Have you wondered why the “Free Gaza” protests at colleges across the country include tents and makeshift structures?

Encampment is defined as “a group of tents or other shelters in a particular place, especially when they are used by soldiers or refugees.” These are not just protests (“the act of saying or showing publicly that you object to something”); they are something more.

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The encampments make it clear that the objective of these protests is not just to voice opinions, but to cause change. It’s not a coincidence that the term is often used to describe military movements.

It has been well established that this situation is not simply the result of college students championing the cause of Palestinians in Gaza. Professional activists are empowering this. Antifa is active. Calls for intifada have been part of the protests. Funding comes from those who have the philosophy to “burn it all down.” Why? So they can be in control of rebuilding in new ways, with their ideologies prevailing.

The Free Gaza encampments are providing protected space for evil to reside. There, individuals with hearts set upon evil are moving among confused and manipulated students. These individuals are gathering and gaining energy. If unchecked, the evil will grow.

Christians know that what we see and hear is not all there is. We know that there is always and everywhere a spiritual battle. The apostle Paul wrote that we need to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness … (Ephesians 6:11–12). Often, we can go through our days without noticing the evil at work, but watching the videos from Columbia and UCLA remind us that there are forces at work bent on causing humans to hate and to be violent.

You can tell if a group has a demonic motivation if you see anger and violence erupt from the gathering. The Enemy of our souls, the devil, stirs up only negative motivations in us: anger, hatred, violence. As evil encamps in hearts and gathers in broken community, it makes attempts to break out and establish dominance. In the past few days, we have watched peaceful protests move to encampments.

We shouldn’t be surprised that demonic spirits manipulate the broken people, attempting to convince them through their brokenness that they are justified in lawless actions.

This is why God created authority. Romans 13:1 clearly tells us that God has created all authority: “Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God.” These God-instituted authorities include college administrators, campus security, and local police. Authorities exist for one purpose: to protect the innocent from the evildoer.

Unfortunately, college leadership has failed in its God-given responsibility. Chaos has resulted. Teaching faculty, in seeming defiance of university administrations, have formed circles of protection around the anger-filled encampments.

The stage is set for Americans to be divided and conquered. We must not fall into this trap. We must not respond with anger and violence. Instead, we must respond with a firm rule of law and love based on true justice.

Often people pray for peace in situations like this. The word for “peace” in Hebrew is shalom, and it has a much deeper meaning than we usually realize. In our Western thinking, we see peace as merely an absence of conflict, but biblical peace, shalom, is much more.

The Hebrew word shalom is made up of four pictures. The first is strong teeth to destroy. The second is a shepherd’s staff of authority. The third is a tent peg to attach. The last is water or chaos. When put together, the definition of shalom becomes “to destroy the authority attached to chaos.”

The community of Intercessors for America is praying with confidence that the Lord would destroy the authority attached to this chaos. That means the evil spiritual forces at work, but it also means the organized, well-funded agents of terrorist groups like Hamas.

We are praying for law and order on college campuses. Local police have been brought in, at taxpayer expense, but we need to pray for a fundamental shift in the approach of administrations to these kinds of lawless demonstrations.

We are also paying attention to the political landscape. It’s possible that this is an attempt to bring chaos into our country to impact the 2024 election. President Biden voices support for Israel, but his actions are often perceived differently, and the Muslim vote seems to be critical for the Democratic Party. President Trump has been vocal in his opposition to the demonstrations, and some reports indicate that a Time magazine interview with him that will soon be published reveals that he no longer sees how a two-state solution will work. It will be important to be discerning in the election season.

While some campuses are full of division and vitriol, other campuses have witnessed historic numbers of baptisms and prayer gatherings. What if it’s our prayers that are making the difference?

Let’s see protests become revivals! Share your prayers for college campuses across America below.

David Kubal is president and CEO of IFA, which serves over 1 million praying Christians every month. David serves on the National Faith Advisory Board and the National Day of Prayer Task Force, and he is frequently featured in national news outlets such as Victory Channel, CBN, and Fox News. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons.