Tag Archives: Prayer

December 29, 2024 · 9:40 am

How Praying for Empty Parking Places Can Lead to Healing the Sick and Raising the Dead (Conclusion)

Smith Wigglesworth (1859-1947) was known for his miraculous healings and for raising at least twelve people from the dead, including his wife Polly. Wigglesworth was once asked, “Smith, how can we have great faith like yours?”

“First the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear,” he replied.

Wigglesworth’s quoting of Mark 4:28 let his listeners know that their faith had to first sprout and then grow. It would take time, effort and learning before mature faith would become evident to them. 

Whether we like it or not, we have to start our prayer journey where we are, not where we want others to think we are, not where our teachers and mentors presently are, but where we are. This usually means praying lesser petitions, like asking for parking places on crowded streets or praying for favor in various situations in our lives. Then, as the Lord answers our prayers, our faith and trust in Him are built on a solid foundation so we can continue to pray for bigger and bigger miracles.

The founder of Vineyard Churches, John Wimber (1934 – 1997), had a tremendous healing ministry that spanned the globe. He is a perfect example of a believer who had to work through various prayer levels before he saw success.

The following is a hilarious and entertaining seventeen-minute video on Wimber explaining his journey on healing the sick:

Remember: keep on praying. God is waiting for us to grow up!

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December 15, 2024 · 9:26 am

How Praying for Empty Parking Places Can Lead to Healing the Sick and Raising the Dead (Part 4)

The following is an excerpt from an upcoming novel:

The drive to meet Pastor Rick took me past the Temecula Valley High School baseball field where our son, Cole, played shortstop for the Golden Bears during his four years there. Cole was a good player, but that wasn’t the reason I always thanked the Lord for His mercy when I drove by the field. It was because of a special miracle the Lord did twenty-eight years earlier during a state playoff game.

On that particular day, the Golden Bears were playing the Norco High School Cougars. The pitcher for the Cougars was Carson Riley, a left-hander, who threw around ninety-five miles per hour and was a solid major league prospect. 

Cole stood in the right side of the batter’s box to lead off the seventh inning. Riley’s first pitch was a fastball, which tailed inside and hit Cole in the middle of his chest, knocking him to the ground. He laid motionless on the ground.

The three coaches for Temecula Valley rushed to him. One of them took out a cell phone and made a call.

Jane and I were sitting in the bleachers above the dugout on the first base side of the field. I grabbed Jane’s hand. “Honey, we need to go out there. Cole’s in danger,” I said.

We stood up and hurried to field.

Jim Dawson, the head coach for the Golden Bears, looked up as we approached home plate. “Dylan, he’s not breathing. I phoned for an ambulance. It should be here in four minutes,” he said.

Jane and I dropped to our knees and began praying. She prayed in tongues while I placed my hand on his chest.

“Father, You gave me a promise when Cole was born that He would preach the gospel and do miracles in Your name. When You made that promise, You looked into the future and saw this day. And yet, You still made that promise to me. I am not leaving until You honor Your promise and Cole stands up, totally healed in Jesus’ name. You did it for Elijah when he prayed for the widow’s son and I’m asking You to do the same thing for Cole, right now,” I prayed.

Coach Dawson grabbed my shoulders. “Dylan, let’s wait for the ambulance,” he whispered.

I shook his hands off me. “Let go of me,” I shouted. “God is doing a miracle here.”

Dawson released his grasp and wandered off. A siren could be heard pulling into the school’s parking lot.

“Father, I didn’t ask You to give me that promise for Cole. You did it on Your own. So, I’m asking You to honor Your promise, in Jesus’ name,” I prayed again and again.

“What’s happening here?” asked a paramedic, rushing toward us with a stretcher.

Cole’s green eyes fluttered and opened. He looked into my eyes. “Dad,” he whispered, “I met Jesus. He said I had to come back to life because of your prayers.”

My son was totally healed and wanted to stay in the ballgame, but of course, the two paramedics insisted on him riding in the ambulance to Temecula Valley Hospital. Jane and I followed them in our SUV. 

All of the tests on Cole proved to be negative. The Lord had healed him.

Cole graduated from high school two weeks later and now lives in San Diego with his wife Allyson and their two daughters, Mia and Madison.

