Authors: Russ Scalzo
I
t
was
7:30 p.m.
when Jack pulled up to Liberty
Church
,
an old historic wooden building set
back on a sma
ll field off of Jerome Street.
It
was built back in
1812
and was rarely used.
When
they first met,
Conni had told him that for years
,
every time she passed this place
,
God would speak to her and say that one day she would lead a prayer meeting
there that would shake the world. Now she was about to find out how.
Jack walked up the
steps and opened one of the large wooden doors. Once inside
,
he was met with open arms by Conni and some of her prayer team.
“Welcome, J
ack!
S
o good to have you here tonight!
Everyon
e is excited to hear from you.”
Motioning
to one of her friends
,
she said,
“
Patty
,
this is Jack Bennett
,
the man I was telling
you about.”
“It is a pleasure to
meet you
,
Jack
. I’ve
heard so much about you already
.
I feel like we
are old friends.”
Jack extended his hand.
“
Patty
,
so nice to meet you. Thank you for all your prayers. I am overwhelmed to say
the least.”
Conni lifted
her arm and pointed downstairs.
“We meet downstairs in the
fellowship hall. Please
, come
this way
and
we will get started in a few minutes.”
“Okay,
sounds good.”
Jack followed them
downstairs feeling a little nervous. It was a large room
,
about seventy-
five
feet
by a hundred with fifty or so folding chairs set up in a half
circle in the middle of the room on an old style black and white vinyl tile
floor. On
one
side of the room
,
there were several tables set up with refreshments
-
coffee, tea
,
and some baked
goods. There were only a few small basement type windows on either side
of the room
with two double doors all the way in the back
leading to the parking lot. It was a lot easier for him to write his blog or
record his podcast than to speak in public. Jack wasn’t the yelling kind
.
H
e just spoke normally and let the Lord do the rest. He had
spoken at events before
,
but it had been a
while.
Conni got everyone’s
attention, opened in prayer and then introduced Jack. “Tonight we have a
special guest who has an important message for all of us. Please welcome author
,
Jack Bennett.”
Jack looked around the
room.
He estimated the average age to be between forty and
forty-five and was pleased to see a few younger people there as well.
There
had to be at least forty people there
which was also
encouraging since, in Jack’s experience, attendance at prayer meetings usually
topped out at ten at best. The group was comprised
mostly
of women with only a few men in attendance.
Jack
was reminded that
down through history
,
God had always used dedicated women of prayer to get things done.
For
example,
the origins of World Day of Prayer date
back to the 19th century when Christian women of the United States and Canada
initiated a variety of cooperative activities in support of women’s involvement
in missions at home and in other parts of the world.
He
could see that the Christians in this room were on fire and ready to go.
Jack walked over to a
small stand in fron
t of the room.
“It is a true honor to share with you tonight. First
,
I would like to thank all of you who have been praying for me over the past
week. When Conni told me about it
,
I was blessed out of my mind because only God could have known what I was going
to face and what I would need. He is so faithful.
“
To
see so many of you dedicated to prayer is amazing. Prayer moves the hand of
God. If we want to be blessed and victorious
,
we
must continue to seek the Lord.
What I have to
tell you tonight is not easy to hear or
,
I suppose
, to
believe. Yesterday
,
on my way to meet a friend for breakfast
,
I saw a man hitchhiking on the side of the road. Now
,
I don’t recommend any of you ladies doing this
,
but I have made it a practice to give hitchhikers a ride when possible in an
effort to speak to them
about
the love of God.
T
his one was very different. This hitchhiker turned out to be
an angel.”
The reaction was mixed.
There were some
“
oo
h
s
”
and
“
aahs
”
and some just stared at
Jack
like he had two heads.
Jack pressed on, “I
know you don’t hear that kind of thing every day
,
but I can assure you it is true. Remember the book of Hebrews
13:2,
‘Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some
people have enterta
ined angels without knowing it.’
It was an experience I will never forget
,
and t
he most vital part of what I am about to tell you
i
s what he told me. He said
t
he days are getting darker and we must be on guard. There are
forces that are rising up that wish to suppres
s
and throw the truth of God’s W
ord to the ground
and trample on it. Even now
,
they are gathering and preparing to destroy the faith of
God’s people through fear and despair. He told me to gather people of like faith
together to
pray
,
and if we do
so
,
God will fight for us and we will
have victory.”
