This is my son Alex. He is 21 years of age, and he and his girlfriend just had a beautiful baby girl, Iris.  I am asking that you please pray for Alex that if it’s God’s will, Alex can be freed from any spiritual oppression and return to simple joy and wellness and live a life protected as a child of God under the blood of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Background: Alex was diagnosed at age 2 with high-functioning autism. The multi-disciplinary doctor’s panel said he would grow up to be like the “rain man,” live with us the rest of his life and have no real friends.  We canceled those “words” in the name of Christ as we walked out of their offices.   We were fortunate by the grace of God to find a doctor in our home state of NC who treated kids with Autism but had no openings for the next 9 years. It was a God thing, as God opened up an appointment for us when another family canceled.  By age five, Alex was God’s miracle.  He was pronounced healed – neurotypical track – and could attend school with the other kids with no special help needed.  Alex grew into a happy, super smart, and joy-filled kid. I say joy-filled as he asked to know Christ when he was around nine yrs old and asked to be baptized.  Alex grew into a scholar, athlete, and faith-filled great kid. Alex graduated from high school, and it was right about this time (or about 1 year before) that he started having challenges. He started hearing voices in his head and was scared by them.  We, of course, prayed over him, and he asked God for help, and things continued to get worse, and he fell into depression.  My wife took him to a therapist and psychiatrist, who wanted to get him on meds.  I am not a big fan of meds, but for his quality of life, I agreed. Things seemed to get better initially, but Alex found that on meds, he didn’t feel like his joyful self and still felt depressed. When he got off the meds, he felt better but heard the voices again, which were worse than feeling depressed.  So he continued in college but found that sometimes it was hard for him to sleep, and as a result, he could not perform the way he was used to. (He has always been a straight-A kid)  This lack of performance added to his depression.  This was heartbreaking for us as parents.  Then he met his girlfriend, Natalia. They quickly fell in love, and he was so happy. We were hopeful that this relationship would help him break free of the depression and maybe even the voices.   Well, he called us last spring with the news Natalia was pregnant.  He told me that he would do whatever it took to keep the baby and become a good dad, and when he finished school, he would marry Natalia. We were proud that he wasn’t taking the easy way, keeping the baby, and trying to step up as a full-time student.  On December 26, 2023, Iris Grace was born.  She is super healthy, and everyone is healthy.  However, Alex is so scared that he won’t be able to overcome his depression, and the voices may come back if he stops taking meds.  He is so heartbroken.  He says Dad, why do I have to be this way.  Why can’t I go back to being my old self?  I don’t know what to do other than pray and encourage him.  I am an engineer and scientist, but in my spirit, I feel that there is some spiritual oppression may be involved. I am not sure why I feel this way.  As his father, I have commanded anything unclean on him or my family (we are 5) leave us and have covered us all under the blood of Christ.   So this is where I am.  I am asking you, as my brothers and sisters in Christ, to please pray for Alex.  Please pray that God, if it is His will, to deliver him from any oppression and let him experience the joy and love of our Savior, Jesus.  I thank you for your help here. Blessings,