Listening To: “Live with Abandon” by Newsboys
A lot of people don’t talk about it. Maybe they think it’s not a common thing these days, or perhaps, even, that it’s not real.
I’m here to tell you it is real, and we’re faced with it every day in Costa Rica.
Spiritual warfare.
This is the Caribbean, and things like voodoo and black magic run rampant. Our ministry host Glenda grew up in Puerto Viejo, and someone came after her and her family with a curse several years ago. She was the only one who was a Christian, thus she was the only one who was unaffected (because she had the covering of the Lord—the rest of her family were Jehova Witnesses).
Her mother died from this spiritual attack. Glenda tells stories of witchcraft and “black books” that have taken over people’s spiritual life, but it wasn’t always like this. The people of Puerto Viejo once understood the power of Christ and the Cross. But false prophets rose up, and when so-called “prophecies” never came to fulfillment after years and years of waiting, people began to fall away from the church. Spiritism and the occult took over again.
Glenda says this place is overdue for a revival. She believes wholeheartedly it’s going to happen soon, so that’s what I’m praying for.
We’re living in a house here that’s going to be used to help disadvantaged women in the community. It’s called Restoration House, and that’s precisely what we’re doing to it: restoring it to the best shape we can through cleaning, painting, doing yard work, and building a garden.
It’s a quaint house, a fixer upper. More than that, though, it’s a very old house with a history I’m planning to ask Glenda more about. I don’t know what these walls have seen, but there is definitely a dark presence here.
Our first night staying in the house, our squad leader Sam was compelled to suggest that we pray while playing worship music. So we did, and after the worship session (after everyone was in bed for the night), I went into the room we’re using to store our backpacks. I wanted to read my Bible for a bit, but I didn’t want to bother everyone else who was in the living room (that’s where we’d decided we’d be sleeping, since it provided the most space).
While I was reading, this horrible sense of dread came over me. That’s something I would consider EXTREMELY unusual, because reading my Bible always brings such peace, as does worship music (which we had just finished playing/singing).
I tried to ignore the the sense of foreboding rising up in me, but as I kept reading, the feeling grew until I had the distinct feeling I was being watched. More than that, I had this feeling someone was in the room with me. It was a small room. I could see every nook and cranny, and yet I was definitely not alone.
Fear tiptoed through me. The presence was undeniable and very, very powerful. I could no longer read my Bible, because I was unable to concentrate.
I wanted to turn around. Honestly, I wanted to get out of the room. Everyone was still asleep in the living room, and being around seven other people, whether they were sleeping or not, suddenly sounded like a brilliant idea.
But who knows if I was made for just such a time as this (Esther 4:14)? God has been preparing me for spiritual warfare, and I wasn’t about to let on that I was scared. So instead of leaving—instead of so much as turning and acknowledging it, whatever it was—I started praying. Hard.
I prayed so hard for so long, tears began streaming down my cheeks. Something seemed to “break” in the spiritual realm, and that’s the last thing I remember before passing out.
When I awoke, I was still leaning forward in my chair, hands clasped. The presence was gone. The room felt airier, more breathable…less oppressed. I no longer felt that creepy feeling of being watched and approached.
We’ve had other incidents here, too. I had a dream the other night about a very poisonous spider creeping toward me, which an unseen force (I believe it was the Holy Spirit) then crushed.
NOTE: For those unaware, dreams about spiders can indicate a demonic presence.
EDIT ON NOTE: I found out what this dream meant, and it had less to do with my surroundings and more to do with me and my own spiritual battles — I’ll be talking more in depth about this in a later blog post, if I can get my laptop repaired. So stay tuned.
We’ve also had random accidents ranging from the kitchen faucet and bathroom showerhead breaking off (while water is running, thus spraying people in the face and chest) all the way to a pot of beans exploding (they were in a pressure cooker, and one of my teammates was burned by flying beans).
Knowing everything I know about this town, its history, and the things God has been teaching me about spiritual warfare, I’d say some spirits are making themselves known here.
Well, that’s good, because we’re making ourselves known here, too. Last Saturday, I led some street evangelism at the market. I proclaimed the Gospel, played worship music, and then I played and sang through the streets all the way home.
I didn’t stop there. After that, I sang and praised the Lord some more in front of our house. That went on for about an hour or so. We live on a busy street, lots of people walking around, and every time someone acknowledged me, I would smile and call out: “¡Jesús vive!” (Jesus lives!) Lesa was my “angel wingman,” and she stayed up on the porch, praying for everyone who passed by.
We’re planning to hit the streets soon, Lesa and I, and start declaring freedom over people and claiming souls for Christ. Prayers against enemy interference are welcome and appreciated!
Other exciting happenings: Our team has had some great discussions during team time, hashing out issues we’ve had the past couple of months. Each day, I’ve noticed everyone drawing closer and closer. There are lots of laughs, lots of smiles We’ve gotten to know some locals, and one man named Clinton (a lifelong resident with a severe deformity in his leg) has received prayer twice and is very open to more prayer and talking about the Word.
Our host is also pleased with our work. We seem to be moving faster than she can keep up sometimes. The Lord has been blessing her ministry with many contacts who want to help in the design and maintenance of the community garden our team’s been working on, and people are getting excited about special activities Glenda is planning for kids and youth.
So things are going great! We want to keep going strong, though, so please pray for us! We’re going to be busy with finishing the restoration of the house, we’ll be volunteering at some organic farms in the area, the English classes are just getting geared up, and the Cultural Center in town is going to have some great activities we’ll be helping with (e.g. film night and launching its Facebook page).
When we leave at the end of the month, we want to look back on this month and say: WOW! PRAISE JESUS! We’re asking God to move in big ways here and for our brief stay to leave a lasting impact. Prayers for all of that, for all of the above, would be SO APPRECIATED.
Oh, and that darkness that seems to be pervading in this place—not just the house, but the whole town: I keep seeing a vision of Puerto Viejo with a shadowy glass ceiling over it. I can’t see through the glass—it’s literally blacked out—but God’s Light is beginning to shine through. The glass begins to crack and give way until is finally shatters.
God’s Light is burning hot, and I want it to light up Puerto Viejo. Let’s praise Him and ask Him to burn the darkness to the ground!
When He reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of His followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.
“Blessing on the King who comes in the name of the LORD! Peace in Heaven, and glory in the highest Heaven!”
But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”
Jesus replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”
Matthew 19:37-40
