God is love (1 John
4:16).
God is good (1 Peter
2:3)
God is patient. (2
Peter 3:9)
God is compassionate,
gracious and faithful. (Exodus 34:6)
God is merciful.
(Hebrews 2:17)
God is just. (Romans
3:25)
God is unfailing
kindness. (1 Samuel 20:14)
God is light; in Him
there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1: 5)
God is Redeemer.
(Titus 2:14)
“He
has sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” Isaiah 61:1
Going and praying in hospitals is
usually my favorite thing to do. Although this was a particularly rough
Sunday. We had been ministering in Bugiri, Uganda pretty much non-stop for over a week. I had just sat through an insanely long
African church service (running on 3 hours of sleep) in which I was asked to
speak, then walked over ½ hour home in the blazing
heat feeling totally exhausted and drained. After eating a “re-charging” meal
of carbohydrates with a side of starch, we were told to get ready to go to the
hospital. “God”, I thought, “please let me stay back, I’m dying here”. In response I felt God nudging me into this visit, not to prove a point, but
because he had something important for me. “Ok Lord, pick me up and give me your
strength”.
Walking into the hospital I couldn’t have told you what the day would hold.
The environment was especially dark and heavy and I got my typical
insta-headache because the air was so loaded with infirmity and hopelessness. But I
just kept praying under my breath for God to be my strength and to lead me where
He wanted me to go.
When I entered the womens wing I saw some of the same
people from the week prior. They remembered me and I gladly went to their
bedside to pray for them again. Most of the woman were suffering from Malaria,
some HIV/AIDS, and others had unknown, yet incredibly painful conditions. All,
however, seamed to be treated only with an electrolyte or painkilling IV drip.
They were in need of some hope.
As I made the rounds I was encouraged by the way God was
touching people. The room was getting noticeably brighter and pain was subsiding. As I walked back
toward the middle aisle I noticed an elderly woman lying in a bed, CONVULSING
with her eyes rolling back in her head. I don’t remember making the decision to
go to her, but the next thing I knew I was at her side laying my hands on her
body and asking God for His manifest presence to COME.
Upon getting a closer look, I could tell she was suffering
from A LOT of spiritual oppression that was rooted in witchcraft. (I know this
sounds a little crazy, but this is not uncommon in Africa,
considering demon-worship is a religion many subscribe to. And a lot of people
have felt trapped into going to witch doctors for help. People actually pay
witch doctors to put curses on others for revenge etc. Witch doctors themselves
get in so deep that they themselves become enslaved to darkness. It is very
real.) She had maggots ( yes, maggots) jammed so far up into her left nostril that it was stretched
enough to fit a silver dollar inside.
She was breathing very shallow as she shook uncontrollably and had NO
defense for herself. She was at deaths door. My heart knew it and my spirit
knew it.
I immediately started praying the name of Jesus over her and
addressed the spirit of witchcraft which I knew would not go easily. At this
point my sisters Martha and Lauren come along side me and started praying too.
Every time I said the name of Jesus the maggots would come closer to coming
out. It was bazaar; I have never seen anything like it. Her body was also
responding to the mighty name of Jesus and she began to pass spirits out
through coughing. I knew we were on the right track, so we kept pushing on.
As we have learned, nothing combats darkness but light so we started speaking
over her the truth of Jesus and His love for her. We told her she was a BELOVED daughter of the
Most High and that NO power of the enemy is stronger than that love. She kept
responding with coughs and with each one her eyes became brighter and more
alert.
We spent almost 2 hours at her bedside, BATTLING in the spiritual realm for her life. We were totally
broken for her. At one point I actually climbed into bed with her so we could
look eye to eye. I could see the comfort she was receiving from God and the desperate
“thank you” she could only communicate in her eyes.
As we progressed, Ashley Higgins (who had been standing near) came to
us and told us about a vision God had revealed to her during this process. She saw
the women lying in a grave and as we were praying she was rising up. She wasn’t
completely standing yet, but was on her way.
“Oh, thank you God”, I thought “almost there.”
We continued speaking truths to her and although she spoke
Swahili, not English, it was apparent that she somehow understood. Gradually
her convulsions eased, her body became more relaxed and her eyes became so clear
and deep that she looked like a different woman! It was crazy!
It wasn’t long after this that Ashley got another vision if
her running, in clean white clothes. Although she wasn’t completely coherent
and calm in her body, we knew she was at last out of deaths grip, thanks to her
Father in heaven.
I cannot believe I am writing about this so
matter-of-factly. It was nothing short of miraculous!
As we leaving, we asked someone nearby what the
woman’s name was (it all happened so fast we didn’t have a chance to ask her
name!). Her name was Edith.
Her name IS Edith.
Later that night after time to reflect, I realized how rough
it had been with Edith. I had to pray for the smell of the
hospital to leave my nostrils and for the horrific images of the maggots to go
away. But I found myself missing her. My heart had
become so invested in hers that I longed
to be with her! I was heartbroken. I knew this was only a small taste of the way God feels about us
when separate ourselves from Him.
This was one of the best experiences of my life. Lying in
that bed beside Edith, battling to bring her out of darkness was the most I
have ever felt like my TRUE self. Like my destiny was being unleashed!
