“Father, give me eyes to see the spiritual realm. I want to be more aware of Satan’s schemes so that I can fight well. I want to cast out demons in Your Name so that people can walk in freedom. Let the darkness flee.”
What a bold prayer to pray. WHAT WAS I THINKING! Why did I document those words in the pages of my journal?
Well Sunday morning, that prayer came to fruition. I was standing in the middle of an Indian church service trying to pray for the people around me. As I watched, they were worshipping in their native tongue, clapping to the beat of the drums. I was standing there when all of a sudden, I get hit in the back of the head. It wasn’t hard, but it startled me so I turned around. When I turned around, a lady was spinning uncontrollable with her arms flailing out beside her. I did what any normal person would do, I stepped to the side so that she could have her moment with the Holy Spirit. I wasn’t 100% sure what was going on. Was she Spirit-filled or demon possessed? Soon after collecting my thoughts, another lady started to do the same thing… but this time, I was out of the line of fire. She passed by me like the Tasmanian Devil, and bummed into some of my teammates. As soon as they collided, she fell to the ground. Wide-eyed, I looked to the closest teammate and without hesitation we gave each other that look to immediately start praying. In that moment I was terrified. Although my prayer, from a few nights before, was unfolding right in front of my eyes… I felt so inadequate to go to battle against evil forces. As we continued to lay hands on her, earnestly praying out loud in the Name of Jesus, you could just see the pain. Whatever bondage she was in, it was hurting her. You could see it in her eyes, in her tightly clinched hands, in her feet. After a few minutes praying, we said amen and the lady slowly got up like nothing had happened. She continued with her worship, but this time it was different. It was different because she was free from whatever demon was holding her captive.
I don’t know if she was completely healed from her demonic possession or not! But I do believe with all my heart that the Holy Spirit showed up in that little Indian church. He showed up in His holy splendor. Chains were broken, and people are walking away
a little more free. Is there more work to be done? Absolutely. Christ isn’t done with His Church. God isn’t done redeeming the world back to Himself. The Holy Spirit isn’t done breaking chains of slavery.
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over the present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” – Ephesians 6:12
You might not be in an Indian village, or an African hut, or even on the poor side of town… but where ever you are, there is a battle to be fought. Spiritual warfare is real. Demons are real. Angels are real. Our God is real. I’m learning all these things more and more as I step into areas that make me uncomfortable. Because believe me, Sunday morning I wanted to run out of that church as fast as I could. But what I learned that morning was that I do not have to run. I can stand tall in the authority Christ has given me.
We have to remember, the battle is ALREADY WON so we can walk in that victory. If we walk as victors, it should change the way we act… the way we fight. We were born for glory. Lets fight like it.
It is finished, our King has won
