In response to the Daily Post prompt, This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness by Frank Peretti are two books that I have read not only once or twice but several times over the years. It has been on my heart to read them again and this prompt comes up. I had to share. Christian fiction is a genre that has come to life in my lifetime. These books are about spiritual warfare. Frank Peretti elegantly captures a part of this Christian journey that needs to be highlighted. He aptly shows us how deceptive the enemy can be as well as the devil’s covert methods to draw in those who are unaware that there is more going on our lives than what we can see with the naked eye.
These books bring angels to light and reminds us that prayer is significant in this journey. I read these books well over 30 years ago and again in between then and now. For me, it was eye-opening to understand the heavenly realms beyond the natural eye. This small little town, and particularly several people in it, were targeted by the enemy. While one Amazon reviewer suggests not to treat these books as textbooks on spiritual warfare, they are definitely able to give some clarity and understanding about the element of spiritual warfare in our lives. It is certainly about spiritual awareness.
There have been many books that I have read over the years that I re-read. As an avid reader, I tend to lean towards authors and Frank Peretti is one of my favorites. I have read many of his penned works and have not been disappointed. His characters are not super men and women, but ordinary men and women who have been used by God to accomplish the supernatural. His characters reveal the strengths and weaknesses of ordinary people who travel this journey. More than anything, his characters are believable. He draws you in with situations that are real to our lives and you are able to see that reality in your life.
These two books were instrumental in my life in that they prepared me for some things that I experienced in my own journey that will be shared at a later time. The openness to the spiritual things that happen helped me immensely. There are two things that I took from reading these two awesome books. One is that prayer is major in our journey. The Bible does tell us that “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much”. (James 5:16, NLT). Peretti expounds on this during the story. The second thing that I took from this book is that “The thief’s purpose is to steal, kill and destroy.” (John 10:10, NLT) “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8, NLT) These two facets have been paramount in my journey. Trust me, I know the victory has been won. However, until the enemy’s time is completed expended, he prowls.
One thing that has been key with me in reading Christian fiction is to know the Word for myself. With this in mind, it is enlightening and reinforcing when I read a story where although the characters are fictional, the journey is real. Light is shed on things that God reveals to me as well as understanding and clarity about certain situations.
I have thoroughly enjoyed these two books and plan to do so again soon. You can always join me in a captivating read!
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