Several years ago I attended a Bible Study led by a pastor who opened my eyes to the spiritual realm. When the timing was right, I probed deeper, wanting to understand more about angels and demons. One night an opportunity arose for this pastor to share a few stories about powers of darkness that he and other members of his church have encountered on earth. Before revealing these details, pastor Bruce gave a warning to everyone in the room. Whenever confronting any type of spiritual entity, you must have a group of prayer warriors covering you to serve as a hedge of protection against demonic attacks or push back from these powers of darkness.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places, Ephesians 6:12.
Curious, I asked a simple question, why is a team of prayer warriors necessary? Pastor Bruce went on to talk about a former leader of his church who attempted to confront the powers of darkness of a well known vacation destination by himself. Unaware of the stronghold that existed in this area, this man ended up in a mental hospital, troubled by the demonic entities unleashed upon his life. This encounter caused this man to leave church for several years, haunted by scenes often reserved for Hollywood horror movies. All I needed was one real life example to realize I needed to begin to become proactive in my prayer life to protect myself from similar attacks as a Bible teacher at the time.
Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. 9 But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone], 1 Peter 5:8-9.
This leads me to the other night. I have been taught to be careful when addressing certain topics. Last week I felt compelled to share a blog about Witchcraft in the context of people wanting to place a hex on Brett Kavanaugh. Anyway, I should have expected some sort of push back, but I got careless, unprepared spiritually. Subsequently, I was minding my own business, drifting off in a deep sleep when it happened. I’m not sure if this was a nightmare or a scary reality, but I saw a voodoo doll in someone’s hand. As soon as I got a little closer, the doll resembled me as a pin was placed into this doll. I felt immediate pain, waking up moments later with a severe headache, struggling to grasp what just happened. Inspired by a whisper from the Holy Spirit, I started praying. About 15 minutes later I began to feel normal again. Yet this ordeal, whatever the explanation, serves as an instant reminder to watch and pray so that future attacks aren’t successful.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 