Crack addict Paul Traynor was at his lowest point when he called out to God.,,,
When suicidal crack addict Paul Traynor sank to his knees in despair, he called out to God, and his life was transformed.
“At this point my addiction had completely taken over and I was about eight stone in weight. I didn’t want to live.”
Given his life to that point, it was at least partly understandable.
He was sexually abused for three years from the age of five, joined a gang in one of the roughest parts of north London, survived a stabbing, took to crime, drugs and drinking and, by age 38, was addicted to crack and heroin, had been convicted of 41 crimes and sent to prison.
On leaving jail, he was homeless and wanted to end it all, and that’s when he cried out to God.
“I fell down on my knees and cried out to God from the pit of my stomach: ‘If you’re real please help me because I need you.’
“Wow, I can’t ever put it into words. I’ve shared my story hundreds of times in prisons, in schools, in Africa, in churches and you just can’t put into words what happened. This weight of the world that I’d been carrying around, I felt it lift off.”
The next day he woke with no withdrawal symptoms as he was completely set free from his 20-year addiction, and went on to establish a ministry to the homeless of Nottingham called Streets4Christ.
“That’s my passion. I’m also an active member of our church. And I serve with the Gideons giving Bibles to youth and students and prisons as well as preaching wherever I can.”
