“Don’t you dare sacrifice your son or daughter in the fire. Don’t practice divination, sorcery, fortunetelling, witchery, casting spells, holding séances, or channeling with the dead. People who do these things are an abomination to God. It’s because of such abominable practices that God, your God, is driving these nations out before you.” – Deuteronomy 18:10-11, Message
Though people laughingly identify Romania as the legendary home of “Count Dracula,” the occult in that nation is far from a laughing matter. People take it very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that in 2006, witchcraft was legally identified as a career. Furthermore, when it was suggested that witches should pay taxes and be held liable for false predictions, legislators quickly abandoned the idea due to threats of curses from registered witches. The Bible doesn’t laugh at this kind of behavior either. It is very clear on such issues – that witchcraft, sorcery, and other forms of magical enterprises are sin. See the above passage for further clarification or do your own study on what the Bible has to say about it.
Why is this so important to know for those of us who want to pray for Romania and the salvation of its citizens? Because witchcraft rarely impacts just one slice of the nation’s life. Malachi 3:5 makes this very clear. In the Message, God says in this verse, “Yes, I’m on my way to visit you with Judgment. I’ll present compelling evidence against sorcerers, adulterers, liars, those who exploit workers, those who take advantage of widows and orphans, those who are inhospitable to the homeless – anyone and everyone who doesn’t honor me …” Sorcery is mentioned first, and, I believe, is linked to each of the following evil behaviors. What makes me think that? Because divorce rates in Romania are rising (according to one article I read, though I could find little solid data on this subject). Because there is a huge problem of child abandonment in this nation – in hospitals, facilities, train stations, and streets – which, in my way of thinking, is very much sacrificing one’s child to the savageries of society’s most depraved individuals. Because the street children of Romania (*ahem* the homeless children of Romania) are frequently the victims of sexual assault, child prostitution, and other horrific crimes that rob their innocence. When I searched for social problems in Romania, these three things (divorce, street children/child abandonment, and witchcraft) were the three most common problems I found discussed. Is it a coincidence that all three appear in this verse? I don’t think so.
So how do we, as educated children of God, address this issue? We turn to Acts 19:18-20, and we pray – harder than perhaps we’ve ever prayed before for witchcraft to be uprooted in this nation, for the people of God to arise with strength and boldness and the ability to cast out demons, and for people to come to the Lord. It’s time to pray for a bonfire.
“Many also of those who were now believers came making full confession and thoroughly exposing their [former deceptive and evil] practices (Amp). They made a clean break with their secret sorceries. All kinds of witches and warlocks came out of the woodwork with their books of spells and incantations and made a huge bonfire of them (MSG) in the sight of everybody. When they counted the value of them, they found it amounted to 50,000 pieces of silver (about $9,300). Thus the Word of the Lord [concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the Kingdom of God] grew and spread and intensified, prevailing mightily (Amp).” (Acts 19:18-20)
Yes, Lord, we pray that many people in the country of Romania would become believers, and make a clean break with the sorcery that has previously entrenched their lives. We pray that they would burn their books – never turn back to those ways, that the Word of the Lord concerning salvation through Christ, would grow and spread and intensify and prevail mightily over the land. We know that your Word says that what we bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, so we, in faith, bind the work of the Enemy to blind these people to the truth, to harden their hearts to the Word, and to keep the Gospel from spreading – and we wait expectantly for Revival to break out. Thank you Jesus!
Other areas to pray about and for:
- - Marriages to be strengthened and pleasing to God. (Look up Malachi 2:15 for further guidance on this
issue.)
- - For Pastors and Lay People to arise as Shepherds within their communities and steer people away from
the lures of witchcraft (see Zechariah 10:2)
- - For the protection and bravery of the political leaders within this nation, that they would make decisions
that honor God, so that their constituents can live in peace and safety, can serve God with their daily
activities and be freed from the spiritual oppression they face (1 Timothy 2:2)
Some of the websites I used for information:
§ http://www.buffalonews.com/wire-feeds/24-hour-world-news/article185306.ece
§ http://www.fondationmustela.com/en/expert-words/professional-meetings/romania-research-trip/child-abandonment-prevention.html
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