Last Sunday, I went to church in person and was so glad I did.

The presence of the Holy Spirit was definitely present from the sermon to the prayers going forth. We also had a moment when we were directed to pray with one other person personally. As I listened and prayed in the Spirit while my prayer partner prayed for me, I also cried as God confirmed through her prayers what He has been sharing with me.

It was a glorious time in the Lord. God is so amazing.

But what I wanted to share here is a few things that stood out to me as Pastor Guice delivered the sermon. Much of these points are summed up and not verbatim, nonetheless a word from the Holy Spirit. The sermon was titled Receiving Spiritual Direction in Perilous Times. And Pastor taught about the effects when darkness invades our lives.

Darkness is basically all that separates us from God. We also know darkness as destruction, hopelessness, chaos, lack of peace, lack of order, absence of light and joy as well as an increase of violence.

• Darkness will not allow you to move. It makes you feel stuck, lethargic spiritually.
• Darkness attacks your prayer life. It makes it difficult to stay consistent in prayer, communication with God. It can even make you feel like God is nowhere to be found.
• God’s blessings are not always a mark of God’s approval.
• The presence of God is crucial to your life.
• When you are in darkness, darkness increases in the land.

So, how do we begin to come out of darkness: I believe we must first begin to pray and read God’s Word. And then proceed to the following below.

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:10‭-‬12 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/eph.6.10-12.NLT

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Romans 12:2 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/rom.12.2.NLT

Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2ch.7.14.NLT