One of the things I like about traveling is that it affords me the opportunity to read. Nothing like a good book to help you forget you are thirty-something thousand feet in the air with nothing holding you up. After reading the back cover, I chose This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti as my traveling companion, thinking if it did not accomplish the aforementioned goal, it would at least put me to sleep. By the time I’d read the first page, I was very much awake, and knew I was in for quite a ride.
The story tells about a small town which was being overtaken by the powers of darkness, and goes on to show how demons and angels battle it out to gain control. Now the Bible tells us that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers and the rulers of darkness (Ephesians 6:12). However, what is amazing is the role that the prayers of the believer play in determining who wins the battle, something Peretti shows in startling detail.
He also shows why it sometimes appears that God is silent, or that our prayers are not being answered. The solution? Keep on praying, keep on believing, keep on serving. God’s angels are standing by, waiting on the right time to do God’s bidding. The protagonist of the story, a young praying pastor, with the help of other praying souls, was able to defeat the powers of darkness and restore peace to the town.
Whether you are a believer or unbeliever, this book will help you pass the time on a rainy afternoon, or while you’re airborne on your way to some exciting destination. But it will do more than that. It will fascinate, educate or even scare you, but most of all it will increase your faith in the omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God. Shall we pray?
Our Father and our God, we thank you for the weapon of prayer and the Name of Jesus with which we can defeat the enemy. Help us, Lord, to not become complacent and take this weapon for granted, but instead to use it without ceasing on behalf of ourselves and others, for we ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen
2 comments:
Hi Angela
Neat blog. I will be back to wander around more when time permits. I know what you are saying with the Present Darkness. Read it several years ago and it changed my thinking about prayer.
blessings, e
Yes, frank's books were what really made Christian fiction come alive. Before that, there really wasn't much. I read that book many years ago. What I like about it is it is such a good reminder that there is way more going on than we can see. The battle is real. The enemy is real. We need to put on our armor. Thank God we're on the winning side. Thanks, Angela!
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