Angels By The Roadside

Who or at what were the dogs so fiercely barking and dashing to attack? Was it a ghost that they were seeing, or a person trying to trespass onto our backyard?

It was around midnight. The night was pitch dark. My sister and I were awakened by the unusual behavior of her dog, Princess, who pulled even to the end of the chain which she was tethered to with such force that we were afraid she’d break the leash or injure herself. Our neighbor’s dog dashed in the same direction as if attacking ferociously at something behind the brush right on the boundary line that separated our yard from an old log cabin behind our backyard. Both animals would run and then retreat with a scared moan. Anita and I were peeking through the patio glass door but saw nothing. The dogs continued in their rage. My sister wanted to go out to calm Princess down, but I didn’t let her. Instead, I started praying and rebuking.

As I called on the Lord to cast out of our backyard whoever or whatever was trying to penetrate, a chill through my spine, goose bumps in my arms and a ring of numbness around my mouth made me realize that I (not Anita) was under a demonic attack.

I could sense that a person was hiding in the brush. Instantly, the Holy Spirit showed me who that person was. It was the man I had refused to baptize at church. He had left the church in a rage. As a pastor, I had stood my ground, citing that baptisms were sacred and this man’s testimony in the community and among his own family didn’t show signs of true repentance. Therefore, he could not and would not be baptized under my administration, regardless of his pleas until true repentance was evident.

The dogs finally quieted down and my sister and I went back to sleep. About an hour later the dogs flared up again and both of us jumped to our feet and back to the patio door. The dogs were more aggressive than before. This time there were no chills or goose bumps, but as I prayed and rebuked, I literally saw angels with swords of fire standing along my property line. Although Anita could not see them, I saw angels positioned side by side, swinging their swords (crisscrossing the blades as the angels lifted and lowered them) blocking whatever was still trying to cross into our backyard. The angels had the battlefront covered from ground to shoulder height. It must have been just a few seconds, but whatever had been there had been cast away. The dogs retreated with a whimper and everything seemed to die out. I wasn’t scared anymore; instead I felt an overwhelming peace and a sense of security. We could finally go back to bed.