Marlene O’Hern, of Maple Valley, Washington, had been praying for her brother, Kevin, to be saved for approximately 12 years with no seeming results. She basically prayed things such as “Lord, come into his life,” or “Lord, reveal Yourself to him.” As with many of us, she didn’t realize there were more specific biblical ways to pray.

Also, similar to the rest of us, she sometimes grew frustrated and tried to take things into her own hands saying things such as, “You just need to give your life to the Lord”; or “You have to quit doing the stuff you’re doing.” Predictably; this would only result in her seeing the pride and rebellion in Kevin rise up, actually making things worse. “Then I would really feel like I had blown it,” she said.

“Kevin was heading down a rocky road. He had major problems, including drugs, depression and extreme anger,” Marlena relates.

Early in 1995 she took a class of mine in which I taught these principles about praying for the lost. Marlena shared them with her husband, Patrick, and their children. They began to pray the principles over Kevin. They specifically prayed the following (all parenthetical remarks are mine):

• That God would lift the veil over him (revelation and enlightenment);

• For the Holy Spirit to hover over him and protect him;

• For godly people to be in his pathway each day;

• To cast down anything that would exalt itself against the knowledge of God, specifically pride and rebellion (This would include the hupsoma aspect of the stronghold.);

• To take down all known strongholds-thought patterns, opinions on religion, materialism, fear (This is the logismos dimension of the stronghold.);

• To bind Satan from taking Kevin captive; to bind all wicked thoughts and lies Satan would try to place in Kevin’s mind (These would be the noema aspect of the stronghold.);

• That the armor of God would be placed on him.

After two weeks of praying in this way, Kevin overdosed on drugs and in his time of need cried out to God. “The Lord met him in a powerful way. The veil was definitely lifted and he had a revelation of God. He now has an understanding of the Word and responds to it. The confusion is gone! Kevin separated himself from the world and his former friends. He is now pursuing God and Christian relationships. His focus is on pleasing God, knowing Him more and more. He is even considering missions.”

Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets, p.175-177. 1996, Gospel Light/Regal Books, Ventura, CA 93003. Used by Permission.