is the Lord drawing near to you, and we rejoice with you for that breakthrough. The image He gave you of Moses before the burning bush is precious, for there the Lord said to Moses that He had surely seen the affliction of His people and heard their cry, and that the ground where He meets us is holy ground. Exodus 3:5. The Lord sees you in this overstimulation and exhaustion, He hears your cry in the night, and He has not forgotten you or your little sister whom you are raising.
We hear how unbearable this season has been, the constant overstimulation, the nightmares, that evil presence burning incense and speaking negative words over you, the sleeplessness and the feeling that you have no strength left to fight and just want it all to end. We want you to know you are not alone and you are deeply loved by God, and we take those words about wanting it all to end with great seriousness and tenderness. The Lord is close to you in this abyss. Psalm 34:18 says Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit. Psalm 61:2 says When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I. We urge you, even as we pray, to not walk through these dark thoughts alone, but to reach out quickly to a trusted pastor, a mature believer, a family member or a counselor and to let someone near you know how heavy this feels, so they can stay with you and help you carry this burden. Your life is precious to God and He has purpose for you yet. Jeremiah 29:11 says For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says Yahweh, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future.
We rebuke in the name of Jesus Christ that evil presence and those negative words spoken over you in dreams. Those words are not from the Lord. The enemy comes to steal and accuse, but greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4. We stand on 2 Timothy 1:7 that God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control, and on James 4:7 to submit ourselves to God and resist the devil and he will flee from us. We pray that the Lord will cleanse your room and your sleep with His peace, that He will guard your mind and dreams, and that no weapon formed against you will prosper. Isaiah 54:17. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of wickedness. Ephesians 6:12, and Jesus has already overcome them.
We also lift up the heaviness you feel about your body and your self esteem with this weight gain. Please hear how God sees you. Psalm 139:14 says you are fearfully and wonderfully made, and your worth is not measured by a number on a scale but by the price Jesus paid for you. 1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us that Yahweh doesn’t see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart. He loves you as you are right now and He cares about the shame and exhaustion you feel when you look in the mirror. 1 Peter 5:7 says casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you.
We join our faith with yours for your little sister. We heard her crying as she prayed to God, and we know the Father hears the cry of a child. Her need for identity papers and for university housing two hours away, blocked by only having an extract of her birth certificate after years of fighting, is before the Lord. We pray for favor with the university administration and with the civil authorities, that what has been blocked for years would be loosed now, that her housing application would be accepted and she could move in without delay, and that her full identity documents would be released quickly. Psalm 37:5 says Commit your way to Yahweh. Trust also in him, and he will do this. Proverbs 21:1 says The king’s heart is in Yahweh’s hand like the watercourses. He turns it wherever he desires.
We do not expect that everything will heal overnight, even after such a powerful time of prayer, and we encourage you not to be discouraged that your mental state did not lift in one morning. Healing and restoration are often a walk with Jesus, step by step. Isaiah 40:29 says He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Matthew 11:28 says Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Philippians 4:6-7 promises that when we bring our requests to God, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and our thoughts in Christ Jesus. Psalm 4:8 says In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you, Yahweh alone, make me live in safety.
Together we pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we come before Your throne of grace for our dear one who is overstimulated, sleepless and tormented at night. We ask You to cover this room with Your presence as You did at the burning bush, to drive out every evil presence and to silence every negative word spoken over Your child. Let Your holy peace fill this home and guard sleep. We pray You would give sweet, unbroken rest and break the assignment of nightmares, and let Your joy return in worship and prayer. Strengthen this weary heart when there is no strength left, lift this child from the edge of the abyss and set their feet on the Rock that is higher. Renew their mind, restore their hope, and let them see themselves as You see them, beloved, chosen and wonderfully made. Father, we also lift up the little sister, we ask for Your miraculous intervention for her identity papers and for her university housing, open doors that no man can shut, move the hearts of those in authority and provide a safe place for her to study tomorrow. We thank You that You heard her tears. We pray for complete restoration for this household, that things would calm, fall back into place and that this difficult period would end with Your testimony of goodness, for Your glory. We pray all this in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our only access to the Father and our salvation, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12. Amen.
We are continuing to bear you up before the Lord and we encourage you to keep pressing into Jesus as you did yesterday, to keep worshipping, to speak scripture aloud before sleep, to keep your room a place of prayer, and to let the Word of God be the last voice you hear at night. We pray you will see the fruit of these prayers day by day and that by the end of this season you will look back and see how the Lord carried you through. Isaiah 41:10 says Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. Keep holding on to Him, He is holding on to you.