In April of 2015 I had a Dream-Encounter regarding the nations of the Middle East. Prior to this encounter, I had been praying fervently for the nations of the Middle East, but always felt like I lacked understanding. I would read, study, and listen to teachings as often as I could, but I was still crying out to God asking, “How can I pray for these nations? What is Your heart for these nations Father?”
I have struggled my whole life in the area of academia. It seemed I just had a difficult time learning things such as history, geography, arithmetic’s, etc. I wanted God’s heart, I wanted to understand. I began asking the Lord for passages of scripture to focus on, and He began showing me the landscape from His perspective.
This particular night I was meditating on Isaiah 40 before bed. Throughout the night I was tossing and turning, wrestling with God for understanding. Partially asleep, and partially away, I began to see nations of the middle east from a distance, as if I were in a plane looking down at a map. I saw the landscapes of desert and mountains, trees and rivers. It was like a fly-over from Afghanistan to North Africa. Each nation I saw was very slow, and focused. I would look down at one nation, seeing the dirt, and faces would begin to appear. At first one large face over the nation, and then many. Then I saw a television, broadcasting news about that nation. The television was noisy and confusing, but I would turn my head back at the land and the faces of the people and peace arose to my heart. My heart began to ache for the people. This continued over various nations, that later I would discover to be Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Ir.n, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and more. As my heart ached, I heard the Lord say to me, “The face of my people, Afghanistan, must change.’…’The face of my people, Ir.n, must change’…’The face of my people, Syria, must change.” And so on.
I understood clearly what the Lord meant, what He was saying. It was as if He was speaking clear and plain to me. Let me translate this for you.
“The way Americans are being taught to look at these nations is wrong. Through the lens of history or modern media, you will never see the nations the way I do. Instead, see these nations as my people, the people I created with a destiny and purpose, the people I have created to know and love me, and when you see them you will have no fear or negative reactions. Pray that the church (body of Christ) will pray for these nations, and not curse them. Yes, the body, my people, in the West curse the people I created in these nations when they watch the television and repeat to others what they are being told. They are agreeing with the enemy for their demise and destruction instead of agreeing with Me for their hope and their future!
Pray! Pray that the faces of the nations would be seen differently. The face of these nations must change in the eyes of my people.”
Remember that in every hostile and restricted nation, there are believers, members of the body of Christ, who speak the native language of that country and live in the land. They are desperate for prayer and camaraderie from the body of Christ in the West. When you look at those nations, see not the evil powers that are in place in the governments, but see the face of the people of the lands.
It is the 3rd anniversary of this encounter, and as I was meditating in prayer, the Lord gave me this prayer for you. Pray this with me if you agree, asking the Lord to turn your heart so you can see the way He feels towards His people.
Prayer to align our hearts with His.
Father, come and displace from me FEAR. Replace fear of the nations, with hope for them. Reassure my heart that good things are coming for them, as I join my heart in prayer with them.
Father, I ask that You displace from me ANXIETY. Replace anxiety regarding the nations in the media, with expectation. Reassure my heart that You are working in a mighty and powerful way in the Middle East.
Father, I pray for my fellow saints, the believers in the Middle East, that You would replace all weariness with exuberant faith. Where they lack, fill in the gaps. Father, let them know they are not alone today, bind my heart to Your heart and your desire for the nations, in Jesus name, Amen.