Silas
Beloved of All
Your honest and desperate cry has been heard and it is being taken before the Lord in prayer. Thank you for opening your heart about the addiction to drugs and cigarettes, the hatred you feel toward your own life, the fear that you could die at any moment, and the deep need for protection, for true friends, and for hope. God sees all of this and He has not forgotten you.
Part of the pain you describe comes from looking for life in things that cannot give it. Scripture speaks of the emptiness of a life lived apart from God, and how all achievement, success, and even wealth apart from Him is vanity. It leaves a person empty. Many people chase happiness and riches thinking those things will finally satisfy, but in God's eyes a person can be rich in this world and still be poor, because true riches are found only in knowing Him. The happiness you long for will not come from wealth itself, but from being reconciled to God and walking in His purpose for you.
The fear of death you carry is a heavy bondage, and many live their whole lives in that bondage. The Bible teaches that the sting of death is sin, and that Satan holds power through that fear. But Jesus took on flesh and blood and suffered death Himself so that through His death He might destroy the one who had the power of death and set free those who were held in fear. Because Jesus died and rose again, the sting has been removed for those who belong to Him. For the child of God, even when the path of life leads through the valley of the shadow of death, there is no need to fear evil, for He is with you. He leads His people in right paths for His name's sake, and His presence removes terror. God's perfect love for you was shown at the cross, and that love is stronger than death. Like a vehement flame, many waters cannot quench it. Physical death, which is the separation of the soul from the body, is not what you need to fear most. What matters is being separated from God, which is spiritual death. Through faith in Jesus Christ alone, you can be passed from death into life and know that you will never be separated from Him.
God has placed before every person the way of life and the way of death, and He calls you to choose life. To choose life is to turn to Jesus, to receive Him as Savior, and to turn away from what is destroying you. The beginning of real knowledge and wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and to fear the Lord is to hate evil. That means coming to hate the very things that are enslaving you and asking God to give you a new heart that loves what He loves. He has not given His children a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Fear makes us panic and makes bondage worse, but His Spirit gives strength to say no, love to seek what is good, and a clear mind to walk steadily.
He also wants to give you protection and the solid friendships you are asking for. He does not mean for you to walk alone. When you acknowledge Him in all your ways, He directs your paths and He places you among His people where you can find wise counsel and faithful friends who will help you stand. True friends are those who will walk with you toward life, not back toward death.
So we are praying in agreement with you for breakthrough, for deliverance from addiction, for protection over your life, and for God to set you free. We are asking God to have mercy on you, to reveal Jesus Christ to you as the only way of salvation, to forgive your sin through His blood, to fill you with His Spirit, to break the chains of drugs and cigarettes, to lift the self hatred and give you His love for yourself, to remove the fear of death and give you peace, and to bring godly friends around you who will encourage you in the right way.
If you have not yet done so, call upon the name of Jesus today. Tell Him honestly that you have sinned and cannot free yourself, that you believe He died for you and rose again, and that you want Him to be Lord of your life. Ask Him to lead you from this day forward. And reach out for help near you, a pastor or a mature believer who can pray with you face to face, help you find support to be free from drugs, and walk with you daily in the Scriptures. You are not forgotten. God is able to give you the great change you are asking for, not simply a better outward life, but a new life in Him that will last beyond this life into eternity.
Part of the pain you describe comes from looking for life in things that cannot give it. Scripture speaks of the emptiness of a life lived apart from God, and how all achievement, success, and even wealth apart from Him is vanity. It leaves a person empty. Many people chase happiness and riches thinking those things will finally satisfy, but in God's eyes a person can be rich in this world and still be poor, because true riches are found only in knowing Him. The happiness you long for will not come from wealth itself, but from being reconciled to God and walking in His purpose for you.
The fear of death you carry is a heavy bondage, and many live their whole lives in that bondage. The Bible teaches that the sting of death is sin, and that Satan holds power through that fear. But Jesus took on flesh and blood and suffered death Himself so that through His death He might destroy the one who had the power of death and set free those who were held in fear. Because Jesus died and rose again, the sting has been removed for those who belong to Him. For the child of God, even when the path of life leads through the valley of the shadow of death, there is no need to fear evil, for He is with you. He leads His people in right paths for His name's sake, and His presence removes terror. God's perfect love for you was shown at the cross, and that love is stronger than death. Like a vehement flame, many waters cannot quench it. Physical death, which is the separation of the soul from the body, is not what you need to fear most. What matters is being separated from God, which is spiritual death. Through faith in Jesus Christ alone, you can be passed from death into life and know that you will never be separated from Him.
God has placed before every person the way of life and the way of death, and He calls you to choose life. To choose life is to turn to Jesus, to receive Him as Savior, and to turn away from what is destroying you. The beginning of real knowledge and wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and to fear the Lord is to hate evil. That means coming to hate the very things that are enslaving you and asking God to give you a new heart that loves what He loves. He has not given His children a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Fear makes us panic and makes bondage worse, but His Spirit gives strength to say no, love to seek what is good, and a clear mind to walk steadily.
He also wants to give you protection and the solid friendships you are asking for. He does not mean for you to walk alone. When you acknowledge Him in all your ways, He directs your paths and He places you among His people where you can find wise counsel and faithful friends who will help you stand. True friends are those who will walk with you toward life, not back toward death.
So we are praying in agreement with you for breakthrough, for deliverance from addiction, for protection over your life, and for God to set you free. We are asking God to have mercy on you, to reveal Jesus Christ to you as the only way of salvation, to forgive your sin through His blood, to fill you with His Spirit, to break the chains of drugs and cigarettes, to lift the self hatred and give you His love for yourself, to remove the fear of death and give you peace, and to bring godly friends around you who will encourage you in the right way.
If you have not yet done so, call upon the name of Jesus today. Tell Him honestly that you have sinned and cannot free yourself, that you believe He died for you and rose again, and that you want Him to be Lord of your life. Ask Him to lead you from this day forward. And reach out for help near you, a pastor or a mature believer who can pray with you face to face, help you find support to be free from drugs, and walk with you daily in the Scriptures. You are not forgotten. God is able to give you the great change you are asking for, not simply a better outward life, but a new life in Him that will last beyond this life into eternity.
