April 2010

Dear intercessor,

Once again, I come to you with a heart full of gratitude to God for your partnership in prayer.  Today my heart shivers as I think about the terrifying abuse and suffering in so many homes today.  As I write to you, I am finishing a trip to Kenya and Ethiopia where I have met and wept with many women who have been wounded and terrorized by their husbands.  I am amazed to see our Project Hannah intercessors and listeners in Kenya and Ethiopia determined to fight for their marriages, praying fervently for God to intervene in their abusers’ lives.  Even when abandoned or suffering at the hands of their promiscuous and alcoholic husbands, they refuse to give up the father of their children.  I heard several testimonies of the supernatural strength experienced to forgive and bless those who cursed them.  They prayed with their Project Hannah sisters, until they received the answer to their prayers. Husbands saved by God’s grace!

“I didn’t know that it wasn’t normal,” was the headline of a news paper in Singapore I read years ago.  It was an Indian woman’s story about the daily beatings by her husband. I remember how I determined then to expose this evil especially when God called my attention through Proverbs 31:8, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.”

The pattern of violent behavior used to gain and maintain power and control over a spouse is not just physical.  The most common abuse is the emotional abuse that frightens, intimidates, manipulates, terrorizes, humiliates and hurts through denigrating, blaming, name calling, yelling and constant criticism.  The abuser tries to isolate his victim from friends and family, controls finances, withholds affection, monitors every move and is fast to assign blame.  I have seen how this kind of abuse leaves scars that run deep and can actually do more damage than some physical abuse.

Satan’s spirit of contempt and rebellion has disfigured the image of God in every human being.  Many families have become theaters of war and pain.  There is hope, and that’s why we pray.  The curse of the Fall has been overcome by Christ on the Cross. Men and women are now free to choose to follow the way of peace and love.

I am glad we can fight this battle against such evil together.  Let’s pray compassionately and passionately for the victims of domestic violence.  Let’s claim victory in the lives of the abused and the abuser through the power of our risen Christ.

Trusting God to set the captives free,

Marli Spieker
Global Ministry Director/Founder
Project Hannah
TWR