 If I drove by the baseball field a hundred times in any one day, I always thanked the Lord for His gracious miracle every time. I always wanted Him to know how much I appreciated what He did for our family on that day.  

(Continued in Part 5)




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December 7, 2024 · 8:45 am

How Praying for Empty Parking Places Can Lead to Healing the Sick and Raising the Dead (Part 3)

Most Christians want to do the works of Jesus, like healing the sick, casting out demons and raising the dead. I have seen a few miracles over the years, but only once have I been involved in raising the dead. It happened in Louisville when we rented a home with a big backyard.

Carol and I kissed common sense bye-bye when we purchased two dogs. The Golden Labrador was named Casey and the liver and white spotted English Pointer was named Kelly. Both were females and about fifteen months old at the time of this story.

The two dogs loved each other. They dug holes in the yard, chewed on phone cables, barked at squirrels, raced around with tennis balls in their mouths, but they especially loved to puppy fight. Casey weighed seventy-five pounds while Kelly was a forty-pound lightweight, but Kelly was the alpha dog in the twosome. She always won the fights.

Carol and I had a lunchtime appointment on that particular day. I opened the gate to the dog run before we left so the dogs could play in the backyard. They took off running as we drove away.

When we returned and parked in the driveway, a loud wailing could be heard in the backyard. We scrambled out of the truck and raced to see what was the problem. There in the backyard in the dog run, the two dogs were tangled together. Casey’s lower jaw, somehow, caught itself under Kelly’s dog collar, and in the struggle to get free, Kelly had flipped over. This maneuver caused the cloth collar to strangle the smaller Kelly. Her eyes were glazed over and her breathing faint.

I tried to release the collar, but it was too tight. Carol ran to the house for a pair of scissors. She was gone only a few minutes, but by the time she returned and cut the cloth collar, Kelly quit breathing. She died in my arms with her eyes staring off into space.

Carol kneeled down next to me on the ground by Kelly in the backyard. We began praying in tongues with our hands touching the dead dog.

We wept.

“Father, You can’t let our dog die. You gave her to us. You have to raise her up. You can’t let her die. It’s not right. Father, we’re asking You to raise her up from the dead right now,” Carol and I cried.

We prayed over and over in this fashion with tears flowing down our faces for four or five minutes.

Then, Kelly opened her eyes. She wobbled to her feet and walked over to Casey who stood by the house, watching on. They touched noses as if to say, “That was a close one, but everything is okay now.”

Carol and I remained on our knees, praising our Father for His grace and mercy.

Later, Carol asked, “How long would you have continued praying for Kelly?”

“Until Father raised her from the dead,” I said without thinking.

Was it our great faith that brought about this miracle? No, not really. Our words were not filled with mountain-moving faith. We tugged on Abba Father’s heart like a four-year old child, begging a parent for an ice cream cone on a hot summer day. We knew He would eventually give in and do it because He is head over heels in love with us.

Our God is a good Father. (Excerpt from The Hunt for Larry Who)

(Continued in Part 4)

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November 23, 2024 · 2:39 pm

How Praying for Empty Parking Places Can Lead to Healing the Sick and Raising the dead (Part 2)

A little more than thirty-five years ago, I was the treasurer of the St. Edmond’s high school athletic boosters’ club and made an error, causing a financial problem in the boosters’ checking account. I prayed and asked the Lord for His help before calling the bank.

I phoned and explained the problem to a bank officer. She quickly told me the error would be handled and the funds restored into the checking account. I was so excited by how easily it worked out.

“Oh Lord, You care about small things, too,” I said aloud after hanging up.

“I care about all things,” said an audible voice.

I jumped off the stool and bowed down on the kitchen’s tile floor. Tears streamed down my face. I shook, wondering what would happen to me because the voice seemed so loud and so holy. I stayed in that position of reverence for several minutes.

This was the only time I have heard the audible voice of God in my thirty-nine years of walking with Him.  Yet, I am still amazed at His response to my simple prayer. Maybe God wants to be invited into every part of our lives, even the mundane and the ordinary parts..

