I’m living in a country that has for 5,000 years made Hinduism and its caste system an integral part of every day life. People live by it, people work by it, people die by it. I am slapping it in the face just by being a Christian and being willing to share my faith with others – and I’ve come to realize there’s more to this “spiritual warfare” thing than I’ve ever believed.
Hinduism here is not the same as the hippie, love everybody, Buddhist/Hindu theology that we have in America. In America, people of different religions can be friends. Here, Hinduism and its sects have deeper roots in the spiritual world than anywhere else on earth. For 5,000 years they have been worshiping false Gods and Idols. For 5,000 years they have been cursing those they hate. For 5,000 years they have been seeing demons and regularly speaking with them. It’s normal for people to become possessed, and it’s common knowledge that if the Witch Doctor curses you, you will die.
Here’s an account of a previous World Racer’s experience with Spiritual Warfare in India:
Her team was out meeting people and sharing their faith here in India, when they turned the corner and a Hindu festival was occurring down the road. As they got closer, they began to see the laughing and joyfulness of the people singing and dancing. Unassuming children danced with their parents in the center wearing bright colored robes. All of a sudden, a lemon flew from the outskirts of the crowd into the center and hit a young boy in the stomach. The parents of the young boy began screaming and crying and grabbed the boy by the arm dragging him out of the crowd straight towards the World Racers. In a panic, the parents rushed up to World Racers and hurriedly asked if they would come with them back to their house. They said that their son was healthy and strong and he was a good boy, but that the lemon had been thrown by the Witch Doctor and it was common knowledge that whenever he threw a lemon and it hit a person, that person would die the next day. Shocked, the World Race team agreed and followed the family back to the house. The boy was fine, he was not sick. This didn’t make sense. Why would the family be so scared? The World Race team prayed for that smiling, healthy boy for 3 hours. The next day, that boy died.
Here, Witch Doctors are a part of everyday life. There is ALWAYS one if not more in every village. A Witch Doctor is the closest thing many villages have to medicine. The stories are grotesque and most do not bear repeating. Witch Doctors are generational, a closely guarded set of rituals and curses passed down from parents to their own sons and daughters. In order to gain the power of a witch doctor, one must retreat into a place of solitude, generally a cave, praying to and worshiping demons for sometimes up to 15 years. Meditation every day allows them to eventually get to a head-space unlike anything we’ve come to experience in western society. It’s important to note that all of the following takes place in the MIND of each witch doctor. Their meditation allows them to essentially behead themselves and begin to peel off all of their outward skin in their mind. Although it is not physically affecting their body, the pain is as intense as if it were. They practice this in their mind every day until they can successfully hold their own skull in their hands and then, once their skin has been peeled off, they begin the process of placing every bone of their body into the skull “bowl” in their hands and pray to the demons to feed on their bones. They do this until there is nothing left and the demons have feasted on ever nones every bone in their body. Many who attempt this end up cracking before they can complete the process and become no longer of sound mind. But those that complete the process are able to call the demons on command and become their master. They curse families. They sit for days praying to the devil to curse Christians that they see. They shout out curses against God, Christianity and Christians as loudly as possible. They heal villagers when there is a sacrifice brought to them, but there is always a catch and the villager is ends up getting sick again.
The Indian people as a whole are loving and exceptionally welcoming. But there are a few in every village that are satanic worshippers and witch doctors. Here, they spit at Christians under their breath. Here they mock Christians. Here they sit for sometimes days at a time cursing our bodies and our minds, asking the Devil to attack.
I have had to wrestle with the reality that here, the definition of spiritual warfare changes, and the actions and ways in which it occurs changes. Attacks can come through our relationships, through our thoughts, or even through our own bodies.
As I’ve wrestled with accepting this reality, I’ve come to truly appreciate the prayer that has been showered over my team and I. Spiritual Warfare here is intense and my squad feels the reality of being in enemy territory – at times we feel the enemy coming at us from all sides. A demon manifested in a woman during worship in church 3 weeks ago in Nepal. Her entire body inhumanly contorted and the whole experience is really quite indescribable.
It’s something I’ve always put in the “over sensationalizing,” or “stories people tell to get others to send money” categories. Most of us in America will have a hard time believing/understanding unless we experience it ourselves. It’s a bit wild to share this, but over half of my team experienced nightmares after the manifestation, including myself (I don’t remember the last time I had a nightmare, but this one happened 2 weeks ago) where I couldn’t scream and once I woke up I physically couldn’t scream or talk for 2 minutes – one teammate woke up and couldn’t move. Also last month, 10 out of 12 people were sick most of the month with various ailments ranging from upset stomach, diarrhea, migraines, etc.
I think before being here and experiencing this first hand, I would largely rationalize all of this, like any good, sane, faith-filled Christian would. You see, in America, we rationalize. We try to think of every circumstance that could have happened. “That little boy who got hit with a lemon must have already been sick. There has to be a different explanation). I did it before I came on the race. You think 3rd world countries just don’t understand science, or that the people in 3rd world countries will believe anything. I didn’t TRULY believe in miracles. I didn’t TRULY believe in the spiritual world. But what I’m being confronted with is that if I believe God has power, I must then believe that the Devil has power. Demons are real. And they listen to those that pray to them.
With the reality of the spiritual battle smacking me daily in the face, I’m also reminded that God has already conquered them all. God has already delivered us. I am also struck by the reality of those Sunday school lessons that urge us to put on the full armor of God. “In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.” Ephesians 6:16 We have all the armor we need to prevent these attacks on us as Christians, but consistent awareness and knowing when to “hold up the shield” will be key in the months to come.
