Day 35 - A Spiritual Battle: A Young Man's Account

By Matthew Nowland


My name is Matthew Nowland and I am someone who desires to be in the presence of God constantly. I always want to be on the front lines, I always want to be in the thick of the action on this planet and in the spiritual sense. When David started the 40 days of prayer and fasting, I instantly committed to being there all 40 days. On the 2nd day of prayer I had an amazing experience with God where He told me I am not part of this fight in Boston, and He wanted me to be on the sidelines so He could show me everything that was going. I was very unhappy with this because I wanted to be in the fight, but I said God's will, not mine, and started recording everything He showed me. Since then every day He has shown me the most amazing things.

God told me that the great battle for this city, the one that determines the outcome of God's transformation, was going to start on day 5 of prayer and fasting, and was going to last for 30 days. He also told me that towards the end of the prayer and fasting He was going to call me to do something no one else could. After a few days of more revelations, more writing them down, I quickly forgot what He had said. As the days increased the Fenway church was leaving for the retreat, and I felt very strongly that all this prayer would be for nothing if someone did not stay back to continue it at Ruggles, I volunteered and committed to not going on the retreat to continue this prayer.

On the weekend before the retreat I was feeling spiritually burdened in a way I've never experienced before. When I found out I was the only staying back on the retreat, and that Sunday morning I would be praying alone the burden increased. I felt like I would be contending with the enemy alone, that all of this rested on my hands, and that the enemy knew it too and could focus its attack on just me. Tuesday morning I asked for prayer for it, and after everyones prayer I still felt burdened. Everyone said what I expected them to say, that I'm not alone, that it doesn't all rely on me, and so on. On Friday morning David asked that we pray for me, he felt that their was a huge significance in me staying back to continue praying. He felt like this prayer relies on me staying back to pray, that it is because of my decision to stay back to pray that will result in the success.

While they were all praying for me David felt like God was saying that I will not be just contending against the spirit of my flesh, but also against the spirit of this city. As everyone was praying I suddenly felt myself stand completely erect, straighter then I've ever stood before. I felt so straight I felt like I grew a few inches (and after a few days a friend of mine said she thought I had grown taller when she looked at me during that prayer), that a weight had been lifted from my shoulders, and I also felt something come into me and completely fill me up. I then heard the voice of Jesus clearly say over and over to me, "You're not alone, you're not alone, you're not alone, I am with you". There were also many words of me not being alone, and someone from Youth Storm said he saw me as Joshua when God said to Him over and over again "You're not alone, I am with you". That morning God clearly spoke a few things to me. First that I was going to be contending with the enemy over this city on Sunday and that I would win and his power would be broken over this city. Second that as I fought with him I would be struck but it would not matter because God would prevail, and I would know this because my nose would bleed. Third that the enemy knew I was going to contend with him and this was his last chance to keep this city, so he was going to be focusing his full attention on me, but God would prevail.

Friday night at 5 almost on the dot, when Fenway church left for the retreat I was instantly under attack. I could not remember anything God had spoken to me on the previous days, lost all memory on my phone (where I keep tract of what God says to me), and could not write in my journal what God had spoken to me. I was not depressed, not angry, not sad, I was just spiritually completely under attack in a way I have never known. Saturday night when I had to work I had the largest migraine of my entire life. It wasn't because I hadn't slept, it wasn't because I hadn't eaten, it was just there. But on both nights God prevailed and I got through.

