There Is Thunder in His Footsteps and Lightning in His Fists

Our team has been driving the struggle bus since we got to
India.

Every single member has been sick at least once, some for
longer periods than others. There hasn’t been one week where the entire team
has been healthy. Just as one person is feeling better, another is under the
weather.

The heat hasn’t helped any. It’s a muggy humid heat that
wraps around you and doesn’t allow you to breathe properly. And the fact that
it has only drizzled twice since we have gotten here makes it even worse.

So, we decided we’d had enough.

We knew that the only reason why we were sick, the only
reason why we weren’t getting better was because of spiritual warfare.

In Ephesians 6: 12 it says, “For our struggle is not against
flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world
forces of this darkness…”

Coming to India we were fully aware of the darkness that was
here, but we had no idea that it would impact us that way it has. Satan has
been affecting our health to separate the team and keep us from ministry, I
can’t think of one week when we have all been present every day for ministry.

And we were tired of it.

During  prayer time at
Asha the other day, after both Zoe and Hendrika walked home because they were feeling
sick, Hannah felt that God was telling her that we should all pray over the
house and over each other when the service was over. We were going to pray
against this darkness until it had no choice but to flee and never return.

So when we got home we got in a circle, laid hands on each
other, and started to pray up a storm. Literally.

As we began, we could hear thunder rumbling in the distance.

We prayed for protection, for strength, that this house was
God’s house and if there was any darkness near, or around us, that it needed to
leave in the name of Jesus. 

Satan didn’t stand a chance.

The longer we prayed, the closer the storm got. The longer
we praised His name, the louder the storm became.

And then it rained. But it didn’t just rain. It poured.

And we got excited. We knew that the storm was God reminding
us of His power. It is often said that the physical realm manifests what is
going on in the spiritual realm; at that moment, He was battling the darkness
for us. As Exodus 14:14 says, “The LORD will fight for you, you need only to be
still.”

We thanked God for the rain, and for reminding us of who He was,
and that in Him we have nothing to fear.

We stopped praying, and looked at each other for a minute.

Then we ran outside.

Not caring that by India’s standards we were scantily clad
since we were in tank tops and shorts.

God knocked out the power and we cheered.

We got completely drenched. For the first time in months we
were COLD. We danced around, hugged each other, and just praised His name.

As it thundered and poured we knew that the battle was over.
God had taken care of it. We could feel the weight being lifted off of us. And
we were thrilled.

And how did we respond to that?

We sang at the top of our lungs and let all of India know
who we worshiped and praised.

As we danced before our Savior, our sick team mates
experienced healing in His presence.

Our neighbors came out to watch us; people shined their
flashlights on us, curious at what the crazy white people were doing. We lifted
up our hands and praised our God.

Psalm 107:25 says “..He spoke and raised up a stormy
wind..”, and Psalm 29:3 says “The God of glory thunders…”

There was no denying that God was in that storm. The longer
we praised His name, the fiercer the storm became. Job 36:30 says “Behold He spreads
His lightning about Him.” And oh did He spread it! The lightning was so close,
and so beautiful. I’ve never seen lightning like that before. It was so bright
it lit up the entire sky and the surrounding neighborhoods.

We stayed out there singing until the rain stopped, the
winds died down, and the thunder became a distant sound.

Then we gathered together and prayed a sealing over what had
just happened. And just in case we forgot who we were talking to, God lit the
sky up one more time.

Completely soaked, still in awe of what we had just
witnessed we walked back into our dark house. Abigail told God that all we
needed was the power to turn back on now. Before she finished her sentence the
power came back.

Coincidence? Yeah we didn’t think so either.

The next day we saw that the plant in the little temple that
is in front of our house was knocked over. The storm had killed it.

We had been praying fervently a couple weeks ago that God
would destroy that temple.

His timing, as always, was perfect.

When we picked up the Indian newspaper the following day,
there on the front page was an article about a “freak thunderstorm” that had
taken place the previous night. But we knew that it was no freak storm.

That night was an experience that we will never forget. This
blog can’t even give God the glory that He deserves because He is indescribable.

We know that the battle with Satan isn’t over. There are
more to come. But with God we have the strength to face them head on. We know
we have nothing to fear.

We serve an AWESOME God who has already won the war!

Pressing On,

Team India

 (Kristen, Morgan,
Hendrika, Julia, Hannah, Rachel, Ashleigh, Zoe, Abigail, and Heidi)