Elections mean we need to pray

I stayed up late last night to watch Obama's speech.

I have had this strong, foreboding "bad feeling" about the elections for some time now, and I was in no way surprised to see that Obama had won. His speech confirmed my suspicions that we are in for a wild next four years... I can see a lot of upheaval and change and work, and he's going to be playing catch up for some time because our country is in such a bad state. I also find it laughable that we are acting like his election is some sort of proof that this country is moving past racism--- his election says to me that this country is as racist as ever, and no amount of CNN guilt tripping will convince me otherwise. There are many, many voters out there who voted for him simply because he is black. Just as there are many people out there who voted for McCain simply because he is not. It's really sad.

Let me say right off the bat that I don't like his ideas. I do find him to be charming, charismatic, witty, and definitely intelligent. I quite honestly believe that he is capable, however, of great evil. One need look no further than his stance on life issues to know that...but I do think there is more under the surface and it makes me uneasy. I'll be the last to be surprised if, like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last year, he were to be suddenly surrounded by a creepy paranormal green light while speaking to dumbstruck UN delegates or some other situation. There are forces at work here.

However, he has been elected, and I am not surprised. At least we can now lose the pretense that this is a God-fearing nation.... It hasn't been for quite some time.

Unlike alot of you out there who are like-minded, though, I'm not in despair. We know that things are supposed to get harder, and not easier for believers. We know that in these last days, when the days are evil, that we must redeem the time through prayer and good works, clinging to the promise of Christ that He WILL return.

I couldn't help but think of that when I was watching Obama's speech last night. I saw so many people in tears, moved beyond belief. I saw so many people with a look of pure FAITH and joy on their faces, celebrations all over the country, for a man who they think can change their world. In all honesty, the only thing that kept going through my head was that these were looks and tears that should have been directed towards Jesus.... the peace these people want can only be found in Him and it's so distressing to me that only by moving away from Him do they THINK they are experiencing valid human change. They are so decieved.

It was particularly marking when he was making his speech--- at the end, after thanking a long list of people, he said that the victory really belonged to someone else. I was certain he was going to say that the victory belonged to God, which is what any God-fearing man would have said. Instead, he said that the victory belonged to "them," to each individual who had worked so long and hard to make his campaign a success. His humanism was revealed in that moment... and I was heartbroken for him and for the thousands of Americans who were eating it up.

Anyways, all of this stuff has me feeling I need to gear up for some serious prayer warfare. It's been building up for some time now, but I'm really starting to do something about it, finally. There have been so many times this past six months where I'm sitting there reading my bible or doing Liturgy of the Hours or praying a rosary where I feel like... I can't WAIT until I'm praying ALL the time, or until I'm just totally immersed in my Bible. Last night, I really took the hint and dropped everything-- all of my website updating, all of my emailing, all of my forum lurking, all of my phone calling, and all of my TV watching, and just PRAYED.

A dear friend sent us a rosary which is a relic of St Teresa of Avila, one of my favorite saints. For those readers unfamiliar with relics, the Bible says that even the apostle's shadows often healed people. People would touch handkerchiefs to them and then those cloths would heal people. The Catholic church maintains this scriptural principle that items that belonged to the Saints can, if used in faith, greatly help the person who has them. Thus, we have relics... first class being a bone, second class being a piece of an object that belonged to them, third class being an object which was touched TO them. This is a relic of St Teresa of Avila--- who was mind blowingly amazing and a powerful prayer warrior, if you don't know anything about her. (She even appears as a strong "woman of God" in my NKJV Spirit Filled Life protestant bible. :P)



Here it is in all its beautiful glory:







And here is a close up of the relic:






What was so cool is how this rosary came from a person who was entering a benedictine monastary, who had prayed on it, passed it to this other precious soul, who had labored in prayer with it, and was now being passed on to my precious husband, as he takes on His new identity and name in Christ this November 30. It adds a new level of beauty to the prayers of the rosary. I now think of my grandmother, praying on the beads that belonged to my dead grandfather. Beautiful.

Anyways, in all of this, I thought about how we fight not against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities. I get this sense from Obama-- that even though he is capable of great evil, that he is almost "unaware" of it-- that those republicans who think the MAN Barrack Obama is evil are dead wrong and haven't quite figured out their faith. We love him as a brother, but we battle the spiritual forces of darkness surrounding him. This "unsettling" feeling so many of us are experiencing at his election mean that we need to PRAY... now, not later. Prayer is the best thing we can do.

If you are not convinced, I will share with you the story of how I came to know that we battle dark angels and not human beings.
I once worked as a bookseller at Borders Books and Music, in Santa Barbara. I was a Christian at the time, although I was just beginning to find my feet. I was enthusiastic and zealous for the Lord, but I was still very much "in the world," which made me approachable in that setting by all the young people I worked with and worked for.

Those of you who know Santa Barbara know that there is an entire homeless community there that resembles a small city. Troubled homeless souls flock to SB like moths to a flame because of the promise of ease and the good life it brings. Many of them are homeless by choice-- a concept foreign to most people who haven't experienced this reality. Many of them,also, are alcoholics and drug users, full of venom and anger at life.

They come in droves to Borders Books and Music-- to use our restroom, to sit in our comfy couches, to drink our coffee. One morning, I was bringing out the rack of bargain books to the outdoor patio, when one such homeless person wandered past. He was having a nice time, playing with his dog, and enjoying his morning cigarette. He looked peaceful. I said a quick prayer for him under my breath and continued my work. He was about twenty feet away from me. As I prayed, he looked up and caught my eye. With what seemed to be supernatural speed, he approached me, slowly getting worked up.

"F YOU, JESUS!" He shouted as he stared me in the eyes and approached me. I looked away. "WHO THE F DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? YOU CANT SAVE ME!!!" He swore and swore, spat, shook his head, and just acted generally crazy. Frightened, I went inside the store, and watched in amazement as he completely changed demeanors. He calmed down, lit another cigarette. Smiled. Opened a book. And started a casual conversation with another homeless man. It was as if nothing had happened. In the streets, no one had batted an eyelash. In Santa Barbara, we expect homeless people to say crazy things and act like nutbags. That's what we see every day.


A few days later, I was walking from the bus station to work when a homeless man crossed my path. I didn't say a word, simply walked past, and he turned and stared at me. He began to shout, calling me a "filthy whore," and all sorts of names. I was frightened until I heard him shout "F Jesus!!! You are NOTHING!"

BAM. At that moment, it was as if a lightbulb was going off in my head. These persons were in need of deliverance, and they, not knowing me from Eve, were not reacting to ME. They were reacting to Christ IN me. Something in them was picking up the fragrance of Christ, and it was the scent of death because they were perishing. Everytime I walked by a really disturbed person, without doing a thing I was causing a reaction... because the entities that had invaded their lives SAW Christ in ME.

I realized that day that I could never look at people the same. Supernatural things happen around us every day. This is a literal, spiritual, tangible battlefield. We are soldiers. We are healers. Christ in us is the light that leads the way to Victory, and we MUST overcome.

Don't just sit by and watch as things go from bad to worse. Pray. All of you. Particularly for our new president, over whom the battle is fierce.