Aligning Media with the Spirit of Truth

Written by Lisa Flynn

I had a dream…snakes

I had a dream about a snake being chased away but it left babies behind. This happened at the same time Roger Ailes was asked to step down from Fox News over charges of sexual harassment. I was concerned about one person leaving only to be replaced by many others just as bad. Then I found out Rupert Murdoch and his sons would be stepping in. Since Murdoch is not known for ethics I felt it was time to pray over the media again.

Media Bias

So much is coming out about media bias. There used to be at least a pretense of fair reporting but now it’s all about using a position of influence to gain a desired outcome. We have an election coming up and no matter who each of us would like to see in office we should at least be given the plain, honest facts in order to make a proper choice for the nation.

I thought about a location to pray at and settled upon Hearst Tower. William Randolph Hearst owned a majority of the newspapers at the turn of the century. Much of his coverage of the news was considered ‘yellow’ journalism so I felt that building here in town would be a fair representation of what we needed to pray about.

On assignment at Hearst Tower

We found a meeting area off the lobby to pray in. Our research of Murdoch, Hearst Tower and the forces behind our current media gave us many prayer points to cover. We started with a time of worship and asked for a clear strategy. We prayed for the salvation of the key players connected with the unholy elements of our media. We asked God to raise up godly journalists that would speak the truth and for the church to operate in a spirit of discernment.

Getting to the root of the matter…and the building shook

There is a difference between prevailing bondages and root causes. We wanted to go to the root of the cause for corruption in our media. Without going into great detail about how we got there we prayed against the demonic entity Molech. This is a god that people worship with human sacrifice.

We repented of the abortion industry and at the very moment we struck at abortion with authority, the 47-story steel and concrete building shook at what felt like its foundation.  The team all looked up at one another and each of us acknowledged that yes, we all felt that. We also felt there was something evil in the cornerstone and asked God to replace it with something holy.

Going after hidden structures in art

In front of Hearst Tower is a glass sculpture. The artist who created it studied African and Japanese religion as it influences art. He named the piece Castillion which means keeper of the castle. We prayed there that Jesus would be the only keeper of the castle.

We then walked down the street to the Sculptures on the Square – these are four large art pieces at what is considered to be the very center of Charlotte. They are supposed to represent the main elements of our city. They represent trade, commerce, transportation and future. Charlotte’s nickname is ‘the most churched city in America’. A journalist asked the artist why religion wasn’t represented. He said originally it was but felt it would be too controversial so he put in a woman with child to represent the future. I thought about the scripture where Jesus said, if you deny me before men I will deny you before the Father (Matt 10:33). It had been installed in 1995 and we had a 100 years flood that year.  We prayed at the statue and asked forgiveness.

 

There is another art piece on the small square at that corner by another artist: The Grand Disc. The artist rendered the piece to represent, “Our life today is one of crisis…of movement…of tension. We do not know what our world will become.”  However, we made a declaration over Charlotte from Jer. 29:11, “I know the plans I have for Charlotte, a future and a hope“.

And yet, another living form of Media – one preaching the gospel!

Also on that street corner was a preacher named Sam. As we listened we heard love being spoken and not condemnation. We walked over, introduced ourselves, and talked with him for a bit. We told him we knew some people who came to this corner often and played music to release worship over Charlotte but recently couldn’t get a permit because it interfered with the new outdoor dining establishment. Sam said tell them to come without the electronics and then they wouldn’t need a permit. They could still play and worship. A couple days later we got an email that they were planning to do just that. God’s media doesn’t need print or form: a prayer, a decree, a spoken word can ride on the winds of heaven blowing throughout the earth – how cool!

Uptown Worship Nights will be out at Trade & Tryon tonite (Wednesday, 11/12/16) for their final gathering of the year – if you are local to Charlotte, come out to join them!

We also encourage you to stay aware and informed. There are several media sources and various ministries that speak the truth.

Be led by Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth (John 16:13), pray in the spirit, and continue to pray for America!

John 16:13 (NASB) – But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.