The Cloud and the Covering.
This is a continuation of the previous entry. So you might want to go back and read that one first.
After watching/sleeping through my movie, I got up around 6:30pm and started getting ready. As I was getting dressed, I heard a noise in my front yard. I couldn't figure out what the noise was, and I chalked it up to the neighborhood kids. Then I walked out to my car, and I saw something running around in the shadows in my neighbor's yard. Again, I thought it was Trey playing "secret agent" or something like that.
Now, I'm not so sure what all that was.
I got in my car, turned on my headlights, started backing out of my driveway, and dialed J's number. I hadn't spoken with C in a couple days, and I was calling to check on her. Just as J answered the phone, I looked back at my house (as I'm still backing out of my driveway).
There is SMOKE in front of my house!!! Something is on fire!
"J, I have to call you back!"
I pull back into my yard thinking that our tenant must have left the stove on while she was sleeping.
But when I pulled back up into the yard, I looked and saw no more smoke.
Well, that was odd. I thought "Maybe it is a cloud of fog or something that only shows when I shine my headlights on it."
So I go to back out again, and there is nothing there. Where just seconds before, I had seen a cloud of billowing smoke, there was nothing.
So, a little freaked out, I turn around to make sure there are no cars on the road I am backing into, and THERE IT IS! Behind me! I saw a cloud of smoke cross in front of a street light and disappear.
By this point, I recognize it as a spiritual force, and I am more than a little fraked out. I tried to figure out what it was. In the Old Testament, God's presence with the Israelites was in the form of a cloud. But the cloud that I saw instilled ice-cold dread in me. I was shaking I was so scared.
So I called C back, and -Thank God - Mrs.DD was there! She is the most awesome warrior I know in the body of Christ! She said she has seen a demonic cloud like that before too. (At least I knew I wasn't crazy then.)
She said, "You don't need me to pray for you. YOU can take authority over those demons."
I knew she was right, but somehow I felt paralyzed by the whole situation. All I could pray was, "God, protect me now. Put your angels on all six sides of my car and keep me safe."
So Mrs.DD prayed, and I felt a bit better.
Next I called Jen to tell her "Here's what happened. I'm on my way. Start praying."
I got to Jen's house and told her in detail about what I had just experienced.
She prayed for me. As she did, I sat in silence and listened to her prayer and to God's voice.
Finally, the Holy Spirit revealed to me what was going on.
I have been under attack for months now. I realize that is no new revelation, but the Lord used this to lead me to think about the spiritual armour that I should have.
The helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the gospel shoes... "Lord, I have all these things. What are you showing me here?"
Then, the sword - the Word of God.
That is what I am missing.
I'm not in the Word nearly as much as I need to be. I mean, I am ashamed to say, I read it once a week - maybe.
I do feel like, for a season, the Lord has had me to just sit in His presence. So my quiet time consists of turning on a worhip CD, singing some, and then just sitting in God's presence. "Be still, and know that I am God." It has been during these times that the Lord has fine tuned my ears to hear the Holy Spirit. I have learned, in the loudest most chaotic of circumstances, to tune out the world and listen to God. It's something I have never been able to do before.
But now, that season has passed, and it is time for more. I still need to silence myself in His presence and listen. Then, once I'm tuned in, I need to read the Word - with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
So, back to the sword. It makes so much sense. For months, I have been on the defense in this battle. I have used faith, righteousness, mental discipline, and all sorts of things to resist temptations and defend myself against the attacks of the enemy. BUT! I have no offense. I don't have a weapon to fight back with.
In the past, when I have come under these attacks, I knew exactly how to fight them. Satan would be stupid to mess with me and my God because I am a Deborah!
But, this time around, I have been helpless in fighting back. My prayers are always, "God protect me!" This explains why I couldn't assert my authority over that cloud like Mrs.DD said I should!
So, that is the main thing that happened, but there are a couple other things that need serious prayer over the next few weeks.
The movie that I was watching right before I saw this cloud was "Harry Potter." Now B and I own all three movies, and I have watched them several times. Until last night, I didn't see what the big deal was. I mean, we watch "Bewitched" without getting all bent out of shape, so really, what's the difference? It's about good vs evil, and good always wins. I wouldn't want my kids to see it. But like I said, for me and B, I just didn't see what was so bad about it.
But now I'm not so sure. I talked to Jen about it. She said something that really struck me: "When God calls people to extraordinary things, He requires of them extraordinary sacrifices." So maybe, according to Jen, those movies are okay for most people. She also reminded me that a couple years ago, I considered the idea that I shouldn't listen to secular music any more- at least, not on a regular basis - because most of the songs promote anything other than a lifestyle that fully relies on God. Since then, I have poo pooed the idea, and I listen to Star94 more than any other station.
So, now I am really going to have to pray about the things that God is calling me to give up so that I can embrace all He has for me.
I mean, up until now, I have thought that a glass of wine every now and then is okay. But is that something I am called to give up?
I'm not saying that the Lord has told me to give these things up, but I AM saying that these are areas in which I am going to have to apply a lot of prayer. If God has called me to a higher standard, then I am ready to take the step up. But I need to be sure because I don't want to put myself under condemning, legalistic "rules" that are not of the Lord (like I have done in the past).
Also, during the prayer, the Lord showed me a vision about Jen. I saw an army shooting arrrows. There were hundreds of arrows being randomly shot into the air, hoping that something would hit. But then I saw one refined arrow that went directly to its target.
Then the Lord told me that Jen is that arrow. She is an intercessor, and her prayers hit the mark every time.
When I told Jen, she started crying. She heard a sermon back in the spring that talked about being an arrow, and that has been her prayer ever since then.
Then, as I turn onto my street on my way home, my phone rings. It's AB. She is at the Starlite office with all the other Starchicks, and they have called to pray for me. It was absolutely amazing.
Here is the email AB sent me this morning:
"You should have seen us... on our knees, crowded around that cell phone last night.
I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful sight. I wish I could have made a picture of it for you... 23 girls... some who have never even met you; others who have lived with you. Some were on their knees; some were on their faces. Most were crying for you.
Try to imagine it in your mind.
ab"
Even typing it now brings tears to my eyes. I slept through the night, for the first time in a long time. I woke up this morning refreshed. It was like I could finally rest, knowing that those girls were fighting for me, in my stead. I have no words. No words - to describe the feeling in my heart. I feel loved, and protected, and uplifted. Thank God!
Finally, I went in and told B about all that had happened. Normally, he is skeptical about these things (I think because he has never experienced them). So after I told him, I said, "Do you believe me?" And, finally, he said, "Yes. I believe you now."
How amazing my God is!!! How absolutely amazing!!!