Preparing for Halloween
WELCOME to Issue #265 of The Seedhead from Alex and Hannah at Dandelion Resourcing
- a weekly confidence booster to help you step into naturally supernatural discipleship and mission!
When darkness seems to be celebrated,
we must bring the light of Jesus
Every October, the spiritual atmosphere seems to shift. Shops and front yards fill with skeletons, witches, and other sinister creatures, and our neighborhoods prepare for one night that normalizes - even celebrates - fear, darkness, and the presence of the enemy.
For many, it’s just “fun and pretend”, but as followers of Jesus, we should recognize there is way more going on spiritually beneath the surface. The world is openly engaging with a realm it completely misunderstands or underestimates - the devil (in spite of his giant ego) will take being seen as having red tights and a pitchfork if that blinds people to his actual power and wickedness.
Yet as Christians, we must respond with wisdom, discernment, and with our spiritual eyes and ears open and locked onto the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Lift the Veil of Halloween
We must be aware that, at its core, Halloween is not a good thing - because it is a celebration of darkness, death, and evil. If you’re offended by that statement, you’ll need to resolve why in occult circles this is their most important festival.
Something darkly spiritual DOES go on at Halloween. Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 14:20, “Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.”
Stay Alert - But Don’t Retreat
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…” (1 Peter 5:8-9)
Staying alert doesn’t mean staying away! Jesus never retreated from darkness that came across His path, but brought His light into it. However, we must also remember that following Jesus does not mean unwisely joining in every fight to which we’re invited. We need discernment and wisdom.
In this festival that celebrates darkness, how can we be the light in a wise way?
What does it look like to be good news to our people of peace at this time?
How can we be on the spiritual offensive in this season of increased spiritual warfare?
This is a time to ramp up the prayer. It’s a time to pray more intentionally for your neighborhood, and your place of mission.
Go on a prayer walk and ask for the light of Jesus to push back the darkness.
Pray for eyes to be opened to the battle going on in the spiritual realms.
Pray that God would build His church, drawing people to Himself, and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it.
What other things is Jesus asking you to pray out and in?
Live On Mission
If your story of salvation includes being set free from sustained occult practices, you might need to have pretty strict rules about what you do and don’t do while you heal up. Of course, in the longer run Jesus might send you back to reach people trapped in that darkness!
For the rest of us, we must use discernment and prayerful judgment. This is not to say withdraw - it’s a great opportunity for mission. Yet don’t ignore the spiritual dynamic, since that is very real.
Perhaps a good test would be to match your level of engagement and participation with your level of prayer for Jesus’ light to shine in your place of mission!
We can also make the most of opportunities the Holy Spirit brings our way. People are often more open to talking about spiritual matters - light and dark, good and evil - during this time. There might be space to share with someone who is genuinely open about some of the deeper, hidden spiritual implications of what is going on. Be ready to share the hope that is in you, always with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).
A Word for Parents and Carers
If you’re a parent or carer, this is also a time to shepherd your children spiritually.
Teach them that the supernatural is real, but that Jesus is Lord over all.
Remind your children that Jesus’ power isn’t a distant idea, but is real, active, and greater than anything else. We do NOT carry a ying/yang worldview!
Encourage them to pray specifically
Invite them to carry Jesus’ light wherever they go, such as to school, their sports team, or to their friends.
Ask the Holy Spirit to set your boundaries of what you engage with at Halloween. Be discerning about how you and your family engage.
If you have an especially spiritually sensitive child, you need to pull back from your own preferences in order to guard their tender spirit.
Pray protection over your home and kids - not out of fear, but out of confidence in God’s covering.
Prayerfully Consider How Best To Engage
Most of the families in your community will be out and about and coming to your front door to talk with you! This is a great time to be present and chat with your neighbors. It might be for a few seconds while the kids grab some candy and then dash off to the next house, or for a little longer as their supervising adults linger, or as you intentionally make plans to hang out another time with people from your street.
To help you seize the moment, try one of these 5 ideas:
Get your community involved in You’ve Been Booed (a time to anonymously give rather than receive). https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/free-youve-been-booed-printables-1357643
Organize a fancy dress, a pumpkin carving, or a light party.
Host a space for food and drink before or after trick-or-treating.
Serve warm apple cider or hot chocolate to the parents as they pass by.
Sit out front with neighbors to hand out candy to the visiting kids.
In Ephesians 5:8–14, Paul writes: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord.”
So let’s find out what would please Jesus this Halloween. Let’s be bringers of goodness, righteousness, truth, fun and light. And let’s be sure to cover the whole thing in powerful, Jesus-glorifying prayer!
Next Steps
Ask the Lord:
“How do You want me to bring Your light where I live, work, learn and play?”
“What’s the posture You want me to have in this season?”
Let’s keep extra prayerful in these weeks - when we reach November, may God’s presence have increased and not diminished in your place of mission!
With love,
Alex + Hannah
ALEX AND HANNAH ABSALOM
P.S. TWO extra things this week:
If you live in or near Holland in west Michigan, we will be ministering there about naturally supernatural living for the next 10 days (October 11-19)! Here’s the full list of events that are open to the public - we’d love for you to join in!
Our plan on Prayer - Empowered to Go is one of the featured plans on YouVersion’s Bible App for the next 2 weeks! Please pray that the Lord will use this profiling to draw many further into prayer that is actively Spirit fueled (e.g. the video on Day 5 is a new one of us Prayer Walking!). And don’t forget to check it out + leave a 5⭐️ review + tell others!!
