Day 14 - June 29 - This means war

I've mentioned before the sense of oppression that hangs over this hospital. I haven't mentioned what's been going on around here specifically, for fear that you all would think I was a lunatic. Well, I'm past that - you can think I'm insane if you like, but you need to know that I'm sitting in the middle of a pretty intense spiritual battle. For all I know, it may only be a spiritual skirmish, but from my point of view it seems more like a full-blown engagement.

I won't get into a theological discussion about spiritual adversaries - if you believe the Bible is true, you must accept the existence of evil forces arrayed against anyone who claims the name of Christ. What I will tell you now is what's been going on over the last few days.

The first two nights we slept in the little room the hospital provided, I awoke in the middle of the night in the throes of despair. The third and fourth nights we slept there, we claimed the protection of the name of Jesus Christ over that room and Connor's, rebuking Satan in Jesus' name to stake out a safe territory for His children. Both of those nights we slept soundly. On the afternoon after the third night, I became overwhelmed with the sense of oppression surrounding the hospital, and began mentally walking the grounds of the building, praying and staking out territory for Christ to work, rebuking the influence of Satan in the name of Christ. On the morning after the fourth night, the hospital took the room away from us.

Last night, our daughter came under attack in the middle of the night. She had a dream where dark creatures were holding her down in her bed, pressing her into the mattress as they mocked her and laughed at her distress. She was watching as a third person, seeing herself struggle against these things and calling out to us. They were laughing and saying "they can't help you, they're in the other room". She began praying out loud in her sleep, and at the name of Jesus she came awake and bolt upright. She came to our room and woke us, and we gathered together to rebuke Satan in the name of Jesus, binding him from the house, and calling protection to Connor's room and around all of us.

You can think what you want - coincidence, indigestion, whatever - but this happened, it continues, and it is consistent with what I know about spiritual matters. I draw comfort from the fact that enemies don't attack where they don't need to, but rather they face off against things that threaten. I am convinced that God is doing a mighty work here, something bigger than all of us, and the bad guys don't like it and are trying to stop it.

Here's the choices - you can shrug your shoulders, say that Eric has finally gone off the deep end, and ignore this. Or, you can step into the fray and fly Combat Prayer Patrol for us. We need the physical, spiritual and emotional protection that comes from God alone. We need spiritual help to meet spiritual threats. We need to be able to rest in the peace of God in the midst of a battle, so we can think, so we can pray, so we can fight.

Thank you for your prayer coverage.