Power Encounter

John 1:5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never overcome it (extinguish it /  Comprehend it).

John 3:19-21
And the judgment is based on this fact: God's light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.

He came forward for prayer and ministry.
The years had taken a  toll on his body.
The darkness had taken a toll on his mind.
He knew scripture, although it was buried beneath a language of religion. The darkness had made sure of that.
His eyes revealed that he was desperate for change.
But there was a hopelessness about him that continually shot messages through his mind that such was for others not him.

Still, he came forward. God was at work.
He received prayer and encouragement. He accepted them like tasty morsels to a dying man. Each time he took the encouragement, you could see the darkness inside devour each one, with a taunt that seemed to say..."Do your best, he belongs to us."

I drove over Monday morning to meet with him and get a fill for his history.
He was asleep and would not come to the door. I left.
He stayed on my mind and heart all that day, and I was determined to return on Tuesday.
Tuesday was God's timing for this appointment...........this encounter.
As I drove up, he was getting out of a car, thanking the driver for taking him into town. I approached the man, he was nervous, and apologetic for not being awake when I'd come by on Monday. "No problem," I replied. We made our way into the house and settled into place to talk.

He had trouble completing sentences, and his speech came in spits and stops. Half sentences and incomplete words. "Peace Lord," I prayed. "Let your Holy Spirit cover us as we talk."

His history was one I'd heard before from countless others. Hooking up with a girl who was into the dark arts. Wicca....tarot cards.....Satanic incantations....and on and on. As he shared, he gave the standard line I'd heard before..."I only dabbled in it. I didn't believe it was real." I shared how he might not have taken it serious, but demonic spirits do. They are simply watching for an entry point in a persons life so that they can come in and be the driving influence that stirs the flesh and demands to be fed. From this simple, "I was only dabbling" came a long, long slide into the darkness. One thing led to another and he found himself on a journey that he could not stop.

I began to pray over him, asking God to come in power. Reminding those spirits where the real power lay, and the One who possessed it. For the next hour, one by one, the man was freed from their presence, their power, and their purpose.
Finally he burst into tears....
Tears of joy...
Tears of freedom...
Tear of release....

He did not look like nor sound like the same man that I'd met on Sunday night.
He was free.
I will never stop being amazed when God pushed the darkness away from person's life.
#1 - I fully realize I had nothing to do with the whole thing. I was simply a conduit that God flowed through.

#2 - Such encounters as this are the reason I don't quit...the reason I don't give up...the reason that I do what I do. 

# 3 - It reminds me of the awesomeness of God. That He is truly more than words on a page and notes in a song. He is God Almighty, and He still possesses the POWER to free men and women from the bondage and stronghold of the devil.

Pray for this man, if you will.
Pray that He will continue to push forward in this new relationship he has with God.

God on you...
mbb