“You know why we here tonight, dear ones—and so does the Lord above. It’s the midweek tune-up. We halfway through the week now, between one Sunday and t’other—the midway point, when the Evil One has got you square in his sights and he’s been whispering sweetly in your ear. You know it’s so. You’ve heard him. He’s been trying to deceive you ’bout what you should be doing with your life. How you would be better off . . . happier”—chord—“healthier”—chord—“wealthier—if you’d just . . .”

Chord: “Tell that lie . . .”

Chord: “Steal that money...”

Chord: “Cheat, and blaspheme, and . . .”

Chord: (In a lower voice) “Curse your God.”

The crowd groaned with spiritual pain at the very thought, “Noooo! Help us, Lord Jesus.”

Rainwater continued, “And that’s why we here tonight, beloved sisters and brothers in the Lord.”

Chord: “To fortify our spirits for the struggle of life!” Chord: “To give us the strength we need for the never-ending battle with Satan!”

Chord: “To put on the full armor of the Lord, and gird our loins as warriors in God’s holy army.”

When Rainwater launched into another song, the congregation went wild with joy and spiritual ecstasy. The worship became a free-for-all. People danced, jumped pews, knelt in the aisles, and prayed. One woman lay flat on her face up near the altar, her arms moving in a swimming motion. Some people stood praying with uplifted hands and faces, tears streaming down their cheeks. Others lunged back and forth, arms held high, speaking in tongues. Here and there, a few, their heads bent to the back of the pew in front of them, sat silently in private prayer.

Rainwater looked upon the crowd with the face of a contented father. He gently touched the heads of several people who knelt at the altar. Then, he swung his guitar into place and began another song. This time with an achingly imploring tone but a power that seemed to come from the core of Earth itself.

Would you be free from your burden of sin
There’s pow’r in the blood
Pow’r in the blood
Would you o’er evil a victory win
There’s wonderful pow’r in the blooood

Everyone, with stamping feet and clapping hands, joined him in the refrain, and I was among them. The building physically shook with the emotion of the song.

There is pow’r, pow’r
Wonder-working pow’r
In the blooood
Of the laaaamb
There is pow’r, pow’r
Wonder-working pow’r
In the precious
Blood of the laaaamb

Would you be free of your passion and pride
There’s pow’r in the blooood
Pow’r in the blooood
Come for a cleansing
To Calvary’s tide
There’s wonderful pow’r in the blooood

There is pow’r, pow’r
Wonder-working pow’r
In the blooood
Of the laaaamb
There is pow’r, pow’r
Wonder-working pow’r
In the precious
Blooood of the laaaamb