At
that
,
the
place stood to their feet and applauded in agreement. Jack knew it wasn’t for
him
,
but
rather was
praise unto the
Lord.
Everyone
in the room sat back down
with the exception
of a man and
woman
who were
standing against
the back wall. Jack had noticed them earlier. He
had
a feeling
they
weren’t part of the group
,
because they kept to themselves and he could see them
talking to each other off and on while he was speaking. He also got the feeling
they didn’t approve of what was going on. He planned on asking Conni about them
afterward.
Ja
ck continued with renewed vigor.
“Who are these forces? The apostle Paul said it best
.
‘
O
ur
struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual
forces
of evil in the heavenly realms.’
“
These dark rulers are infiltrating our world at every level.
We see the horrific acts of terror going on all over the world
,
but this is only the
beginning. For the most part
, we have failed
as the
people of God
in
do
ing
battle on ou
r knees, but it is not too late. It is, however, an
all out spiritual warfare that is needed. Some have folded
their hands in defeat
,
barely hanging on
,
waiting for his return. I can only echo the words Jesus
taught
- ‘Occupy until I come.’
The issues we face are not political
,
but spiritual. We
cannot defeat the enemy with
clever speeches
and new laws. O
nly prayer can win this
battle
. W
e
cannot do it on our own. I have faced these forces before and they are
formidable
,
but through the power of God we can and will prevail.”
Applause
broke out all a
round the room. Jack
smiled,
walked over to his seat and sat down
,
thankful his words
were received in the spirit in which
he
intended
them
. He
was diligent in keepin
g
one eye on the mystery
guests in the back of the room.
Conni
smiled at Jack and walked up front to lead the group in a worship song before
prayer. As soon as the group started singing
,
the two visitors who had been observing the meeting headed
for the back door. You didn’t need any spec
ial
insight or gift to know
they were up to no
good
. He would find out soon enough. F
or now
,
he wanted to enjoy the worship and join everyone in prayer.
* * *
After
prayer
,
most
of the group stayed
to have a cup of coffee
and talk
. Conni came up to Jack and said, “That was
wonderful. I believe everyone here was inspired and energized by what you
shared. I know I was truly blessed.”
“Thank
you
. T
hat
means a lot to me. I hope
everyone spreads
the word and
gets even more people involved.”
Jack lowered his voice
significantly
and asked, “Did you see those two people standing in the
back?”
“Yes
,
I did, but I have
never seen them here before. Do you know them?”
“That’s
what I was going to ask you. They seemed a little out of sorts
,
if you know what I
mean.”
Conni
looked aro
und the room and said, “Phyllis -
she knows everyone around here. Let me get her over here and
see if she knows.”
Conni
found Phyllis
and brought her over to w
h
ere Jack was standing.
“Phyllis, Jack asked me about the two people standing in the back of the room
tonight. Do you know them?”
Taking
another sip of her coffee
,
Phyllis
said, “Oh yes, I believe they are on the historical
committee that is responsible for how this building and other historical
buildings in the county get used. It is kind of strange that
they would be here because I’ve
never seen them here before tonight.”
Jack
thought
for a moment and said, “Really?
I don’t think they approved of what was going on. They
looked a little perturbed to me.”
Phyllis
looked at Conni and said, “If that’s true
,
we might be in a bit of trouble. They have a lot of sway in
the county.”
Conni
looked a little concerned
,
but
kept her composure and
said, “God called us here. I know that for sure. We need to
keep praying and believe it will all work out.”
Jack
agreed, said his goodbyes
,
and headed out the double doors
at the back of the room that le
d
to the parking lot. As he got to the top of the steps
,
he could see two
people off in the distance talking. It was the same two people from downstairs.
It was difficult
to see clearly with
only two old street
lights hanging over the
parking lot
,
but he was sure it was them. Once they saw him
,
they moved quickly and met him at his car.
“Mr.
Bennett?”
Jack
looked them up and down checking for any kind of weapon. Working with Frank
taught him to always be aware and suspicious.
“You
saw me earlier so I believe you know who I am. The question is
,
who are you?”