Thanks to those of you who were able to pray with us for our recent Middle East trip. Colleagues and I met with senior church leaders in four countries of that region about developing a regional strategic prayer focus that will connect people of prayer across the region and Christian traditions. The Lord surely answered and we had great favor with open doors and hearts in every place. Along with the evangelical leaders in each country, we met with the office of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul and the Coptic Orthodox Pope, a major bishop and several priests in Egypt. In Jordan, the Director of the Middle East Council of Churches and others strongly urged us to move ahead with the prayer initiative. In Lebanon, the Armenian Orthodox Catholics, the Catholic Cardinal and Archbishops from Catholic and Syrian Orthodox churches all were positive and encouraging, saying that they would support this prayer effort. Two radio interviews and a TV appearance enabled us to get the word out more widely to many thousands of others.

The overwhelming consensus was that the both the church and prayer leaders we consulted are not only extremely grateful to have the international prayer movement focus special prayer on their region, they would also like to come together themselves for a Middle East prayer assembly, probably later this year. Please pray for this possibility. Here are some other key prayer concerns that we ask you to take on with us:

We will focus on different countries and prayer concerns for this region throughout the year, but to kick things off this month here are some key general concerns we hope you will focus your prayers on:

1. That Christian leaders will value prayer and the unity of His Body and be able to come together for a Middle East prayer assembly.

2. For many more Muslims to continue to encounter Jesus in their visions and dreams and for Christ’s people to boldly and lovingly share Him with them.

3. Peace in the conflicts that are raging in various nations of the region, especially in Syria where tens of thousands have lost their lives and 4 million of the 20 million population have become refugees within their country, in Lebanon, Jordan and other places. They need the international community to care and provide badly needed supplies since they are suffering acutely during the winter cold. Pray for them and these humanitarian efforts to be abundant and effective.

4. That Christians will not choose to emigrate as many have done, but will stay to serve and be His witnesses.

5. That the younger generation will arise and carry out the mission the Lord has for them.

6. For the peoples of the region to accept one another as brothers and for forgiveness and justice to prevail, especially in the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict which has caused violence by fundamentalists and radicals to surge.

Thanks for your prayers for a change of atmosphere in what is probably the most challenging of all regions on earth.

We know that the unity of all followers of Christ, be they Catholic, Orthodox or Protestant, is on the heart of the Lord. It was the last prayer He prayed for His disciples and for us who have come to faith centuries later. The Apostle Paul also strongly urged that we maintain the unity of the Spirit and not allow divisions to destroy it. Unfortunately, Christians in general have allowed themselves to be split into tens of thousands of denominations (over 30,000 when I last checked). Evangelicals are some of the worst offenders, often attributing their divisions to doctrinal or biblical reasons when it is usually about personalities and control. We have so many little “popes that have a quest for religious power!

God is greatly blessing such united prayer efforts as we experienced at the World Prayer Assembly, where Christian leaders and intercessors from 86 countries and all three Christian traditions prayed together. Now in Indonesia, where this unity continues to grow, the Muslims are scared that they will lose the nation and its young people to Jesus Christ. They claim that 2 million of these youth are leaving Islam for Jesus every year. (See the YouTube video “Save Maryam” made by concerned Muslims). There may be some other factors at work, but I would especially attribute this to the atmospheric change in the nation caused by Christians across the denominations uniting in prayer. Jesus in His prayer of John 17 said this would be the result—the world believing if we are one.

I have just been in the Middle East meeting with senior Evangelical, Catholic and Orthodox leaders about a possible Middle East prayer assembly. All of them were warm, welcoming and gracious men and women of God with whom we prayed and felt a kinship of spirit. In Egypt, the prayer movement leaders come from all three traditions and they pray together every Monday, affirming what they have in common- faith in Jesus Christ amidst a sea of threatening Islamism.

In Egypt, I also met with the new Coptic Pope, a humble, gracious man who is known for his commitment to three things—Jesus, the Bible and prayer. His predecessor, Pope Shenouda, with whom I also met some years ago, knew the whole New Testament by heart. The Coptic Orthodox date from the time the Apostle Mark brought the Gospel to them in the first century and have stood the test of 20 centuries as well as hundreds of years of oppression and persecution at the hands of Muslims. An impressive renewal movement is also happening there at this time led by black-robed priests who evangelize, cast out demons, and heal the sick. They are very impressive servants of Christ!

Through decades of conferring with church leaders of every strand, I have discovered that when we sit down together, and especially when we pray together, walls and stereotypes tend to fall down, and we begin to perceive one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, which is our eternal identity. After all, we are all on a journey both in and towards His Kingdom; we are at different points like different tributaries entering a large river, yes, and all of us now “see in a glass darkly” before we see Him face to face. Therefore, given our flawed understandings and incomplete experience, it does not help Christ’s cause to build or maintain walls of historic division when the Spirit of God wants to dismantle them and do something new in our day!

A plea and prayer request—can we as people of prayer increasingly try to look past denominational labels and differences (they will all be forgotten anyway when we stand before the Lord at the end) and perceive His cosmic purpose in uniting all those who call on His name through the prayer movement? Can’t we reach out to those who come from different understandings and experience of the faith and at least agree to pray together for those things we are all concerned about? Who knows what mighty works of the Spirit would result that would change the atmosphere of nations, regions and our whole world!

May the Lord help us to do what is pleasing in His sight and what makes for both the upbuilding of His Body and the transformation of our world through the united prayer movement.

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