by Scalzo, Russ
Dante called the meeting to order, “Kishar, what are the reports from the Middle-East?”
“The spirit of fear reigns throughout the area,” Kishar responded. “There is little resistance at this point. We have had very few angelic incursions. There are a few pockets of believers in certain areas, but nothing widespread. There have been a handful of conversions, but we’re keeping a close watch on it.”
Nabu looked around the room at the others and then back at Dante. “We hear you are having some trouble with a cell group in Virginia. We all know about it. You know prayer travels fast and knows no boundaries. If you don’t put a stop to it, we could have a major problems everywhere.”
Dante just stared for a moment, trying to stay calm.
“You have nothing to worry about. It’s one small cell and I have it under control.”
Asaru hissed, “You are aware that the first Great Awakening in America started with a few people praying and resulted in a quantum leap forward in the life of the church and the nation. I was here. I remember it reshaped the religious, social and moral landscapes of America and determined its destiny for the next two centuries. There is no such thing as one small cell.”
Dante stood up and was visibly furious. He slammed his fist down on the table and, as he did, his physical appearance began to change. His eyes, his skin and finally his jet-black wings appeared. He stared out at them, wisps of red vapor trailing out his nose.
He screeched, “I told you I have it under control! You tend to your own business and I’ll tend to mine.”
Marduk stepped up and said, “We must stay united if we are to do the Master’s will. Dante will contact us if he needs any help. We have met and we have voiced our concerns. Now let’s get back to our assignments.”
There was a general uneasiness to Marduk’s statement, but everyone knew they couldn’t be away from their posts for much longer or there would be hell to pay… literally.
One by one, their wings unfurled, yet no one said a word. They leered at Dante, their bulbous, red eyes piercing through the now rising mist around them. Suddenly, each one, in labored hisses, twisted, turned and vanished in the swirling mist, leaving only Marduk and Dante standing in the room.
Marduk bowed slightly and said, “Master, I must also return.”
Dante nodded, still wrapped in his shroud of darkness. Marduk wrapped his wings around himself and vanished.
Dante turned and stared out the window overlooking the city. He was furious. How dare they challenge me? They have it easy over there, he thought. Dante elevated a foot off the floor and moved from behind the conference table, leaving a trail of red-orange mist in his wake. He slowly moved to the middle of the room, his eyes still glowing red. He stretched and unfolded his wings, tilted his head back and let out a roar filled with hate and frustration, then disappeared out of sight.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Everyone was happy to hear the good news about the prayer meeting. They drove in from all parts of the area excited to be getting back together again at the old church. Conni stood at the door and welcomed each person as they came in. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Mr. Robert Doutiere dressed in his usual suit and tie, making his way in from the parking lot. He was about sixty years old, tall and thin with grey, almost white hair.
Conni knew Robert well and was not happy about him coming to oversee the prayer meeting. She knew his intent was not to pray, but to make sure everything was done correctly, in proper order as he saw fit. There were some in her congregation at church that sarcastically called him Mr. Doubter because, although he was a very intelligent man and held a doctorate in theology, he was considered somewhat of a Pharisee, a real stickler for the law. He believed in an extremely conservative interpretation of the Gospel and very much enjoyed his position of authority in the church. However, Conni had prayed about it and, after talking to Jack, decided to trust the Lord and see what happened. She smiled and extended her hand as Mr. Doutiere walked up the steps. She was so nervous that she might slip and say the wrong thing, that she kept repeating his name over and over again in her head.
“Hello, Mr. Doutiere. How are you tonight?”
“Doing well, Conni. We start at seven, correct?”
“Yes, we like to start on time. We might wait a few more minutes because some people come a long way to get here.”
“If it’s important to them, they should make allowances for that. Don’t you agree?”
Conni was trying not to let him upset her. In her mind, she thought about locking him in the closet until the meeting was over, but she quickly snapped out of it.
“Everyone does their best, sir. It always works out fine. The Lord is good. He understands.”
Robert just stared at her and continued to walk downstairs. She threw her head back and prayed, “Lord, You’re really going to have to help me tonight.”
Conni waited for those whom she knew were running late and welcomed them with a joyous smile, then proceeded downstairs. She looked around and was very excited. People were greeting one another and laughing. There had to be over fifty people gathered for prayer, by far the most they had ever had.
Mr. Doutiere approached her. “I would like to address the group before we start and make sure we are all on the same page.”
Conni was horrified and turned her head away for a moment. She thought, What page is that? She had no idea this was going to happen. She figured he was just going to sit in the back and observe. Conni was very protective of the group. She knew that God had put it all together and she didn’t want anyone to mess with it. She turned her head back and looked at him. Mr. Doutiere hadn’t moved an inch. He stood there in his usual authoritative manner, waiting for a response.
