Specifics on Suzie /w/ PRAYER REQUESTS

Thanks to all of you and I would still gladly take more input!

I think I should be clear that "Suzie" is most definitely a Christian. Some years ago, she stayed with my wife and I once before over a few months. That was a stormy period also in that we needed to tell her that as long as she was with us, some of her "friends" were just not a welcome part of the life that we were underwriting for her financially. There was much anger, screaming, indignance and she soon flew the coop so-to-speak, to go and live with family that did not provide her so much challenge or set any positive expectations on her. However, she did come to the Lord before leaving back then and while she chose the hard road -- the habitual sin road repeatedly since then, I can also say with much confidence that I have absolutely seen the Lord begin changing and developing, sanctifying and moulding Suzie.

The problem is -- and please know that I do not say this lightly -- Suzie's entire family is under an intergenerational demonic oppression. Her parents were the first generation of her family to leave Mormonism. Kudos. What they left TO, however, was their own sort of hybrid version of Israel-centric Mormonism where they continue rejecting most of Christianity -- both people and doctrine, but also now reject Mormonism and generally call themselves Christians while seeing most of the rest of what we'd call Christianity as a false church. It's a pretty confusing, sad deal that you'd have to be closely associated with the family to understand fully, but leave it to say that the mother and father have essentially built their own pseudo-Christian cult with all the characteristics of a cult: A highly anti-social, fear the world, it's us or them, "this family is all you've got -- to disagree is to betray us" mentality; tons of truly brutal verbal abuse as well as significant physical abuse and an in-house pecking order which is entirely based upon who can scream the loudest and longest or who is strong enough to use force.

Coming from that, Suzie came to our relatively quiet, peaceful home and it was like opening the gates of hell on our household. When things were calm, it was generally only because she was silently seething in her bedroom with ruminating thoughts of how awful we were for helping her, but not helping her in every detail the way she would prefer. Keep in mind that this is a 26 year old woman required to pay no rent, utilities, food -- anything. Just be nice, come to church and sort of regroup after years of family insanity. It was a big deal that since being saved she has come to reject her parent's theology and now trust the same God-man Jesus the rest of us do. She has come miles spiritually, but in other ways, she has also matured into a very cynical, hard, dishonest and deeply skewed young woman.

In the way of prayer, yes, PLEASE pray for this child! Pray specifically that she realizes the need to break the continuous contact and emotional ties between her and her family. I have come to realize that the demonic element in Suzie's life is directly based upon her not actually wanting deliverance from the birth family God has begun to deliver her from. She goes back and forth between believing that God will use her to save them and believing that there's really not so much wrong with them anyway. They are almost her total social experience and absolutely her only close emotional ties with other human beings -- her best friends, confidants, counselors. Pray specifically that she stays in church and that the Lord brings her strong, positive Christian friendships and counselors who are not deceived by her or about her, but can speak effectively into her life the things of God. Pray specifically that the Lord protects her. She has a serious mouth on her and she is not living in a neighborhood or lifestyle where her highly combative nature is beneficial to her health. She's about 98 pounds of attitude living in "the hood" without the sense to realize that there are people all around her who will gladly leave her in a dumpster if she's too offensive. Aside from that physical concern, she also has a host of self-destructive tendencies with bosses, co-workers, the mailman -- pretty much anyone she runs into AND she tends to flirt with drugs besides.

Know that she does attend church sporadically and that she does ultimately want God, but she has rejected leadership and counsel and is very much on her own in that pursuit.

Thank you all for your kind words and please do put her on every prayer chain you have access to. Do not hesitate to email any questions, comments or advice. I am no longer able to speak into this girl's life, but I do have access to her and she is of course still very much our concern in prayer.

Thanks!

Needing More Christ