Prevailing in Intercession - Part 2 — Wesley Duewel

So we bow our heads and just commit this time to the Lord. Thank you Lord that you are the God of prayer. Thank you that you are not only our teacher in prayer, but you are our example our great example in prayer.

Thank you for what you have placed in your Holy Word. Lord help us to understand it better and help each one of us to become mighty in prayer. We know it in ourselves. We are nothing but by your grace you have provided redemption and in your redemption.

You have provided for prayer, and we thank and praise your holy name may God bless you. Bless us Lord put your hand upon us and may this night count for eternity. We ask in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. I Will begin reading from Daniel chapter 10 in the third year of Cyrus king of Persia.

Daniel’s Fasting and the Delay of Answered Prayer

A revelation was given to Daniel its message was true, and it concerned a great war. I'm skipping just a few words as I come along here at that time. I Daniel mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food.

No meat or wine touched my lips, and I used no motions at all until the three weeks were over on the 24th day of the first month. As I was standing on the bank of the great river of the Tigris. And then he goes on to tell how an angel a glowing beautiful angel appeared to him.

And they tell us in verse 10 a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said Daniel you who are highly esteemed. Consider carefully the words. I'm about to speak to you and stand up for I have been now sent to you.

When when he said this to me I stood up trembling then he continued do not be afraid of Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain Understanding and to humble yourself before God your words were heard.

And I have come in response to them, but the prince of the Persian Kingdom resisted me 21 days. Then Michael one of the chief princes. That's Michael the Archangel. Came to help me because I was detained there with the king of Persia now.

I have come to explain to you. So here was Daniel with a heart hungry To understand what God had to some extent revealed to him. And he prayed and partially fasted. I Will speak on fasting for part of the time tomorrow.

He was partially fasting as prime minister. He had to carry on the business of the Empire. He could not take a three-week vacation. So he ate enough to give keep his strength up, but he was holding on to God crying out to God fasting.

And after three weeks God sends the angel Gabriel the same one who brought the message to Mary. Sends Gabriel and Gabriel says on the first day you set your heart to seek God your prayer was heard. But it took three weeks for the answer to come and in Daniel's case there was demonic resistance.

I'm not going to speak primarily on that, but I will refer to it in a few moments. So Prayer can be hindered prayer can be delayed. There are reasons why prayer is delayed in many situations. I'm going to speak about five different things.

Because of which we need to prevail in prayer. The word prevailing implies effort. It implies we have to overcome something. There is resistance we have to prevail. May God teach us how to prevail. In those nightmares which are his divine will remember this.

Daniel began praying it was God's will and the answer was granted the first day when he prayed. But he only got the answer after he had held on in prayer and fasting for 21 days. If Daniel had stopped on the 20th day would he have had the answer?

Probably not so sometimes. There are real reasons why we must prevail. First of all you must prevail over yourself. You may have to prevail over your schedule of activities your schedule. I've got to remember where I am when I say that word.

Do you have to remember that? You may be too busy for God to use to the full. You have to remember that your busy life may be interfering with God's greatest answers to prayer. You may have to learn in your own life and in your own ministry.

What is to be your priority? Satan fears prayer more than all else. There are certain things that Satan can to some extent handle. He can resist the post, but how can he handle prayer and. And so Satan dreads the praying Christian.

He dreads the prayers of the Christian and Satan will try to divert you. He would rather have you preach all day long in the streets and bazaars of India and Be so busy preaching that you don't have time to pray.

He would rather have a pastor. Spend so much time visiting the sick. Meeting with committees doing God's work doing good things and Lose the time that the pastor needs for prayer. Satan will let you. He would rather have you preach than to pray.

So Satan opposes prayer and I really believe that often Satan gets us too busy to be adequately blessed. This is a very heart-searching thing. Am I so busy that I am losing God's highest and best for my life for my ministry.

So we may have to adjust our personal priorities. We may have to sit down and look at our life and see what is eternal and what is temporary. We cannot Separate ourselves totally from family responsibilities.

From the responsibilities of our work. We're living down here on earth, but we have to learn to put our priorities. Where priorities need to be placed we have to learn to find the time For the prayer.

I will not tell you how much time you should pray. Let the Lord guide you. I'm not going to say you have to pray for half an hour a day or one hour a day or two hours a day. Some of the great saints of God great leaders of the church have prayed several hours a day.

