Written by Shireen Eldridge
“Mommy!” My daughter cried from her room.
I jerked forward in bed. What time was it? Which kid was crying? Why didn’t my husband respond? And then I remembered, he was out of the country on a ministry trip and it had already been a tough week playing single mom.
This was the second night in a row my daughter woke up screaming in terror because she swore she saw a dark creature crawling on the corner of her ceiling.
“Mommy! Make it go away!” she screamed as I tried to calm her. This was the same scene as the night before when I finally got her to calm down, take a sip of water, pray, and go back to sleep.
But this night felt different. Sure, I was tired and frustrated, but this was more than just a scary toddler dream or an attempt for snuggles in mom’s bed. She was our best sleeper, loved her own bed, and never had bad dreams. I knew this was a spiritual battle that took more than a tired prayer to placate my toddler. This required spiritual warfare, and I needed back up.
The next morning, three pastors from Lifegate showed up, anointed her bedroom and our house, and prayed with me through it all. It wasn’t wild or weird, just genuine pleas for God to rid our home of the enemy’s schemes to steal sleep and joy from my family. No more dark creatures or awoken toddlers and complete peace for the rest of the time Micah was away. And God did just that.
This was more than a mother’s intuition, and a stirring in my mind, heart, and spirit by the Holy Spirit told me that something bigger was at play. I had experienced these battles before in my personal life and for others, and I knew it was the Holy Spirit reminding me to look beyond the natural and remember everything is spiritual!
Weekly Reflection Questions
- Think of a time when you sensed something in a moment, a conversation, or a room that others may not have noticed. How did that sense come to you? Was it restlessness, a frustration, an insight, or something else? If you can’t think of any experience of your own, can you think of a time you saw someone else display these traits?
- When you think of or encounter spiritual warfare, what kind of response do you have? Confident? Fearful? Are there ways you think the Lord may want to grow your dependence on Him in those situations?