David Beck

I have two experiences I wanted to share:

1. This summer a friend of mine had suggested a new search site (other than Google), because he is of the opinion that Google monitors our sites visited. So I tried it out when I got home. Ugh! Either he had told me the wrong site, or I remembered it incorrectly, because it was NOT a search engine. It was a porn site.
   
   Instantly my mind swept back to the times when I used to visit sites like that, and a cold chill went through my spine. I felt dirty and defeated. I clicked it off, but a second wave came over me about how I had let it stay on too long. "Why didn't you close the website sooner?" ran through my head. And then, "You thought you were over those urges, but look what you just did. And you're leading a Sunday school class!"
   
   Wow! When I told Carolyn about it that night, she was conviced it was an attack. Truth be known, I'd rather not even list it here, but I believe the Lord requires us to be truthful.
   
2. When I was going through the separation from my first wife, she was in counseling with one person and I with another. You see, after a short time of seeing our Christian marriage counselor, she decided not to continue because, as she put it, "The ideas he's suggesting are contrary to what my personal counselor is telling me." Her personal counselor was not a Christian counselor.
   
   Enough of the background information. I decided at one point to visit this other counselor to see if there was any way that I could get a glimpse of how my first wife was thinking. I noticed in the counselor's waiting room a pamphlet about healing with crystals and hypnosis, so I was very skeptical.
   
   At two distinct points while I was talking with the counselor I felt this heavy weight descend upon my chest and on my lap. I immediately began praying silently until the sensation lifted and believe nothing permanently bad happened while I was there. Yet a friend of mine scolded me afterwards and said, "Dave. The next time you go into a situation like that, tell me ahead of time. You need additional prayer support in times like that."
   
   I hadn't really considered that point until that time. But we DO need one another's prayers when we are facing KNOWN spiritual darkness.