There are times when the spiritual battle we are fighting is obvious to anyone with ears to hear and eyes to see. IFA Chief Program Officer Kris Kubal and IFA State Prayer Leader Coordinator Amy Sabat faced the evil forces pushing abortion and child sacrifice in our nation during a worship event at the March for Life.

IFA was invited to pray at one of the March for Life events preceding the march — a praise, prayer, and worship event called One Voice DC. IFA friends Ryan and Bethany Bomberger, who head The Radiance Foundation, host this event each year to bring a posture of worship and repentance to the march activities. The March for Life is an action-oriented day, without a lot of seeking the Holy Spirit in praise and worship. One Voice DC invites the march attendees to come before the Lord on the eve of the march to invite the Holy Spirit to usher in the presence of the Lord.

In between poignant sets of worship, pro-life ministry leaders prayed as the Lord led. Representing IFA, I prayed over each state and their legislators, that they would craft and support laws that protect the pre-born. I shared about the story of Rep. Becky Currie, who as a state legislator obediently put forth legislation that became the case that overturned Roe. (You can watch a recent interview with Becky here. Her story is also told in IFA’s new book, Inspired Stories.)

Your prayers as intercessors in each of the states were echoed in this prayer meeting. A word was released over every state by name — for courage for intercessors, action takers, and legislators.

After more worship, we moved into another segment of prayer. Bethany Bomberger was joined on stage by two young girls about ages 5 and 8. These girls are part of a movement that has sprung out of Bethany’s book Pro Life Kids. The 8-year-old darling girl offered a short, simple, heartfelt prayer asking God to “protect the babies in the mommies’ tummies” and that “they would not take them out.” It was sweet and Spirit-filled truth — you could feel the Spirit of the Lord and the presence of God.

Her younger sister said, “Amen,” and then, suddenly, a warning sound came out of speakers around the room. Along with the alarm sound, we heard what sounded like a mechanical voice speaking an automated message:

“Warning! There is an emergency. Please go to the nearest exit and vacate the building. Do not use the elevators.”

The worship continued because we all thought there was some kind of malfunction happening and the alarm would be turned off soon. Within moments, a security guard informed the leaders that we had to vacate the room. It was unnerving.

As we made our way up to the lobby from the lower level where our event was, we passed other events in other ballrooms. We were the only ones who were exiting and being removed from the building. As we reached the lobby, we saw a crowd and thought these were other people trying to make their way outside, as our alarm directed us to do. They weren’t. Nobody else was leaving! People were drinking at the bar, eating at the restaurant, and milling around the lobby like nothing was happening.

It was obvious that only our room and only the worship event were evacuated.

As we sat in the lobby discerning, praying, and discussing what had happened, we also both smelled an acrid odor, a foul stench. We both felt in our spirits that it was a demonic smell.

When the child offered the powerful prayer that pierced the atmosphere and the praise and worship filled the room, the Enemy tried to cease it. It was obvious that this had struck a nerve. It was a small group this year at the event, but it only took a small group to usher in the presence of the Lord in a powerful way that encroached on the Enemy’s territory.

But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?”

And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise’?” (Matthew 21:15–16, quoting Psalm 8).

What the enemy tried to shut down had already been released. We prayed that the Enemy’s plan to stifle the Spirit would amount to actually dispersing it throughout the hotel as we evacuated and continued praying, with some even praising aloud outside. What the Enemy meant for harm, God redeemed for good! We believe it!

“The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways” (Deuteronomy 28:7).