Faith Shaker

Mike's Battle

Up For The Battle








It was a Wednesday afternoon in January, 2004. Mike and Kelly walked home together after work. He had a kind of guilty, frustrated look in his eyes when he told her the truth about his illness. " I have a crazy depression. " He said this because of the dark thoughts he said were trying to kill him. He had been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, otherwise known as Manic Depression. He said it was the mania that would kill him. He told her once that he knew there was coming a day when he would no longer realize how sick his mind really was. He said there is treatment, but no cure.


He wondered if his family would be strong enough, in that day, to get him the right help. Even if he fought them. He knew he would. He said, "My sister knows I'll hate her for locking me away. Could you do it?"





"Well, Mike, I do know it wouldn't be forever,” was the answer.





Mike spoke often of these troubling thoughts. He called it "being up in my head". These episodes came about four times a year, and were worse at the holidays. It was like a convulsion of emotions.


"Oh! Kind of like what happens to my body when I have a seizure." Kelly said.


He shared with her his need for patterns, his craving for symmetry. He explained that this was why he stopped to chat only at the front tire of a parked car, never at the back tire.


He had an odd collection of papers. Each was purchased on the day of an "event, such as the death of the pope. Not that he ever read them. He saved them ,unopened and unread.





He had been in remission for the last seven years, but began to be troubled following his break up from his live in girlfriend. She had moved out just after Thanksgiving.





The phone rang. It was Rosalyn, calling to say that her brother had been taken to the emergency room early that morning. . It was serious, and she did not know if he would live through the next 24 hours. She wondered if Kelly would pray for him that night. Kelly promised she would.





"Please keep me posted.",Kelly said before they hung up. Immediately, she began to pray. "Lord Jesus, I am asking for Mike’s life and for his complete deliverance You are the One who can take away all bondage. May he know Your joy ,Lord God. May he walk in health and strength because of You .May he be drawn to Your love. May he see that love in the lives of all who pray for him. Let us minister Your Grace to Mike at this time, and, may his understanding of You be increased. Grant Mike Your peace that knows no limit. And, may his faith grow stronger daily. I ask this in the name of Jesus, our Savior. Amen.”


Reading the Bible , Kelly was impressed by the following verses on the subject of protection.


From Psalm 91


He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD “ He is my refuge and my fortress.; my God; in Him will I trust. Because you have made Him, the LORD who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling.


Isaiah 43:2


When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. They will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned., nor shall the fire scorch you.


Isaiah 54:17


No weapon formed against you will prosper, and every tongue that rises against you , you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is from ME, says the LORD.


She read from where she had left off in the New Testament book of 1 Peter Chapter four . Verses 7-11 seemed to leap off the page.


The end of all things is upon us, so you must lead an orderly, and sober life, give to prayer. Above all, keep your love for one another at full strength, for love cancels many sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining.


Whatever your gift, use it in service to one another, as good stewards dispensing the grace of God… In all things, so act that the glory may be God’s through Jesus Christ, to him belong glory and honor Amen.


Somehow, these words seemed to really impact her. It was like they just leapt off the page and were imprinted on Kelly’s very heart. There is a word for this. Rhema. Rhema is when God so speaks His Word to you that the words are alive and personal. But, what did this all mean?


Kelly called Lisa , who had been her best friend and prayer partner for a dozen years, and told shared the verses with her, asked what she thought.


“ Well, it’s about time I could do this for you. “ she said. “Usually, it’s me looking to you for guidance. I actually think it’s kinda simple. “


“It is?”


“Yeah, Don’t you think it God’s way of saying He’s going to protect you from something you’re going to go through?”


“Great! Because, really I need to go through something more. Yippee. I wonder if it’ll be water, or fire.”


“You know, that’s not literal.” said Lisa.


“As long as I see Mike whole and set free, I guess it’s ok ”.


That night this was Kelly’s prayer for Mike.


“Heavenly Father, I plead the blood of Jesus over the life of Mike Mazonikus. I ask for his deliverance from all fear, anxiety, and depression. Remove all oppression from his life, Lord God. I pray for his soul to restored to wholeness, Father. I ask that he be healed and set free. I ask for a creative miracle in Mike’s mind and in his heart, Father, for complete restoration of his life. I commit myself to watch over him and protect him in prayer, for I know You will not fail him. LORD God, in Jesus name I ask that You close any entrance where the enemy has gained a foothold. Father, break off every generational curse from Mike’s life; break them back four generations and four generations forward. May his family will know the pain of the generational judgments no longer. May all his descendants walk in freedom. Amen.”


Kelly dreamt that she was trapped with Mike in a building that was falling down. There had been an earthquake and Mike had been badly hurt. Thinking he was dying, he urged Kelly to save herself before it was too late. He asked her to leave him behind. Kelly could not do it. She couldn’t leave him, there, alone, to die.





As he lost consciousness, she sat beside him. She was not afraid, for she knew that rescuers were on their way. They would find them. They would certainly hear Kelly calling for help. And, so, as the building came down around them, Kelly held Mike’s hand, patiently waiting for their rescue.


And, another. In the dream Mike was missing. As the search went on, Kelly saw what appeared to be a glow, a light of some kind. Going nearer, she saw it to be a flaming doorway. Suddenly, she realized that this was where Mike was to be found. It was the door to Mike’s hell. So, rather than run away, as the others did, Kelly walked through that doorway of flame, and searched for Mike. When she found him, he said he was glad she had not given up, for he did not know the way out of this place of torment.


When Kelly went to her weekly  Bible study group that Thursday, the ladies prayed with her for Mike. They prayed for vision, and for wisdom to understand these things. They believed as Lisa did, that God was going to bring her through something difficult. It would be hard, but, she would not go through it alone. During the prayer time, one prayer warrior had a word for her . Kelly had never had anyone speak over her life like this before. It was strange, but somehow it comforted her.


