It was a dark and stormy night. Literally. During a brief break in the unusually chilly and blustery weather of Western Wisconsin on April 23rd, the temps reached the seventies, the darkness of low-level clouds hid the sun, rain poured down and lightning flashed. In hindsight I think that the warmth, the rain, and the flashes of lightning piercing the darkness were a symbol God sent to make known His intentions.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has nor overcome it.”  – John 1:5

View Comments (18)

Inside a restaurant-turned-church in Siren, WI, a town few have heard of, some 40 intercessors lifted up the name of Jesus in worship and crowned Him King over the St. Croix Valley. One of the prayer leaders had bought a full-size replica of a sword, which was passed around, waived, and held high as songs were sung and Scriptures were read. This raised sword, dubbed “The King’s Sword,” signaled a new beginning in the area – a new movement of prayer, a fresh anticipation of revival in fulfilment of prophecies going as far back as 1948, and the beginning of victory over the darkness that has held this part of the nation in bondage for too long.

Just a day and a half before, my wife and I drove across the bridge over the St. Croix River which separates Pine County, MN from Burnett County, WI. As we reached the other side, my wife saw a dark figure representing Satan ahead of us in the middle of the road. As we closed in on it, two phalanxes of what appeared to be angels lined each side of the road and drove Satan away. God said to her that He was clearing the way for us to bring His light into the darkness. I didn’t see it myself, but I felt something change in the atmosphere. Being very left brained and usually not much of a “senser,” something intangible has to smack me in the face before I sense it. And it did. There wasn’t the doom and gloom of Satanic strongholds that we were expecting driving into the area. There was the sense of battle taking place all around us. And driving on I realized that God has answered our prayers to send the hosts of heaven to this place and come against the principalities and demons that had claimed it as their home.

The sense of anticipation of God being up to something significant was palpable – heightened by a flood of Intercessors For America prayer warriors that had contacted us to join in through a Canopy of Prayer over the entire Saturday prayer conference. Many were from nearby areas and emailed to let us know that they had been praying for years that a new beginning such as this would take place. My faithful wife had already answered 300 emails, and more were coming in! We were amazed by the response of all those who wanted to pray for us and for the event.

The following morning, fifteen women’s ministry movers and shakers gathered to learn about True Identity Ministries, and why its message is a crucial aspect of God’s work in the area. Foundations were laid to organize retreats and train trainers to lead as many as possible through the transformational teaching.

A few hours later, forty intercessors, including an Ojibwe pastor and two of her associates, gathered for strategic prayer, armed with a detailed spiritual history of the area, and a prayer agenda led by the Holy Spirit. They came from many different denominations, but they prayed and worshipped in one accord and a newfound shared passion to see God pierce the darkness and move in the Valley.

The presence of our Ojibwe sister and her associates was significant. Our spiritual research ahead of the prayer gathering revealed that over seventy treaties had been made between the Ojibwe groups living in the area and the U.S. government at the time, and that every single one had been broken, depriving the Ojibwe of their best lands, and relegating them to seven reservations where now spiritual darkness, crime, alcoholism, sex trafficking, and depression run rampant. The grief and bitterness run deep. Knowing this gave us the opportunity to acknowledge the past, stand with our brother and sisters in prayer, and receive a blessing from them in the name of the Lord Jesus, under Whom we are one.

The worship celebration and communion that ended our prayer gathering were equally powerful. Quite a few stated afterwards that this was one of the most anointed worship celebrations they had ever witnessed. Dan Adler, of Heart of the City Ministries in Minneapolis, who grew up in this area, led the worship while Dr. Emory Johnson, pastor of New Hope Lutheran Church, led us through a celebration of communion with the depth of understanding that comes from the Christology embedded in the Jewish Passover Celebration.

A couple of initial breakthroughs were achieved through this initial prayer and worship gathering:

• Remarkable cross-denominational unity in prayer and thirst for revival in the land.
• Insight into the past that led us to pray with insight for the digging of the wells of revival that once existed in the area.
• The beginning of the healing of the past through uniting in prayer with Ojibwe Christians.
• Piercing and rolling back the darkness that Satan has brought to the area by powerful prayer and warfare.
• Direction from the Holy Spirit from Isaiah 21:6-9 to appoint watchmen on the wall – a Leadership Team that listens to the Lord for direction in an ongoing and sustained movement of prayer.
• An amazing outpouring of prayer from New York to Hawaii for revival to start in the St. Croix Valley and move out over the land.
• Requests to launch similar prayer initiatives elsewhere.
• Spiritual preparation for a youth rally that was held in the area just a few days later. The rally opened the way for Christ to be shared in schools and saw 30 kids come to Christ.

A wise Norwegian revivalist by the name of Armin Gesswein used to say to me often: “Let it unfold, Remco, let it unfold. Most of the time God gives us His answers one step at a time.” That is the primary take-away from this strategic gathering. A beginning was made. A beachhead was established. Leaders and torchbearers emerged. Now we listen, obey, and continue praying until God’s plans and purposes for the St. Croix Valley and beyond have full unfolded.

Thank you, IFA family, for standing in the gap with us. It made for an almost indescribably powerful gathering that brought God’s light to shine afresh in a 25-year darkness!

Keep praying with us.

“Father, we thank you for raising up so many to pray, and for answering their prayers. Thank you for commanding the hosts of heaven to drive out the forces of darkness and opening the door for a fresh move of the Spirit. We pray for your protection over what has been accomplished, for continued unity in prayer, for a new hunger to rise in the hearts of people both inside and outside the church, and for the movement of prayer that was begun here to grow and intensify until the promised revival comes, souls are saved, the past is healed, and the land that dwelt in darkness will be enveloped in the light of your love. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

How are you praying for continued revival in the St. Croix Valley and revival across the country? Share this article to encourage people to pray.

Author Remco Brommet is a pastor, spiritual growth teacher, and prayer leader with over 40 years’ experience in Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the US. Born and raised in the Netherlands and pastoring his first church in Amsterdam, he moved to the US in 1986. He and his wife Jennifer currently live north of Atlanta, GA When not writing books, he blogs and assists his wife as content developer and prayer coordinator for True Identity Ministries. Jennifer and Remco are passionate about bringing people into a deeper relationship with Christ. Photo Credit: Jonathan Duran on Unsplash