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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
how do I know if my son is oppressed	Christine	Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Question: What are some signs of oppression? I have a 36 year old son who seems determined to destroy his life. This behavior began when he was about 17. At that time, his father and I noticed a change in his behavior and took him to a psychiatrist. He was diagnosed with a mental illness and given the appropriate medication which he pretended to take. His life just began a downhill spiral. He got involved with drugs and alcohol which made things worse. He has had several children with different women that he does not support. He has not held a job for longer than 6 months. I could go on and on but I will cut this short. At this time, he is sitting in jail on charges of not paying child support and violation of a PFA. He constantly tells the people that care for him that he is willing to get help and wants to change his life. His father and I have paid for several psychiatrist and psychologist visits and the medication that goes with it since he has no income. We have supported him while he claims to have gone through rehab. As a sign of his gratitude, he has stolen all of my decent jewelry and handed us a constant stream of lies. I realize that he sounds like the typical mentally ill addict. I am deeply disturbed by the fact that he does what he does knowing that I will check on what he says and that he will get caught in his lies. I am also disturbed by the fact that he has no remorse when he gets caught. He might fake remorse but if given the opportunity to do the same thing again and not get caught, he will do it again. He denies stealing from us even when confronted with proof that he has stolen. I have read that a demon will "hitchhike" on a person that already has problems and make those problems worse. I feel that this may have happened to my son. He has lost everything. His home, his family and any morsel of respect that anyone had for him or he had for himself. My son would never believe this oppression idea and would have no part in doing anything to help himself with this. He stopped going to church a long time ago and if he attends a baptism or funeral, it is mainly for show. If I were to start saying the proxy prayers for him, would it help even though he may not be open to it? I have considered doing this and even fasting for a while if it would help him. At this point in time, this is all I am willing to do for him since every thing else I have done to help has been like "throwing my pearls before swine". Thank you for taking the time to answer this. Please keep my son in your prayers-its the only thing left that might help.
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r) Dear Christine: We will certainly pray for your son. What you describe sounds like psychiatric and addiction issues. Demons can certainly hitchhike on the problems that your son has made for himself. Demons are opportunists and will be happy to make things worse than they would otherwise be. From the spiritual side of things, I would advise that you pray some of the prayers found in our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog, linked below. Rebuking Particular Spirits-Proxy and Rebuking Particular Spirits-Proxy are two that come to mind, plus any other prayers you find in the Catalog that will be helpful to you. Remember that God will never force anyone to do anything, but these prayers may soften his resistance to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Persevere in prayer as you never know when he will soften and allow the Holy Spirit to enter. It may even happen after you pass away. There are many stories of people who prayed and prayed, and it was only after their death that the person they prayed for came to their senses and returned to God. In that regard, I would recommend a devotion to St. Monica who prayed for her son constantly. It was shortly before her death that her son, St. Augustine, came to his senses. He became one of the greatest saints in the Church all because his mother prayed for him without ceasing. I know it is very difficult and painful to have a grown child who may have psychiatric problems, addiction, and other instabilities. It is a cross to bear. Pray for your son, encourage him to seek out psychiatric help and any other help that he needs, always hold him accountable and do not enable his dysfunctional behavior. This may be a cross you will always have to bear. God will give you the strength to endure it. It you ever feel tempted to despair, remember the promise of God: (1 Cor 10:13) No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. God is not a liar, He keeps His promises. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

how do I know if my son is oppressed

Christine

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Question:

What are some signs of oppression? I have a 36 year old son who seems determined to destroy his life. This behavior began when he was about 17. At that time, his father and I noticed a change in his behavior and took him to a psychiatrist. He was diagnosed with a mental illness and given the appropriate medication which he pretended to take. His life just began a downhill spiral. He got involved with drugs and alcohol which made things worse. He has had several children with different women that he does not support. He has not held a job for longer than 6 months. I could go on and on but I will cut this short. At this time, he is sitting in jail on charges of not paying child support and violation of a PFA. He constantly tells the people that care for him that he is willing to get help and wants to change his life. His father and I have paid for several psychiatrist and psychologist visits and the medication that goes with it since he has no income. We have supported him while he claims to have gone through rehab. As a sign of his gratitude, he has stolen all of my decent jewelry and handed us a constant stream of lies.

I realize that he sounds like the typical mentally ill addict. I am deeply disturbed by the fact that he does what he does knowing that I will check on what he says and that he will get caught in his lies. I am also disturbed by the fact that he has no remorse when he gets caught. He might fake remorse but if given the opportunity to do the same thing again and not get caught, he will do it again. He denies stealing from us even when confronted with proof that he has stolen.

I have read that a demon will "hitchhike" on a person that already has problems and make those problems worse. I feel that this may have happened to my son. He has lost everything. His home, his family and any morsel of respect that anyone had for him or he had for himself. My son would never believe this oppression idea and would have no part in doing anything to help himself with this. He stopped going to church a long time ago and if he attends a baptism or funeral, it is mainly for show. If I were to start saying the proxy prayers for him, would it help even though he may not be open to it? I have considered doing this and even fasting for a while if it would help him. At this point in time, this is all I am willing to do for him since every thing else I have done to help has been like "throwing my pearls before swine".

Thank you for taking the time to answer this. Please keep my son in your prayers-its the only thing left that might help.

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r)

Dear Christine:

We will certainly pray for your son.

What you describe sounds like psychiatric and addiction issues. Demons can certainly hitchhike on the problems that your son has made for himself. Demons are opportunists and will be happy to make things worse than they would otherwise be.

From the spiritual side of things, I would advise that you pray some of the prayers found in our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog, linked below.

Rebuking Particular Spirits-Proxy and Rebuking Particular Spirits-Proxy are two that come to mind, plus any other prayers you find in the Catalog that will be helpful to you. Remember that God will never force anyone to do anything, but these prayers may soften his resistance to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Persevere in prayer as you never know when he will soften and allow the Holy Spirit to enter. It may even happen after you pass away. There are many stories of people who prayed and prayed, and it was only after their death that the person they prayed for came to their senses and returned to God.

In that regard, I would recommend a devotion to St. Monica who prayed for her son constantly. It was shortly before her death that her son, St. Augustine, came to his senses. He became one of the greatest saints in the Church all because his mother prayed for him without ceasing.

I know it is very difficult and painful to have a grown child who may have psychiatric problems, addiction, and other instabilities. It is a cross to bear. Pray for your son, encourage him to seek out psychiatric help and any other help that he needs, always hold him accountable and do not enable his dysfunctional behavior.

This may be a cross you will always have to bear. God will give you the strength to endure it. It you ever feel tempted to despair, remember the promise of God:

(1 Cor 10:13) No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

God is not a liar, He keeps His promises.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.