HOT BUTTON TOPIC: Prayer For an Alcoholic
By Cristine Bolley
Mother always sent me upstairs when Dad started shouting, but I listened to his drunken rage through the furnace vent in my room. Somehow my four-year-old heart knew that Dad needed God. My first prayer for him was simply, God, please help my Dad.
By the time I was ten, Mother put a lock on the inside of my bedroom door
and asked me to bolt myself in my room at night. She didn't tell me why,
and I didn't know how to pray for the fear I felt from being locked away
from everyone I loved, so I slept with my Bible on my chest.
At 12, Mother took a brave step and left Dad. I was relieved that he wouldn't
be able to push or hurt her anymore - or touch me inappropriately again.
Mother and I found refuge in God's provision, and though we kept our distance
from Dad, we continued to pray for him.
As a young adult, I saw a film called Chalk Talk explaining why alcoholics
do not usually choose to get help on their own. The Catholic priest who
narrated the documentary said that alcoholism often begins through a deep-seated
grief that the person wants to sedate. Then he becomes chemically dependent
on the alcohol and can't stop drinking.
"Alcohol," the priest explained, "is the same chemical
as ether, except that it has water added to it." Paraphrased, he
said, "You wouldn't expect a person on an operating table who had
been anesthetized with ether to admit he needed help. Likewise, alcoholics
need help reaching sobriety before they can make a decision to stay sober
. . . "
Leaving the film that night I had hope that my dad could be delivered
of alcohol. I had heard the testimonies of alcoholics who were now sober
and living for God. I suddenly believed that Dad would be delivered too.
That new expectation made me surprisingly joyful.
Within a year, my father was hospitalized because of pneumonia. We told
his doctors that he was an alcoholic, and they were able to help Dad withdraw
from a lifelong addiction without intense struggle. Once sober, he stayed
sober and came to see me.
"I know what Jesus did for me on the cross," Dad began, "but I just can't understand that forgiveness."
I hugged him and said, "But, Dad, I forgive you for the things you
did, and so does God." Dad cried.
A few weeks later, 24 years after my first prayer, Dad gave his life to
the Lord and talked about Jesus to everyone he met. He always added, "Now
that I'm sober, the sky seems bluer, the grass is greener, and baseball
is even more fun to watch than before."
Hebrews 11:1 NIV says, "Faith is being sure of what we hope for…"
Once I had hope that Dad could be healed, I could have faith that he would
be changed. Now I am sure that anyone can be free from bondage of alcohol.
Cristine Bolley may be contacted at www.wingsunlimited.com
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