.....red

One of the many delightful friendships God gave me in Atlanta was a partnership in ministry with a church member named John White. John is IT sales and is very good at what he does. But his greatest heart is for worship. 

When God called our church to begin contemporary worship, he called John to be the worship coordinator. All the years we worked together I tried to get John to accept a stipend from the church for his work, but he refused. He volunteered fifteen to twenty hours every week, coordinating every aspect of the contemporary service. And God blessed his ministry beyond words. 

Lost people came to the service off the street, and came to faith in Christ. Marriages on the road to divorce were redeemed. Drug addicts were healed. God moved in mighty power. Worship was led by the Holy Spirit. And all of us were transformed by his love and grace. 

Each week, John led the worship team in prayer before the service began. And nearly every week he included in his prayer the phrase, "Lord, please paint the dragon red." I'd never heard it before, but I have used it many times since. It means, "Lord, please show us where the enemy is at work. Show us what he is up to. And give us your wisdom and power to stand against him in your name." God honored that prayer. He still does. 

The New Testament's description of demons is another way God answers this prayer. Here is evidence, each verse describing the effects of a demon: 

"It has often thrown him into the fire or water to kill him" Mark 9:22; 

"It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him" Luke 9:39; 

"Day and night among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones" Mark 5:5; 

"The man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding" Acts 19:16; 

"My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession" Matthew 15:22; 

"The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, 'He's dead'" Mk 9:26;

Know this fact: the dragon is indeed red. Blood stained. Malicious and malignant. 

Here's the good news: the help you need is as near as a prayer!!! The "dragon-slayer" is ready to answer your prayers!!!  He will "paint the dragon red"; He will show what he's doing, what he's planning and exactly how he works - and He will slay the dragon!!!  

- james c. denison