Many ministries basically came to a screeching halt during the 2020 pandemic and the near shutdown of the world’s economy.

Many pastors were beside themselves with confusion, fear, and worry. One day they had viable ministries, yet within a brief time they along with the entire world were closed until further notice.

I have stated from the beginning of my latest work, The Waves of Healing Glory when I first shared the vision of the tsunami wave of healing that along with this tsunami wave of healing glory is an undertow of strong doubt and unbelief. One of the strong undertows rising is persecution to drown out the voice of the Church—to keep her silent.

The enemy knows the power of the words of the Church, he has been fighting them ever since Adam was created. And now he has millions of spiritual Adams and Eves to contend with. So now he is going after the jugular vein—the supernatural power of the spoken word. It would be a whole lot easier for him to go about his dirty business if our mouths were gagged.

Dear reader, we are the Church, and history has proven we cannot be stopped—but the pressure of persecution can silence us if we let it. Times of persecution are upon us, which is all the more reason to decide once and for all not to be silent!

It’s disheartening to witness how easy it is to silence the majority of the Church. This silence reveals much about how we see ourselves, and what we actually believe and don’t believe.

With the outbreak of COVID-19, we were told to prevent the spread of this disease by not gathering together for a short time. From a good heart to protect one another we complied.

But then we began to see the world declare what they thought were “essential services” such as liquor stores and abortion clinics that remained open, but church services were considered nonessential. Even though society has been on a moral decline and we are often the ones people in need come to for help, as the reports of depression, domestic abuse, and suicide began to increase, our doors remained officially closed. Have you considered the possible reasons why the world says the Church is nonessential? Beside the fact that the devil is a liar and he hates us—the true Church. This is a humbling thought and something we need to take with us to prayer. We must learn how to become the essential component that our communities can’t live without. Allow Holy Spirit to incubate a plan about how to reach the lost before it’s too late.

Some churches were told they were allowed to open if they practiced social distancing, wear masks, and significantly decrease the number of people permitted to attend services. We again complied with all the demands.

Hey, let’s stop and take a good look at all of this. Number one, how can the state government tell us we cannot assemble? Where in the Bible does God give them this right over us? In fact, the very first amendment to the Constitution of the United States, acknowledges the “right of the people to assemble peaceably” and freedom of speech. The First Amendment was adopted in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights, which are the first ten amendments, providing constitutional protection for certain individual liberties including freedoms of speech, assembly, and worship!

And now as I write this, some state governments are saying we can’t sing during our worship services. I pray the Church in the United States will lift up her voice and say, “Enough is enough!” and take back our religious freedom to worship. I don’t see anywhere in God’s Word that we are to keep silent, in fact I see the opposite.

Many know the story of the prophet Jonah. If you don’t know it, open your Bible to the Old Testament and read the Book of Jonah. He was called by the Lord to go to the people of Nineveh, but he didn’t care enough about the people to deliver a message of repentance to the people. He disobeyed the Lord and foolishly thought he could outrun God and escape his destiny. His selfish spirit landed him in the sea and into the belly of a great fish. Jonah eventually repented and went to Nineveh where the people accepted his message and accepted the Lord.

Are we like Jonah, uncaring and merciless for the lost and hurting people of this world? Do we want to go where we want to go, and do the things we want to do? Do we think too highly of ourselves and refuse to go and speak on the behalf of the Lord because the people are too lowly for us? Or the place He wills to send us is below our self-centered status? Is the missionary calling, whether on the other side of the world or in our own community, too insignificant for our vanity? Have we become too important in our own eyes to do the work of the Lord?

If you only knew what I have witnessed hit the mission field in the name of the Lord, you would be appalled! And in the same breath, let us take a good hard look into the mirror of the Word of God and judge our own heart motives and ask ourselves, “Why are we not speaking up?” What is the truth behind our silence?

During this overreach of the worldly kingdom into the matters of God’s Kingdom, now more than ever the Church needs to stand strong— for Him and for all His children. Let’s pray, “Father God, forgive the Body of Christ. We don’t fully understand the damage our silence has created, the lives lost to the devil and eternal damnation. Forgive us for losing our first love and true purpose on earth today. Help us to redeem the time we have wasted and the souls we have neglected to impact. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.”

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© 2022 Author Becky Dvorak–Healing and Miracles International, All rights reserved.