Christian humorist, Dennis Swanburg, loves to tell the story of an unforgettable baptism that took place in a little West Texas church. They were building a new sanctuary and it was almost finished. The new baptistry was functional even though changing rooms were not yet available. The pastor was so excited about the new building he planned a baptism in the new baptistry. Since the changing room didn’t yet have walls, they hung sheets up so those being baptized could change.
Since they didn’t have pews yet, they put folding chairs in the uncompleted building and the whole congregation gathered at the start of the service to watch the baptism in the new baptistry. Everything went well until the last person to be baptized made her way down into the water. This lady was terrified of water, but she had been assured there was no reason for concern. But she panicked in those final seconds before being lowered into the water, clawing the air for anything to keep from going down. Within her grasp was the curtain hung behind the baptistery, which formed the front barrier of the men’s changing room. She reached out to grab hold of anything and she pulled that sheet down.
Having just stepped from the baptistery, there stood a man wearing nothing but his underwear. Realizing something dreadful was wrong; he turned around, only to see the entire congregation gaping at him in embarrassed astonishment. Assessing the situation quickly, he did the only sensible thing he dived into the baptistery with the preacher and the panic-stricken woman! Dennis likes to say, “They just dismissed the service at that time.”
What’s the point of that story? In the 10th chapter of Daniel, an unveiling takes place as the curtain is pulled aside and we are able to see things we’ve never seen before as it relates to Jesus and as it relates to spiritual warfare and prayer. Join us this Sunday as we dive into the text more about prayer and spiritual warfare.