For the past 2 weeks in Vietnam we have been staying at a hotel. We have beds and showers and air conditioning. Our first day here we were so excited, and felt so blessed, but once night hit, our hearts broke. An undeniable heaviness had entered our hotel, and we all knew that darkness was around. The first floor of our hotel (and probably the rest of it if we weren’t occupying so many rooms) is used for prostitution. Men enter our hotel at night, there is a book of names, and girls are being bought. They are bought for an hour, they are bought for the night, whatever the men desire. We have seen them enter and our hearts break just as God’s does. So, every night since we have been here we have had a ‘prayer watch’. From 11pm to 7am there are 2 people assigned to an hour to pray for the people of the hotel. To pray for the men and women entering the rooms, as well as the men filling out the books, along with the owner of the hotel who allows this to go on. Because of these nights, light is beginning to penetrate the darkness, and we are slowly taking this place back to the kingdom. But, we all felt we needed something more. So, last night, Sunday the 21st of September, we became fire in the night. We started at 11pm and went until 3am as an entire squad, lifting up our hotel through prayer, and meditation, and art, and song. We had 6 different rooms to express ourselves in different ways to lift up this place to the Lord. We even rented a room on the first floor right in the middle of the darkness to bring in the light. I spent a majority of my time in that room, and this is what I experienced:
Putting my hands against the walls, knowing that on the other side there is a man and a woman who are so lost in their identities. A women who has lost her value, her worth. She has believed all the lies that have been poured over her life, and she cant escape. She thinks that this is all she has to offer, and so she has settled. She’s settled for abuse and manipulation, because no one has shown her love and truth. Then there is a man, whose idols now control his life. The idol of lust is overwhelming and he cant stop giving in. He leaves his home, even his family, for an hour to feed this idol. By controlling and abusing another human being he thinks he is a man; he is feeding his idol of power. He doesn’t know about his call to be a leader, his call to love others like a father and to be willing to lay down his life as a protector.
My hands start to shake as I press them harder against the wall, and tears fall down my face as my heart breaks, as I start seeing them through Gods eyes. On the other side of this wall are a man and a woman who are so completely broken. So what can I do? And what can I say?
2 Corinthians 3:16-17
‘But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.’
I proclaim that the Spirit of the Lord is present, that He is penetrating this wall and that He is bringing freedom. I pray that through the Holy Spirit, God is breaking off the chains that have bound up this man and this woman. I pray that they are no longer bound to the lies or their idols, but that they will reach out for truth and find freedom. Light is penetrating into the darkness. The power of the Lord is unstoppable and we can proclaim life into these rooms. His authority is living inside of me and it is an overwhelming force that cannot be overcome. So I pray against the lies that take away value and worth; and I pray against he idols that control this industry, the idols of money and power and lust. And I proclaim that these people are children of the Father, daughters and sons. And I proclaim God as our Savior, provider, redeemer, and Father. I pray for restoration and a new confidence in a true identity.
Last night was a night of power. The power of the Lord had shown up, and He is taking this hotel. The darkness is slowly being lifted. The devil is scared. He is losing his power over this place and he knows it. During our first hour of worship together we had people pounding on the walls for us to be quiet, but we just sung louder. There is a different feel in our hotel. We have no fear except fear of the Lord and we know Satan cant touch us. So, for our final week in this place we will continue to go into battle. We will continue to spend our nights in prayer, breaking down the strongholds that darkness had, and proclaiming this place for the kingdom. The fire of the Lord is here and it cannot be contained.
Hebrews 12:28
‘Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.’
