God does answer our prayers.

Does God answer our prayers for the salvation of our beloved family members? One of my dear Prayer Warriors asked me and the other Prayer Warriors at “Rosary and Doughnuts” to pray for his dad, an avowed atheist all his life. His dad suffered a server stroke a year ago.

Was it possible our prayers to Jesus, His Blessed Mother, the angels and saints would break the demonic bonds of spiritual blindness? Would his dad accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior before he died?

I often had the opportunity to pray with him for his dad. It was a joy to share much of what I learned about love, compassion, mercy, faith and perseverance while taking care of my dad 24/7 for 4 years after a devastating stroke paralyzed him on the right side. Ministering to him taught me how to be a loving servant. I learned how to pray faithfully for the strength to minister to my dad as he did to me over my lifetime.

Through my prayers and those of other Prayer Warriors, I was able to survive the demonic warfare involved in taking care of the sick and dying. Putting on the full armor of God every day,  I beat back most of the attacks of demons. Occasionally, anger, depression, alcoholism and hopelessness caused me to fall but Jesus and the Blessed Mother were there to pull me up, encourage and strengthen me.

Ephesians 6:10-18 New International Version (NIV): The Armor of God

^“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God,so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

All of the men in the Rosary and Doughnut group have been praying for his dad, that he would come to have a relationship with Jesus before he passed away. We all realized it would take a miracle for a lifelong atheist to make this spiritual leap to faith.

My friend called me last night. A real life miracle had occurred.

His dad accepted Jesus as his Lord and personal Savior. He received the Sacraments of Reconciliation,  Holy Communion and Last Rites. We both cried tears of great joy. God does answer our prayers. My friend will be with his dad, enjoying his company for all eternity. HURRAH!