I knew spiritual warfare happened, but it always seemed far off, like it couldn’t affect me. I know differently now. What I am going to share is not meant to cause fear. Fear is not from the Lord, but this is encouragement and a testament to how powerful and amazing God is.
This started all the way back at Training Camp in July when two people from my squad had nightmares involving a dark figure attacking or hindering our squad. We prayed over our campsite one night, and although it was a neat experience, I didn’t think much of it.
Last week on Wednesday I had a terrible dream involving something that made me sick to my stomach whenever I thought about it. I knew I had no control over what I dreamed, but it shook me up really bad. I asked my team to pray over me, and I felt more peace after that.
Thursday night I couldn’t sleep. I was tossing and turning, and as I was washing my hands in the bathroom I saw a dark, indistinct figure in the mirror. I can’t explain the gut punch my spirit took. I felt so on edge, and I didn’t sleep until I had prayed for a long time.
I wasn’t sure what was going on, and so I asked God what I should do. He told me to fast breakfast and lunch, drinking nothing but water. At the end of the day He told me it was a demon. An evil spirit was really attacking me. I knew that God was stronger than it. I knew that God has already won the war. But I was still scared.
I had my team pray for me and my bed, and honestly I slept the best I had since being on the race those next two nights. But come Sunday morning I found that wasn’t the case for everyone. Several members of my team had nightmares, didn’t sleep, or were talking in their sleep. Several of us were saying in our sleep ‘Get out’ and other pretty creepy stuff.
My teammate, one of those who had the nightmares at training camp, recalled the dreams about the figure she’d been having since arriving in Guatemala and the cold feeling our room seemed to give off. We also confirmed the descriptions of the figure in her dreams and that I saw in the mirror. They were one in the same.
At this point I was completely freaked out. The idea of this thing invading our dreams, our room, our safety honestly scared me. But then we invited more people in to pray over our room, and the next one, and the next one. Soon we were praying over the whole base, nearly all of our squad was involved.
When before I was lethargic and downtrodden, I felt the Spirit fill me with energy, courage, and joy. One my squadmated got a vision of the demon patrolling our fence, trying to get in, but it was completely shut out. Another saw angels protecting us in our sleep.
Something that had filled me with fear was then revealed as a powerless creature who decided to try to oppose the God of the universe, the God I serve. After having witnessed it myself, spiritual warfare is not a cause for fear, but is an opportunity to watch God work in amazing ways as we rely on Him and His fatherly protection!
