To mark your loved ones for God” is to declare openly and boldly to Satan: “Devil, you can’t have my children. I stand on Acts 16:31. I stand on Acts 2:39. So get out of my house, you filthy, pathetic, defeated liar! God wants my family saved!”
Stand in your house right now and start to believe God for your family to be saved. And I do not mean two seconds before the Lord comes. I mean right away. Start to stand on God’s Word right now.
Let me share with you a very personal experience. My wife, Zonelle, has a brother who was once far away from God. At that time in his life, Ronnie was a dedicated sinner, and yet, he came from a preacher’s home. Because of peer pressure he refused to give up the path of sin.
When I was conductiing a revival for Zonelle’s father in Albuquerque, Ronnie would come by with his long hair, and he’d say to me: “Hey, man, how’s it going?”
I’ve got to confess, he’d upset me, and I wanted to go down stairs to his room and poke his waterbed with an ice pick!
But precious Mama and Daddy Greer had a different approach. They just kept on praying for Ronnie, and loving him.
When Ronnie was gone from the house a few days at a time, Mama Greer would be on her knees, day and night, binding the devil from Ronnie, and claiming the Word of God for her boy. She prayed, and she loved!
Mama Greer kept the porch light on outside the door. She left the door unlocked so Ronnie could get in. When the family sat down at the table, she had a place for Ronnie to sit, and put the food aside for him to eat if he came home.
No one ate the food put aside for Ronnie. Mama Greer wanted Ronnie to know, just in case he did come home, that there was food for him. Good portions, warm on the stove.
Sometimes I would get mad at Ronnie because I didn’t want to see Mama Greer hurt. I would want to give him a good thrashing, and I would make him a Christian in two minutes.
Either he would be a live one, or a dead one. Well, my spirit was wrong. That wasn’t the way to do it.
But Mama Greer knew there is one thing teenager’s understand—love. She kept on loving, kept the waterbed full, kept the meals on the table, kept the door open, kept the porch lights on. She let Ronnie know that no matter what he did, there was always one place he could call home.
She just loved him in the name of Jesus. She kept her arms open.
And one night, when I was preaching at a meeting, Ronnie came in and sat in the last seat. Mama Greer did not turn around, but she knew he was there.
I was preaching on another topic, but immediately switched to the prodigal son. When I got to the part about the father’s house being better than living in the swine’s pen, Ronnie started to cry.
Then, I shared about the father being ready to receive the son, and to kill the fatted calf. Ronnie got up and came forward.
Here was this sobbing, 6’2″ boy, coming down that aisle before I even got through with the sermon! Mama Greer was saying: “Thank you Jesus, thank you, Jesus.”
When Ronnie went by his mother and sister, they both got right up behind him and came to the altar with Ronnie.
That night, at midnight, Ronnie was still flat on his back, praying in the heavenly language the Lord had given him. Ronnie was free from sin, and from drugs.
Today, I want you to take step two and get in faith, like Mama Greer, for your family. Right now, this very minute, repeat this prayer for your precious family members:
“Devil, get your hands off my family, in the name of Jesus! I take dominion and authority and jurisdiction over all of the powers of the darkness. Devil, you will not, you cannot, and you shall not have my family. According to Acts 16:31, my entire family shall be saved. According to Acts 2:39, God promises salvation for my children. They shall be born again. No weapon formed against them shall prosper. In the precious name of Jesus, I claim each and every one of them for God!
No circumstance shall ever cause me to waiver from this scriptural, Biblical promise of God! Amen, and amen.”
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Dwight Thompson has become one of the most powerful evangelists of our time. Known worldwide for his legendary ability to captivate and move an audience, he has devoted his ministry to touching the lives of all those who are lost and hurting with a message of hope, found through salvation and deliverance in Jesus Christ.
The elements that make his message unforgettable include humor, compassion, deeply rooted Biblical convictions, and unique ways of illustrating the meaning of Scriptural phrases, parables, and promises.
Dwight has traveled around the world as an evangelist, preaching to millions and leading thousands of lost souls to Jesus Christ. His crusades frequently launch long-lasting revivals. With his ability to communicate the Gospel with power and charisma, he touches countless lives.
Dwight and Zonelle have been married for 51 years and have two children, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Zonelle travels nation-wide with Dwight, and she is the founder of Operation STITCHES (Saving The Inner-city Through Christ’s Hope: Eternal Salvation), an outreach to inner-city children and their families.
God has given both Dwight and Zonelle a divine love for souls. He has created within the two of them an obsession for helping people transform their very existence.
Dwight and Zonelle know the worth of just one soul and are committed to continue being obedient to the calling God placed on them over 49 years ago.
Truly, Dwight Thompson is a man with a call on his life and a commitment in his heart to reach lost souls for Jesus Christ.