Frontline Dispatch – Pray for the Nation

Dateline: Israel – This is not just another story you might see in the papers or on TV.  It’s real.  And it’s about real people.  It’s about the real forces of evil attempting to destroy the plan of God and His people the Jews.  This Maoz Israel video reports on the recent attack in Askelon.  But it’s not limited to them, or to rockets.  What about Sderot?  Jerusalem?  Tel Aviv?  Netanya?  And more?

But God!  He never slumbers nor sleeps who watches over Israel.  Will you stand with Him in prayer and declaration of His Word for Israel and for the people – that they will be protected from the physical destroyer?  More importantly, that they will receive eternal protection in the spirit through Yeshua, their Messiah.

Dateline: Eritrea – Do you know what this picture reveals?  The utter depravity of humanity when left to its own devices – without the life of Christ.

This picture is similar to a secret jail “cell” in Eritrea, reserved for religious prisoners.  In the United States, and many other places around the world, they are used for storage of items, not people.  Torture, starvation, and the withholding of medical and dental help are a normal part of life for prisoners in these “cells.”  Yet, our brothers and sisters continue to stand strong in their witness for Jesus Christ – even to the point of death.

When you read the Open Doors article, don’t just be outraged.  Don’t just weep in anguish for your brethren in Christ.  Pray for the comfort and strengthening of the families of those who have already died for Christ’s sake.  Pray for those still alive in the prisons to continue standing strong.  Our prayers will help them continue to stand in Christ alone, continue to be the witnesses of His grace and mercy to others around them, and continue experiencing freedom in the midst of their imprisonment because of the steadfast love of God.

Also, pray for the leaders of the government of Eritrea.  Despite their heinous actions, they are simply being used by the real enemy – the one who came only to steal, kill, and destroy.  They are completely without hope, because they are without Christ.  But they don’t have to remain that way.  Our Father loves them as much as He loves we who are followers of Christ.  Pray for their hearts to be opened to their need for the Savior Jesus.  Pray for skillful laborers, and for God-ordained opportunities for them to share the gospel with these leaders.

I’m praying for God’s amazing grace for you as you pray for the people of Eritrea!

Dateline: El Salvador – It’s tempting to say of violent murderers behind bars, “That’s where they belong,” and then forget about them.  That’s not what Jesus does, though.  He never looks away from them, and Jonathan Samoya is proof.  Through a CBN TV outreach, Vida Dura, and some of the CBN staff visiting in person, Jonathan heard the good news of Jesus Christ.  Better yet, he received the gift of salvation and became a new creation in Christ – though he remains behind prison walls today.

Most of the people involved with producing Vida Dura didn’t know or visit Jonathan personally, but they knew him in their hearts.  They reached out to “visit” one of the least of these¹ in a prison in El Salvador because they knew Jesus, and a gangster was made brand new!  Likewise, we may not know the names and faces of the people in prisons around the world, but Jesus does, and He loves every one of them – as much as He loves us.

As people of prayer, let’s let His heartbeat concerning those in prison become ours.  Then, let’s “visit” the least of these in prison via prayer.  It might be that we help open the heart door of the next Jonathan to receive the love of Jesus and be forever changed!

Ministering to Jesus by caring (praying) for those in prison.  It’s real life in Christ!

¹ Matthew 25:36, 40

Dateline: China – Imagine throngs of homeless orphaned children roaming the streets in search of food and other basic necessities.  Imagine these children orphaned through all kinds of horrendous conditions from their nation’s government.  These are hard to stomach.  But, when you add the absolute desperation that drives these children to cross their nation’s border illegally to enter another land that may be just as bad, it becomes almost unimaginable.  This is an easy picture of many North Korean orphans.

Now imagine you are a follower of Christ in China, reaching out to as many of these children as you can.  While you do so, you know that their knowing a Christian could bring more punishment if they are caught and returned to their native land.  Again, it’s hard to imagine.  Read the Open Doors account of one such woman, and feel the heartbeat of Jesus as she tells the children of Him anyway.  She knows for certain, “Where there is Jesus Christ, there is hope.”