I'm not saying as you're out of God's will if you're not doing that that's between God and your conscience. But I do know that often we are so busy. We're not adequately blessed. You cannot earn God's blessing, but you cannot be what God wants you to be without much prayer.

So sometimes prayer Answer is delayed because we have to learn to discipline ourself and to put first things first for God. You may have to sacrifice some good Activities not sinful active. I'm not talking about sinful things.

I'm talking about wholesome things good things. This was my big question in India. How do I get enough time alone with God? How can I get alone with God? It was very difficult at the Alhambra Bible Seminary Where I was principal I had to do almost desperate things.

I tried putting a little dirty a little rug on the back of my Bicycle on the carrier and going down the road and trying to find a place where there wasn't one eye to be seen and I would have my Bible in a sack hanging over the handlebar and I would spread out my Rug in a quiet spot with a bit of shade from a tree and about the time I'd get on my knees and get my Bible over and just start to pray.

Here came a child here came a child here. They came from all places before I do it. I have six eight ten children standing around me. Trying to talk to me talking among themselves. How could I get alone for prayer?

I Have at times gotten on a local train. We call it passenger train in India train that stops at every little station and I've gone two or three stops down the road to a small comparatively small station and Gone into the waiting room a station where trains stopped only once or twice a day.

And going to the room there and try to be alone with God and pray. Sometimes people would come in and stand there and watch me and I just try to keep my eyes down. I didn't want to be disrespectful, but I wanted to be alone with God.

How could I find time where I would be not interrupted? And we go to the hill station at the hottest period of the year. Some of you know the name Woodstock school. Our children were in Woodstock school.

I Found a place nine miles out on the Terry Road. I Went there again and again during the weeks. We were up in the hills. I Would get up before dawn and walk out the nine miles. With my Bible, maybe my hymn book a copy book to put down some things that God would speak to me things He brought to my attention and spend the day with the Lord in prayer.

And come back at dusk in the evening just to find a place to get alone with God. It's desperately important for us to have time alone with God. I Don't know what you will have to do. I heard of a mother.

She had little children. She had her family up obligations. Some people don't know how to manage children. Other people have a quiet way. They just seem to know how to do it. This mother. She told her children that when she was at prayer She was not to be interrupted and she would put her chair out in the kitchen floor.

I know that because my mother put her chair out in the kitchen floor when I was a little boy. But this this mother she would put her apron over her head and the children were taught. When mama's apron is over her head mother is praying.

Mother's praying. Be quiet. That was her way to get alone with God. I don't know what you will have to do. I Think the radio and TV are some of the greatest obstacles to prayer. We are blessed with much Christian radio Programming in our country the car that I'm driving now.

I've had since 1989. I Think I've only turned the car radio on two times once. When I just got the car and wanted to learn out how to work all the different Knobs and things have to be regulated and once we were in a rainstorm and Bayes said Wesley Please turn the radio on let's see if we get any news report on the storm.

So we turned the radio on. I Don't turn it on why I my priority is prayer. I use my car time, especially on the highway to pray. In the city, I may have to watch the traffic very closely. But when I'm out on the highway, I can be alone with God.

When I have to go for committee meetings to Chicago I will almost always pray almost the entire way there and almost the entire way back. It's a wonderful time to be alone with God in prayer. I'm not.

I'm not saying myself as an example to you. You'll have to decide how do you have to adjust your priorities? I have learned it is very easy for me to spend 45 minutes with the newspaper. I don't need all that.

I Need to look at the headlines because I need to know what to pray about. I Trust you use the TV news or your own Newspaper to show you the urgent emergency situations around the world and in your own country that need to be prayed for.

So when you know that there's an earthquake in China You should that's your call the prayer to pray immediately for the people affected by that and pray for the Christians nearby if they may be used of God to help the injured and the people that have been Suffering from the earthquake and to be such a witness that if people will turn to Christ.

When you read in the paper about someone that's committed. That's what we try crying. You say oh my isn't that terrible? Yes, it's terrible. But do you pray for that person that they may someone may come and witness to them may find Jesus Christ.

Use your paper use your news as a call to prayer. But you don't have to read every little detail about the crime. To have a call to prayer. So I've learned to discipline myself and try to go through the newspaper Headlines and the main things to get them quickly as possible.