Conni took a deep breath and said softly, “Do you really think that is necessary? I usually just open in prayer and hand out the email lists of prayer requests that have come in so everyone can pray for the needs. Then we pray. It is very orderly.”
She thought it clever to throw that in knowing how he loved order. Unfortunately, the expression on Mr. Doutiere’s face did not change. He stood there peering at Conni for a few more seconds and finally said, “Very well. I will only intervene if I feel things are getting out of control. You may proceed.”
He turned and walked towards the back of the room. He picked up a chair, moved it off to the side away from the group, and sat down. Conni couldn’t believe it. She closed her eyes for a moment and thanked God for answering her prayer.
She could now turn her attention to the group. “Welcome, everyone!” she shouted enthusiastically to get their attention. “I am so happy to see so many of you here tonight. Let us take a moment and put our hands together in praise and thanksgiving to God for all He has done.”
At that, the whole place stood up and broke out in thankful applause and praise. Conni could see Mr. Doutiere out of the corner of her eye. He was the only one still sitting with his Bible and notepad on his lap. She wished she hadn’t looked because she was determined to block him out and look only to Jesus.
After a few minutes, everyone sat back down and Conni had a few of the women help to hand out the sheets of prayer requests that had come in over the past week.
“Please keep in mind the main reason God has brought us here is to pray for a spiritual awakening in our country. All the needs in front of you are important, but without a sovereign move of God through this country, our friends and families will continue to suffer under the influence of the kingdom of darkness.”
Conni bowed her head and opened in prayer. “Father, thank You for allowing us to be here tonight and guide us all as we pray and seek Your will for our lives and our country. Amen.”
Everyone followed with an “Amen” and then began to pray quietly to themselves. Some stayed seated, some walked around the room, while others knelt on the floor in front of their chairs.
Mr. Doutiere sat quietly in his chair and carefully scanned the room from one side to the other. He had
never seen anything like this before. There were so many people from different denominations and ethnic backgrounds, but all were praying in unity of spirit. Fifteen minutes went by, then thirty, and then at approximately forty-five minutes into the meeting, he began to feel something he hadn’t felt in many years. A strong and overwhelming presence began to fill the room. At first it was a little scary, but as it grew, he felt the need to bow his head and close his eyes. He felt like a small child in the sense that he was almost afraid to open his eyes. Suddenly, he felt a light breeze blowing around the room. He wanted to open his eyes to see if someone had turned a fan on or opened a window or door, but somehow he knew that that wasn’t it. He could feel the presence growing stronger, could no longer stay seated, and he felt overwhelmingly compelled to drop to his knees. He buried his face in his hands. He had a feeling like there was someone standing alongside him. Slightly opening his eyes, he looked only at the floor around him, but saw no one. Then suddenly he heard a very soft but very clear whisper.
“Robert.” No one here would call him that. He wasn’t even sure if anyone here knew his first name.
“Robert,” the voice said again, this time a little louder. Mr. Doutiere was now shaking inside. He squeezed his eyes closed even tighter.
“Do you remember me, Robert?”
He hadn’t heard that voice since he was eighteen years old on the day he came to the Lord and promised to dedicate his life to reaching people with the message of the love of God. He knew who it was and it made him tremble all the more.
“Why do you wish to hinder my Spirit, Robert? Who put out the fire I started in you so many years ago? The path you have chosen is one that ends in destruction. The enemy has placed you here, Robert, to oppose Me. Return to Me and I will bless you.”
Mr. Doutiere put his head in his hands and began to weep, uncontrollably. Tears ran fast down his face for the first time in years. He had convinced himself over the years that emotions had no place in a mature Christian’s life, or in the church for that matter. It had been so long since he felt that presence in his life… so long. He had filled the void he felt with education and religious position, avoiding the real issues within. He knew what he had to do and decided then and there, he could not and would not run anymore.
He opened his eyes and quickly glanced around the room to see if anyone saw what had happened to him, but everyone was still praying. No one was looking at him at all. Each one was deep into his or her own communication with God. He pulled a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and wiped his face. He slowly got up off his knees and sat back down on his chair. There remained a wonderful, sweet, calming presence in the room. It washed over him again and again, each time renewing his faith and giving him strength. He opened his Bible to the Gospel of John and began to read.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
Mr. Robert Doutiere, the one Dante had been so confident in, the one he thought would throw a monkey wrench into this prayer group, dividing it and rendering it useless, sat there reading his Bible, bathed in the prayers of those around him.
The meeting continued for another half an hour, but it didn’t bother him. As far as he was concerned, it could’ve gone on forever.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Jack lay in his bed staring at the ceiling. He looked over at his digital alarm clock. It read 5:39 a.m. The morning light was just beginning to chase the last remnants of night sky away. Jack liked the fact that his large bedroom window faced east and let in the first rays of morning light. He was normally an early riser, but this morning he was extra tired. He hadn’t gotten much sleep last night thinking about Emily and her mixed reaction to all that they talked about Monday night.
