Hidden Thrones by Russ Scalzo Read Free Book Online Page B

her friends , she said, “ Patty , this is Jack Bennett , the man I was telling
you about.”
    “It is a pleasure to
meet you , Jack . I’ve heard so much about you already . I feel like we
are old friends.”
    Jack extended his hand. “ Patty , so nice to meet you. Thank you for all your prayers. I am overwhelmed to say
the least.”
    Conni lifted her arm and pointed downstairs. “We meet downstairs in the
fellowship hall. Please , come this way and we will get started in a few minutes.”
    “Okay, sounds good.”
    Jack followed them
downstairs feeling a little nervous. It was a large room , about seventy- five feet by a hundred with fifty or so folding chairs set up in a half
circle in the middle of the room on an old style black and white vinyl tile
floor. On one side of the room , there were several tables set up with refreshments - coffee, tea , and some baked
goods. There were only a few small basement type windows on either side of the room with two double doors all the way in the back
leading to the parking lot. It was a lot easier for him to write his blog or
record his podcast than to speak in public. Jack wasn’t the yelling kind .
H e just spoke normally and let the Lord do the rest. He had
spoken at events before , but it had been a
while.
    Conni got everyone’s
attention, opened in prayer and then introduced Jack. “Tonight we have a
special guest who has an important message for all of us. Please welcome author , Jack Bennett.”
    Jack looked around the
room. He estimated the average age to be between forty and
forty-five and was pleased to see a few younger people there as well. There
had to be at least forty people there which was also
encouraging since, in Jack’s experience, attendance at prayer meetings usually
topped out at ten at best. The group was comprised mostly of women with only a few men in attendance. Jack was reminded that down through history , God had always used dedicated women of prayer to get things done. For
example, the origins of World Day of Prayer date
back to the 19th century when Christian women of the United States and Canada
initiated a variety of cooperative activities in support of women’s involvement
in missions at home and in other parts of the world. He
could see that the Christians in this room were on fire and ready to go.
    Jack walked over to a
small stand in fron t of the room. “It is a true honor to share with you tonight. First , I would like to thank all of you who have been praying for me over the past
week. When Conni told me about it , I was blessed out of my mind because only God could have known what I was going
to face and what I would need. He is so faithful.
    “ To
see so many of you dedicated to prayer is amazing. Prayer moves the hand of
God. If we want to be blessed and victorious , we must continue to seek the Lord. What I have to
tell you tonight is not easy to hear or , I suppose , to believe. Yesterday , on my way to meet a friend for breakfast , I saw a man hitchhiking on the side of the road. Now , I don’t recommend any of you ladies doing this , but I have made it a practice to give hitchhikers a ride when possible in an
effort to speak to them about the love of God.
T his one was very different. This hitchhiker turned out to be
an angel.”
    The reaction was mixed.
There were some “ oo h s ” and “ aahs ” and some just stared at Jack like he had two heads.
    Jack pressed on, “I
know you don’t hear that kind of thing every day , but I can assure you it is true. Remember the book of Hebrews 13:2, ‘Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some
people have enterta ined angels without knowing it.’ It was an experience I will never forget , and t he most vital part of what I am about to tell you i s what he told me. He said t he days are getting darker and we must be on guard. There are
forces that are rising up that wish to suppres s
and throw the truth of God’s W ord to the ground
and trample on it. Even now ,