So I have more time to pray. I don't know what you have to do. I don't know what time you find best to pray. I'm not going to prescribe for you, but learn to try prevail over your schedule of activities.

You may have to learn to prevail over weariness. When you get my time in life You begin to get weary. I Guess it's a part of getting older. And I find myself having to read the same verse. Sometimes a second time or a third time because I was so weary that I almost dropped off asleep while I was reading.

I had a Friend of mine when I was in Bible college. He was a young man, but he had a problem with weariness. He said when I sit down to read my Bible, I get sleepy and I go to sleep. So he said Wesley, I'll tell you what the Lord has shown me.

He said I take my Bible. I Stand in the middle of the floor. And he said I read my Bible standing on my feet and I get much more out of the Bible. He said if I get to start to get marina, like I said, I start on myself.

I'm wide awake right away again instantly. He said I find that I get the most out of my Bible when I stand on my feet in the middle of the floor. I Don't know what you will have to do to prevail. When I was weary an Indian coming up from the plains where the heat has been there for several months getting worse and worse before You escape to the hills for a few weeks.

Our sister here knows exactly what I'm talking about and there's some others here that I was just talking to at the break. Who know what I'm talking about rather cautious and so on and. But I found I take a little bag of peanuts.

When I get weary I eat one peanut maybe two not a handful. I didn't eat for strength or for food. I only ate to wake myself up. And then back to pray. I don't know what you will have to do but ask God to show you what you can do to prevail over your weariness.

You may have to prevail over a restlessness. Some people are so personally restless. They have developed a restless personality. That is hard for them to stick at prayer. Ask God to help you prevail over your restlessness.

Some people have to ask God to help them prevail over doubt. They have a tendency to doubt all the time. Ask God to give you victory in that area of your personal life. So, I don't know what your situation and I will confess that I think some Christians are still so carnal That Satan uses their carnality to hinder their prayer life.

Learn how you need to prevail over yourself to be at your best for God in the life of prayer. Confess your need before God and trust him to help you second. You must often prevail over situations. Now most situations involve people and my third point is going to be learned to prevail over people but Situations may involve several people but situations can become very complex.

Prevailing Over Complex Situations

Very interwoven it may be that before God can answer one prayer that you are praying for He needs to answer one or two or three other prayers that will lead the way and prepare the way for your first prayer to be answered and This can take time.

It may be very perplexing to you. Why is not my prayer answered and if you seek God's face and ask him to guide you you may have to prevail over some Situations if you don't have to understand everything to prevail over it.

But you have to know and not be discouraged when your answer does not come immediately. You see God's created us with the power of choice and He respects that power of choice. He doesn't treat us like a robot.

He doesn't treat us like a checker on a checkerboard. He doesn't just move us here and move us there. We can say no to God and there are many times that people say no to God and there are many situations that we get.

Especially in missions we have complex situations involving foreign governments. The obtaining of missionary visas can be a very heart-searching thing. You believe God has called this family or has called this individual.

You believe that they are responding to God's call. Then why is the visa withheld? And you pray and you pray. I Remember a situation in South America. When I was at our OMS headquarters. We prayed and prayed.

We had several visas denied for one country. We couldn't understand they were people were needed. They were consecrated. They were trained. They were prepared. They were equipped humanly speaking. It seemed to us.

Why couldn't we get the visas? You appeal over and over to government. You couldn't get clear answers. We discovered later that we weren't the only one. All missionary societies were having the same problem with the same country.

I couldn't tell you how many societies appealed for special prayer. We did repeatedly we prayed repeatedly but why. Was the answer doing. You had to prevail over a situation? Do you know what God had to do?

One day a an official with a comparatively minor official in This particular country suddenly died. For two years there had not been one missionary visa granted to that nation. Suddenly someone died. A new person was appointed to take over that position.

A New person came into the office and saw a stack of papers on a table on one side of the office. He said what were those? Oh, what are the helpers? I know that those were visa applications. He said what's the matter aren't they signed?

He said no didn't bring him here. He said like that in one sitting he signed 200 visa applications. Did anybody pray? Oh Lord kill the man that's holding up the visas. No. We didn't know it was a man.

