I had a dream the other night.
I was outside of a house, facing a Magneto-style supervillain. Magneto is one of the most powerful characters in the X-Men comics. One of the other most powerful X-Men characters is Charles Xavier (or Professor X) who can control people’s minds, and in the dream, I had powers similar to Charles Xavier.
I tried to stop Magneto outside but failed and retreated into the house; for some reason, Magneto could not enter. Once inside I saw several ladies of various ages. All of them were ready to fight but unsure of exactly how to match Magneto. I decided to try and freeze everyone in place by using mind control (Charles Xavier does this from time to time) but the tactic had no power over Magneto. He still taunted us from outside the house and it seemed like a standoff.
I didn’t know what to do. I had used my greatest power and yet there he was, unmovable.
Suddenly one of the younger ladies in the house began to sing. She raised her hands in worship and sang louder. I joined her, and the other ladies joined her and in a few seconds we were all singing praises to God, worshiping together, and singing in unison.
Magneto fled.
It occurred to me that the powers we’d used so far had kept Magneto at bay (out of the house) but it was the power of worship that completed the victory and forced him off, and I feel that this is what God was trying to tell me: Prayer is holding the enemy in check, but worship is what will complete the victory and send him fleeing.
As governors and mayors try to enforce new lockdown orders and limit gatherings, we the church have a choice to make. Either we capitulate (again) to the unholy dictates of secular man, and bow to powers wholly opposed to the work of Jesus Christ, or we choose to say, “No, we are in the midst of a spiritual battle and man doesn’t get to set the rules.”
I feel strongly that in these days churches need to meet and worship together. We need to congregate, fellowship, and pray in concert and in agreement. We need to visit our friends and relatives and pray blessings over meals, works, and one another. We need to sing Christmas songs during the holiday season and bless one another with gifts, visit the lonely among us, lay hands on the sick, and carol through our neighborhoods.
Prayer and worship are two sides of the same coin, and their power is magnified when they’re linked because that’s just how God set it up.
Do not let your passionate pursuit of Christ be hamstrung by authorities that try to usurp what He has called you to do. Meet, worship, pray, repeat. The victory is there for those willing to fight for it.
Let us not shrink back in these days, where violent men and women patrol the streets undaunted while the innocent are accosted for wearing a certain hat or carrying a flag they don’t appreciate. The spiritual battle is raging across cities and towns in all corners of the earth. We can either engage it with our most powerful weapons — prayer and worship — and take back the public lands the enemy has squatted upon, or let him fortify his strongholds while we try to maintain our safe spaces.
Fortresses are only valuable if they garrison armies willing to move outside the walls and defend the lands when necessary. It’s high time we do that now, because for those not fortunate enough to enjoy the peace of sturdy walls and bountiful provisions, tomorrow may be too late.