Religion in England

In "No Small Snakes: A Journey Into Spiritual Warfare," author Gordon Dalbey shares a compelling story on pp. 200-201 regarding how God told him to pray for England while he was attending a worship service:

Almost as soon as I had greeted my friends and settled into my seat, an overwhelming sense of alertness, openness, and brightness came upon me. A warmth flushed through my body, and before I could sing a note, I began to cry. A moment later, the crying eased – and then came again stronger, deeper, as in waves. As I sat there sobbing – hoping my friends were too busy singing to notice – a voice seemed to speak in my heart, 'Have I not loved you, My son?'

Within moments, I felt strength within me akin to anger, but before I could begin to worry what was wrong with me, I sensed something amiss in the atmosphere. What's wrong here, Lord? I asked. Immediately, the word self-righteousness came to mind; I bound that spirit over the gathering and, sensing the authority, cast it out. As the singing continued, I waited, alert for any further leading from God.

When the song ended, the worship leader began to speak with great enthusiasm about the power of God, and I found myself amazed to hear such unbridled excitement in a British accent. Lord, I thought, why am I so struck by that? I must have a real prejudice against the British. As the next song began, I sang out in praise to God, and I noticed the leader lifting his hands in joyful abandon.

Poor, uptight England! I thought. Imagine the joy they've missed by not letting go and praising God like that fellow! I stopped singing, shook my head, and sighed in dismay.

Suddenly, I heard a voice within me: 'Pray for England.'

What? I almost blurted out loud, sitting bolt upright. I waited and 'heard' nothing more, but the presence and power of those words remained electric within me. 'Me?' I asked under my breath. 'You want me to pray for England?' I felt as if I'd been listening to a symphony and the conductor's arms were now raised, awaiting the musicians. Sure, I'd prayed before for individuals, meetings, even churches. But for a whole nation?

Well… okay, Lord, I thought uneasily. I closed my eyes, and a map or picture of England came to mind. I prayed that the blood of Jesus would cleanse the entire island, and I saw great dark clouds pouring out of it. Emboldened, but careful not to go beyond my anointing, I asked God to identify particular enemy spirits working against Him in England. As the names of their activity came to mind, I asked God to pour out His Spirit on England in specific ways to counter those demons.

Congratulations to Dalbey for following Jesus' request, even though he was a bit hesitant at first.