Now, I want to contrast the above situation with a recent problem that I had concerning a bad tire on the car I drove for U*B*E*R share rides. The problem nagged at me in the middle of the night. I eventually went downstairs an hour earlier than my usual waking time to seek the presence of the Lord.

“Lord, You are my refuge and my fortress; in You, I trust. So, help me in this situation,” I cried out to the Lord.

After waiting on the Lord, I felt the Holy Spirit speak Jeremiah 12:5 to my heart: “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?”

The Lord rebuked me!

He let me know that if I couldn’t trust Him with my life’s issues in today’s America, how would I be able to trust Him when major calamities hit our nation in the near future. Ouch!

And yet, His rebuke settled my heart. I was freed from my doubts and fears.

“Prayer is not about getting God to agree with our answers for our problems, but it’s about positioning us to stand with God and His answers for our circumstances,” said Tyler Staton, the head of the 24/7 Prayer Movement in America.

How can these two contrasting prayers prepare us for prayers of healing the sick and raising the dead? 

(Continued in Part 3)

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November 16, 2024 · 11:46 am

How Praying for Empty Parking Places Can Lead to Healing the Sick and Raising the Dead (Part 1)

Last Friday, one of my first U*B*E*R riders in Fayetteville, Arkansas, was a twenty-two year-old gal from Texas. She mentioned that she was a senior at the University of Arkansas, studying to be an English literature teacher in secondary education.

Our conversation continued until I dropped her off near her place of work in campus town. I headed off to my next pickup who happened to be a journalism major.

Before the young man stepped out of the car at his drop-off site, he said, “One of your riders left a headset here in the backseat.” He handed me the headset.

“That’s great!” I proclaimed, knowing the headset belonged to the young gal because she mentioned how she liked to listen to audio books.

I usually tell riders before they step out of my car to check whether they have their keys, cell phone, wallet or whatever else because if they leave anything behind, my wife will sell it on eBay. They always laugh but they do take the time to check before shutting the door.

Sadly, I had not said anything to the young gal.

That Friday turned out to be busy for me with rides to Northwest Arkansas Airport, Springdale and other surrounding areas. I received no messages from U*B*E*R saying the young gal had contacted the company about her lost headset. But I did take the time to check out the value of the headset which was $159 on Amazon and almost $300 on other sites.

At the end of the day, I felt the Holy Spirit whispering to my heart that I needed to drop off the headset to the gal at her place of work. Yes Lord, I thought. I headed toward her place of work.

Now, to set the scene: it’s Friday afternoon. One day before the big Texas versus Arkansas football rivalry game in Fayetteville. The gal’s place of work is a favorite college bar and grill in the midst of other college watering holes in the middle of campus town. And the University of Arkansas – like most universities – lacks enough parking spots by about 75% on most days.

I drove around the gal’s place of work and, of course, there were no parking spots and traffic everywhere was looking for non-existing parking places. No hope, except for a miracle.

Driving down a one-way street, I prayed: “Lord, You are going to have to open up a parking spot for me or I’m going to have to wait till Monday to return the headset to her.”

Almost instantly, a car up ahead pulled away from the curb. I pulled into the space. Next, I walked three hundred feet to the bar and grill.

The place was packed with people standing in line to be seated. I passed by them and headed toward the bar where an older man was filling a pitcher with draft beer. I explained to him my dilemma of the headset and the waitress whose name I didn’t remember. He looked at me like I was an idiot because of how busy he was and the masses of people standing all around us at the bar.

Then it happened. The young gal walked up to pick up a drink order. 

“Here she is now,” I said to the man.

The gal looked at me and saw the headset I held up for her to see.

“You’ve made my day when you showed up with my headset. Thank you. Thank you,” she said and walked off with the headset in one hand and a drinks tray in the other.

I left and walked back to my car.

How could a seemingly insignificant prayer like asking for a parking place prepare us for prayers of healing the sick and raising the dead? 

(Continued in Part 2)

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August 10, 2024 · 10:18 am

The Car Accident That Wasn’t

Last Tuesday, I was driving from Ft. Smith to Fayetteville, Arkansas, a trip of sixty miles over up-and-down terrain through the Boston Mountains. It was approximately 5:50 a.m. No moon. No stars. Extremely dark conditions with tall trees lining both sides of Interstate 49. My speedometer registered 75 miles per hour, the posted speed limit.