How can we affect the lives of these North Korean orphans?  How can we help those precious brothers and sisters in China who show these children they are loved, sharing their only true hope – Jesus Christ?  It’s not just praying.  It’s praying in the power of the Spirit.  That’s how we make a difference.

The following prayer is from the Open Doors article, which is much more eye-opening than the little I have included here.  Please join us in prayer (this one and however else Holy Spirit leads) for all involved.  Also, pray for the leaders of the governments of North Korea and China – that they, too, will receive the hope found only in Jesus Christ.

Father God, how we weep for these defenseless children, at the mercy of two harsh, pitiless governments. Let Your strong arms of protection guard them. Thank You for Sun-Hi and others who reach out to them. Protect these angels of mercy and grant them resources, wisdom and opportunity to meet the temporal and spiritual needs of these orphans. As Sun-Hi shares the Word of God, use the words to pierce their hardened lives with hope and turn their hearts to You. Amen

Dateline: Holy Nation – This post is not directed toward a physical nation someone might deem more holy than the rest.  No, this week’s focus is on the body of Christ, referred to as a “holy nation” in 1 Peter 2:9.  Being a holy nation is not something achieved once in heaven.  Peter makes clear that we are now a holy nation because we have received the mercy of God in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 2:9-10  NIV  ⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

As such, it is important for us to pray regularly for this nation, this holy nation, which is located all around the physical world.  We are the ones who are able to declare the praises of the One Who gave us eternal life!  So let’s remember to pray not only for individual believers, or for our local assemblies, but for the body of Christ – the holy nation – as one nation.  A good place to begin is Paul’s prayer to the Ephesians.  As you pray this aloud, take time to think about the richness of the meaning for each of us individually and corporately.

Ephesians 3:14-21 AMP  ¹⁴ For this reason [seeing the greatness of this plan by which you are built together in Christ], I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ For Whom every family in heaven and on earth is named [that Father from Whom all fatherhood takes its title and derives its name].  ¹⁶ May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].  ¹⁷ May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love, ¹⁸ That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God's devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it]; ¹⁹ [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!

²⁰ Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams] —  ²¹ To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen (so be it).

Dateline: Israel – Yes, the focus is Israel again, but please don’t tune out.  This week’s post includes an excellent resource to help understand further what is occurring in the natural and spiritual for Israel, with the intended result being help to pray more on target for Israel.

Even before this post is published, the vote for unilateral Palestinian statehood could be finished at the United Nations, though that won’t mean it’s a done deal.  That’s why we must keep praying.  Pray for God’s intervention on behalf of His plan for Israel and the Jews.  Pray against the powers, principalities, and rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness in the heavenly realm who are driving men and women of many nations to seek the utter destruction of Israel.  Pray for the hearts and minds of the people to be opened to the good news of Yeshua.

As you read the clear and thorough articles included in the October issue of Maoz Israel Report, you will gain wisdom and insight for even more specific prayer, and you will be encouraged to continue praying with ever-increasing vigilance for the true peace of Jerusalem.  As you declare “Peace be upon Israel,” you will know this peace will come, despite man’s efforts or seeming successes.  For this peace, this shalom, comes not from man, but from the Prince of peace Himself, Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach!

Dateline: Egypt – For those of us not directly involved, it may be hard to remember that the Arab Spring – those uprisings in the Middle East – seemed to ignite in Egypt.  After all, the government of Hosni Mubarak was overthrown, just like the people wanted.  Now everything is good there, right?  Definitely not, and definitely not for the Christians.

Though we may have been caught up in the political issues since the initial uprising, that is not the focus here.  A recent update from Open Doors concerning our brothers and sisters in Egypt helps reorient us to God’s heartbeat through one prayer request:

“Please pray for God to give courage and perseverance to Egyptian pastors working to strengthen their churches.”

