In the Presence of the Lord,  Demons MUST Tremble…

Day Five in Haiti and the presidential election recount is again declared fraudulent and a recount is rescheduled for January.  Relatives of the Haitians on our team have called concerned: riots have broken out, tires burn on the streets, many roads and streets are blocked, the airport is closed even.  Still, our team is going back for its second day in Cite Refuge Mega IV, the tent city we worked in yesterday.  We’re more than ready.

The night before,  in team devotions, we claimed the ground of the tent clinic as holy ground,  and this morning,  we repeated our cry  that the tent be His sanctuary,  like the Ark of the Covenant. That the powers of darkness be pushed away. In the afternoon, God answered our prayers.

A disturbed looking older woman stood on line,  and we soon had her before us to be treated.  Her blood pressure measured very high and we dispensed a medication to lower it.  After resting for about 30 minutes, she returned, and surprisingly,  her blood pressure had increased instead of lowering.  This happened twice again and on rechecking her blood pressure before leaving, it was even higher. Confounded, we released her to go home, but first prayed for her. 

Praying, we led her to the Lord and asked the Holy Spirit to fill her.   We told her: “this is the medication that man uses to cure you,  but Jesus is the real Healer. ”  Immediately, she started to sob.  We embraced her and God gave us tears for her.  We consoled her. We interceded.

Suddenly, she became agitated and began to shriek loudly.  Then, she  violently pushed back on the iron chair she’d been sitting on and collapsed to the floor, writhing and rolling uncontrollably. Rolling and kicking, back and forth. Two healthy young men tried to restrain her, holding her firmly, even to keep her from harming herself. 

While this was going on, the team of about 20 of us in the tent-the On Call team, our host family,  tent security and the interpreters- all either stepped back or forward and began to pray, some loudly, some whispering, some with hands outstretched, others on the ground with the woman.  She rolled and kicked all through the floor of the tent, writhing and grunting  “hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah”. She foamed a bit at the mouth, her face covered in a syrup-thick film of tears.

This went on for about 10 minutes. Sometimes she stopped, her face right on the dusty ground, legs and arms covered in soil and dust. A team member told of the kindness with which the two Haitian young men restrained her. They held her firmly but lovingly, making sure to keep her skirt down so she’d not be exposed, their faces in total peace, as if used to such scenes, a loving expression abloom. They weren’t praying, but  their sweetness  manifested the love of Christ to the poor woman in desperate battle, fighting  to be released.  The clamor of prayers and rebukes were thunderous, determined. Prayers of all types: “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus…” ,  ”Satan, let her go”. No one recoiled, no one appeared afraid. Some prayed in tongues, all were passionately intent in not letting her go before she was fully delivered.

About 20 minutes later,  it was over. Some wiped the dust off her arms and legs, cleaned her face and got her to her feet. Her grandson was sent for to take her home and she left the tent.  We gathered about in the tent and thanked the Lord for his protection and claiming her soul for Him, then went home and had a lovely meal. We found out later she’d been a Christian once.

When we returned in the afternoon, the nurse who had treated her, still concerned about the risk of it, asked us to find her so she could check her blood pressure one more time. Five minutes before we’d packed the last bag, she was sent her for the last time- her BP now a stable rate.

Another battle won, another one rescued. Check one more for the Kingdom.