I have left Abuja and Benin and am now in the Delta State with a bishop who is in charge of a large network of churches throughout Nigeria. The people I am with now are so excited that they have given me a place to stay and have provided for anything I need. They won’t even let me pay for my own laundry soap. What a welcome change! The place is nice, quiet, and secluded. Perfect for me.
Nevertheless, I am constantly worn out and drained of energy. There is something in the air that is oppressive and heavy. My theory is that we are trudging through a spiritual warfare against the prince of the air. Yeah, I’ll bet a lot of folks in America would dismiss all the talk about witchcraft as superstitious, but if you spend enough time out here, you will change your mind. Every day it feels like you’re moving in a cloud. That’s why I just can’t seem to get up enough energy to write a column – I’m just too out of it. Today I could barely move, like I was drugged or something and I just couldn’t snap out of it. Then the sharp pains started coming in my guts as I was getting up to the pulpit to preach. I don’t know what the devil was afraid of, because I was so fuzzy-headed that I had no clue as to what I was going to preach about, but oh boy, was I in pain! I seriously started wondering if I was going to have to pack it in and head for the hospital. I can’t die cause I’m not finished, but the devil can make it so that I feel like I’m dying.
And then, as soon as I started preaching through the pain, whoosh! It was gone. Yeah, just like that. That’s always the case with this kind of stuff. As soon as the anointing comes down, the darkness flees. I can always tell that it is going to be a blockbuster message when I get horribly sick just before I get up to the pulpit. Today was even more pronounced. I did two services and headed back to the house to collapse on the bed. Honestly, I really think there is a concerted effort to resist me in the spiritual realm. I can’t prove it, and I know how crazy it sounds, but that’s the only thing that makes sense.
But that also means that we are striking a nerve. If my theory is correct, Nigeria is the last spiritual fortress to conquer before revival can sweep across Africa. Satan knows it, and in order for him to delay the coming of Jesus and his own destruction, he has to stop the revival here. He’s not going to rely upon the Muslims or Boko Haram or even the sinners to cause us trouble – he will use the Church. His biggest weapon is to lull the spiritually naïve into a lullaby of blessings, peace, love and focus their attention on themselves. This is how Satan used Balaam. And it almost worked. He’s trying it again here in Nigeria. This is what I am fighting against, and it is a desperate battle for the soul of Africa and by extension, the rest of the world. If revival cannot break out here where people are so desperately hungry for God, how could it ever happen in America where we are so asleep that we are not able to admit that there’s anything wrong with us?
Please hold Nigeria up in your prayers. I believe there is more at stake here than just a simple missionary trip. This may be the beginning of volleys before final battle between God and Satan.