May 3, 2023 The Power of Prayer

I know the enemy has shown up tonight, but I also know God is here, said Carmen, the speaker at the Vallejuelo Central SDA Church, during our trip to the Dominican Republic.

Before every meeting, Carmen would take those who were a part of that night’s service into the back room and pray for what they would share with all those attending.

This night was no exception, they prayed and discussed the order of the service, but nothing seemed to be going according to their plan.

The tech guy who was usually early to set up wasn’t there. He was always punctual, so I was a little surprised that he wasn’t there, but then he came after we prayed, Carmen said. Things in the service began lagging, and the timeframe we discussed in the back room didn’t happen. 

I remember saying, God, what is happening?

The church of Vallejuelo Central has white tile floors, shiny wooden pews with maroon seat cushions, and the words Mi Amigo Jesus behind the pulpit.

Right in front of the projector screen, on the left-hand side of the sanctuary in the front row, is where Carmen, the elder, and the tech people sit.

The Jesus video was playing, and it was talking about when Jesus cast out the devil into the swine. When it got to the part where the swine were running down the hill, the tech guy sitting beside me flinched and put his hand to his face. At first, I wondered if he was afraid, but then I saw that his hand began to twitch, and his face began to distort. My first thought was, did he transfer what was happening on the screen to himself? And then I saw his whole body twisting, and his mouth started drooling. That’s when I realized he was having an epileptic attack, and I told a young man behind me, Get somebody, get somebody! I held his shoulders because I didn’t want him to fall face down on the equipment, and then a lady came. I asked if she was his mother, and she said no, but she said he sometimes gets these attacks. I started to pray, and I prayed, and I prayed, and I begged God to take away whatever he was going through. The attack lasted a good four or five minutes. I prayed right through the episode until he was calm again.

I always tell people that the only thing I know how to do is to pray. When trouble arises, I pray. I do believe in prayer; I believe that when you pray, God answers. And He did that night.

All I know is when you’re on the battlefield for the Lord, the enemy always tries to show up. I think the enemy was trying to disturb the whole atmosphere, with the long wait before and the feeling of being on edge after the episode.

I never asked them to do this before, but I asked an elder and another lady that was there if they knew the song, I have joy, joy, joy down in my heart, and they said yes, and the whole congregation began signing, and it was if the cloud that was there just went away and set the pace for the rest of the night.

The enemy did not win that night in Vallejuelo. Let us remember James 4:7, that when we submit to God and resist the devil, he will flee from us. Just merely the name of our Lord sends the enemy running.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

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