As I drove down a steep incline in the right lane, there were no vehicles in front of me nor any behind me. My only source of light were my car’s dimmed headlights. 

All of a sudden, a deer stood directly in front of me. The doe turned her head toward me. Somehow, I noticed a fawn off to the left, stopping to watch the action. If I could have sat on the hood of my car, I could have easily touched the deer.

I didn’t pray or shout or step on my brakes. There was no time, especially traveling 75 miles per hour or 110 feet per second. I resigned myself to hitting the deer.

Then, just like that, the doe appeared on the right side of my car, wagging its white tail and heading toward the tree line.

I continued speeding down the road while I tried to digest what had just happened. I shut off the radio and began praising the Lord at the top of my lungs. Gratitude for the One who promised to “never leave me nor forsake me” consumed me for the next half hour.

Earlier that morning, I had prayed my usual prayer for my ride-share business: “Lord, schedule my day, don’t let me miss any of your divine appointments in the Fayetteville area. And Lord, give Your angels charge over me, to guard me in all of my ways and have Your angels lift me up, lest I strike my foot against a stone.”

Later, I also learned that Carol had been praying in the Spirit for a long time that morning.

So, I figured the Lord wanted to underline the importance of our daily prayers…but something continually nagged me.

Everything seemed so orchestrated. There was no way I could notice all of those details while traveling at 75 miles per hour. What was the Lord really trying to show me?

A couple of days later, two verses were impressed on me:

            “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the Lord of Hosts. “What are you, O great mountain [of obstacles]? Before Zerubbabel, you will become plain [insignificant]…with loud shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” (Zechariah 4:6-7 AMP)

The Lord is the greatest teacher in the history of the world. Who else could choreograph a deer, a young fawn, a speeding car and myself into an unforgettable life lesson for me? 

Thus, whatever obstacles may seem to be holding me back – even a deer – are insignificant to the Spirit of the Lord and His grace.

Amen.

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January 7, 2024 · 4:48 pm

In the recent spiritual and sexual abuse scandals, could the church leaders have avoided moral failure by undergoing deliverance? (Part 3)

Judson Cornwall (1924 – 2005) was a noted preacher, pastor and prolific author of over 50 books, some of which are considered classics today.

Cornwall was invited to be the main speaker for a graduation ceremony at Elim Bible Institute in Lima, New York. He concluded his speech by saying, “Let me offer you some advice. Don’t go directly from this ceremony into fulltime ministry or to being a church pastor. Take three or four or five years off. Get a job and work in the market place. Discover the problems normal people struggle with every day. You will learn how to better relate to your congregations and how to help them. And all the while, the Holy Spirit will change you. So, do your congregations a favor, get a job.”

The result of Cornwall’s wise advice was that Elim Bible Institute never invited him to speak again at their college.

*******

Four months after Vice President Mike Pence eulogized Ravi Zacharias as “the greatest apologist of this century,” Zacharias’ reputation began falling apart. Three women who worked at two spas he co-owned in the Atlanta area came forth, alleging sexual harassment and abuse by Zacharias.

Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) hired a law firm to investigate Zacharias. Their 12-page report contained findings far worse than anyone could have ever imagined. Two hundred contacts of female massage therapists with photos, some in the nude, were on Zacharias’ cell phones. A trail of misuse of RZIM funds to fund his sexual escapades in the US, India, Thailand and Malaysia was uncovered.

The law firm’s best estimates were that Zacharias’ sexual escapades had happened over the ten-year period leading up to just a few months before his death. 

One woman told the investigators that “after he arranged for his ministry to provide her with financial support, he required sex from her.” She called it rape.

She said Zacharias “made her pray with him to thank God for the ‘opportunity’ they both received” and, as with other victims, “called her his ‘reward’ for living a life of service to God,” the report says. Zacharias warned the woman—a fellow believer—if she ever spoke out against him, she would be responsible for millions of souls lost when his reputation was damaged.

More information can be read here and here.

******

Okay, here’s my supposition and like all opinions, it can be somewhat true or totally false. So, reader beware!

