Spiritual Realities

Sometimes it’s easy to forget spiritual realities. We become so consumed with the natural, that the supernatural seems impossible. I think that some people become too absorbed in things like angels and demons, but the other danger is ignoring them all together. Somehow, mysteriously, and right now their is a spiritual battle taking place for the souls of man. Yesterday, I caught a brief glimpse of it and did not like what I saw. I liked it even less when I realized that these types of events were probably far too common than I give them credit for.

There was a strange young man I have come in to contact with several times before, who dropped by my church yesterday while some teens were working in preparation for a fundraiser. When I had talked to him before, he always used very “Christiany” words and was ‘over-the-top’ nice and polite. The last time I had come into contact with him he was dancing around the streets downtown shouting out “Christiany” words, rapping, and speaking in tongues. I confronted him and advised him that he was acting crazy and giving a bad name to Christians and the cause of Christ by his unorderly behavior.

I could, while he was at the church this time, tell he was up to no good so I warned the teens to be careful around him and to watch for any suspicious behavior. Sure enough, right when the teens left, he came back into our building to “use the bathroom” and started stealing my nice bike.

My friend Ryan walked in on him as he was taking off with my bike and the strange young man hid in our bathroom. I waited for him to exit and he began pounding on the inside of the bathroom door.

I waited for him to exit and met him eye to eye as he did. He frantically began confessing to me through heavy sobbing that he had attempted to steal my bike. I walked him outside and he began to run away from me, then come back, run away, and come back over and over. I asked if he remembered me and he did down to the minute detail. He told menus was high on meth, as to which I was not surprised since he was acting crazy.

I told him that he needed help and asked what type of treatment he had sought, then told him that he needed prayer as well. He got directly in my face and with another-worldly voice said,” You don’t pray in tongues!” I stared back at him nonchalantly and said,” How do you know?” He then got even closer into my face and began to yell in tongues at me!?!

I was unwavering, shrugged my shoulders and asked him what that was all about and he quoted nearly verbatim a thought I had in my mind about tongues- spooky! I asked him what was controlling his actions and he began to yell,” ANGER! MADNESS! DEPRESSION!!!”

I asked if I could pray for him and as I did, he began to fall to the ground. As I finished he ‘came-to’ and said that he “felt that peace”. I could sense though that he had not released whatever force (demonic) had a hold of him. He ran away a short distance, stopped in the lawn, looked into the sky and began maniacally laughing, periodically turning into crying.

This is only a short version of what happened, but it all goes to show that there are dark demonic forces at work in the world trying to seek and devour all who would potentially call on the name of the Lord. Whether we want to admit it or not, there is scary stuff going on around us and we must trust in the Lord for victory over it and pray to Him to break the strongholds these demonic forces have over those they oppress.

There’s a battle raging. Be perceptive to see it and fight in the Spirit with prayer for the souls of men all around you.