EVIL SPIRITS IN HEAVENLY PLACES
After we purchased a house in Ashoknagar with His wondrous promise and guidance one day after everybody left the home I was laying down on my bed for a little rest in the mid afternoon. Enjoying the calm and quiet compact cosy home.enjoying that warm afternoon after finishing the days toil, with spacious 5 room and kitchen veg garden with greenery back ground, glowers and fruits of my husband green finger wonders, everything clean and tidy without any owners or tenants interference after 15 years of continuous shifting from house to house after our marriage.
Suddenly I heard a small still voice.." Your life wouldn't be like this " It was short and crisp statement. I was a little bit bewildered but did not give much heed to that. But what all that happened after 1994 was completely different from the previous part of my life.
Till then life was going on wonderfully, we were made in charge of the little center in Eluru, as I already mentioned. The responsibilities increased, Serving God means not just telling Sunday school stories or giving on Sunday sermons copying the senior members of the church and their well- prepared messages. Its actually a battle with the powers of darkness. If the devil sleeping happily without involving in your ministry, everything going on wonderfully without any set backs, it means you are not a threat to Satan's kingdom. The devil was relaxing,seeing you are enjoying your OWN ways, building your property and not caring the souls of the the members that come to you without disturbing his cunning tactics of deceit.
Even before I heard this voice of Him, soon after we took the charge of Eluru branch, I tasted the viles of the evil one. The devil often make the pastor's family a main target. Because the pastor's family is on front row of the battle. It plays all the fooling around. Uncertainty was introduced into my life. We are fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies,but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places" Ephesians 6:12
One day I got a dream, where my son was within an inch apart of the Cobra, I was so afraid to leave him at home. I took him along with me to fieldwork visit. We went to Damien leprosy center, and coming home along with my BA students. We were trying to get an auto to go home, we were calling the autoes but we could not get one empty one that afternoon. we were too tired, my son and myself were walking on the road, suddenly he just pushed my hand which was holding him, ran for the auto that comes the other side like a lightening and in seconds I saw him falling on the tar road and a Luna( small scooter) first wheel was touching his stomach. If one more second of negligence of the Luna wallah, the vehicle would be on top of my son and he wouldn't be alive. and would be in pool of blood.
My husband was having a steady faith, he never showed his fear or doubts, but me I was different, I had all the fears in the world. Especially the safety of my family was eating my brain. I was so depressed with the daily routine,as my husband was not available in those days, I did not have any one at home to take care of my children in my absence, and there were so many crime stories we were hearing about kidnapping of the little children from the school premises.
One day I came home and saw one old woman was trying to feed my children with a laddu. I was scared enough , could not do anything but took them into my bosom and cried aloud.
One day I found them not at home. I ran to school, no one was there, I was crying bitterly aloud, on the road for my children... praying and crying, later some body told me after 4 hours or so, that they were playing in a near by church When I caught hold of my children and weeping my daughter innocently asked me," why are you crying mom , you told us to go and play there whenever you are late from college." I think I told them like that when that old woman was trying to seduce them with laddu, but I forgot about it.
Taking care of little children in the absence of husband was a great burden on me. Because I was supposed to be in college all through the day. Even I used to have a lot of fear for the safety of my husband, because he used to run after the passenger train many times to catch it to go to the office in time. I saw him running like that. I heard one of my neighbor died on the spot when he tried to catch the train.
Oh these and many thoughts were frightening me all the time. I was praying for them but somehow my soul could not rest. Fear is something that dwells in our heart without our permission.Evil spirits in the heavenly places? The trust in God will be there but we cannot give proper explanation how and why this fear for our loved ones persist in our mind. Of course as per me I am not afraid of myself, my being, I do not worry an inch about me, but for my family, my little children.. my beloved husband... this is something I cannot get rid of this strange feelings.
One day a girl was shouting at me, she was our neighbor, when I was at the tap, to get water into my pot. She was on the terrace and with envious eyes, she was shouting loudly because I was filling my pot with water, which she did not like. She wanted me not to use the tap water, she said.
I could not say any thing, I said to her" I was giving the word of God to you in Sunday school, and I loved you so much, why you are insulting me like this"
I could not stop the tears, and went into the house.
The teacher who was with me , Manimma at that time exhorted the girl, " you are an young girl, how can you scold the woman of God? do not do that its not good for you" she said to her and came after me into the home.
We both knelt down and prayed for the girl and forgave her in the presence of God.
