Years ago some church planting friends
asked my wife to be on their prayer team. They recruited thirty-one people who
promised to fast and pray one day a week for the new church. Dionne’s day was
the 11th of the month.
As she prayed on one of her designated
days, she suddenly felt that the Holy Spirit was warning her about a demonic
plot to sneak a deceptive and disruptive person into the baby church - someone
who could do great damage.
Dionne remembered a special spiritual
warfare prayer called “Paint the Dragon Red,” and she immediately began to pray
it for the new church. She prayed fervently, asking that God would expose and
thwart the plots of the enemy.
Two weeks later, she had a conversation
with the church planter’s wife. “Dionne, the weirdest thing happened. A nice
young man recently started attending our pre-launch Bible study. He seemed so
knowledgeable – ideal leadership material. But at our meeting last week he
began spouting all kinds of bizarre heresy and gibberish. We were all shocked.
Of course he can’t be a leader here! In fact, he left in a huff. Please pray.”
Dionne explained that this strange
episode with the young man was already an
answer to pray. As she described the intercession God had led her to do, they
rejoiced together and praised God for protecting the new church.
The “Painting the Dragon Red” prayer
comes from Leanne Payne’s book Listening
Prayer. The author describes a time when she and her ministry team faced
spiritual attack. Confusion, deception, and disorientation rattled and divided
her team, and she suspected demonic warfare.
Ms. Payne began to think about how our
enemy the devil prowls around like a
roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Lions take
advantage of their camouflage to sneak up on prey. But what would happen if
they were suddenly painted bright red, for everyone to see?
She began to pray a bold prayer, asking God to "paint red" the dragons that crouch in the camouflage of messy interpersonal
relationships and spiritual confusion. Dionne and I have been praying this prayer for many years:
“Pray that:
1. The eyes of
all who surround these people will be opened to see the situation as it really
is;
2. Their
associates will be given ways to speak truth and light into the situation (and
be protected themselves);
3. Any demonic
power within these people or situations manifest itself and that it be clearly
discerned and seen by all;
4. What can be
salvaged (in this situation and in the lives of your enemies) be saved, humbled
and blessed by the Spirit of God.”
Leanne Payne cautions that if
circumstances warrant this warfare prayer, that we pray in deep humility,
simultaneously imploring God to “Have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Adapted from the book Daily Encouragement for the Church Planting Journey,
which you can find at Amazon. (Just click the title). The devotionals from the
book are also available online at http://www.churchplants.com/daily-devotions.
