Jesus, Satan, and COVID-19

April 1, 2020

By Dan Chun, Senior Pastor

6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. 8Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. 10And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. 11To him be the power forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5:6-11)

I have friends, churched and unchurched, who donʻt believe that we can pray with supernatural power from God. They donʻt believe in miraculous prayer. They don’t believe that if we pray for healing that people might get healed. I find that strange and inconsistent. 

With my church and unchurched friends, if I were to say, “There is a Satan, who is like a roaring lion, and I will ask him now to curse you and your loved ones so that bad will rule their lives,” they would scream at me! And then they would say, “Donʻt say that! How can you say that? You are going to give me a bad life!” 

If I were to say, “I am going to ask Satan to curse you so that at every turn, things will go wrong,” they will say, “Itʻs horrible that you would put that on me!”

BUT if I were to say to my unchurched friends, “There is a Jesus who can heal you right now. There is a Jesus who I will ask to bless you right now. Watch for His presence today and tomorrow as He speaks to you,” many of them wonʻt take that seriously. They won’t even think that there’s a possibility of that happening! 

If I were to say, “I am going to ask Satan to curse the land,” many people will fear that more passionately than if I were to say, “I am going to pray that God will heal this land from COVID-19.” Many might say, “It wonʻt help; I donʻt believe in that stuff.”

But it WILL help! Let us all pray for our land. Let us all pray for healing. Pray against evil and sickness for as our passage says: “Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. (1 Peter 5:9)

Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we really donʻt think you can make a supernatural difference in our lives.  May we always believe what this passage says that we should trust in you and “to You be the power forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:11)