Let’s say that we find a volunteer who is willing to be a test subject for an unusual experiment. The volunteer would then be blindfolded and have sound suppressors covering his ears to remove as much external stimuli as possible. Next, he would be driven to two cities without knowing their names or locations beforehand.
The first place we would take the subject would be a residential neighborhood in La Jolla, California.
What would the person feel through his senses in La Jolla? Most likely, he would detect peace and safety.
Next, we would drive the person, with his blindfold and sound suppressors still in place, to Compton, California. We would position him in the middle of a Compton gang’s territory.
What would the person feel in this Compton neighborhood? Most likely, he would perceive fear and anger.
La Jolla is one of California’s most affluent cities, with an extremely low crime rate, while Compton is near the bottom of the list for average household incomes in California and near the top of the list for crime rates and gang troubles.
How would a person be able to discern anything about the two cities without any sight or sound stimuli or knowledge of their locations?
Frank Peretti gave us a possible answer in his 1986 novel, “This Present Darkness.” His novel stirred up the imaginations of Christians about spiritual warfare by using angels and demons in his story to influence people in a small town. Peretti’s title for his novel was taken from a Bible verse:
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)
I believe Peretti’s novel reveals in a fictional, creative manner that there is a spiritual atmosphere surrounding the earth. That seems to be what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote Ephesians 6:12. This spiritual atmosphere is only there for one reason: to influence people who live on the earth.
I also believe that an average person with hardly any spiritual discernment can sense the spiritual atmosphere over many cities, especially in cities where fear and anger are the dominating spiritual forces.
Frank Peretti and I certainly have our critics, but let’s say my theory is correct.
That would mean the black people who live in Compton – or Baltimore or Detroit or Chicago or any inner city – are constantly being bombarded by fear and anger from the demonic rulers over their neighborhoods. They are hit in their sleep, when they wake up and throughout the day. Every single day. Every single night. There is no let-up because Satan never declares a cease-fire in his attacks against humans.
Yes, people are supposed to resist the devil. Yes, they need to make proper choices. But it’s hard for people to fight back and pick the correct alternatives when they are drowning in a sea of fear and anger. The fallout from the fear and anger is everywhere. It’s in churches. In governments. In schools. In homes. In workplaces. On the streets. And in their music.
It is easy for outside critics to point out the problems in America’s inner cities, but so far, what has that accomplished? Very little, if anything.
You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle in the day of the Lord. (Ezekiel 13:5)
Like in Ezekiel’s day, there are numerous false prophets proclaiming what the inner cities need to set them free from their woes. Most of these are carpetbaggers who only desire to enrich their bank accounts or political futures. These false prophets traipse through the inner cities’ streets during every election cycle for their photo ops.
What should be done?
Let’s not forget that African-Americans in the inner cities comprise the highest percentage of Christians for any group in America. They engage in religious activities and express their beliefs in God at a rate that is 40 percent higher than the average for all American adults. So, it’s the duty of all Christians to come to their aid, especially now.
I propose that groups of Christian prayer warriors go and live in the inner cities. There they will stand in the gaps with intercession and fasting against the spirit of slavery, the ruling demon that spits out fear and anger to the inner cities’ residents.
The irony of this can’t be overlooked because the prayer groups will end up being spiritual bondservants for black Americans.
I wrote this in an earlier column:
“Like Israel, I believe God has refined African-Americans in an iron furnace of affliction during their four centuries in our nation. … I also believe we may soon see a black river of prophets and preachers coming out of the inner cities of America. They may have scars from knife fights and gunshot wounds, but their hearts will be filled with a love deeper than anyone has ever witnessed in our nation before them. The last shall be first!”
Are race wars inevitable in America?
If Christians continue on this same do-nothing path, the answer is “yes.”
But if prayer warriors rush into the gaps along the battle lines against the spirit of slavery, I believe there is a good chance race wars can be diminished or stopped altogether in most inner cities.
