Cranking Up the Spiritual Warfare

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12, NKJV.

Nong Plaa is a medium sized Lua village in Northern Thailand. Five believers live in Nong Plaa. Before joining this small group of believers for a time of worship and Bible study I walked around their village.

Most Lua houses are simple wood-slat construction with tin or palm thatch roofs. The house is typically built on stilts that lift the floor about seven feet off the ground. Mangy dogs and sickly looking chickens run about under the homes. Curious faces peered out at me, but not many people wanted to talk. This particular village had electricity, and I even noticed a couple of satellite dishes!

The people I saw were in groups. I didn’t see many people doing anything alone. After my walk, I returned to the home of the only Christian family in the village. I kicked off my shoes and climbed the wooden ladder to the entryway of the house. As I entered I noticed that Noi, one of the Christian community development workers from Chiang Klang, had just finished giving guitar lessons to two Lua youth.

The one room home was very simple inside. Two straw mats covered the entry way. The floor was made of new planks of wood with about an eighth of an inch gap between them. There was one window and one door. The wood plank walls left about a 10 to 12 inch gap at the top to allow cross breezes and ventilation. The few possessions that they owned were in plastic bags hung from nail pegs on the walls. Their sleeping mats were rolled up inside an old cardboard box in one corner of the room. They had a single fluorescent light on the ceiling. Surprisingly, they also had a TV, stereo and large speakers in another corner of the room.

When all five of the Lua believers arrived, we prepared to start our worship time. One woman came in and asked if she could see what Christians do when they worship. She was warmly welcomed. Noi took out her guitar again and started to play some worship songs. As soon as the Christians began to sing a neighbor turned on his stereo and cranked up the volume very loud. This continued off and on for the rest of the worship time.

Shortly after we had started singing a 14 year old Lua youth came into the house. He seemed drunk. He called the Christian youth to come outside with him. He hesitated, but decided to leave with the other youth. He returned a short while later.

Next, as one of the Lua believers was sharing his testimony an alarm or noise maker like a car alarm went off right under the house. The believer ignored the distraction and continued to share. In the middle of the second testimony the woman who had come to visit decided to leave.

The owner of the home thanked me for coming and invited me to come to his home any time I had the chance to visit. As I climbed into a truck to leave the village I prayed for these new believers. The spiritual warfare against them is intense. I’m sure this worship experience is only a small taste of what they put up with daily in order to stand for Christ.

Pray that:

God will bind the spiritual forces of darkness in Nong Plaa.

Believers in Nong Plaa will be strengthened by the Holy Spirit as they stand for Christ.

Believers in Nong Plaa will not become bitter with their neighbors, but will recognize who the true enemy is in the persecutions they are suffering.