Sunday morning, what all of you have been waiting to read, and for me by far the coolest spiritual experience I have ever had in my entire life. When I woke I felt stronger then I had ever felt in my entire life. I felt so strong I would have challenged Goliath, or 10 of them, or an army, it would not have mattered to me. I get to the prayer room at Ruggles (the whole day I was by myself) and start off by reading Isaiah 61 and 58:6, after a couple of prayers I put on worship music. On the very first song, which is sung by only a guy, I hear angels singing in the room. Filled with faith I spend the first few songs just embracing Jesus, wanting to be consumed by Him and be just Him. A few songs go by and I get on the floor as I am being filled with God's love and presence. As I am on the floor face down spiritually being filled and not yet ready to face the enemy, I hear the enemy walking around. I can clearly hear him as he is searching for me, moving chairs around and walking across the wooden floor, but if I look I see nothing. As I am face down on the floor, I feel 2 angels stand over me protecting me, I hear a door open and the enemy leave and right as the door shuts the words in the current song playing said "I have given you wings so you may escape the snare of the enemy". I then see a vision of me in a church, I am convinced it was Ruggles, and I am all alone. You can not completely see me though, I am transparent like a ghost, but inside of me you can clearly see Jesus, as if I was a ghost standing in the same spot Jesus was. Suddenly I lift my head up and spread my arms out and a giant explosion happens. It starts to ripple through the city, shattering everything like glass in its path and underneath everything that shatters is pure white. As I am watching I zoom out and the explosion encompasses the whole city, then I zoom out to space and can see it from space, then zoom out to the moon and I can see the flash of the explosion from moon. After this vision I stand up, full of God's presence and love, and I look out the window and on the balcony are lots of small birds. All the birds have their feathers ruffled as if facing a predator and are looking into the window. I walked up to the window, knowing full well that when they fly away the enemy was coming. A song comes on called "ready now" by Desperation Band" (about being ready to do whatever God's will) and all the birds fly off, and I knew the enemy was coming. I felt the enemy enter the room and he tried to point out all my flaws and failures. Suddenly I felt Jesus over took me and I completely snapped and flipped out at Him. I heard the words come out of my mouth saying "You thought you could come here and defeat me, but you did not realize this is not Matthew Nowland you face, but Jesus Christ. I am not Matthew, nothing here is, but only Jesus. Your power has been stripped, your role broken, you failed you lost. Jesus defeated you in 40 days, I have defeated you in 35 because Jesus said "You will be able to do all things I have done, and even greater things because I am with you". (John 14:12) Jesus is with me, Jesus IS me for I am just a vessel of God and you have no power here you are over, done. Go, go now, leave this place leave this city, you have been beaten and NEVER return". I said many more things too, but I do not remember, all I know was that I was not speaking, those were not my words, but Jesus controlling me, I was just a vessel. After me telling him to leave I felt a snap, like a tree snapping in half and knew his power was stripped and he was gone. Right after I went to the bathroom to blow me nose (forgetting what God said on Friday) and suddenly my nose started pouring out blood and I knew he had been defeated and God had won. Again I was instantly filled up and started praising God like never before, as if it wasn't myself and all the angels where using me to praise Jesus.

And here is when all the really cool things start to line up. It dawned on me a little bit after about everything that just got confirmed, and I looked back in my journal to double check. Sunday was the 35th day of prayer, exactly 30 days from when the battle started and when God said it would end. That God had just called me to do something that no one else could do like He said He would. He also said at the beginning of the 40 days that on the 37th day that the prayer would end in a special way, in a different way. It didn't dawn on me until Sunday that the 37th day was the fire conference. There were some other things also that were confirmed that I realized, besides everything that has been confirmed with David and others. Then the scripture came to my mind "You will know all these are true because of the miracles that confirm it" (John 10:25).

It is not to late to go to the fire conference, and I recommend that everyone comes. The battle has been own, this city has been taken. Now is the time to press on, now is the time to invade the city with the call of Jesus. All this I know because of the confirmations of miracles and words. I personally took off from work and am going to be there for all 48+ hours, not leaving that room except to go to the bathroom and only eating fruit. I do not recommend being there for all 48+ hours, but I do recommend coming as often as you can. This is all real, something amazing is happening now, don't watch and let it slip away. The enemy will only be weak once, if we ever gave up in the Revolutionary War and paused, let the British regather, we would have never gained our freedom. Nor would a second try EVER be as successful as the first. God bless and I pray I'll see everyone there.