Early Release by Brandon

This is an Excerpt from the book Transformed--Inspiring Stories of Freedom:


Brandon’s Story


I’m only eighteen years old, but I started using drugs at an early age. Both of my parents were addicts, but my father went to Transformation Life Center last year and graduated; he did really well. He wanted me to come here (TLC), but I didn’t want to. He found crack in my room. He told me I had to get out or come here. I always argued with him. His motives were to help me, but I didn’t want help at the time.

My life of drugs began when I was prescribed a barbiturate at age nine. By eleven I started drinking alcohol. This started the dark part of my life. I was prescribed medication for depression and anger, and I talked to a lot of psychiatrists. I had no sense of peace or joy. My parents got divorced when I was five and my dad was an alcoholic. Throughout high school I partied and graduated at seventeen.

After that I continued to party. I lived with friends for a little while, and then with my girlfriend for a couple of months. She was against drugs, and when she found out I was using more, she kicked me out, but she wanted to help me. She called my dad and tried to get me here to TLC. She told me to get help, but I wouldn’t.

I lived on the streets for a while in South Jersey. My mom lives in Philly, and I moved in with her. She’s a drug addict, and I would use drugs with her. She was heavy into crack and partying. I lived with her in a crack house. We bounced from house to house and leaned on other people. I’d stay at my sister’s sometimes, but she didn’t want me using drugs.

By that time my dad was in TLC. I saw how happy he was and that annoyed me, but I was curious. He came out a different person, always so happy. I didn’t understand, and I didn’t want to go to rehab. But God changed my heart a couple of days before I came here.

10 POWERFUL STRATEGIES FOR BREAKTHROUGH PRAYER: PART 2

             These  are the rest of my notes from the  presentation that I did in January on: Overcoming Addiction Through Prayer:

6. Realize that God is in control, but you aren’t. Let go of your prodigal or circumstance. This is a difficult but necessary step. Sometimes you just have to let your prodigal fall if that’s what they’re bent on doing!  Don’t let anything manipulate you : From pg. 70 Letters to God on a Prodigal Son: "Tough love is necessary when dealing with an addict. Don’t say something  and then do another. Stick to your word and don’t give into your prodigal’s demands. Try to find out what’s really happening and make your decisions based on that. Go to a counselor together with your spouse and decide on a course of action. Plan ahead for several different scenarios so you can be prepared and not get tripped up by your loved one. Addicts are very good manipulators, and they will admit they pull on their parent’s heartstrings—so be aware."
.


7. Ask for wisdom in each situation you encounter. Ex. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. … (James 1: 5). Seek the advice of others who are godly and understand the particular bondage your prodigal faces or your particular circumstance. Still your heart and listen for what the spirit is speaking to you. Read the word of God and let it speak to you. Ex. Kindle the fire of the Holy Spirit, even when you feel overwhelmed. He will give you strength Phil. 1:19.

8. Personalize what the scriptures say, add your name and speak to your circumstances. Examples:
      You are “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. Surely he (You) will save Ben from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.” (Psalm 91:2).
      “You look upon his (Ben’s) affliction and trouble and forgive all his sins” (Psalm 25:18).
Let the Holy Spirit empower you personally. Rely on Him.

9. Learn spiritual warfare tactics: Be covered with the blood, clothed with the full armor of God “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whrmor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand" (Ephesians 6:12).


Break bondages of addiction through praise and worship, pg.104 LTG "Though I need to continue waging spiritual warfare against this evil, I also need to press on and praise God. I’ve continued to read Worship Warriors and it’s helped me to see that worship can break the chains of the enemy."

pg. 105 (LTG) "I bind the strongman, his addiction to drugs, so that he will no longer have power in Ben’s life. I break this bondage of addiction and drug use. I cover Ben with the blood of Jesus, and pray that he would repent of this sin. In Jesus’ name. Amen."


10. Thank God for small steps, progress p 65 LTG "Help me to see the positive side of this situation. Ben is back, alive and well. Help me to “Trust in the Lord with all my heart, lean not unto my own understanding. In all my ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct my paths” (Proverbs 3:5). Thank God for doing what He says He will do before you see the circumstances changing, pg.105. Use scripture and precede it with Thank you, pg. 154:

"Dear Lord,
Thank You that You “Uphold all who fall. And raise up all who are bowed down” (Psalm 145:14). You have lifted Ben up by your mercy and grace. You didn’t allow him to stay in the hole and die there. You picked him up. “And lifts the needy out of the ash heap” (Psalm 113:7). Thank You so much for your mercy. “Oh, give thanks to the Lord for He is good! For His mercy endures forever” (1Chronicles 16:34). Thank You Lord that You had mercy on me and my son. I will be eternally grateful. In Jesus’ name. Amen!"

If you would like prayer for a prodigal, contact me at anitawiter7@yahoo.com

The importance of Forgiveness, Excerpt from Letters to God on a Prodigal Son and Book Launch Tues. Nov. 8th

• Today, November 8th is the big launch day for Letters to God on a Prodigal Son—Overcoming Addiction Through Prayer. Addiction is prevalent in our society today and the prayer of faith has the power to destroy the plans of the enemy. If you are considering purchasing this book, today is your best day to buy Letters to God, on a Prodigal Son and receive many FREE gifts from her partners and a chance to win FREE gift cards! Here’s how: http://www.anitaestes.com/landing-page.html

One of the themes through the book, Letters to God on a Prodigal Son is forgiveness. At first I was angry with God and had to forgive him for allowing my son to become addicted. Here’s a prayer from the beginning on the book: Please forgive me for being angry with You (God) and saying that You didn’t answer my prayers. I know Ben made his own choices. You are not responsible for his addiction. He’s stubborn and wants to do things his own way.