What did we know. But there was someone who was opposed to the kingdom of God? There was someone who was a slave of Satan. There was someone that Satan was using to block missionary applications in place.

But often in the government interweavings you have to have so many different signatures on papers. You don't know where the problem is, you know, it's someplace. There's a problem. But you know the word is you're praying against a complex situation.

To get the answer may take time. God may have to move people get people transferred from their jobs. I don't know give God time to answer your prayer. Don't be discouraged. We may have to prevail over very complex situations.

When I was in Haiti. For the prayer conference there. I was told about the situation there. You may not be aware. But when Haiti became an independent nation from France about two hundred and three years ago.

But the leader of the Haitian troops made a vow and Dedicated Haiti to Satan asking Satan's help to defeat France. And the Haitian army defeated France. So to this day Haiti has been dedicated to Satan and you may know that the great opposing force in Haiti is voodoo and Voodoo is a worshipping of evil spirits and that's a curse on that nation.

One of our former students not my personal former students from our Bible school. He began some years ago praying that God would change that situation. Get the dedication to Satan rescinded and get that nation dedicated to Jesus Christ.

His name is Tony Paul. I said Tony I'll join you in that prayer and every day I still try to make that as one of the items on my prayer list that Haiti will rescind the dedication to Satan and that Haiti will be dedicated to Jesus Christ.

Our own nation isn't dedicated. I don't know whether New Zealand is dedicated to Jesus Christ or not, but that's Tony Paul's prayer request and so I said I'll pray with you. So if it doesn't happen before I intend to go to heaven my last conscious day on earth still praying for God to Help Haiti to be rescinded the dedication to Satan.

Well, by the way, that's just taking too long. But do you know? About three years ago They decided we are going to read dedicate Haiti to Satan. We're going to set apart a special day. President Aristide had just been made president.

You may know that he's a renegade Roman Catholic priest. There's turned his back on the church in many respects. Aristide said I will join you we will have the ceremony outside the White House. There's the presidential building in Haiti in Port-au-Prince.

It's called their White House and it's it's covered painted whitewashed. It's white. So he said we will have the dedication outside Rededicate Haiti to Satan and I as president will join you in rededicating Haiti to Satan.

There were three ceremonies which were going to be involved. The Christians all over Haiti began to pray. Now here is a very complex situation. How are you going to get answers to prayer? I Shouldn't take too long telling you this, but I just want you to illustrate voodooists are afraid of lightning and Something happens just this year.

In this year, there was an example of that in Haiti. And I I've known other examples personally. I've known I Could tell you interesting stories how God answered the prayer for a patient pastor when they surrounded him.

He was planting a new church out in a Haiti mountainous area and In they would gather their voodoo priests and they would beat their drums and go through their ceremonies calling on Satan. To stop the gospel to get this preacher run out of their town.

He said I stood there one night. He said at the door of my little House their Haitian homes were so tiny. The simplest of things dirt floor usually. He said I stood in the door in the darkness and there they were out a little distance away.

Beating their drums calling on Satan to drive him out. He said I stood there all along. He said I just held up to my hand to God and I just pled with God to deliver me. Deliver me protect me deliver me.

He said suddenly God just sent a tremendous thundering and the lightning flashed right and left. Nobody was expecting rain at that time. It just began to thunder like in the voodoo's ran in all directions.

In the last I knew he was still there preaching the gospel. So I know that so anyway, they were going to have this thing in the Christian replaying Oh God Stop Satan Lord. Stop this sermon. Don't let this nation be rededicated to Satan.

And do you know the day came when they were going to rededicate Haiti to Satan. And the crowd was gathered and suddenly the very same thing it began to lighten and thunder. And the sky is just seemed to be bursting with reverberations from the thunder and the lightning splashes and the people ran in all directions and The ceremony was canceled that night.

The second ceremony. Couldn't tell you all three, but I won't take time for the third one the second ceremony. We're going to have a special dedication of festival. They tried again. They planned again this year.

They made a sacrifice of a pig. I Know this place where they were going to sacrifice the pig is right near where Tony Paul is now pastoring a church. The Lord has used him to raise up 14 churches from scratch.

It's a great testimony the glory of God and he began right a Block away from the center of voodoo worship throughout much of Haiti. There's an annual festival there on the festival of st. Jacques and Doing that they plunge into a slimy mud puddle.