Zacharias was delivered from the kingdom of darkness and translated into the Kingdom of God when he was seventeen years old. He was saved.

But like me, he may still have had some iniquity intertwined with his personality by puppet strings leading to a demon. This demon may have been able to pull on his soul – mind, will and emotions – at various times throughout his life, tempting him toward his inner sexual lusts. His inner lusts may have slowly overcome his spiritual learning and fear of the Lord, until he finally fell into sin. And the sin eventually became full-grown so that he was completely dead to any conviction by the Holy Spirit.

Was Ravi Zacharias ever possessed by the demon? No, but he was heavily deceived.

Maybe if Ravi Zacharias’ path would have crossed with Judson Cornwall, maybe Zacharias would have listened to the wise advice. But this did not happen because Zacharias moved from high school graduation, to emigrating to Canada, to Bible school, to marriage, to studying for his Masters of Divinity and then working in fulltime ministry. He never worked a normal job.

Thus, no friends talked with him after a church service, asking to pray for him so that he could be delivered from the demon.

Why have I mentioned Zacharias not having a normal job? Is this really that important?

Once Zacharias stepped into a pulpit of a traditional church, his gifting elevated him far above the people sitting in the pews before him. The congregation could no longer talk to him on an equal basis.

Can you imagine confronting Ravi Zacharias about his demon and his need for deliverance after a pulpit appearance? I can’t imagine that ending well, can you?

The biggest chasm in the traditional church system is between the pulpit and the pews. Seldom is there a bridge between the two.

I’ve used Ravi Zacharias in my article for a few reasons. One, he is dead; and two, there is so much info available about him.

But I have done some checking on other sexual abuse scandals, almost every pastor and leader has followed Zacharias’ example. Could these scandals have been avoided by deliverance from a demon at an earlier age? Maybe.

The comedian Flip Wilson used to joke, “The devil made me do it!” 

Yet, pastors and leaders can’t use that for an excuse because the man with 2,000 demons ran up to Jesus, bowed down and worshipped Him.

It still all comes down to having humility and a godly character

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January 3, 2024 · 3:12 pm

In the recent spiritual and sexual abuse scandals, could the church leaders have avoided moral failure by undergoing deliverance? (Part 2)

In the early months of 2020, I learned that one of my heroes of the faith, Ravi Zacharias, was suffering from a rare cancer – sarcoma. The article asked for prayers for him because without divine intervention, he was only expected to live a couple of weeks.

I prayed for Zacharias and even tried to negotiate with God. “Lord, I am willing to take Ravi’s sickness in my body so that he can be healed and live to touch millions more people.”

My negotiations and prayers were not heeded because Ravi Zacharias died on May 19, 2020. He was seventy-four years old when he died which was my age also. (I was born in February and he was born in March.)

A few months later, I was shocked to learn that Zacharias was not the man of God I thought he was.

******

Ravi Zacharias was born on March 26, 1946, in Madras, India. He grew up in the Delhi area and was fluent in both English and Hindi.

His parents were Anglican, but he remained a skeptic until a failed suicided attempt landed him in the hospital when he was seventeen years old. A Christian worker brought him a Bible and asked his mother to read John Chapter 14 to Ravi. 

“Because I live, you will live also” were the words that sliced through Ravi’s skepticism. Ravi committed his life to Christ and prayed, “Jesus if you are the One who gives life as it is meant to be, I want it. Please get me out of this hospital bed well, and I promise I will leave no stone unturned in my pursuit of truth.”

Soon after, Ravi and his parents emigrated to Toronto, Canada, where he received his undergraduate degree from Ontario Bible College (now Tyndale University) in 1972. He furthered his education with a Masters of Divinity from Trinity International University and also studied in Cambridge, England, at a Church of England theological school.

Ravi first evangelized U. S. soldiers and Viet Cong prisoners in Vietnam and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. Then, he packed his bags and traveled the globe. In August, 1984, he founded Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) in Toronto, with his goal to be a “classical evangelist in the arena of the intellectually resistant.” The ministry was later moved to the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia.

As an apologist for Christianity, Ravi argued that a coherent worldview must be able to satisfactorily answer four questions: that of origin, meaning of life, morality and destiny. He said that while every major religion makes exclusive claims about truth, the Christian faith is unique in its ability to answer all four of these questions.