She hadn’t been totally shocked. Emily knew he was investigating paranormal activity, but confrontations with demons and angels? That took it to another level. Emily had read about such things in her Bible, but knowing that Jack was living this bizarre reality everyday was unnerving. Jack knew he had to give her a little space to digest it all, but he still hadn’t heard from her and every new hour that went by made him more and more nervous.
There was no doubt in his mind that he was falling in love with her, and the thought of losing her was not something he cared to entertain. All night long he would doze off, then wake up and pray that everything would work out, doze off again, wake up, and pray some more. He knew he had to trust the Lord in all of this, but he was finding it to be easier said than done. Jack began to think that confronting demons was an easier task than dealing with his newfound love life.
Jack sat up. He couldn’t bear to stay in bed another minute. He had a blog to write and phone calls to make. He got up and walked across the room and straight into the shower. He needed to shake off all the doubt and negative thoughts that he had been battling all night long. His mind was racing back and forth from one scenario to another. Emily was a smart girl. Jack knew she knew this spiritual dimension existed and he also knew she was crazy about him, but would she decide that it was all too weird and scary? Would she stay with him?
Jack stood in the shower for a while, letting the hot water pour over his head and tired body. He slowly began to get his appetite back and decided it was time to get dressed and head for the kitchen for some hot coffee and a couple of eggs.
The sun streamed through the open kitchen window, accompanied by a gentle warm breeze, which made Jack feel a little more hopeful. The early morning rays fell across the kitchen table where Jack’s Bible laid open to the book of Proverbs. He walked over to the table and looked down. He remembered that he had been reading in the book of Psalms before he went to bed, but he just figured the wind must have blown the pages overnight. The sun’s rays landed on two verses highlighting them in bright sunshine. The verses seemed to jump off the page at him.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
A chill ran up his back. Some might say it was just happenstance, but Jack knew better. He knew it was no accident, not in his world. He put a K-Cup in the Keurig and while he waited for the cup to fill, he sat down at the table and opened his laptop. He figured he might as well get started on his blog.
First, he checked his email. A lot of his new mail was advertisements and special offers for all kinds of stuff he didn’t want. He deleted them one by one and started to go through his blog-related questions and comments, when a new message appeared on his screen. It was from Emily. Jack’s heart skipped a beat. The first thing that came into his head was, Why is she sending me an email? He breathed deep, opened it and began to read.
“Good morning!
I have been up for a while and I didn’t want to alarm you by calling you so early in the morning, so I decided to send you an email hoping you might be up early as well and looking at your computer.
I’ve been praying about us and the Lord has given me a real peace about our future together. I know He has called you to be a force for Him and I want to be a part of that too.
I love you. Please call me as soon as you read this.
Love, Emily.”
Jack breathed a sigh of relief. He could feel the heavy cloud that had been hanging over his head lift and instantly disappear. He picked up his phone and called her immediately.
Emily answered, “Jack, are you okay?”
“I am now,” he said with a big smile on his face. “I could hardly sleep last night thinking about you, wondering what you were thinking.”
“I’m sorry for making you so crazy. I just needed to get a handle on everything we talked about, but now I know for sure that we belong together. I believe in you and your calling and I want to be a part of it. I wan
t to stand by you and be in your life, Jack.”
Her words wrapped around him like a warm blanket. It was music to his ears. The thought of losing Emily made him realize how much she meant to him and just how serious he felt about her. It seemed surreal that it had only been two weeks, but he knew that she was the one. Jack had counseled many couples in his day not to jump too far ahead in a relationship without praying it through and getting to know one another. Now, here he was on the verge of saying something it was definitely too early to say. He found himself groping for the right words to say, but wanted to let her know how much she truly meant to him.
“Emily, I don’t have the words to express how much that means to me. I know we have only been together for a few weeks, but I know I need you in my life. I believe with all my heart that God has put us together. I took a chance that you would understand what God has called me to do because I knew if we were going to have a future together, I had to honest with you, even if it meant that you might decide to walk away from me.”
Emily smiled on the other end of the phone. She knew that Jack was the one and she wasn’t about to walk away.
“I’m not going anywhere, Jack Bennett. In fact I called out of work today. I hope you don’t have any pressing issues to deal with, because as soon as you called me I got in my car and started driving to your house. I should be there in five minutes. Is that okay?”
Jack laughed out loud. “It is more than okay. I will be sitting on the front porch waiting for you.”
Jack put his phone back in his pocket and walked outside onto the porch. He felt like he could fly. With all the other not so normal things going on in his life, he was so elated to know that he and Emily were going to be all right. After all, where was he going to find a woman who loved the Lord so much that she was willing to live on the edge with him? The fact that she was incredibly beautiful didn’t hurt his feelings eithe