She spoke and said, “My child, I never promised that your walk with Me would be an easy one, but it will have rewards. Look to Me for direction. I will guide your steps . You will never be alone for I will always send someone to you, as you have need, to help you on your journey. Remember, when people speak evil of you behind your back, they do not speak for Me, for I am your Father in Heaven. I have only good to say of My Children.”


The teaching that evening was from Joshua , chapters 16 and 17 on the subject of Boundaries and Allotments. It was about the way God sets up our assignments according to our giftings, and talents. These boundaries define our assigned areas, much as our talents define our jobs. In part, it is geographical, in part; it is partly a matter of inheritance. God uses our background and lineage to aid in our placements just as much as our willingness to serve. It is as important as our natural abilities in God’s will for our lives. We must be wary of the squatters in our life, who presume to know God’s will for our life, even though it is obvious they don’t even know God’s will for their own. These are the people who will interfere with God’s purpose and plan for one’s ministry in His Kingdom.


                      Through the night and for many nights to come, Kelly had dreams like the ones mentioned earlier. She wondered if maybe she should back off. Protect her own self. She didn’t have to prayerfully guard this man. She could choose a different path. Or, could she? If she did back off, how would she live with it? How could she choose to fail, not only Mike, but also, God?


Kelly sought God, with much fasting and prayer. She deeply wanted to know His plan for her life. She was determined to find God’s Plan for Mike, as well.





She got her hands on everything she could find on spiritual warfare. It someone wrote the book, she read it. She read about intercession, deliverance, and, healing. Then, knowing that not every illness is inspired by evil, Kelly read books on psychology, and mental illness, too. She looked for books written by family members who had loved ones battling mental illness, but found few.


Kelly fasted and prayed on Mike’s behalf. She pleaded with God for Mike to be made completely whole; that his life in the earth be long and full. She read God’s Word by the hour, clinging to the Psalms. Israel’s hymnbook became her bastion of strength She began to speak God’s Word over Mike’s life and circumstances She believed that she was putting God’s Word into her heart in such a way that it would come out in power.


People began to whisper . They said she was obsessed with Mike. Kelly did not care. She had laid hold of Mike’s deliverance and was determined to see it through. If Satan wanted Mike’s life, he was going to have to come through Kelly, as she continued to stand patiently in the gap on Mike’s behalf, keeping watch and waiting for Mike’s Day of Deliverance.





Kelly clung to verses like Isaiah 61:1 which says ,The spirit of the LORD God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound. This is what Kelly sought God for, Mike’s liberty.


Kelly studied about hearing from God. In Dt 4:10-36, she saw that God speaks to us so we can live by the Fear of the Lord. We do not hear when there are idols in our life. When we allow things to come between us and God, we can not expect to hear His Voice . God speaks through people, His Word, and circumstances. It was at this time that God spoke to her heart, and encouraged her to keep a prayer journal. In this journal, Kelly kept Scripture read, things prophesied, answered prayers, the concerns of hr heart, things revealed during prayer and, of course, her prayers for Mike. Like this one, in which she used his full given name.


“Father, I plead your tender mercies upon the life of Michael Augustus Bartholomew Mazonikus. I plead the blood of Jesus over his life. I pray you will surround him with songs and shouts of deliverance. I continue to stand in the gap and watch over him in prayer as I promised his mother I would do, before she died. I feel the love you have for Mike and pray he will learn to recognize it. . Son of Righteousness, Come, with Healing in Your wings. Surround Mike and set him free from all bondage. I bind up all oppression and depression. I ask for healing for his wounded spirit. I bind the spirit of heaviness and loose the garment of praise, asking that the oil of joy be released in his life. I stand in the gap for Mike, and, take hold of his deliverance by faith. I loose resurrection power; resurrection life upon him. May his joy be unspeakable, and overflowing. Amen.”








Kelly studied the Scriptures on prayer, and learned why prayer fails. It fails due to unconfessed sin, lack of mercy, despising the law of God, having guilt on one’s hands, stubbornness, and instability in prayer, self-indulgence. Successful prayer comes from contrition, faith, and humility.


People continued to talk of Kelly’s "obsession" with Mike. She was, in fact, focused, and committed . For, if her desire to see this man set free was an obsession, she was no more obsessed with Mike, than God was.





The choir sang How great Thou Art, before the pastor’s sermon, the following Sunday, which was a teaching from 1 Samuel Chapter 10. He taught about getting in position to receive the anointing of God. He talked about the need for personal salvation, followed by the baptism of the Spirit. He said that this baptism had the purpose of anointing God's servants with power for ministry. He explained that baptism in the Spirit should never be confused with the gift of speaking in tongues. These things are not synonymous. He taught about living a life of humility. He said works, looks, and talent have nothing to do with God’s anointing on a person’s life, only willingness to serve God.





                              The pastor showed  what to expect from the anointing. Direction, for one. He had us read vv 2 & 3 aloud with him. Provision, for another. We can expect our needs to be graciously met in every area of life. Marriage, health, workplace, finances, emotional health, and in our spiritual life as well. There is a deeper ability to pray God’s will and purposes in the lives of other people.


Kelly studied, too, the authority of the believer. She studied this in both the old and new testaments, learning that the saints have the same authority in spiritual things as those whom the Lord sent out. We have this authority only as God sends us, for it is never truly our authority, but is His, even as the battle is His.





Rose called to say that her brother was doing better. She expected him to return to his own home the next day, and to work the following week. Kelly thanked her for letting her know, and prepared for bed; all the while praising God for this victory. Yet, she knew in her heart that the battle for Mike’s life was far from over.