By Angela Wittman
Those suffering from domestic abuse and violence have always been close to my heart. My mother was a victim of domestic violence as a young bride and I remember the stories she told of being beaten while pregnant with my older brother and how she had to flee from her husband in the middle of the night to save her own life.
Also, as a Christian I cannot help but cry with those suffering, as we all should do, for as one member of the body of Christ hurts, so do we all.
For those who have not experienced abuse or seen it in their own families and are seeking understanding on how to pray for or minister to the abused, I want to share this touching post by a Christian sister, Anna Grace Wood. I think that her post will give you a glimpse into the heart of someone who is hurting by the abuse of the one who is supposed to be her protector, and it will also show you the hope she has found in Christ in the midst of sorrow.
Please be blessed as you read God help me by Anna Grace Wood posted at the blog Tamar Weeps:
Do you know the feeling of having no one to turn to? Of being at war with those whom you don’t want to fight with at all? Of being hurt, again and again, by the very ones you ought to be able to trust the most? I do. Because I do, God, help me has become a daily, sometimes hourly, prayer for me.
God, help me encompasses so much. My desire to know Him better, to serve Him better, to love Him better, to serve others better. To be the Mom, and yes, even the wife, that I long to be. To be an example to others of grace, of godliness, of hope in the midst of heartbreaking circumstances. To one day have a church that stands on the Bible for its doctrine but also knows and understands the pain in our lives and loves us anyway—and lets us love them. To be able to live in peace, worship in peace, to move forward rather than endlessly feeling as if I’m taking one step forward and ten more backwards, sideways, or skewed all over the place. To honor God by being able to pay my bills. To simply have enough. To be able to help others. “God, help me”…. There are times for deeper, more expansive prayers and I pray those often. But there’s also times for simple prayers of dependence.
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| My mother in her early twenties - a victim of domestic violence. |
Those suffering from domestic abuse and violence have always been close to my heart. My mother was a victim of domestic violence as a young bride and I remember the stories she told of being beaten while pregnant with my older brother and how she had to flee from her husband in the middle of the night to save her own life.
Also, as a Christian I cannot help but cry with those suffering, as we all should do, for as one member of the body of Christ hurts, so do we all.
For those who have not experienced abuse or seen it in their own families and are seeking understanding on how to pray for or minister to the abused, I want to share this touching post by a Christian sister, Anna Grace Wood. I think that her post will give you a glimpse into the heart of someone who is hurting by the abuse of the one who is supposed to be her protector, and it will also show you the hope she has found in Christ in the midst of sorrow.
Please be blessed as you read God help me by Anna Grace Wood posted at the blog Tamar Weeps:
Psalms 57: 4, My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
Psalms 120, In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me. Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips, and from a deceitful tongue. What shall be given unto thee? Or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue? Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper. Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar! My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace. I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war. (KJV)
Do you know the feeling of having no one to turn to? Of being at war with those whom you don’t want to fight with at all? Of being hurt, again and again, by the very ones you ought to be able to trust the most? I do. Because I do, God, help me has become a daily, sometimes hourly, prayer for me.
God, help me encompasses so much. My desire to know Him better, to serve Him better, to love Him better, to serve others better. To be the Mom, and yes, even the wife, that I long to be. To be an example to others of grace, of godliness, of hope in the midst of heartbreaking circumstances. To one day have a church that stands on the Bible for its doctrine but also knows and understands the pain in our lives and loves us anyway—and lets us love them. To be able to live in peace, worship in peace, to move forward rather than endlessly feeling as if I’m taking one step forward and ten more backwards, sideways, or skewed all over the place. To honor God by being able to pay my bills. To simply have enough. To be able to help others. “God, help me”…. There are times for deeper, more expansive prayers and I pray those often. But there’s also times for simple prayers of dependence.
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