As children and parents alike enjoy this season of dress up and goodies, it is easy to relegate the spiritual realm to child's play. This past year held two examples of the varied, yet futile tactics of our enemy to prevent God’s Kingdom advances.
A member of our team saw God’s power confront and overcome the darkness. They had prayed with a woman who moved to town to live with her daughter. This woman was a new believer, and her daughter and boyfriend actively participated in the occult. Our teammate gave her the tools to pray over the house and stand firm in her position in Christ. This woman immediately experienced more peace in that home and her daughter’s anger toward her cooled a bit. This was not the end. After our teammate set their prayer network to fight on this woman’s behalf, God started to move. About month later this woman reported that the daughter threw out all the pagan articles, including the altar, stating “it no longer has the power it once did.” Wait, God is not done yet! While her daughter has not yet accepted Christ, this woman has been praying that God would open her daughter’s eyes to this pagan spiritual bondage. That young girl has started to visual see the demons which are behind her occult beliefs. Please pray that this young woman seeks refuge in the arms of her loving savior. {see update below!}
We often assume spiritual warfare is only found in these clear displays of combat. The next event, relayed by an intern, reminded us that our enemy is far more subtle most of the time.
Andrew finished up his Bible college experience with a three-month internship in one of our remote communities. In his exit interview, Andrew recalled how he used to read scriptures about spiritual warfare with a clinical curiosity that was more distant than practical. That is no longer the case. As he looked back on his internship, he realized that the enemy used the isolation and loneliness of remote ministry to bring an anxiety upon him which flared into occasional depression. Andrew is not alone. This subtle assault is often left unanswered by many of us who have many years of ministry experience. Have you experienced a similar tactic of the enemy?
We all have the authority and tools to stand our ground against every fiery dart. Let’s fortify our minds and hearts with God’s Word and be ever vigilant so that every skirmish might seem as easy as child’s play.
UPDATE: May 10, 2018: We received word from our teammate that this woman's daughter has turned to Jesus. Here is the report, "She was wanting to be saved and wanted us to release her from the grips of Satan. She is in her late 20s, I think. She has been in Satanism almost her whole life and gave her life to him. Pastor Randy, another man, and I were able to lead her to Christ. She left her warlock boyfriend and is collecting all of her occult things to smash and burn. Thanks for your prayers for her salvation."