Ravi wrote more than thirty books and hosted two radio programs, all while traveling the world to fulfill his calling. He touched millions of people through his ministry, including mine.

Vice President Mike Pence called Ravi “the greatest apologist of this century” at his funeral which was watched live by 1.2 million people. Tim Tebow and other luminaries spoke of their admiration for Ravi. Whitehouse spokesman, Kayleigh McEnany, summed up what many felt about Ravi: “He made us feel that we didn’t need to check our brains at the door to be a 
Christian.”

And yet, he had a secret life which exploded onto the public scene only weeks after his death.

(Continued in Part 3)

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December 31, 2023 · 10:50 am

In the recent spiritual and sexual abuse scandals, could the church leaders have avoided moral failure by undergoing deliverance?

Have you ever had a demon throw you across a room?

Maybe your first thought was one of deep skepticism at my question, believing this types of demonic activities do not happen in America. Yes, it may occur in Nigeria where witch doctors are prevalent, but certainly not in America, right?

If these activities are in the Bible, they can happen anywhere, even here in America.

They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth. And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” (Mark 9:20-22).

In the early 1990’s, I spent three to four hours each day in prayer, an hour or more per day in Bible study and reading and two days per week fasting. You would think if anyone should have been free of problems with demons, it would have been me, right?

Let’s stop here and settle something: can Christians be demon possessed?

We humans resemble the Trinity in that we are also three-part beings. Our three parts consist of body, soul and spirit. Jesus moves into our spirit at salvation and reigns there forever and ever. He becomes our treasure in earthen vessel and we proclaim, “We’re saved.”

Our souls − mind, will and emotions − have to be renewed to agree with Jesus and His teachings while our bodies −lusts, desires, pleasures, appetites, etc. − have to be brought into subjection, much like slaves. Both our souls and bodies are continuing works, which we struggle with while we live here on earth.

To be demon possessed, a believer’s spirit would have to be inhabited by a demon. This cannot happen because our spirits are sealed by the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption. 

Therefore, Christians cannot be demon possessed, but they can certainly have demon problems with their minds, emotions, wills and bodies.

My particular demonic problem proved to be a deep-rooted one.

We are all born into a fallen world, which is filled with sin and governed by the creator of sin: Satan. Our physical makeup is determined by genetics and statistical probabilities, but our spiritual DNA is always based on one thing: sin.

Keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and fourth generation (Exodus 34:7).

The word iniquity means depravity and always carries within it the hatred of God and His ways.

Iniquity is not a voluntary disobedience to the commands of God, like sin and transgressions, but instead, it is a second nature sin. It is a demonic stronghold within the individual, which may have been passed on through one’s ancestors or the result of continued willful transgressions or the surrender of oneself to an evil ruling principality over a region.

The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin (Proverbs 5:22 ESV).

Ridding a person of iniquity is not as easy as it is for sins or transgressions because it may be intertwined with the person’s personality and attitudes. It requires acceptance of truth, God’s mercy, and the fear of the Lord to set an individual free. This normally depends on a deliverance move by the Spirit of God upon His creation.

My deep-rooted demonic problems were most likely caused by iniquity committed by my parents, grandparents or great grandparents. Do I have any clue about who may have committed it?

My grandmother was born in the mountains of Eastern Tennessee, but unlike my grandfather who was a staunch Southern Baptist, she never opened up to the gospel as a young woman. She instead enjoyed going to palm readers and learning about her future from them. Did she learn this from her parents? I do not know, but palm reading and understanding lifelines on hands are a part of mountain folklore, even today.

There shall not be found among you anyone who…tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer…For whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord… (Deuteronomy 18:10, 12).

The story ends well because my grandmother accepted Jesus as her Savior just days before dying at 81 years of age.

On that particular Sunday, I attended church from 10 a.m. to noon. A married couple approached me before I left.

“Larry, we’d like to pray for you,” said the wife.

“When?” I said.

“Is right now, okay?”

“No, I’m taking my daughter Susan out to lunch.”

“Can we do it later?”

“Sure.”

We agreed on a time for later that afternoon.

