When Worship Changed the Atmosphere

When Worship Changed the Atmosphere
How one sitter reminded us who really fights our battles.

Tuesday nights are sacred in our house. Steve and I do our best to protect them as our date night, and we’re incredibly blessed to have someone who’s been helping with our kids since they were little—Teresa, our sitter and literal angel in disguise.

One particular Tuesday, though, was rough.
The kids were wild—throwing fits, not listening, fighting with each other.
It was one of those nights. You know the kind.

Teresa told us later that she had tried everything.
Nothing was working.

So finally, she did what only someone Spirit-led would think to do:
She asked Alexa to play worship music.
And then she began to walk through the house praying out loud.

She said she started covering the house and the kids in the blood of Jesus—declaring peace, calling out chaos, inviting the Holy Spirit to reign in that space.

The kids, she said, just looked at her a little stunned.
And almost immediately… the atmosphere shifted.

They settled down.
The chaos quieted.
The kids went to sleep shortly after.

When we came home and she told us the story, I was moved.
Not just because it worked (which, yes—praise God!)
But because she knew how to fight the right way.

She didn’t argue.
She didn’t panic.
She went to war in worship.

That’s what Spirit-led parenting, serving, and loving looks like—knowing when a situation isn’t just behavioral but spiritual. And knowing who already has the victory.

“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” —2 Corinthians 10:4 (ESV)

But here’s what I want to be careful about:

Teresa didn’t do this because the kids needed some sort of spiritual intervention.
She did it because she knew she needed help.
She knew how easy it is to let exhaustion dictate our response.

And what I realized is this:
Sometimes taking care of kids is just plain hard.
It’s loud, unpredictable, and overwhelming.

But that night reminded me that we do have another option.

We can pause.
We can worship.
We can shift the focus of our hearts—and in doing so, shift the tone of our home.

It’s not a fix-all.
Sometimes, we just need rest, food, or a moment to breathe.
But sometimes—just sometimes—what we need most is to remember who really carries us, and invite His peace back into the room.

We don’t always need to fight harder.
We might just need to refocus.

And I’ll always be grateful that Teresa reminded me of that.