Our team woke up this morning and prepared to fully encounter the specific cultural and religious idolatry/evil that we are facing in Delhi. Accompanied by the missionaries we are partnering with, we were given a tour of Northern Delhi places of worship by a converted Hindu Pastor named Ravi.
We toured a Hindu Crematorium, Birla Temple (Hindu), Bangla Sahib (Sikh), and Nizzamudin Mosque (Muslim). Our team prayed together and prayer walked the sights praying that our Lord light would penetrate the darkness. The team felt a great sense of awareness of the principalities of the dark and harsh stares of those worshipping there. There is so much darkness and desolation in and around these beautifully architected temples here. We see the same darkness at home, but this darkness has a different face that we are not familiar with.
This morning at the crematorium we saw people carry their loved ones ashes to the (Hindi sacred) Yamuna river in hopes that they'd find favor with their gods and receive salvation after the river had accepted them. Our team prayed for the misled and the for God's truth to penetrate this stronghold in dead tradition.
Our prayers in the temples were that the people of India will stop worshipping the dead and following the living Savior Jesus Christ. We pray that the veils are removed from their eyes and they will turn from the false teachings the devil has used to hide the truth from them.
From there, we got to hear the incredible testimony of our guide, Pastor Ravi, describe his journey of conversion to Christianity. The power of his testimony will stay with us because of his passion and comfort in his salvation in Christ. This was evidence to him by challenging God to reveal Himself to him.
Furthermore, while in the elaborate temples/mosques we followed standard traditions as anyone entering the temples would, and it certainly stretched us outside of our comfort zones. In the places of worship we saw the idolatry and confusion of people who worshipped unknown gods, performed religious rituals to a language and teaching they cannot understand. One of the most interesting parts of the day was when prayed against the forces of darkness in a sacred Muslim place where a Sufi saint was laid to rest and only Muslim men were allowed to pray. The spiritual warfare in that small space was clear to us while praying for their repentance and salvation at one of their ceremonial alters.
Pray for us that we will not have a spirit of fear, but of boldness and that we will trust the Holy Spirit to guide us in all of our interactions with the people of Delhi. Thanks for your prayers, we can see the evidence of faithful followers praying to our Lord.
Lance
India 1 Team
Acts 5:11-32