The pastors in that nation are still reaching out to strengthen the believers there.  Who is reaching out to them?  How are they being refreshed and refueled to stand strong in the midst of the turmoil and persecution for their faith in Jesus Christ?  We may not be able to go to them physically, but we can pray and touch things in the spirit realm in ways our physical presence never could.

This week’s prayer focus is the pastors in Egypt.  Also include prayer for their families, for these pastors will be so much stronger when their families are strong with them, strong in the Lord and united by His Spirit.  Thank you for praying!

Dateline: Israel – This is not a broken record, though you’ve seen it here recently.  It is also not a modern-day version of the boy who cried wolf.  This is a matter of keeping Israel and the crucial vote coming up at the UN in 2 days highlighted on your prayer radar.  This is the vote that could further the enemy’s attempts to divide and conquer Jerusalem and the whole of Israel.

We really can make a difference by praying about this major issue.  It doesn’t require long and agonizing prayer or involve fasting, unless the Spirit stirs you that way.  James 5:16 tells us that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.  If you have been born again, saved through the blood and finished work of Jesus Christ, you are righteous.  So bring out of your mouth those powerful and effective prayers.

Pray for God’s mighty hand to intervene in the plans of man this week – not only in this vote at the UN, but also in the sham conference against racism (Durban III) on September 23.  Picture a big monkey wrench being tossed into what appears to be a well-oiled machine as we all pray and declare God’s plans and purposes for Israel.

For more background information, follow the links to Maoz Israel Report (UN vote) and Jerusalem Post (Durban III).  Whatever you do, please continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and declare peace be upon Israel, according to Psalms 122:6, 125:5, 128:6.  Be sure to include our brothers and sisters who live and work in Israel – both Israeli and Arab, that they will know the encouragement in the Lord as we unite in prayer on their behalf!

Dateline: United States – Though a call for prayer for the United States has been sounded in light of the tenth anniversary of the terror attacks, the prayer request this week is due to the damaging weather phenomena striking the US over the last several months, one right after another.

Now is the time to pray for the people of America to fix their eyes on Jesus, making life-changing turns to Him, not just glancing His way in the crisis of the moment.  It’s not just about insurance for heaven, but about a “life policy” here on earth through relationship with our Father through Jesus Christ.

In this living relationship, His peace can be found in the midst of the drought, flood, tornado, fire, hurricane, earthquake, landslide, etc.  Jesus is ready for us to turn to Him without the catastrophes, but is also ready to come when they happen.  Let’s unite in prayer for the people of the United States, saved and unsaved, to recognize the loving Lord drawing them during this time, and to receive Him in fullness.

This is a simple prayer request, I know, but don’t let that stop you from lifting up the people our Father loves in the United States.  Thank you for praying.

Dateline: Israel – Have you been inundated with stories of the upcoming vote in the UN concerning Israel – the one happening on September 23?  I didn’t think so.  Neither have I.  Isn’t it interesting how silent the media is about this potentially devastating vote by nations of the world who want only to eliminate Israel’s existence?

For those who don’t understand this UN resolution and its repercussions in the natural – beyond the surface – read the Maoz Israel Report article linked here.  It all boils down to the enemy’s plans to destroy Israel from the face of the earth; the real enemy of our God, that is.  It’s always been his plan and will be until his eternal elimination.

But . . . what is God’s plan?  And what can we do, as His followers in Christ?  Isaiah 62 helps us stand firm, declaring that what God has already proclaimed shall come to pass, no matter what we see or hear.

Isaiah 62:1, 6-7 NIV  For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. 6 I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night.  You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.(underlined for emphasis)

Now is the time!  Intercede on behalf of Israel.  Cry out on behalf of Jerusalem in the midst of the wheeling and dealing taking place among the representatives of the United Nations.  Intercede for the leaders of your own nation, regardless of the intentions they may have declared already.

For Zion’s sake, do not keep silent and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth!