|
|
PRAYER FOR YOUR CHURCH
|
Single parents
Lord, I lift up the single parents in our church. May they know You as father to the fatherless and defender of widows! Let us be a real family to them when they are lonely. Show us ways to include them and minister grace to them. Stir up practical ideas in us that show Your love and care. Help them relax in Your grace and provision which is more than enough for every weakness and need. (Ps. 68:5, 6; 25:16; Matt. 25:35-40; 2 Cor. 12:9; Phil. 4:19)
|
|
Home  Incense Rising Weapon of war?
for your consideration: headcoverings
by Sandra Higley
Editor's note: While this was my personal experience, I do not mean to imply that this is the only legitimate interpretation of 1 Cor. 11:3-16. Rather, we offer it as an interesting possibility on a frequently overlooked prayer passage.
“Hey, sis, I want to tell you a true story” my brother, Chuck, raised his voice in an attempt to be heard over the rush of wind coming through the open windows of his vehicle. My friend, Sharon, and I had spent the last several days prayerwalking some strategic strongholds in the area. Now my brother, a missionary to Indonesia, was chauffeuring us to the Yogykarta airport where we would depart for Bali on the second leg of our 1997 10/40 Window prayer journey.
The oppressive heat and humidity made closing the windows impractical,
so I nodded and strained to hear what he wanted to share. Sharon sat in
the seat behind us taking in the Indonesian countryside as it hurtled
by. Sharon is almost completely deaf. She wears hearing aids and can
hear only if she is looking at you straight on, reading lips as she
goes. Maybe because of that, the Lord has given her an incredible
ability to hear with her spiritual ears, making her an invaluable
intercessor and prayer partner. Now sitting in the back seat, wind
roaring through the car and unable to see our faces, her participation
in the conversation was impossible.
“There was this preacher,”
my brother continued, “who was invited to speak at some special
meetings. After he finished, some of the men from the host church asked
him to come with them to pray for a woman who was demonized. She was
confined to her bed and in a serious state. The men explained that they
had tried again and again to rebuke and cast out the demons afflicting
the woman but with no success. The preacher entered her room where she
thrashed and convulsed on the bed before him. He looked at her, sized
up the situation, plopped a handkerchief on her head and then promptly
and with little effort commanded the demons to leave in Jesus’ Name.
Instantly the demons responded, leaving the woman sane and lucid.
“’What happened?’ the men asked incredulously. ‘Why did the demons leave so quickly for you now when we prayed with no results?’
“The
preacher opened his Bible to 1 Corinthians 11 and began to share his
understanding of the passage. ‘Man’s head represents Christ. A woman
represents the glory of mankind* (v. 7). When I covered her head, I was
symbolically covering the glory of mankind so that the glory of Christ
would be pre-eminent. I did this to demonstrate to the angels Whose
authority we were representing (v. 10).’
“Sis,” my brother
leaned closer to me to emphasize his point, “it’s not just the elect
angels who are watching, it’s the fallen ones as well.”
I
glanced back at Sharon but she continued to look out the window. I let
my brother’s words soak in. I had grown up in a church with a strong
head covering tradition. Many variations of interpretations were held
even within that small group of believers, but the general consensus
was that headcoverings were to be worn as an expression of submission
to husbands. This opened up a stream of questions: Were single women
exempt? Were they only to be worn if we prayed out loud? What if men
weren’t in the room?
I was aware that other church traditions
taught that this passage was strictly cultural and that it referred to
a woman having a shaved head or short hair instead of long hair. But
those interpretations left questions of their own.
With endless
arguments over what was proper and mandates handed down based on
unclear teaching of the passage, headcoverings—for me at least—had as
much appeal and felt as oppressive as an Islamic burka. When I started
attending a fellowship of believers who left the interpretation up to
each woman individually, I opted to ditch the doily. It really was hard
to have your hair look nice wearing that crazy thing! But this story my
brother was telling me rang true. The theological explanation made
sense—in fact, I found it beautiful! I knew I couldn’t dismiss his
words without praying about them first.
Sharon and I had been
fasting and seeking the Lord about this prayer journey for almost a
year in advance of our departure. During that time we heard from the
Lord that we would receive instructions and weapons of warfare as we
went along. We were not to make hotel reservations or (with only a few
exceptions) plan in advance where we would pray. The Lord would show us
each step. As two women alone on the other side of the world (we only
stayed with my brother one night) and with no one aware of our
itinerary, it was the most daringly intense but exciting thing I’d ever
experienced. I was anxious to talk to Sharon about this new
development—was the Lord trying to tell us something through my brother?
Can You Hear Me Now?
It
wasn’t until we settled in ours seats on the plane to Bali that Sharon
and I got to talk. “Sharon, I have to tell you what my brother shared
on the way to the airport.” I faced Sharon to make sure that she could
clearly see my lips and understand my words.
She stopped me
before I could say more. “I already know what he said! I couldn’t
believe that I could actually hear him from the back seat. When I heard
what he was talking about, I got mad. I turned my hearing aids off so I
wouldn’t have to listen!” Sharon was from a similar church tradition as
I, with an even stronger aversion to head coverings. She didn’t want
any part in the conversation.
“I turned my hearing aids off,”
Sharon repeated, “but, I could still hear him! After that, I figured it
was something the Lord wanted me to hear, so I paid attention.”
It
was one of those moments when you know you’ve received marching orders.
After we got settled in a hotel, we took off looking for something we
could use as a headcovering. If this truly was from the Lord, we could
waste no time. The streets were lined with shops filled with small
idols, fetishes, incense and altars. We found a length of beautiful
batik cloth that we cut into two triangles—one for each of us.
Armed and Ready
The
scarves were hot and bothersome, and we got a lot of really odd looks.
But we were convinced that the Lord had given us specific instructions
for the battle ahead.
Over the next few days we prayerwalked and
took communion declaring Jesus Christ as Lord at many Hindu high places
including the mother temple at Besakih. Wearing our scarves everywhere
we went, we had unbelievable liberty to war in the Spirit at some major
sites of spiritual importance. But we didn’t understand the
significance of our newly acquired cloth weapons until we came to the
Meditation Caves at Ubud.
Unseen Warriors?
As
we approached the compound, we noticed signs posted declaring that this
was a most holy site to them. Women were forbidden to enter during the
time of their monthly cycle. As people came onto the grounds, they were
handed a length of cloth—just like the one we had purchased outside our
hotel. Everyone (men and women) were instructed to wrap the material
around their hips like a skirt. We asked our guide about the
significance of these cloths.
“This is a sarong,” he pointed to
the cloth wrapped around his own frame. “As you enter a sacred area,
you must wrap yourself in it. This part (here he indicated his loins)
must be covered before you can approach the gods. The evil of man must
be covered so that only man’s goodness is visible to the gods.”
As
we stepped up to the gate, headcoverings firmly in place, we were
allowed to pass without being handed a sarong—almost as if we were
invisible! Shocked, we began to prayerwalk the area in full view of
their holy men and proceeded to defile the altar with Communion
elements. The three idols enshrined there—large phallus-shaped
stones—were representations of Shiva-Linga, their demonic counterfeit
of the Trinity.
Later as Sharon and I compared notes, the
enormity of the symbolism gripped us. Led by the Spirit, we had
unknowingly cut up what they used to cover the imperfections of mankind
so that mankind would “look good” and used it to do just the opposite:
cover the glory of mankind so that Christ’s glory would be revealed! We
were stunned and thankful.
It’s Not Over ‘til It’s Over
Soon
it was time to leave the island. We were anxious to lose the
uncomfortable scarves and break our fast. After 10 days of a
God-inspired dried-fruit-and-nuts-only diet, even airline food seemed
appealing!
But as we found our seats, Sharon and I both felt
prompted to wear the scarves and continue the fast during the 19-hour
flight to Los Angeles. We weren’t sure why that was necessary until the
occupant of the seat next to us took her place. She turned out to be a
New Age shaman who had visited a tiny village on Java to channel
spirits so she could return to the States to “cure” AIDS. The battle in
the heavenlies continued!
What If?
I’m
not legalistic. I believe I have incredible freedom in the Spirit, and
I don’t wear a headcovering every time I pray. But when I’m battling
the kingdom of darkness, I don’t forget that weapon of warfare I
discovered in Indonesia—I have a scarf tucked neatly inside my purse in
case I need it.
Consider: What if we’ve overlooked and
misunderstood a powerful tool for battling the gates of hell? What
if—just what if—this simple demonstration of declaring who is in
authority to the angelic realms would unleash fresh power to do
serious, irreparable damage to the enemy’s camp? Women, what if,
through an act of willing humility, we were able to partner with Jesus
Christ in a new level of kingdom authority—something our male
counterparts are excluded from? What if?!
Headcovering, anyone?
*Aner – Greek word: (4.) Used generically of a group of both men and women. KJV NT Greek Lexicon.
|
|
|
|
