Bultfontein’s own Prayer Warrior…

The realisation of a need to pray for the many addicts in our community lead to another part of my ministry. Many people in our community are addicted to ‘over the counter’ medication, which is easy to obtain and therefor very dangerous. Visiting a lady in town one mid-morning, we found her already on a serious trip because of the use of ordinary medication, readily available to anyone.
On the farm I avail a room in our house for anyone who need some time away from everything, just to calm down and re-focus for a while. Hence the name “Pella” which refers to an ancient city in Macedonia, the birth place of Alexander the Great and often referred to as a “City of refuge”. One of my guests once admitted to me that if things are too much to deal with, her solution is to take two tablets, and sometimes up to 6/8 a day and to just sleep through the tough times. Many people use medication as a way to cope, end up having fridges full of medication readily available and then build up a tolerance and need to keep increasing the dosage to enable them to just get through the day.
This brought the realisation that I need to intercede for the people of my hometown, Bultfontein, and that we need to get to the root of these addictions and address that and not just the, on the surface, symptoms of using too much medication. Even doctors and other prominent people in our community found themselves addicted, easily resorting to pethidine injections to ease whatever ache or pain may be bothering.
About six months ago I decided to stand in the gap for Bultfontein and the addictions that are just all too common around town. I end up developing many pains at different times in different parts of my body as well as feelings of oppression and general discomfort. One day a few of us were visiting farmer’s wives in the Hoopstad area with the Boxes for farmer’s wives project. One particular lady uses Biblical aromatherapy along with prayer and intersession, with different oils to address different issues. I allowed her to treat me and to pray for me for my aches and pains. Only then did she explain that she felt that the source of my discomfort was related to my decision to stand in the gap for Bultfontein’s addictions. Up until that day I did not make the connection that the source of my pain was actually related to the addictions of the people of our town. This realisation enabled me to, when I felt pains, pray for healing for whomever I was standing in the gap for at that moment and that they will realise that when they are healed, that it was by the Grace of God. Another friend, Marius, advised that when I pray, I should ask Father God to reveal a name or person to me and I started following the advice. One day an elderly gentleman’s name, Jan, was revealed as I was praying because I was having severe tummy aches at the time. I knew that he had heart problems and often had to have fluids drained from his lungs and was also using chronic medication. This was not really, to my knowledge, a case of addiction but I was obedient and prayed for him until my pain lifted. The next day, when I phoned to ask how he was, his wife thanked me for praying and said that they had a comfortable night. I still don’t know how she knew that I prayed for him as I have never done it before.
My friend, Gerda, at the time was studying intercession, using the content of Suzette Hattingh, which explains the different kinds of intercessors. (Suzette used to be an intercessor for the well-known Evangelist, Reinhard Bonnke.)
Intercessors can be one of the following:
1. Someone who regularly prays through lists of prayer requests – not really me…
2. Someone who focusses on praying for government – not really me…
3. Someone who does spiritual mapping, researching different places – at times I have done this, but
4. Warrior intercessors who focus on spiritual warfare – can apply to a certain extent, but…
5. Prophetic intercessor, someone who feels the pain of others and can stand in the gap on their behalf – this really applies to how I feel at the moment with regards to the problems of addiction in our town.
Being a prophetic intercessor I can feel the pain on someone’s behalf, pray for the person and then let go of the pain. I do not need to remain in the suffering because Jesus already paid the price for all our iniquities. My job, so to speak, is to intercede and then to allow healing and release of the discomfort. I actually clean forgot that seven years ago God already gave me the promise of healing for our town. Yesterday I came across Jeremiah 33: 6 stating: “Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it (the city); I will heal my people and let them enjoy abundant peace and security.” NIV. In January 2013 I made a note by this verse in my Bible, claiming healing for Bultfontein. At the time I may not have had physical healing in mind because the town is also in the grip of the love of money. Even after recovering from this terrible, long six year period of drought, people keep on buying and living as if nothing is wrong. This may have been my first focus for our town’s healing but over the last year, doing a lot of counselling and prayer for healing and deliverance, I realised that our people are in need of physical healing as well. Even young children end up reaching for medication to treat the symptoms rather than looking for the source of the pain and addressing that. Tensions and pressures remain while people treat the aches and pains resulting from these problems. Many reputable writers state that physical ailments regularly are the results of emotional or spiritual stress and challenges. A step in the right direction for all of us is to realise that many physical problems are rooted in emotional and spiritual challenges.
It meant a lot to me to realise these truths and that I need to decide to let go of all these physical pains, whether it is my own or me standing in the gap for others. I can now claim the healing for myself and our town’s people and trust God’s promise for all of us.
A while back the mother of one of the girls in the hostel at school asked my son, who is a teacher, if his mother won’t mind to spend time with her daughter. She was the middle child of a family of four and was having a tuff time with a few things. Two friends came along and we started meeting with this girl on Wednesday afternoons, just for coffee and a chat about things she struggled with. Often times it was nothing serious but she just needed a bit of support or advice about dealing with sibling rivalry with the younger sister or another issue at school. Most of the time we would end up doing a bit of Bible discussions and praying for each other and even others around us who influenced us. Throughout these discussions we realised that everyone of us regularly need to pray as Maria did in Luke 1:38(b): “I am the Lord’s servant, May it be to me as you have said.” And the angel left her. NIV. Each one of us need to discern what God’s Word is for us and pray that we can do as God wants us to do. For instance – last week we traded jealousy for peace, being content.
Spending time with this young girl, I realised that the youngsters expose themselves to occultist influences by doing things ‘for fun’, unknowingly exposing themselves to evil. A while back a few of us agreed with this young girl to do a prayer walk around the school grounds, to pray for protection against evil influences. It was a privilege to introduce this young girl to these kinds of practices so that they can get to know the power of doing something like that in faith. A few years ago three of us did prayer walks around the school for six days, once a day and on the seventh day we encircled the school seven times, just listening to what needs we feel we can cover in prayer. Afterwards a lot of problems at the school surfaced and could be dealt with.
Over the years Father even sent me on a few overseas trips to pray for parts of other countries, including 3 trips to India, Turkey, where we handed out numerous Jesus films and Bibles in spite of serious restrictions and persecution, the Philippines and Russia. Sometimes there was no plan or program, we just knew that we must go, be obedient and pray where and how Holy Spirit lead us.
Holy Spirit, one night in a dream, told me to never get down from the roof and I realised that it referred to Peter and others praying on the roof and that I should never stop praying. In spite of someone once stating: “Don’t give it to Matty, all she’ll do is pray about it”, I firmly believe that my gift is to intercede and pray with and for others.
All honour and glory to Father God.
Matty Marx
Bultfontein, Free State

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