I Need Prayer For a Friend

[Yumie]

To preface this: Sorry, Osaka, you can't read this. I told this person that I wouldn't tell anyone else that she knew what was going on.

Anyways, moving on now. As some of you may know I work at a summer camp, and I have a friend there named Grace. She's always been a bit of a wild child, but I'm really starting to worry about her now. I don't talk to her very often but I talked to her online tonight and she told me about how last weekend she and some of her friends lied to their parents and went camping together (it was a girl-guy mix without chaperones which is why they had to lie about it.) Anyways, while they were out they got drunk and they were making so much noise that some Forest Rangers came out and found them. None of them were arrested, Grace was the only one underage and she made up this big elaborate lie about being eighteen and having been bed ridden with an intestinal hemmorage for the past three years and that she just wanted to get out and have some fun. They bought it and all the kids got away with just a $100 dollar fine. So, she didn't have the $100 and instead of going to her parents she went to her older sister to ask for the money. Her sister was mad, not that she lied and got drunk, but that she didn't give the officers a false name and address so that she wouldn't have to pay the fine. Anyways, her sister agreed to loan her the money, and she got off essentially scotch-free. If Grace wasn't a Christian I wouldn't be as bothered by this, but the fact that she insists she is concerns me. I can't understand how a person who loves God would do that sort of thing with no regrets and no guilt. And she has no regrets or guilt, she told me she'd totally do it again. So I tried not to be condemning or judgemental and to instead direct the conversation in an innocent way so that I could ask some pertinent quiestions. I asked her if she still believed in God, and she said definitely, but that she was just sort of "sitting back waiting to hear from him." She says she knows he's there and that he loves her but that she feels numb toward him. She also told me that her boyfriend, she now knows, is not a Christian, that he's the only person she prays for anymore and she desperately wants him to be saved but she's scared of being responsible if he doesn't become a Christian. I tried to say without saying that the only way she could be responsible would be if she missed opportunities to wittness to him by not living her life for God (a.k.a. lying to her parents, going out and getting drunk, then lying to cops.) She also asked me this: "if god already has a divine plan and a purpose does praying make a difference? because its like us asking god to change his mind and if he does then its like him saying that his original purpose wasnt correct and god cant be wrong. so what does praying do? im not downing it. i pray and i talk to god but if we pray for someone or for something does it really make a difference? because god already has a plan that we dont even know about. you know what i mean?" I told her that I'm not sure because it's such a hard topic to understand, but that I believe that God looked beyond all time and saw everything as he was making His divine plan, and that that even included him knowing that Grace would be praying for her boyfriend, and that
prayers definitely make a difference. I also said that that didn't necessarily mean He would answer the prayers though, because God will work His plan together for the good of those who love him, and her boyfriend being saved may not be a part of that. Anyways, it was a tough conversation because I don't like confrontals and I definitely don't want to drive her away, so it was hard to say what I needed to say without feeling judgemental, but I really am worried about her. I don't think she has any good Christian friends-- heck, all the people she partied with were her Christian friends, other than her boyfriend who happened to be the only one who didn't get drunk. I told her it is possible that God may be using her boyfriend more to help her then He might be using her for her boyfriend, that because he causes her to pray God may be using him to try to pull her back to Him and that it might motivate her to live for Him if her boyfriend wouldn't see God any other way. Anyways it's a huge mess and I don't know what to do, I hope I didn't come across as judging her but I really want to help her. If you guys could pray that God would open her eyes and show her that she needed Him and that the lifestyle she's living will lead her away from Him, that would be awesome. Pray that she'll desperately want to be a witness to her boyfriend and not live in such a way that would cause him not to desire a relationship with God. And that I would know what to say and when to say it and that she wouldn't feel judged by me, but encouraged instead. Please pray that she'll just follow Him, I don't know what else to say (I think I've already said everything I possibly could have said, sorry this post is so long.) Anyways, thanks for the prayers!

[agasfas]

Yeah, I sometimes wonder why some people who claim to be christians do such things too... It's been really getting under my skin recently. Though, actions speak louder then words.


I can understand your frustration though... I'll be praying for Grace and her b-friend. And that the Lord will be able to open her heart.

[livewire]

I will definitely pray for Grace...
This is a sad situation. I hope that what you said to her had some affect.
=(

[Hephzibah]

I can't understand how a person who loves God would do that sort of thing with no regrets and no guilt.

I think I understand a bit as to why people do such things... its not because we don't love God (eg, I am sure she loves her mum, but she still does those things regardless). It is because we have lost our fear of the Lord. Yes, God is loving and kind, but He is also jealous and can get angry. And its not just angry at unbelievers... He got angry at believers as well! Read the letters to the churches in Revelation. Until we truly fear God (in a good way, not being absolutely terrified of Him but to have respect and awe of Him and understand that He is completely Holy), we will continue to forget or disregard the consequences of sin until they come upon us.

Anyway, I'll be praying for them.

[Yumie]

(eg, I am sure she loves her mum, but she still does those things regardless)

Actually, I think that this is a big part of it because she really doesn't love her mom. Her mom has had multiple affairs within the church and Grace is really bitter toward her. That's part of why she is so rebellious, I don't think she wants to do a single thing her mom tells her to do and has absolutely no problem with doing anything and everything behind her back. But other than that you're probably spot-on. She knows God is there and that He loves her, but she's not acting on it. I don't think she fully grasps what being God's child should look like, and I absolutely agree that she really doesn't fear God and until she does she'll just keep doing this sort of thing.