I felt the weight literally crushing down on me. My body physically hurt. I heard God tell me to get out.
Let’s back up.
This month my team and I are in Sri Lanka. After our route changed, we were given the amazing opportunity to choose whether or not we wanted to go to Indonesia or Sri Lanka. After a lot of prayer, everyone on my team felt the Lord telling us to go to Sri Lanka.
However, once we got here, I really started to question that. It is hard here. It is dark here. Women are not respected, and rarely acknowledged. When we are, it is because we are being cat called. It has been a hard adjustment here.
I struggled to love the people here. I haven’t made friendships or connections with any locals. I was disappointed God sent me here. I didn’t understand my purpose here. I was ashamed of this. I was ashamed of how much I was struggling here. I was ashamed that I was upset with God. However, once I finally admitted this to Him, he drastically began to change my heart.
In Dambula, there is a huge Buddhist temple. My team and I decided we wanted to go there and pray for the people to turn from these false gods and run to our Abba instead. On the walk to the temple, I prayed that God would protect me from whatever it was that I was about to walk into. I prayed that I wasn’t opening myself up to a spiritual battle that I wasn’t prepared to fight off. I prayed that I would be able to do this.
I asked God to show me a sign that He was with me, and I wasn’t doing this alone. Sri Lanka is hot, yall. It has been a hot minute since I felt a strong breeze. But when I asked the Lord to show me He was with me, He sent the most wonderful breeze. It lasted the entire walk. I believe that was my Father. I believe that was Him, reassuring me that I wasn’t alone.
Once we reached the temple, I felt confident. I knew I could go into the temple. I knew whatever dark presence that would meet me there could not overcome the spirit of the Lord. We hiked up the mountain to get to the temple, and I walked in confidently. When we first walked in, there was a lot of chanting and drumming going on around us. I stood for a minute in the middle of all of this, and asked the Lord again, if I should go in. A quiet voice asked in return “Taylor, are you ready to go to war for me?”
I stood there, a little surprised that of all people, he was asking me to do this. But in that moment, I knew I could do this for him. So, I walked into the first temple. There were drawings and statues everywhere. There were offerings left. I tried not to look at any of it. I stood in the corner, and prayed. I prayed for the people of Sri Lanka. I prayed for the people that were so obviously lost.
I walked into the next temple, and that is where things began to change. The heaviness I felt when I walked in was unlike anything I have ever experienced before. I felt the weight crushing me. My body physically hurt. I prayed the quickest prayer I’ve ever done in my life, and asked God if I could leave. He told me to get out.
I left the room as quickly as I could, and went outside. I was confused. God had told me to go to war for Him, but then let me run out of the temple. Had I misheard him? Had I done something wrong? I sat down and prayed. I asked Him to fill my heart and my soul with His power. I asked Him to calm my heart, and protect my body. I asked Him to strengthen my mind, so that I could go back in. After a few more minutes of prayer, God told me to go back in.
I walked back into the temple, and no longer felt the crushing weight I had the first time. I walked in confidence that my Father would protect me. I stood in front of one of the statues and prayed. I screamed my prayers in my head. I prayed that these false gods, idols, and temples would come crashing down. I prayed that people would see God for the good Father that he is, and turn from the lie that they are living. I left the temple a little surprised. I knew that those were not my words. It was a prayer the Lord had given me.
I spent a little time walking around outside, trying to pray over the land. Before we were allowed to enter the temples, we had to take our shoes off. As I was walking in the temples, down the hallway, and on the rocks outside, I got the most beautiful image of Jesus walking barefoot with me too. I believe with my whole heart, that Jesus was there that day, walking barefoot beside us, softening the ground, preparing it for a revival.
That night, my team and I were talking about our individual experiences at the temple, and we found that we all had prayed for the same thing. We had all prayed for the temple to come crashing down. All of us admitted that was something we wouldn’t usually say or pray for, and we found comfort in knowing that it wasn’t our words that day, but God’s.
Sri Lanka has been different than I expected. I haven’t formed lifelong relationships here, or shared the gospel with kids. I haven’t gone to a university and evangelized. I haven’t gone to a carepoint to pass out food or bible verses. But I have prayed. I have spent my days, praying that the ground here be softened, and that people see who God really is. I have spent my days trying to walk, talk, and act like Jesus. I have spent my days trying to love others the way Jesus does. Some days I am successful, and some days I’m not. Some days it is easy, and some days it isn’t. But one thing I know for sure, is that God is moving here. He is awake. He is hungry for the people here. He longs for their souls. While I may not always understand their way of life here, or agree with it, I see God’s desire for them, and I’ll never stop praying that they see it too.