After one month,the girl's mother came to call me, and asked me to come out of the room and sat with me and told me that her daughter is evil possessed and requested me to pray for her.
I was surprised, I asked her what happened to her.that I was not seeing her in these days. In fact I did not see her after that tap incident.
She told me that the girl went to a church where the demons were caste away, she saw one girl possessed by the evil spirit, she was so afraid and she ran and reached home. Since then she was afraid to come out and talking very loudly and crazily.
There was no fear in me. The devil cannot touch me now, ok it may be trying to frighten me with some little tricks, here and there as if the safety of my family is in it's hands. Now I knew that The Devil cannot do any thing to that girl or me or my children or my family. I Knew then and there, the Lord of Hosts is with me and He will take care of every thing of my family.
I asked her to bring the girl to my home. I told the girl, addressing her name," dear, I love you very much, Jesus loves you too, why you are behaving like this tell me"
she answered me" Aunty there is a devil, I can see it, it is telling me to hate you, and laughs at me, because I am talking to you now."
I said, 'No donot listen to it, you love Jesus , don't you? He will heal you"
She said, " aunty now the devil is running and sitting on the wall there, she showed me the wall, and it is telling me to hit you with the stones."
I said to her, " You cannot hit me , because Jesus is in my heart, and in my life, He is my Savior, the devil cannot tell you any thing"
Then she started to cry loudly, and telling me
" I have fear,, in my heart I cannot look at you. I am so afraid"
I told her," "see when there is sin, there is fear, or when you do not trust Jesus there is fear, I know what it is. Because the devil tried to put fear in my life too. Now the Devil can not cheat you or me. "She said, " Aunty I have fear because I have sinned"
her face is comely, sober not like before, ugly and crazy.
Now I knew that she is willing to confess her misdoings, she is only 16 years old girl, I hugged her and cried with her, and prayed for her.
she started to tell me all that she has done.. against the word of God, her grand father was a great pastor, who worked mightily for the Lord and trained many evangelists in South India.
When she started to tell the misdoings aloud and asking Jesus to forgive her, there was a sort of calm disposition in her. Later she smiled at me and told me that the devil was running too fast from our premises, not looking at us back.
I told her I will take her to the man of God and pray over her. The next sunday Br. Solomon came to vijayawada I took her to him and he prayed for her and sent the devil into the pit.
Later she became my one of lovable girls in the sunday school , studied well, got her doctorate , later in another town.
I must tell you about this family a little here, before I depict another encounter with another MD doctor who was possessed by the evil one.
The owner of the house which we took for rent gave me the keys of the other portion and asked me to take care of it and give it for rent to whomever I like to give. I was very particular about a christian family to come and occupy the rented house, ( this family of this girl with whom I had encountered the evil one.)
But before they came and occupy the house, a man who was very bold enough came and demanded me to rent the house. Most of the time I was alone at home, because my husband was working in vijayawada. I told him it cannot be given to him because it is all ready going to be given to my friends. But he was so adamant he went into the empty house, made a few rounds, and when I went into my house for some thing, he locked the door of the rented house and went away, telling me he would come and occupy the house the next day.
I went out side and saw the door was locked by him. The next day I went and told my friends and they came and saw what had happened. we were going round and round the rented portion not knowing what to do. My husband was at home so I told him what had happened. We were very soft spoken people , never thought of any quarrel in life. so we did not know what to do. so even my husband knew the unjustful act of the man who locked the door, and so he tried to open the door some how. We again went round and round the portion pushing the doors and trying to take the bolts in side with a stick, this and that. Hours were rolling on but in vain.
But I went into the corner of our bed room and knelt down and prayed. You know what promise I got there,? You never can imagine it would be like that and the meaning of that verse would be like that. !!!
Its the verse from Revelation 3:7 "These are the words of Him who is Holy and True; who holds the KEY of the David what He opens no one can shut; and what He shuts no one can open"
I was reading the verse with wide eyes, and I heard a shout from out side." Aunty common, we opened the door from inside"
I just ran out of the room and saw the stick was in the window, and though we tried to open the bolt since morning, many times it did not yield but now the door is wide opened. wow... what a God.. what A promise.
Immediately within an hour the family occupied the house. The next day the man who thrusted himself unjustly into the house came and saw the lock was there still to the front door, but the family occupied the house from the rear door, he kept quiet and unlock the door ,took the lock and went away without one word extra.
For Chapter 6B CLICK HERE