I gave no thought as to why the couple wanted to pray for me. We were close friends and these types of things often happened at our small church because many had strong prophetic gifts.

The couple waited for me in the apartment attached to the rear of the church when I arrived. The church’s pastor, her husband and another couple also waited there.

What have I done now? I thought. Oh well, I guess they’ll let me know.

“Do you remember Ellen?” said the wife.

“Yes the intercessor who prays five hours each day.”

“One of the prophetic words you spoke to her was wrong.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll ask forgiveness of her.”

“No, that’s okay because your mistake caused her to spend time praying for you. She found some problems with you.”

With those words, I was thrown across the room. Everyone instantly began praying in tongues. The wife and her husband began commanding the demon to let loose of me. I rolled back and forth across the floor, out of control.

What was going through my mind during all this?

I hoped someone had enough spiritual power to set me free from this monster.

It ended after a few minutes. I stood up and hugged everyone.

“Do you feel better?” asked the wife.

“I don’t know…maybe,” I replied.

I noticed a big difference in the following days, which probably was not so obvious to others, but I felt freer in my spirit.

I eventually believed the Lord revealed it was a religious spirit, which had puppet-like strings attached to my soul −mind, will and emotions. The demon could pull on these at certain times, causing problems. The strings were so tightly woven around my personality I did not even notice them.

Here’s my take on this: hang around believers who pray, hear God’s voice, and have spiritual power and anointing. You need strong friends in spiritual warfare.

(Above excerpt from The Hunt for Larry Who by Larry Nevenhoven)

Continued in Part 2

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December 6, 2023 · 4:23 pm

The Dividing Line for the End Times

            Let no one deceive you by any means; for the Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition (2 Thessalonians 2:3)

Most scholars think that the Apostle Paul wrote his second letter to the church in Thessalonica soon after he wrote his first letter. He probably wrote the second one because in the first, he wrote: “But concerning the times and seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write you.”

As one scholar wrote: “Paul’s letters are like listening to a phone conversation and hearing only one side of the conversation. You have to guess what the other side is saying from the info you have received.”

From reading 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2, I figure Paul received some questions from the Thessalonian church concerning the timing of the Lord’s return. A few must have worried that the Lord had already returned and they had missed the rapture. This means they were not so sure about the times and the seasons as Paul had originally thought when he wrote 1 Thessalonians.

So, Paul emphatically answered their questions by stating that two events had to occur before the Lord returned: (1) the great falling away or apostasy and (2) the revealing of the Antichrist.

Where did Paul get his information about the two events? Although the books of Matthew, Mark and Luke had not been written as yet, the story lines would have been passed on to him by Peter, Luke and the other disciples. You see, it was Jesus Himself who first spoke about believers falling away and the revealing of the Antichrist.

Okay, many have felt that the falling away has already taken place. They point out the many pastors and leaders who have left Christianity as examples of the “falling away.” But these are only a few drips compared to what Paul experienced when “all of Asia turned away from Him and his gospel.”

And yet, Paul did not state that the turning away of Phygellus, Hermogenes, Demas and all of Asia fulfilled his words about the “great falling away.” Instead, he encouraged Timothy to continue preaching the word!

A few years ago, I felt the Lord say to my heart: “Fifty to seventy percent of American believers could fall away in the great apostasy. Warn your children and grandchildren and others to prepare themselves for this upcoming time period.”

            Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord. You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed. ((Proverbs 23:17-18)

How can we prepare ourselves for this chaotic upcoming event?

As I wrote in my last blog post, I believe the fear of the Lord will be the dividing line between those who fall away and those who continue to walk with the Lord.

Thus, we can pray for ourselves, our loved ones and others the following prayer:

            Father, in Jesus’ name, help us to keep our tongues from evil and our lips from speaking deceit, help us to depart from evil and do good, help us to seek Your peace and pursue it all the days of our lives. And help us to never envy sinners and also to be zealous for the fear of the Lord. (Based on Psalm 34:13-14 and Proverbs 23:17)

Remember: Jesus and Paul gave us advance warnings to help us through this event. We do not have to become a part of the falling away. We can set our hearts to fear the Lord all of our days here on earth.

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