“Open the heavens... Come Living Water... All my fountains are in you.”
I stood in the middle of the bridge in Spokane belting out worship songs and playing my guitar with three young guys while dark water swirled below. We’d started the evening in prayer in the small office where this group of mostly Ukrainian-background believers gathered. They ranged in age from 16–20 years old. I’d come to this city for Russian language school, and had no idea how much more God had planned. He’d connected me with these young Russian-speaking believers who were absolutely on fire for him shortly after I arrived in Spokane, and together we would see God’s Kingdom come in power in the region.
These young adults had been praying on the streets and doing evangelism for a couple of years. Every week we would gather together, read scripture, pray, worship, and then head out to the streets to minister to people.
One of the ministry leaders had felt led to dedicate this particular week to prayer, fasting, and worship for the city and the nation, so people had been praying, fasting, and worshipping in that little office all day. When I joined them later that evening after my language class, the spirit of suicide was brought up as we prayed.
That’s when I got the picture of the bridge. I could see it in my mind’s eye, and heard the Holy Spirit saying, “Go to the bridge and pray and worship there.” I offered what I’d heard to the group. “What would you think about going and actually praying on one of the bridges in the city?” They all jumped on board. “We’d love to do that!”
So I took my guitar and we left the office to walk to the bridge. I found out later that the bridge we went to actually averaged about five suicides a month. That’s five people every month jumping into the water to end their lives. It seemed clear to me that this bridge was a place where the enemy was active, stealing all hope from those who were already in despair. Underneath the bridge was a waterway with lots of rocks and a strong current.
As our little group walked the whole length of the bridge, we could feel the heaviness of the atmosphere. When we came to the center where most people would jump, we began to worship God. We declared his praises and followed the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Words of violence had been written on the walls, so we walked to those places to speak blessings and words of life. We sang over the water, praying that the Living Water would come and that people would encounter God in that place.
After about 45 minutes we felt a sense of relief from the Lord that our time of worshipping was over and we could leave. As we walked away, we could feel that the atmosphere had shifted. We felt lightness and the joy of the Lord. We left, trusting God for what we were praying and believing him to do.
About four days later, a girl from our group who was not with us at the bridge was working at a local thrift store. A woman came in to buy a Bible, and randomly told the girl, “I’m buying this Bible for a guy who was on the bridge today about to commit suicide. He said he’d encountered God on the bridge, and now he wanted to give his life to Jesus and go to church.”
We were blown away. First, we were rejoicing that God was glorified and had saved this man’s life. Then we were amazed that God had given us the chance to hear about this fruit of our prayers. It was so encouraging and affirming, like the Lord was saying, “Keep walking and following my voice. Keep taking back the land. Learn to pray strategically, and go to these places of darkness and reclaim them.”
We continued to go to that bridge to pray, and God also led us to other dark places in the city. We learned that there was a lot of witchcraft in Spokane—not hidden, but open and above ground. Certain people in the city literally walked the streets cursing things, and we saw signs of other Satanic activities as well. The enemy had been free to do his acts of stealing, killing, and destroying on that ground. How much more did we, the Body of Christ, need to claim the land for Christ and speak life and blessing over it?
We decided to go under bridge overpasses to pray, worship, and take communion. These were places where all kinds of graffiti and demonic artwork were displayed. We spoke blessings over the water that had been cursed. We often felt heaviness in these places, and then sensed the presence of God shifting things as we would pray.
I’m a part of Prime’s Strategic Prayer Team, and many of my team members joined me in praying from around the globe. I would send them new information about the spiritual warfare in the city, and they would pray and send me notes with affirming words the Lord had given them. It was powerful to collaborate and pray with people within Novo who had so much awareness of the supernatural.
I don’t think God generally wants us to go into places like these alone. That’s why getting connected with this local group of believers was important for me. It allowed me to live out a pretty big call on my life, one of seeing hard areas pioneered for the Lord. But it also blessed the group. I had the privilege of coming alongside their leadership (the main leader was only 16!) and was able to encourage them. In many ways they were already equipped, but strategically praying for the land was new to them. They were hungry to learn more, and I think they saw great fruit because they were open to hearing and following the Holy Spirit’s lead. It was a blessing to get to know them and work together.
It’s been over a year now, and God is still blessing this young group. They’re still walking the streets, praying, and ministering to people. They’ve now started a small church that’s grown to about 60 people—Ukrainians, Russians, and Americans. They are a living, breathing example that it doesn’t matter your background or age; if you’re hungry for the Spirit of God, he’s going to fill you and use you for his good work.
The Key to Claiming Ground
Our greatest strategy in this spiritual battle is hearing God’s voice. Remember the battle of Jericho? God gave specific instructions to the Israelites about how to see the walls of Jericho come down. They had to act on what they heard God say: Walk around this city a certain number of times for a certain number of days. Pray and worship when you walk. And that’s what they did.
We, too, need to learn to hear God’s voice and be obedient to what he speaks as we follow his Holy Spirit.
When we ask God, “Where am I supposed to go and how am I supposed to respond to the places of darkness that I find?” he will give us the keys to overcoming evil in those places. And when we follow him, we don’t get into trouble by overstepping our bounds. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore, go…,” and also, “As the Father sent me, I am sending you.” Jesus is the one sending us into the world with his authority. We’re called to be Kingdom agents taking Jesus’s authority—his Kingdom—to the ends of the earth. And that’s why we can live in peace and have no fear. No weapon formed against us will stand. The blood of Christ and his power have already defeated the enemy. We’re applying that sacrifice, that blood, to our situation, to our families, to our warfare—asking God to show us how to do it. And it’s all dependent upon us hearing his voice and following his instructions.
Action Steps
Ask God to show you strategic places in your city. Ask where he’s inviting you to worship and pray—in places where strongholds need to be brought down, and in places of influence where he wants to release his blessing. As you go in response to God’s leading, the fruit of his Spirit’s activity will become evident.
It’s also okay to be seen doing these things. We don’t need to go “underground.” We can be overt and not worry about what we look like or what people are thinking when they see us worshipping or praying in the streets. We’re not doing it to be seen, but we also don’t have to hide. In the Bible, Daniel opened his windows as he prayed, and even though he ended up in the lion’s den, God provided for him in that situation. So be bold and willing to take risks! God is with you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
This story comes from a Novo staff member who is part of the Prime Strategic Prayer Team. He serves with Ethne, Novo’s cross-cultural collective.