They make their vows to Satan they become demon-possessed in the water. They make their vows doing good on such and such a day. We will at the festival of st. Jacques. We will go there. And commit ourselves to you.

They promised Satan. So right near this spot they were going to sacrifice a pig as a part of the ceremony of dedicating rededicating Haiti to Satan. Suddenly the chief voodoo priest in Haiti. Who wants to perform the ceremony suddenly he died?

I don't think any Christian was praying Lord kill the voodoo priest. There are many priests voodoo priests, but this chief of priests. They just prayed Lord stop it. Suddenly he died. So a second was the point to take his place.

He decided I'm not experiencing this so he decided to have a trial run. He took a small group of his voodooist with him. He took the pig in his hand. He took the daggers. Had a practice and nobody knows what happened.

His dagger glanced. From the pig struck his own stomach. He killed himself his blood gushed out In the mud, so the ceremony at the White House was stopped and the ceremony of The voodooist began the trumpet that's these Christians are their God is against us.

Yes, their God was against them. All three things were hindered. I Just read within the past month that they tried it again with less flair and less public announcements. Again this year and again God stopped it this year.

Brothers and sisters, we're not we're not talking about Little games. Satan is an awesome fool. But situation can be very complex, but God can meet the most complex situation. He may have to answer one prayer after another prayer after another prayer before the final prayer is answered.

One thing may build up to another but if we hold on in prayer, you may be praying for a loved one. You do not know what circumstances God may have to bring in that loved one's life. Before they're willing to repent God may have to be patient with this.

Do this and do this and do that. Give God time if you don't stop praying if you'll hold on your prayer. You will find God's answer when you pray in the will of God. You can be assured you can get God's answer.

But it may take time. It may take time and there are two things that you always know you're praying in the will of God. Number one the Salvation of a sinner. It is not God's will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Number two the revival of the church. God is a god of revival. He's made a covenant of revival. 2nd Chronicles 7 14. I won't go into that to now. But when you're praying for those two things in my first book touch the world through prayer.

I refer to those as always for it is always God's will but it is not always God's will to heal. It is often God's will. I believe in healing. I have been healed. I've seen God healed but there are times when it is not God's will to heal Paul.

Left to his helpers sick. Paul who had been used by God to heal others. But on two occasions the Bible records he left behind someone who was sick and you remember Paul himself. What was his problem. A thorn in his flesh.

Prevailing Over People’s Choices and Stubborn Wills

Not everybody is agreed to what that thorn was. But many commentators believe it was eye problems. There was a very painful eye disease in those days. You remember what Paul said? Paul didn't write his own letters.

He used the secretary, but he would sign them. You remember he said in one place you see with what big letters. I am writing. His eyesight was so poor and he says to the Galatians I bear you record and if you could have done so you would have been willing to pluck out your own eyes and give them to me.

He must have had an eye problem. And Paul says three times I sought the Lord and What happened. God said my grace is sufficient for you for my strength is made perfect in weakness. You cannot be sure that in any particular situation healing is always God's will.

This is not my subject, I'm not going to spend more time on it, but When you pray for salvation when you pray for revival, you know. You are praying in the will of God, but it may take a long holding on in prayer before you get your answer.

Third. You must often prevail over people. And I think I've said about enough about that. God Respects the choice power of choice that he's given to us. He does not manipulate us. Evil spirits manipulate people.

Demon-possessed people are manipulated by Satan. They cannot control their muscles. They cannot control their tongues. They are manipulated. Satan does not respect the power of choice. God respects the power of choice.

He depends on us to reach out our hand to God and then he is ready to answer our prayer. But sometimes it takes a long time. The most difficult kinds of prayers to get answers for are the prayers that involve people.

Who is perhaps known as the great apostle of faith in this century? What would you say? Who? Mr. Well, he may be a great example of faith. Often people say George Miller. The man who supported 10 ,000 children without ever asking for money or telling people what his needs were a Man who got he kept a journal all his life in his journal.

He tells us I have records in my journal of over 50 ,000 prayers, which were answered the first day. I asked them. I Know of no Christian who could give such a record. He did it for the glory of God. He took that role of life to prove that how God was a prayer hearing in a prayer answering God.