Later, I asked the Lord for forgiveness for my part in my son’s addiction: Father, forgive me for anything that I did in his life to cause this. He was so sensitive. I tried to understand, but I lost my temper sometimes raising three children. Please forgive me for sins known and unknown. Take this broken heart of mine; heal it one piece at a time. You have given me a difficult load to bear. First, I dealt with these problems with my husband, now my son.

I waffled back and forth because forgiveness is a continual process.

At times, I relapsed into what I call the blame game. Here’s an excerpt from Lessons Learned: This was a very painful time for me. I tried to see things from God’s perspective and have faith, but then I’d lapse into blaming everyone for Ben’s problems: myself, my husband, our family gene pool, Ben’s stupidity and even God at times. Yet in these months I cried out to God more and more. Even though this wasn’t the end of my son’s problems, it was the end of myself—my pride, self-reliance, judgmental attitudes and self-righteousness. And so, though it was the worst of times, it was also the best of times.

I often cried out to the Lord to forgive both me and my son: Look upon his (Ben’s) affliction and trouble and forgive all his sins” (Psalm 25:18—parenthetical material mine).

“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You” (Psalm 36:5).

God is always willing to forgive us when we mess up. The hard part is admitting it, but it feels great when we do. That’s one of the great benefits of having a personal relationship with Jesus—you can confess your sins, and you don’t need to feel guilty any more.



Surrendering All

Ben’s Story

When I was about fourteen, I started smoking pot and drinking. It started out as very occasional use to experiment with and be accepted by my peers. Then, it turned into a habit that hooked me. I started drinking more when I was twenty-one and using some coke. At first I said I would never buy the stuff and only let people give it to me. As with the marijuana, the coke use started slowly, but over a few years it grew into a full blown habit. It messed up my life really badly. I lived the street life when I knew I didn’t have to be living like that.

When I was going to college in Florida, I left my apartment to go live in a gang house where there were shootings, and I slept on the floor with roaches crawling all over me. In the worst of my addiction, I was at the mercy of drug dealers to drive them around for my next fix. I still continued to believe Satan’s lie that sin was better than God’s goodness.

Coke opened the door for crack. Even during my coke use, I thought I would never use crack because it’s “seriously dirty.” I left the door ajar for Satan though, and crack crept in. There was a girl in my apartment complex who wanted to use crack at my place, and I was hesitant at first. I then let her. After being down on coke one day, she said I should use her crack, and I did. I got hooked on that too. As marijuana did a few years earlier, it caused me to have to leave college. I knew I needed to leave the situation in Florida so I moved back to New York and got clean for a while. Though, I didn’t truly want to leave the life that embraced sin. I went to the bars and rationalized that drinking a few beers was okay, and I got involved with a girl immorally.

I continued to leave the door open for Satan while still “knowing” the Truth of Christ. But I had never committed to living my whole life under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. After breaking up with the girl, I used crack again for a while and finally after years of my mom praying for me and wanting me to go to rehab, I submitted to her and went to Transformation Life Center. It was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life—seriously. I finally committed to surrender my life to Jesus Christ. 

Through TLC, God gave me the opportunity to actually live life again. Before TLC I was paranoid and oppressed by Satan and his demons. When the Bible mentions witchcraft in Galatians 5:19 as one of the obvious acts of the sinful nature, the Greek word used is pharmakea, from which we get our word pharmacy. I looked it up in a Bible dictionary, and it said the meaning of pharmakea was the magic arts and the use of drugs. Using drugs (even and especially marijuana), brings you into a realm of satanic influence.

Galatians 5:20 also mentions drunkenness as being sin. I needed to realize that because I have struggled with addiction, I can’t rationalize as I did before. I was wrong to think that drinking a beer or two would be okay, and that it wouldn’t lead me into the temptation to get drunk. Sometimes even though I didn’t feel drunk, I was.

What I failed to do before TLC is focus on the goodness of the Lord and on His presence. In Hebrews 12 the writer tells us to “fix our eyes on Jesus Christ the author and perfector of our faith.” I grew up in a Christian home and knew the Lord before TLC, but never fully surrendered my life to Him. The Creator who wrote my genetic code is more than worthy of my obedience.

The Lord has delivered me from addiction and so much more—from Satan’s bondage and from the bondage of sin and death. Today I am free in Christ as I live in repentance and have true peace and joy. That’s more than a fact. It’s a miracle. God convicted me. “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46 ESV)

I have been out of TLC for a while now, and the Lord continues to work in my life in a mighty way. I need to keep my focus on God and reject sin and temptation. God awaits us with open arms. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” In Romans 6 Paul tells us that His grace, though, is not a license for us to sin.

God’s goodness is truly so much better than anything else. Our minds can’t always fathom that, but we can know that it is true. God instructs us to live a life that is built on the rock following Him, not on the sand living for our lusts and evil desires. He instructs us to repent in Mark 1:15. This means to humble ourselves before the Lord, and turn from sin to live for Him.

I’ve gotten involved with my church, Bible studies, and Campus Crusade for Christ. It’s been a lot of fun, and it is necessary to be rooted in Christ with brothers and sisters in the Lord (Hebrews 10:25). I also continue to go to TLC every Thursday night and it’s an awesome experience that truly helps my walk with the Lord.

It takes discipline and a focus on God to live for Him. It’s the life He wants for everybody, and it’s the only right way. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” John 1:3 says of Jesus, “All things were made through Him. Without Him nothing was made.” It’s only by the power of the Holy Spirit that I can live for God. I’m so thankful for the powerful, cleansing blood of Jesus Christ, and that He has brought me out of darkness into His Way—the Truth.

(You can visit Tranformation  Life Center on-line)