Dr. James Gray from the Moody Bible Institute years ago when When George Miller was still alive went and visited George Miller and I'm told similar situations happened again and again. They got up in the morning and he went with mr. Miller to breakfast.

They had these large building with long dining halls. Here were lines of tables with hundreds of children all at the tables. The places were sent. Their plate was there their bowl was there their cutlery was there their glass was there.

And no food on the table and George Miller didn't have any food. He rose to his feet. Reverend gray didn't realize the situation. He rose to his feet says children. Let us return our thanks to God for the good food.

He's provided us today. Where was the good food? As he began to thank God in prayer There was a knock at the door. A baker was there. Said mr. Miller God woke me up at 2 o 'clock in the morning this morning and told me to bake bread for your children.

He said if you will accept it I have my cart outside filled with bread for your children. He said bring it on in. They brought in. They began to put the loaves on the tables. George we'll start to pray a Second knock on the door.

It was a dairyman the dairy There in Britain. They drove dairy carts, you know pulled by horses. The dairyman said mr. Miller my Dairy wagon has broken down in front of your place. He said this milk will spoil quickly.

He said I don't know what how what I'll have to tell I get this fixed. Could you make use of any milk? Miller said bring it on in and They all had milk and bread for breakfast and by noon God had provided other food.

And that's the way Miller lived for more than 50 years. Remember now his personal testimony. I have the records in my journals of more than 50 ,000 prayers that were answered the day I asked. But George Miller shortly after his conversion began to pray for five of his boyhood friends.

Now I quote from George Miller his statistics. He said after I prayed for five years. The first one of those five was converted. 50 Thousand prayers. Answered the day he asked them for food for shelter for clothing for the children for all kinds of needs.

But for the salvation of an unsaved friend five years of praying. Before he was converted. He said after ten more years. I had now prayed for 15 years. Two more were converted after 20 more years of praying.

And in other words after 35 years of praying the fourth person was converted. The Apostle of Prayer and Faith George Miller. This is his testimony and Shortly before his death. He made this statement for 52 years.

I have been praying for one of my friends and He is not converted, but he will be. And if I do not live to see it the day will come when he will be converted. Two weeks after George Miller died the fifth one was converted.

Friends, there were five people snatched from hell's jaws. Because George Miller refused to give up when you prevail over people's stubborn wills. It is the most difficult kind of prayer there is to get God's answers.

But hold on. Don't give up. What does the Bible say in due season? We shall reap if we faint not. What I'm saying is so simple tonight, but it is so basic. You have to learn to prevail over people and that's one reason why prevailing prayer takes concentration takes intensification and takes time.

You do not need to know why you just hold on. When you're praying what you know is bound to be God's will. Hold on. Think about Pharaoh. Think how long he withstood Moses. Think how he began to weaken and make a promise to Moses and then break the promise as soon as he was delivered from the Next plague and over and over this happened until finally God had to get Pharaoh out of the way.

Finally Pharaoh himself was drowned in the Red Sea. And Israel was set free. When you prevail over a stubborn will it takes time and When the stubborn person refuses the type God is a very patient God.

The time will come and God intervenes and says you've had enough opportunity. This is it and of course number four. You must prevail again and again over Satan. Satan is usually involved in all these situations.

Spiritual Warfare Against Satanic Resistance

He's unseen, but he's working on people's minds. He's working on people's desires. He's using people's pride. He's using their stubbornness. He's behind the many things and he's behind many complex situations.

Satan, but Daniel in Daniel's case the big problem was Satan in Daniel situation. It was not a complex situation. It was not people. He needed a revelation from God. It need to be brought to him by an angel and Satan through one of his angels.

One of his followers he opposed for 21 days. What did Daniel have to encourage him? He didn't have all of the Bible that you and I have today. But Daniel for held on in prayer and fasting. Prevailing in prayer may take time.

But if you will hold on you can get God's answers and you can ask God. Is there something in my life that you can show me? Sometimes there are things in our own life and. And that's my fifth point you yourself must Prevail before God not only over Satan but before God.

Sometimes God withholds answers to prayer for your own spiritual good. Sometimes God withholds an answer to prayer in order to give a greater answer to prayer a little bit later. God knows more than you and I know.

God knows how to bring the greatest glory to his name. God knows how to bring salvation from one situation that will involve a series of Events and a series of people being brought to God. Hold on don't despair.